Review by: Gavin Carter
Published: May 31, 2002

The Might & Magic franchise used to be one of the most venerable and well-respected series in all of RPG gaming. The originals established the bar for all stats-based RPG’s to meet; merging terrific and involved gameplay with healthy doses of plot and innovation. Unfortunately, the series began to lose its luster after installments six, seven and eight came out in rapid-fire succession all using the same graphics engine and offering few improvements in gameplay over one another. New World Computing is seeking to turn the series around with Might & Magic IX. They’ve moved the title to the Lithtech graphics engine, rendering everything in full 3D, as well as tweaking things like dialog systems, skills, and magic. I recently played through the retail version, in hopes that my faith in the series would be restored.

The plot of Might & Magic IX centers around the continent of Chedian. Your characters start out as young, quixotic adventurer-wannabes in the small town of Ravensford. After a brief training session, your party heads out on a boat with sights set on adventures to be had across the sea. As with most of the opening cutscene boat trips to be found in gaming, your ship crashes in a storm midway through the voyage, tossing you onto the Isle of Ashes. It is here where you learn your true destiny from an old crone living in seclusion. She tells you that you must unite the disparate clans of Chedian in an alliance to ward off the approaching hordes of the evil Tamur Leng.

The process of character creation is similar to other stat-based RPG’s like Baldur’s Gate. You first pick a race, influencing your starting statistics; and you then have a certain number of points to distribute among your statistics. Some races carry advantages, like the Half-Orc, who gets two extra points of Might for every single bonus point you assign to the stat. You also pick between the two initial class types available: Fighter or Initiate. Though the two choices may seem limiting, over the course of the game you have the opportunity to be promoted towards any of eight individual classes, from the stealthy Assassin to the dark Lich.

Characters have a wide variety of skills to choose from, as well. Each class gets two basic skills automatically, like the Fighter’s blade and armor skills. You also get to choose two skills off a list to add to the character. These range from more expected fare like light and dark magic, to more exotic selections like armsmaster and learning. Don’t think you’re stuck with only the four skills you begin with, however, every town features a bookseller offering any number of skill books for sale. Reading a skill book teaches the character the corresponding skill at the most basic level.