GB Feature: Might & Magic X: Legacy Review

We’ve put together a three-page critique of Might & Magic X: Legacy, the long-awaited, non-strategy continuation to the venerable RPG series that we grew up playing during our youth. Since there’s a lot to quote from, I’ll go with a couple of fairly neutral and informative paragraphs:

Sometimes combat is simple, and regular attacks get the job done, but at other times you need to be more creative. As an example, there are times when you run into undead creatures called ravenous ghouls. By default, these ghouls get one attack per turn, but when their health falls under 50% they double their attacks, and if you miss an attack against them or they block an attack, then they get an extra attack. That means if you’re not careful, ravenous ghouls might pop off 8-10 attacks in a single turn — and probably kill whoever they’re attacking. So you either need to limit your misses against them, or you need to attack them like crazy and then use a spell like “gust of wind” to blow them back one square where they can’t attack anything. There are plenty of offensive and utility spells available in the game, and knowing how to use them can be the difference between impossible fights and easy victories.

Outside of combat, you spend plenty of time wandering around the 140×100 game world, where you can visit towns, dungeons, mysterious crypts, dangerous caves, and more. Towns are your main source for quest NPCs, shops, and trainers. Dungeons are where you complete most of the quests. Crypts are where you solve puzzles, usually by stepping on pressure plates in the right way, and where you receive relics, which are powerful pieces of equipment that gain experience when you do, up to level 4. Caves contain nasty bosses, including dragons and a cyclops. There are also miscellaneous battles scattered throughout everywhere, but enemies do not respawn, so there’s a limit to how much experience you can gain in the game (enough to reach level 33 or so).