They Never Stay Dead: Might & Magic X: Legacy Announced
We thought it was dead. We thought smashing it into a thousand pieces, and securing each piece in a foot-deep lead box, and scattering them to the farthest reaches of the universe would be enough. But no, Might & Magic has reformed, and is coming back. Might & Magic X: Legacy, is a thing that is happening.
Not to be confused with the far superior Heroes Of Might & Magic games, the Might & Magic series became an increasingly terrible run of first-person RPGs, set in the blandly generic fantasy worlds, always somehow managing to feel about five years behind the rest of the industry. After the first five or so, throughout the late 90s and early 00s the four-people-in-your-party games ever-increasingly disappointed, finally finishing with the absolutely awful M&M IX in 2002.
It was such a spectacularly rubbish game, trying to "update" itself by embracing the Lithtech engine (remember that?), but still trying to be an RPG. The result meant you no longer had a cursor for clicking on the screen, but instead were stuck with a centred reticule, making a game that needed you to be able to click on the four different characters a miserable experience. But its, and many of the games before, biggest crime was blandness.
So it is with a grin on my face that I see Ubisoft are announcing the game (because of course former publishers 3DO are long gone) as following on from the events of Might & Magic Heroes VI. Because then that way the previous games didn't happen!
"In the wake of the spectacular events in Might & Magic Heroes VI, you will play in a party of four adventurers entangled in intrigue and political machinations unfolding in and around Karthal. The city, on the verge of secession, is prey to competing factions vying for its control. Your actions will determine the fate of the city. Might & Magic X Legacy is an authentic solo experience in the classic first-person RPG genre. Create and lead your group into an exciting world and battle powerful mythical creatures while collecting ancient magical treasures. Through a turn-based gameplay system, defeat creatures and bosses to accomplish unique quests and make your way through dangerous dungeons, cities and labyrinths full of traps. Dive into vintage Might & Magic and play old school, new rules!
Perhaps this move has been inspired by the success of Grimrock, reawakening the possibility of this oldest of old school first-person RPGs. Why they're going with the "X" though I cannot fathom. If they're relying on nostalgia, they've really picked the wrong series.
This time out it's being developed by German team Limbic Entertainment who also revived the Heroes franchise, whom they describe as "devoted Might & Magic fans". Let's hope that was an elaborate typo. Here's the announcement trailer that eventually shows you about ten seconds of the game, through a distorted screen. What a silly thing that is:
