Subject: REVIEW: Might and Magic III
From: [email-masked] (Atul Srinivasan)
Date: 26 Apr 1993 21:12:47 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Might and Magic III
	
BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	Might and Magic III (referred to as "MM III" for the rest of this
review) is a Dungeons And Dragons style computer role-playing game.  For
those familiar with the first two games in this series, it is pretty much
more of the same.  You control a party of adventurers who set out on a quest
to find someone named Sheltem.  The rest of the story you find out during
the game.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:		New World Computing
	Address:	PO Box 4302
			Hollywood, CA  90099-5551
			USA

	Telephone:	(818) 999-0607

LIST PRICE

	I believe the list price is $49.95 (US).  I paid $42.95 at a local
store, not through mail order.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		1 MB RAM required (512K Chip).

		If played from floppy disk, you need 2 floppy drives (or
		more) and two blank disks for saving games.  The game comes
		on 6 disks.

		If played from a hard drive, you need about 5 MB free disk
		space.

		The game runs fine on my 68040.  The documentation does not
		mention compatibility with other 68000-family CPU's.

	SOFTWARE

		Kickstart 1.2 or greater.  Runs properly under AmigaDOS 2.04.

COPY PROTECTION

	The copy protection is of the "Look up a word in the manual" type,
and you are asked before the game starts.  This is quick and pretty painless.
However, you do need to have the manual present.  I would rate the protection
as acceptable.

	You have three tries to look up the word.  If you cannot find the
word being asked for, then game does not start, and you have to reboot your
Amiga to try again.

	The program does install on a hard drive using a supplied
installation script.  It works painlessly.  (Note: The script copies the
fonts used during the game to the FONTS: directory.  I chose to move these
fonts to a different directory, and add that directory to FONTS:, using the
ASSIGN FONTS: ADD command. That worked fine.)

	You have no need of the original disks after the installation.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 2000, 1 MB Chip RAM, 1 external drive
	Fusion Forty 68040 accelerator with 8 MB RAM
	GVP Impact SCSI controller with additional 8 MB RAM
	Kickstart 37.125 (2.04), Workbench 2.04.
	AMAX II with external Mac floppy drive

REVIEW

	The first thing I did is I open the game and read the section of the
reference card which deals with installation.  Installation on the hard disk
was painless, except that I preferred to move the fonts as explained above.
I did this after the installation completed, and have had no problem.

	I did not read the rest of the literature which came with the game,
at this time.  Having seen the first two games in the series, I thought I
could play right away.  For the most part, I could.
	
	The layout of the screen is quite nice.  There is a large window for
the party's perspective view of the dungeon.  On the frame of this window are
various figures (bat, gargoyle, etc.) which convey information to the
party.  For example, the bat opens and closes its mouth when the party is in
danger.  I thought this was quite nice.  However, you have to train yourself
to see both the contents of the dungeon window and the frame at the same
time, as it is easy to miss the figures on the frame when concentrating on
the dungeon.

	There is also a smaller window which shows a map of the immediate
area, when the appropriate mapping spell is cast.  This too is a nice
feature and well known to Might and Magic players.

	There is a small window which contains icons for performing actions.
This window changes during combat to allow different actions to be
performed.

	Finally the character icons are at the bottom of the screen.

	The interface to the game is both keyboard and mouse driven.  For
every action which can be performed with the mouse, a keystroke equivalent
is available.  I find this immensely satisfying.  Although the keystrokes are
a little slow to respond, they are still in my opinion faster than the mouse
approach.

	(Note: If you have a utility running which binds keys to actions,
such as Commodore's "FKey" commodity, you will have to disable this utility
to use the keys for MM III.  The game multitasks nicely, meaning that other
programs can grab its keyboard inputs.)
	
	The graphics for the game are in the same style as the previous two
"Might and Magic" games:  not spectacular, but nice.  Things are well colored
for the most part and imaginatively drawn.  At first, I did not like the
music at all.  It is well done but somehow very different from the music in
other games.  Now, after having played the game for a while, I quite enjoy
the music.  There is a good variety of tunes, and they change depending on
the environment.  The special effects are nice too:  again, not spectacular,
but nice.  Casting a cold spell shows a small ring of ice flying toward the
target.  If it hits, the target spurts a little blood and makes an impact
noise.  It goes a little way to making the game more realistic.

	(Note to old Might and Magic fans:  one thing I found nice was that
the distinction has been removed between indoor and outdoor spells.  You
might not like that, but I do.  All spells can be cast indoors or outdoors.)

	Also you have the option of turning off the music and effects.  I
keep the effects and music on, as they don't slow the system down and have
not yet turned boring.

	When fighting, you have the option to control the each character 
completely or to "Quick Fight."  Quick Fighting allows the character
to perform a relatively complex action, such as casting a spell, with
a single key stroke or mouse click.  You may set this option; but
once set, it remains in effect until you reset it.

	The character icons have a health status bar which changes color
depending on the health of the character.  Full health is green, yellow is
full to 25% of full, red is 25% to 0%, and blue is unconscious.  If the
character is poisoned, then icon changes such that the face actually looks
poisoned.  This is quite nice since it allows you to know something is wrong
with your character quite quickly.  For each type of malady, there is a
corresponding face (e.g., diseased, poisoned, paralyzed, asleep, in love,
stoned, etc...).  And no, I'm not kidding about the "in love" bit.  

	When spells are cast which affect a character (i.e., Power Shield) a
little shield appears on the icon.  There are quite a few little effects
like this which make the game easy to play.

	There is also a quick reference screen which lists the status of all
characters in the party.  This is available at any time at the stroke of a
key or a click of the mouse.

	The game has an automapping feature.  It keeps track of every place
you have been.  The usual mapping chores are done effortlessly.  In only one
place did I have to actually draw a map.

	The game seems to have been designed to contain help for the game
within the game.  For example for every location you visit, there is a
little history available which tells you special things about the place.

	Also there are places in the game where you learn the answers to
other puzzles in the game.  I won't mention where these places are, because
I think the game is more fun if you find out as you play.  I really feel the
game was designed that way.  When you start, you know you're supposed to find
this guy, Sheltem, but not much else.  In fact, I have been playing for a
while, and I still don't know much else, but that may just be me.  Anyway,
it keeps the suspense up.

	For beginners, there is a Help option available when the going gets
desperate.  The option takes you to a safe place at the cost of a level of
experience.  For level 1 characters, it essentially costs nothing, so it is
useful for the party starting out.  Speaking of which, there is a
pre-created party which beginners can use.  They are not bad.  I use them,
and have survived so far.

	One thing I did not find mentioned anywhere is how to trade items
between party members.  I found out by accident, but I don't think that was
intended by the authors.  I think they just forgot to mention it, so I
will.  First you select the item, then just select a party member.  The item
automatically gets transferred.

	The game does not keep multiple saved versions.  You can simply copy
the save game file (through AmigaDOS) as you desire, but the game will not
do that for you.  Once you load a game, saving overwrites the same file.
Also, saved games are recognized by the game through an internal name, not
through the AmigaDOS file name.
	
	After having played for a while, I went back and read the
documentation.  It does a good job of describing the state of the world
of Terra, where the game takes place, without actually giving away
too much.
	
	All the while, the game multitasks.  You can simply flip screens and
move to something else.  I have not experienced a single crash as a result
of this game.  Even when you exit, it seems to leave the system in a clean
state.  

	As for the plot of the game, it is not very difficult.  I have not
found many places which are impossible to map, nor monsters which are
impossible to kill.  Some puzzles are quite hard, but most are not so
frustrating you have to cheat.

DOCUMENTATION

	The game comes with a player's reference card, the usual booklet
describing the setting of the game and giving some historical perspective,
and a fold-out, paper, color map.  I did not look at the disk for any README
files or the like, and so far I have not needed anything other than the
above.

	The booklet is easy to read but is really for the novice.  It did
not give much useful information.  In fact, I did not read it until well into
the game.  The player's reference card is concise and informative.  It
describes the layout of the game controls and the screen, and it does not
leave anything out.  I felt it revealed both what you needed to know and
some things you might want to know.  Beginners might find the booklet
useful, but the reference is a must.

	The color map is well drawn and seems pretty sturdy.  It contains the
major features of the world of Terra.

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	The things I liked about this product are that it multitasks
beautifully, is installable on hard drive, and runs on an accelerated
machine.  The graphics and sound are quite well done.  It also offers
automapping.  I was really impressed with how little trouble I had running
this game.  In addition, the keyboard/icon dual control approach is a real
plus.

	The load time when entering inns, temples, new areas, etc., gets
annoying after a while.  Keyboard response is a little slow, and keystrokes
are buffered, so you end up going places you don't want to go.  For some
actions, confirmation is requested (i.e., "Do you really really really want
to sell your sword?").  This also gets annoying.

	To improve the game I would suggest the following.  There is no
provision to import characters from previous Might and Magic games, nor from
other games.  That feature would be nice.  Also, it would really be great if
they would speed up keyboard response.  It's OK at first, but it tends to get
more annoying as the game progresses.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Overall, I believe this game is quite well done.  It does not add
anything new to the genre; but what it does do, it does well.  I think only
the people who like hack-and-slash games will really enjoy this one.  If you
enjoyed the previous two games in this series and want more of the same,
then get this game.  It does what the others did, and very well.

	I have played Bard's Tale I, II and III, Ultima IV and VI, Dungeon
Master, Chaos Strikes Back, Black Crypt, and Eye of the Beholder.  This game
does not have novelty that Bard's Tale did when it came out, nor the
real-time engine of Dungeon Master.  The graphics are good, not exceptional;
same for the sound.  Work was definitely put into them, but they do not make
or break the game.

	Mostly, I enjoy playing this game.  I am not disappointed.

BUGS

	This game will not run in 68040 COPYBACK mode.  There is a "load
segment violation".  It run fine with INST and DATA caches turned on.

	That aside, I have not found any serious bugs.  There are a few
places where text is displayed such that the last two lines are on top of
each other.  Another bug deals with a specific magic object which has to be
equipped to use its power, but it cannot be equipped.

	I did not contact the author/company about any bugs.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	I did not ask for any vendor support.

WARRANTY

	There is a 90 day limited warranty.  This covers the original
diskettes and programs for defects.  After 90 days, it costs $10 including
shipping for a disk replacement.  You need to send in the original.

	The statement of warranty does not cover transfer of warranty by the
original owner.

CONCLUSIONS

	I feel this product deserves a good rating.  It does not impress you
with new technology or ideas.  It is fun to play, does not take over your
system, and does everything it needs to do in a reasonably well thought-out
fashion.

	I give it a rating of 8 out of 10 points.  I'd buy the next one in
the series, even if it was more of the same.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	NOT!  ;-)

-- 
Atul Srinivasan
Consulting Services
x7250
[email-masked]
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