Crusaders of Might and Magic (Playstation Game)

Crusaders of Might and Magic (Playstation Game)

Reviewed by Brian Schell

This game actually falls more under the heading of action/role-playing than strategy, but I liked most of the other games in the Might & Magic series, and decided to give it a try.  If you're a fan of any of the rest of this great series and you're looking for something new to keep your attention- Buy something else. Although there is nothing horribly wrong here, Crusaders of M&M just doesn't have that much going for it.

You play as Drake, the only survivor after an assault by undead forces on his childhood hometown. Drake has grown up battling the undead warriors, and has become something of a legend throughout the countryside. The game begins as Drake finally makes a mistake and is captured by Necros, the King of the Dead. Your initial "training" mission is to escape from the dungeon.

You start out with a simple fireball spell, but quickly learn other offensive and defensive spells. If you kill enough baddies, you gain experience and your spell casting ability improves. You also have a choice of weapons, armor and shields, as well as a few other magical items. One thing I liked was the targeting system for ranged spells. If the opponent is in range, you can highlight him, setting him as the target. But just because you can see him, doesn't mean your shot will hit him. If there is a small hill or anything blocking your spells path, it will explode prematurely, possibly injuring you. It also neat to see your spells meet an enemy spell halfway between you.

If you've ever played a third person game such as Tomb Raid, MediEvil or a horde of others, the controls will be second nature by now and require no special learning. The inventory system is accessed through the SELECT key, and shuffling through the potions, weapons, spells, and shields is simple enough. There should be a fast way to switch between health and mana potions. It seems every time I needed more mana, I had the health potion selected, and vice-versa. Hitting the action key with the wrong item selected not only doesn't help, but it wastes your potions very quickly.

The graphics are about typical for a third-person view game; there is nothing particularly innovative about the graphics. The various dungeons and castle levels are not much more than winding tunnels, and although they aren't random they may as well be; There's no logic or reason for all these tunnels or rooms. You would expect that if a Wizard went to the trouble of constructing a flying castle, he would come up with something more efficient than level after level of mazes that go nowhere in particular?

Bottom line: If you just have to play every third-person game ever made, try it. If you're an absolute M&M junkie try it. For most people, this game offers nothing new, and is pretty much ho-hum all the way through. This game got old FAST.

Crusaders of Might and Magic by 3DO Corp.

For more info: http://www.3do.com

Requires: Playstation, memory card w/2 blocks free.