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Over a six-year period, SSI released nine successive Advanced Dungeons & Dragons games using substantially the same engine. That series of games became affectionately known as the "gold box" series of games, and role-playing game fans widely regard the series as a high point for the genre. But the recycling of technology has received a considerably colder reception recently. Although Fallout 2 was regarded by many gamers as having gameplay as good as its predecessor's, many reviewers were disappointed that the game's engine was virtually unchanged. Even that experience doesn't compare to the hostile reception that Might and Magic VII - For Blood and Honor received last year because it was released with the same, graphically dated, engine used by Might and Magic VI. Even though gamers will usually declare gameplay to be the most important feature of a game, I suspect gamers' expectations have risen to the point where it would be impossible to have another "gold box" series that constantly recycled technology.

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In spite of the criticism that Might and Magic VII received for recycling the engine of its predecessor, New World is going to use that same engine one last time for Might and Magic VIII. Objects and characters in the game are still depicted using flat 2D sprites, and for some reason the characters seen early in the game seem a little less sharp than those in the past few games in the series. Might and Magic VIII supports 3D video acceleration, but the software mode looks substantially similar with the exception of certain spell effects. At least you can now turn off the different monotone colored tints that enveloped monsters in the 3D-accelerated mode of Might and Magic VII.

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There are a few minor engine tweaks this time around. There's a new panoramic view that lets you see more of the gaming world (although there's still no full-screen option), and you're now able to move the first-person perspective up and down using the mouse, although not quite in the mouse-look fashion to which action gamers are accustomed. There's a new character screen, and the automap screens now conveniently let you add your own notations. Your party can now pass right through peasants and other ordinary townpersons, so you won't have to worry about getting stuck in congested areas like the dwarven caverns in Might and Magic VII. In spite of these minor improvements, Might and Magic VIII's dated engine will likely be the most common complaint players have of the game, especially given the true 3D polygonal gaming worlds used by recent RPGs such as EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Ultima IX: Ascension, and System Shock 2.

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