Excellent, addictive RPG for all fans.
User Rating: 8.2 | Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer PC
This game is a must have for all fans of the series, and worth a look from all RPG fans. --The setting is Jadame, a mystical place in Medieval times where conflict rages between diverse races of all sentient beings. But beyond the usual, Jadame is quite a peaceful place for a town dweller, until one day a stranger from a far land appeared in the quiet coastal town of Ravenshore. The villagers were blown away suddenly by a rush of energy as he draws power from the clouds, causing the ground to rupture and give birth to a giant and mysterious crystal. This crystal unlocked the portals to the Four Elemental Planes, unleashing monstrous beings and general unrest, causing nature to overload and elemental fury was laid down upon the people of Jadame. Volcanoes erupted, raining fire down apon villages, lakes and rivers flooded destroying homes, and the Sea of Fire flowed into the nearby towns and destroying lives. Elemental warriors seem to have turned beserk, attacking the innocent and losing all reasoning. Peaceful towns in versatile landscapes are now surrounded by battles and wars between monsters, mutual enemies, cut-throats and guilds. You start off as an ordinary caravan guard in the small island village on the Dagger Wound Islands, inhabited by Lizardmen. The islands become cut off from main land and civilization on the Day of the Destroyer, when a nearby Volcano erupts and destroys the bridges and the docks. You are chosen to send a help message to the mainland, and when you gather your party, this is where your story unfolds.-- At the beginning of the game you create your character, choosing from a multitude of classes, portraits and races, from there selecting your characters statistics and skills to make the character you choose to become the Hero of Jadame. You can choose from 7 unique races, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. From then on you can recruit other NPC's to join your party of up to 5, including recruiting super powerful Dragons to fight by your side in battle. By defeating monsters, completing quests your characters gain experience to level up and learn new skills, or improve on old ones. Included in the game is the choice of taking sides on major allies and enemies in everlasting battles, your weight on either side could be enough to lead your chosen side to victory, and sway the ever equal scales. Among these wars are the fights between Dragons and Knights, and between Necromancers and Clerics. Also, there are many fun side quests and an addictive card game which can be played in any tavern, which kept this game fun for me for a long time. Although the graphics seem dated and the hack and slash combat seems linear, the game is nevertheless loads of fun, and a great game to have.
