Might and Magic 20945 219926709 2008-06-17T14:14:15Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{Mergefrom|Might and Magic: The Dreamwright|date=June 2008}} {{Mergefrom|Might and Magic: The Shadowsmith|date=June 2008}} [[Image:M&MI.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Cover of Book I]] '''''Might and Magic''''' ('''''MM''''') is a series of [[computer role-playing game]]s from [[New World Computing]], which in 1996 became a subsidiary of [[The 3DO Company]]. The [[game producer|producer]] of the series was [[Jon Van Caneghem]]. ''Might and Magic'' is considered one of the defining examples of early computer role-playing games, along with the ''[[Bard's Tale]]'', ''[[Ultima]]'' and ''[[Wizardry]]'' series.<ref>Matt Barton, "The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)", Gamasutra, 2007</ref> The original ''Might and Magic'' series officially ended with the closure of the 3DO Company. The rights to the ''Might and Magic'' name were purchased for [[USD]] 1.3 million by Ubisoft,<ref name=purchase>[http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=2097 Namco, Ubisoft and MS carve up 3DO assets]</ref> who "rebooted" the franchise with a new series with no apparent connection to the previous continuity, starting with the games ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic V]]'' and ''[[Dark Messiah of Might and Magic]]''. ==History== There are nine games in the series, consisting of: *''[[Might and Magic: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum]]'' ([[1986]]; [[Apple II family|Apple II]], [[DOS]], [[Commodore 64]], [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]], [[MSX]],[[TurboGrafx-16|PC-Engine]] CD-ROM) *''[[Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World]]'' ([[1988]]; Apple II, [[Amiga]], DOS, Commodore 64, [[Apple Macintosh|Mac]], [[Sega Mega Drive|Sega Genesis]], [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] (Europe only), SNES (Japan-only, different from the European version), [[MSX]], [[TurboGrafx-16#TurboGrafx-CD|PC-Engine CD]]) *''[[Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra]]'' ([[1991]]; DOS, Mac, Amiga, SNES, Sega Genesis, PC-Engine CD-ROM) *''[[Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen]]'' ([[1992]]; DOS, Mac) *''[[Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen]]'' ([[1993]]; DOS, Mac) **''Might and Magic: World of Xeen'' ([[1995]]; DOS) *''[[Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven]]'' ([[1998]]; [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]) *''[[Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor]]'' ([[1999]]; Windows) *''[[Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer]]'' ([[2000 in video gaming|2000]]; Windows) *''[[Might and Magic IX]]'' ([[2002 in video gaming|2002]]; Windows) There were several spin-offs from the main series, including ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'', ''[[Crusaders of Might and Magic]]'', ''[[Warriors of Might and Magic]]'', ''[[Legends of Might and Magic]]'', and the fanmade ''[[Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen|Swords of Xeen]]''. In August of [[2003 in video gaming|2003]], [[Ubisoft]] acquired the rights to the Might and Magic franchise for USD$1.3 million after 3DO filed for [[Chapter 11]] [[bankruptcy]]<ref name="purchase" />. Ubisoft has since released two new projects using the Might and Magic brand &mdash; a [[Heroes of Might and Magic V|fifth installment of the Heroes series]], developed by [[Nival Interactive]], and an action-style game called ''[[Dark Messiah of Might and Magic]]'', developed by [[Arkane Studios]]. ==Gameplay== The majority of the gameplay takes place in a [[medieval]] [[fantasy]] setting. The player controls a party of [[player character]]s, which can consist of members of various [[character class]]es. The game world is presented to the player in [[first person shooter|first person]] perspective. In the earlier games the interface is very similar to that of [[Bard's Tale]], but from ''[[Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven]]'' onward, the interface features a scrolling three-dimensional environment similar to that of ''[[Doom (video game)|Doom]]''. Combat is turn-based, though the later games allowed the player to choose to conduct combat in real time. The game worlds in all of the Might and Magic games are quite large, and a player can expect each game to provide several dozen hours of gameplay. It is usually quite combat-intensive and often involves large groups of enemy creatures. Monsters and situations encountered throughout the series tend to be well-known fantasy staples such as giant [[rat]]s, [[werewolf]] [[curses]], [[dragon]] hoardes and [[zombie]]s, rather than original creations. ''Isles of Terra'' and the ''Xeen'' games featured a more distinct environment, blending fantasy and science fiction elements in a unique way. ==Plot== Although most of the gameplay reflects a distinctly [[fantasy]] genre, the overarching plot of the series has something of a [[science fiction]] background. The series is set in an alternate universe where planets are overseen by powerful beings known as Ancients. In each of the games, a party of characters fights monsters and completes quests on one of these planets, until they eventually become involved in the affairs of the Ancients. Hints can be seen in some of the games that "Ancients" may in fact be [[All humanity|humanity]] in the [[far future]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}; references to [[Star Trek]] - some quite overt - can be found as well. The first five games in the series concern a renegade planetary guardian named Sheltem who has a penchant for throwing planets into their suns. Sheltem establishes himself on a series of weird planets (which are implied to be giant spaceships) and Corak, thought to be a representative of the Ancients, with the assistance of the player characters, sees him off each time. Eventually both Corak and Sheltem are destroyed. The sixth, seventh and eighth games take place on a single planet ruled by the Ironfist dynasty, and chronicle the events and aftermath of an invasion of the [[Kreegan]], the arch-enemies of the Ancients. It is also revealed that the destruction wrought by the Ancients' wars with the [[Kreegan]] may be why the worlds of Might & Magic exist as [[medieval]] fantasy settings despite being created by [[futuristic]] [[technology]] - the worlds have been 'cut off' from the Ancients and descended into [[barbarism]]. The ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' series traces the fortunes of the Ironfists in more detail. ==See also== * ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'' * [[List of Might and Magic titles]] ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == *{{moby game|id=-group/might-and-magic-series|name=''Might and Magic'' series}} *[http://www.celestialheavens.com/viewpage.php?id=373 The plot and history of the Might and Magic series on Celestial Heavens] *[http://www.mmtribute.castlegobs.nl/ Might and Magic Tribute] *[http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/6382/mmlist.txt List of ''Might and Magic'' releases including games, books and other collectibles] *[http://www.telp.org/ The Erathian Liberation Party (TELP)] *[http://www.mmpages.net/mmpages/index.php?title=Collectors_Guide Comprehensive collector's guide for all games in the Might and Magic universe] {{Might and Magic series}} [[Category:Might and Magic|*]] [[Category:Role-playing video games]] [[Category:New World Computing games]] [[cs:Might and Magic]] [[de:Might and Magic]] [[fr:Might and Magic]] [[lt:Might and Magic (serija)]] [[nl:Might and Magic]] [[ja:マイト・アンド・マジック]] [[pl:Might and Magic]] [[ro:Might and Magic]] [[ru:Might and Magic]] [[zh:魔法门]]