Legends of Might and Magic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Legends of Might and Magic | |
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| Developer(s) | New World Computing |
| Publisher(s) | 3DO |
| Designer(s) | Jon Van Caneghem Mark Caldwell (EP/Programmer) |
| Engine | Lithtech 4.0 |
| Platform(s) | Personal computer |
| Release date | June 20, 2001 (North America) |
| Genre(s) | Action, First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen |
| Media | Compact disc |
| System requirements | Windows 95/98/ME, 400MHz Pentium, 64 MB RAM, 400 MB Hard Disk Space, 4X CD-ROM, 16-Bit Sound Card, DirectX 7.0a+, Mouse, Keyboard. |
| Input methods | Mouse, Keyboard |
Legends of Might and Magic, sometimes referred to as LoMM or simply Legends, is a first-person shooter game released by The 3DO Company in 2001 for PC. Unlike other Might and Magic games, Legends of Might and Magic is mainly a multiplayer game. When it was released, reviews likened it to a medieval Counter-Strike. Unlike Counter-Strike, however, Legends featured neutral monsters controlled by the computer. The game suffered from numerous flaws, including poorly-implemented melee combat, unbalanced classes, and poor artificial intelligence.
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[edit] Gameplay
Gameplay in Legends of Might and Magic is mostly online, though offline practice is allowed. Players pick a server, and then choose from 6 classes of either the evil team or the good team. The evil team consists of the Heretic, Archer and Warrior, and the good team of the Paladin, Druid and Sorceress. The players then enter the gameworld. Each of the gameworlds has one of 4 objectives of which the good and evil teams must fight each other to accomplish:
- Sword in the Stone: Both teams battle over a sword. Whichever team can take the sword out of the zone wins the match.
- Rescue the Princess: The good team must try to save a princess who is guarded by the evil team. This mode is similar to the hostage rescue mode in Counter-Strike.
- Warlord Escape: A player assumes the role of the warlord, who must be escorted by the others to safety. This is nearly identical to the VIP missions in Counter-Strike.
- Slay the Dragon: Both teams battle in a map containing a fire-breathing dragon. The team that kills the dragon wins the match.
In addition to each other, fantasy monsters may be present for players to fight (the host of each game decides whether or not there will be monsters). Another aspect is gold; by killing monsters and opening treasure chests found in the gameworld, and also by winning rounds, players can buy, at their team's starting point, more powerful weapons, powerup scrolls and armor. Players lose these things however, if they die, as well as when the match ends. This was another flaw attributed to the game; as players lose everything once matches end and start with only low-end gear with each new one, there was no long-time reward and no way for more experienced players to gauge their skill against the less experienced.
[edit] History
Legends of Might and Magic was announced at the 2000 E3 by 3DO as the first Might and Magic game designed for online play.[1] At the time, it was intended to be an Action/RPG that focused on co-operative multiplayer. With up to six players able to join up, the game was not as extensive as MMORPGs of the time, but it also included 16-player deathmatch, a random adventure generator, and a player vs. monster arena.[2] The game would allow characters to choose one of six classes with differing proficiencies in might and magic before embarking on a quest to collect four artifacts from four worlds to defeat the deranged advisor to the king before he can alter history.[2] The assignments given to the players would depend on their level and how far they had progressed.
By the beginning of 2001, however, the game had abandoned the Action/RPG elements and had become a deathmatch game, with six proposed gameplay modes, 25 maps from Might and Magic history, and the ability for weapons, skills, abilities, and equipment to carry over between games.[3] The move was defended by Executive Producer Jeffrey Blattner, who said:
"We got to a certain checkpoint some time ago and examined what we had. One thing we pride ourselves on at New World is the gameplay, and we just didn't feel like we would be able to deliver a fun experience for people with what we had at the time, so at that point a decision was made to not proceed in the original direction, and instead we decided to make a different type of game," explains Executive Producer Jeffrey Blattner. "The Might and Magic series is already so varied in terms of gameplay anyway. We have the Heroes strategy series and the tried and true Might and Magic RPG series, and everyone was really interested in branching out into an action style game, so that's how we found ourselves here. The original goal of Legends was to deliver the first online Might and Magic game, and we're still going to do that."[2]
A demo for the game was released on April 18, 2001. [4] On June 8 it went gold. [5] The first patch (Version 1.1) came out on July 20. [6]
[edit] Reception
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the game's shortcomings are many |
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Mediocre |
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Mediocre |
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Based on 15 media outlets |
Legends of Might and Magic was likened to a fantasy version of Counter-Strike by most reviewers. In its review of the game, IGN said LoMM "pretty much blatantly rips off Counter-Strike." [8] IGN also criticized the game for its lack of strategy, lack of differences between classes, and unbalanced weapons.[8] GameSpy criticized the game for its poor implementation of single-player gameplay and lack of a map editor. The LithTech-based graphics were praised, however, and the game was said to have potential to grow. [7] Gamespot criticized the game for it's uninspired similarities to Counter-Strike, saying "If mediocrity and complacency were crimes, Legends of Might and Magic would get tossed in the dungeon." [9] A compilation of reviews on Game Rankings showed the game had an average score of 57% based on 15 reviews. [10]
[edit] References
- ^ Legends Of Might And Magic To Show At E3. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b c E3 2000 Update. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ New Info and Screens of Legends of Might and Magic. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ Legends of Might and Magic Demo. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ Legends of Might & Magic Goes Gold. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ Legends of Might and Magic Patched. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b Legends of Might and Magic. Gamespy. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b c Legends of Might and Magic Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b Legends of Might and Magic for PC Review. Gamespot. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
- ^ a b Legends of Might and Magic Reviews. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
[edit] External links
- [1] Fan based clan website with more information
- Review at GameSpy
- Review at Game Revolution
- Legends of Might and Magic at MobyGames
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