Preview RPG Codex Hands-on Preview: Might & Magic X: Legacy

[Zed]

Tags: Limbic Entertainment; Might & Magic X: Legacy; Ubisoft

In the midst of all that RPG incline happening a while back, with the Kickstarters and the Codex campaigns, we heard whispers of something terrifying: a big-name publisher is resurrecting a long-lost genre favorite. "Oh no", "It's going to be another browser-game", "I hope they lube it up properly."

The franchise in question was Might and Magic - the classic first-person party-based RPG series originally created by Jon Van Caneghem back in 1986. The first reports were positive. It would be a 'true' Might and Magic title. It would be for the PC. It would be turn-based.

They would call it Might & Magic X: Legacy. Fast-forward a few months, and I have just written a preview of it (because everybody else were busy, probably with 'jobs' and 'love' and... and..). Here's the good news: it doesn't horribly suck hard. There could certainly be improvements made to the game, and I make sure to mention them. Luckily, developers Limbic Entertainment have embraced something they call "open development." This means they involve actual gamers and fans in their beta-testing and make actual changes to the game based on their feedback. Also, it's partially free QA. I hope they will take away something from this preview.

Here's a take-away:

There's a lot of combat in Might & Magic X. It is definitely the primary pastime of your adventuring party. It's mostly fun as well. I'm saying mostly because sometimes it feels like there isn't really enough stuff to do in between encounters. It feels especially trite when you're in a bandit's lair for instance, and every encounter is some sort of bandit. When an encounter does provide a higher challenge, it usually comes in the form of an elite version of a mob you have already battled many times in that same dungeon. I would love to see a bit more variation in the encounters. Like, couldn't the bandits have hounds or something? Maybe they've captured some wild beast?

But more worrying, I found the preview to be lacking in the puzzle department. A charming thing about these sorts of games was that they often provided some really good logical challenges in between combat and exploration, and I'm afraid I didn't see much of that at all. I can only hope the other acts provide more varied challenges, puzzles and other surprises as incentives to continue playing. Riddles, movement puzzles, word puzzles - anything like that would be a very welcome addition.​

And if you didn't know, starting today, You can play Might & Magic X too! It seems they will release the same stuff I played as an Early Access for pre-orders, or something like that. Check it out: http://store.steampowered.com/app/238750/

Read the full article: RPG Codex hands-on preview: Might & Magic X: Legacy

 

[TripJack]

why is it a picture of a woman for the easy difficulty? ubisoft needs to check their privilege

 

[Zed]

why is it a picture of a woman for the easy difficulty? ubisoft needs to check their privilege

I originally had a funny caption on this, but I fell unconscious and forgot to write it.
But who's to say the big armored thing isn't a woman?

 

[TripJack]

as if a woman could carry all that

 

[evdk]

Or the first picture a man..?

 

[Bruticis]

Is there a fullscreen map that auto fills as you blob (not the mini-map)? If so, can you add notes, etc?

 

[Zed]

Is there a fullscreen map that auto fills as you blob (not the mini-map)? If so, can you add notes, etc?

It looks like this

And you cannot add notes, no. Could very well be something they will add.

 

[evdk]

How varied are the magic spells? Any good utility ones?

 

[felipepepe]

Nice preview bro, seems like it has a nice potential, now all they need to do is make the right choices.

 

[IDtenT]

Watching thread for great posterity.

 

[IDtenT]

Nice preview bro, seems like it has a nice potential, now all they need to do is make the right choices.

I'm sure the game designers sit with a radial choice chart, with cleverly highlighted options - so that they can make the right choices.

 

[Zed]

How varied are the magic spells? Any good utility ones?

I primarily used
Entangle (ranged root for 1 turn)
and
uhhh.. some air spell (knock back opponents 1 tile)
to keep opponents away from me and shoot them dead with arrows.

I frequently used Firebolt (especially for elites and bosses), and Regeneration (very useful against retaliating enemies, and the cyclops that hits 3 characters per swing).

My part consisted of Barb/Barb/Archer(with one spell - Regeneration)/Freemage (with crossbow), so there wasn't a lot of spellcasting.

 

[Indranys]

How do you lockpick stuff bro??
Where's the robber??!
Where's my robber godammit!!

Sorry I'm not really following the game, so this thing really shocks me to the bones.
I thought they'll make it more similar to the early games.

 

[Mother Russia]

Can some bitch fucker spill the skank on char gen? You get 2 skills from class, and 2 freebies. What list do these freebies come from? Can any class choose any skill for their freebie?

Are there skills that allow you to do special things, kind of like feats/talents from other rpgs? Like a special 'mighty blow', or something like that?

 

[HiddenX]

Zed

thanx for the preview!

 

[Infinitron]

Can some bitch fucker spill the skank on char gen? You get 2 skills from class, and 2 freebies. What list do these freebies come from? Can any class choose any skill for their freebie?

Are there skills that allow you to do special things, kind of like feats/talents from other rpgs? Like a special 'mighty blow', or something like that?

Andhaira, we've had plenty of posts about MMX over the past several months. Start from this one: http://www.rpgcodex.net/article.php?id=8999

Then continue reading here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/tags.php?id=1213

 

[Metro]

Lack of puzzles doesn't bother me -- I find most of them are pretty tedious and uninteresting. Price point is a bit high but that's what rubles are for, comrades. Looks promising but I'll wait for a bit more Codexian feedback.

 

[DalekFlay]

I didn't know this was going early access. I think I will wait for full version.

 

[Nael]

How do you lockpick stuff bro??
Where's the robber??!
Where's my robber godammit!!

Sorry I'm not really following the game, so this thing really shocks me to the bones.
I thought they'll make it more similar to the early games.

It appears that each race only has one class out of three unlocked for the demo/beta version. Still, the character creation looks to be a massive in comparison with the original titles.

 

[Mortmal]

Lack of puzzles , no mix of technology and magic, and although pretty , a very generic fantasy artstyle . What is there in common with early might and magics , whats the point in all that "open" develoment and feedbak ?
So i quote you "it doesnt horribly suck hard " ,mostly fun, elite mobs like in wow ; i translate it by worth getting at -75% 3 months after release. Thanks for the preview i wont make the mistake to preorder like for the latest "incline" rpg .

 

[Zeriel]

Turn-based blobber.

Grid movement.

Many attempts to preserve old school mechanics.

Year 2013.

"But, like, the setting is all dumb and stuffies! 0/10 Kotaku, would not buy."

Codex, Codex never changes.

 

[Broseph]

Even in these glorious times of incline, everything is still shit.

 

[Nael]

To start with: the sci-fi elements are out. There are no planetary guardians, ancient alien races or what have you. It's fantasy through-and-through.

I see fluorescent lights...

Shantiri's Ruins

Centuries ago, a great civilization appeared on the shores of the Jade Ocean: the Shantiri Empire. The Shantiris were a gathering of various Elder Races, mostly Humans, Dwarves, Nagas and Elves. The Shantiris spread across the face of the world, building titanic cities and temples.
Then came the Elder Wars. Angels and Faceless, children of Light and Darkness respectively, consumed their hatred in a genocidal war. In a single night, most inhabitants of the Shantiri Empire vanished and their magnificent cities were cast down.
The Agyn Peninsula harbours many Shantiri ruins, attracting all kinds of treasure-hunters and lore-keepers who hope to unlock their secrets, while ignoring the persistant rumours claiming the ruins are haunted – or worse…

I'm holding onto hope that there may be some ruins of ancient technology... Maybe even a blaster or two. Pew pew!

 

[MicoSelva]

Thanks for the preview, @Zed, but I wish it was longer and there was more information about the game. Nothing on character creation? Nothing on magic? Nothing on quests? Barely anything on item and monster variety? WTF.

If I can learn more from following links @Infinitron provided in his comment above than from the official RPG Codex preview, then the preview is just not very good and not really worthy of the prestigious RPG site.

 

[Psquit]

Well at least is not a fucking FPS... the heart was in the right place.