Having recently completed MM7, I almost forgot how much fun MM6 and MM7 were when I played them as a kid. Since I owned the Millennium collection of CDs which came out in 1999 (includes MM 4-5, Swords of Xeen, and MM 6-7), I was able to play all of them and beat most (never finished 5).

I bought Might and Magic VIII three years ago here on GOG in the hopes that I would see it for myself and one day finish it, but because of work and life I never gotten that far. Since then I changed computers and the game files are stuck on a misplaced external hard drive.

One of the first things I noticed with Might and Magic VIII was the somewhat lacking character creation setup. Only one character could be created while the rest had to be recruited, in my opinion a big step down from customizing four characters from the previous two games. The graphics also didn't look as good, and from what I heard from countless reviews, the game wasn't as long or satisfying as the previous two either. Finally I had seen the race specific spells, which more or less could of been put into one of the Elemental, Clerical, or Light+Dark spell classes.

Is it still worth playing? Granted it's nothing like HOMM3 or any of the older Heroes games, but I'm one who is catered more towards the role playing aspect of Might and Magic. I may pick up MM9 at some point although I know it's mostly an unfinished game.

I still love Might and Magic 8!

Granted, it's a little easier and shorter than MM7, but otherwise it has a lot of the same great gameplay, and some really great quests and dungeons.

The character creation thing is a little bit strange, considering that all previous M&M games had multiple characters to create a party at the beginning. However, in the starting areas, there are a variety of low-level characters for you to recruit - to the extent that if you wish you can still choose the race and skills as if you would have created them yourself, the only difference being that they will already have a couple of early skills and you can't choose the name.

Some of the later main quest in MM8 can get really challenging, and it does have a pretty decent story that fits in with the M&M style.

I think the thing that hurts MM8 most is that people review it by comparing it to MM6 and MM7 and expecting it to be a million times better because it's a sequel. At the time it was released, it's understandable that people may have been a little disappointed with the lack of change when the game was brand new. However, this many years on, it isn't a big deal. The graphics aren't bad - they just aren't improved from MM7.

So basically, if you liked MM6/7, MM8 is well worth playing, it has a lot more of the same things that made those games great!

I like it. But you have to decide early on how easy you want it. A five man team is pretty easy. Include a dragon? Again pretty easy. Stay with the original set of players or replace them with more advanced characters you occasionally meet. Again, adding an advanced character (one in particular) can make the game easy.
I went with a four man team, kept my original team, and stayed away from good looking Dark Elf women I met along the way--- and the game was fun.

Well actually I guess my biggest complaint is the main interface. MM6 and MM7 had those nice handy books and icons on the right hand side which made the interface for those games look clean and refined (especially MM6). MM8 can be a bit confusing, but since I almost never click on the buttons the hotkeys do okay for me.

Character creation could of used a bit more work, but I guess it wasn't too terrible. Not against recruiting characters, just wish I could of made more than one.

The dungeons probably aren't going to be as challenging as Castle Darkmoor or even as long as the Tunnels of Eeofol, just as long as there's a bit of challenge, I'm okay.

Most of the critic reviews bashed the game because they expected it to be a step up from MM7. It's not a step up, it's simply a continuation of that game with some new features. In this day and age nobody really cares, it's simply the gameplay itself that is most important.

I'm just hoping it was a little long as in MM7, although that game certainly wasn't as long as MM6. I may just stick to four because that's all you had in the previous two games. Dragons from what I heard can be a bit OP even if your party is undergeared/inexperienced.

I definitely heard about a certain character you can recruit early on that can make the game incredibly easy, so I'll do my best to stay away from him/her.

Also, since I patched the game using Greyface's unofficial patch, I do not hear music. Windows 7 won't let me save over the config file either. What should I do?

Also, since I patched the game using Greyface's unofficial patch, I do not hear music. Windows 7 won't let me save over the config file either. What should I do?


Don't know. But you may want to start a new thread if there isn't one already so that those who do know can see the question.

I had a huge problem with MM8's interface, and I really disliked the party limitation. I installed a patch, so I could create my party right at the beginning, as I wish. Now I got used to the interface after a certain amount of time. What really annoys me: Some spells are useless in MM8 which where very essential in MM6,7. Loyd's Beacon for example. You have to be grand master in water(?), but when you are reaching that level you nearly don't need it anymore. Same goes for meteor shower. It is such a nice spell in MM6,7 but in 8 it isn't. Not sure if it is only me. Maybe I did sth wrong and you can reach grand master level earlier...
But it is still really a fun game! I love it and I'm playing it at the moment. It is a bit different but some things are cool. Like the dragon :)

@macAilpin: have checked the write protection of the ini-file? (right click) Does an error appear or will win7 "simply" undo the changes you made in the ini file?

And have you seen this in the readme?:
"How to use MP3 Music:
Create "Music" folder in the game directory and place there files from "2.mp3" to "16.mp3" corresponding to CD tracks. Set "PlayMP3" to 1. Unlike CD music, MP3 music volume is affected by Sound volume you set in Settings menu, so it's a good idea to keep it at maximum. "