Akalabeth is one of the great grandfathers of role playing games, and it shows its age like a blemish out in the open, but REMARKABLY, it's still pretty fun in 2021 if you can get over its wireframe graphics! This was when being able to play a Dungeons & Dragons session on your computer was still a fresh, futuristic novelty, so Richard Garriot pretty much wrote the rule book on how to make a computer role playing game along with the other pioneers of yesteryear, and that has a lot to do with why this game's still playable and enjoyable... You delve into a randomly generated dungeon to build up your power level so you can take on progressively more dangerous monsters in the later levels, and keep track of where you are using graph paper to ensure you don't get lost.. it's simple, it's quick, and it's satisfying. EVERY GAME IN THE WORLD STILL USES THIS BASIC GAMEPLAY LOOP. Nuff Said, right? Too bad you can break the intended progression like a twig pretty easily, but I can't be too harsh since this is one of the earliest games in the genre AND It's FREE too. You can't complain about that!
Might & Magic is a series of Immersive role-playing games that get progressively better with every instalment; featuring challenging combat, well-written lore for you to unravel, colorful and attractive pixel art that still holds up well today, and of course, the freedom to go wherever you please to uncover these uncharted, mythical lands.. But they are NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Unlike streamlined role playing games, there's no hand-holding. You're expected to be more involved in these worlds as if you were actually living in them. You have to do things like take notes when you discover important clues, or use your logical deduction skills to solve puzzles with the information given to you by NPC's.. and this seperates old-school role playing games from the likes of Skyrim and Final Fantasy. If that sounds appealing to you, BUY THIS PACK AT FULL PRICE. It's worth it JUST for Might & Magic 3 through 6 alone because they're considerably more refined than earlier games in the series for a modern gamer. However, Might and Magic 1 & 2 are worth trying too because they're included and they were both important because they built up to the perfection of Might & Magic 3. Can't recommend this series enough, you put some dedication into them and you get a lot of value out of them!
