Might and Magic® 6-pack Limited Edition

Here we have a classic RPG hack'n'slash'nexplore formula that hits the pleasure zone again and again. Simple in that everything is laid out in a farily striaghtforawrd way. Unlike Realms of Arkania, the RPG system is fairly straightforward. Where things get complex is in how advancing levels and finding treasure are done in a myriad of ways. There are so many tough, unique dungeons with different monsters, you're pretty much staring down at least 100 hours of game. 4,5 and 6 alone could be desert island experiences. I also love how your adventuring party evolves and you grow incredibly attached to them through their epic journey. There's enough of a plot and direction so you never feel totally lost, but there's also enough freedom so that you really do feel like you're just on this massive and epic romp! These games have style to burn, as well, with great, hand-drawn art-direction. You can tell the people who made these games poured their souls into the them. Masterpieces, one and all.

I remember playing the M&M games as a child (Starting with M&M 5 and 6) and even to this day the games hold up! And for $10 ~ £6 you get 6 outstanding games! They dont make RPGs like they used to and one day I hope for a M&M 10!

Might And Magic 3 is one of the first games I bought, and played. It came on 10 Five and a Quarter inch disks. It was massive, unique, highly engaging and deserved numerous plays. You never grew tired of this game. Four, Five and Six continued this tradition. Treat yourself to one of the best role playing series ever created.

There's more than enough great gaming here to be easily worth your $10, but it's all concentrated in the middle. Might & Magic I and II date from the dawn of the CRPG genre, when developers were still figuring out what did and didn't work. They're far too obtuse, grindy, and primitive to hold up today when so many games have built on the foundations they laid. M&M VI, meanwhile, stumbled the series' transition into the modern era of 3D, replacing crisp, colorful, precise 2D for dreary browns and awkward navigation. It also saw some needless "streamlining" in terms of mechanics (the cut from 6-person parties to 4 was particularly painful in how much it constrains the player's options). It's not bad by any means, but hard to recommend over the other choices. In between those extremes, though, is solid gold. M&M IV: Clouds of Xeen is the pinnacle of the first-person party-based dungeon-crawling RPG subgenre, perfectly paced, with a wealth of interesting locations to explore and mechanics to play with. It's also remarkably brisk-moving, with no filler or unnecessary downtime. M&M V: Darkside of Xeen is interlinked with it, allowing you to bring your party back and forth, and is nearly as good, though the fact that you will already have most of the spells by the end of Clouds hurts the sense of balance and progression a bit. These are absolute must-plays for anyone who's been intrigued by modern takes on the genre, such as Etrian Odyssey. Finally, M&M III: Isles of Terra uses the same engine as the next two games, and is very good in its own right. It's much less forgiving than its progeny (it's quite feasible to have a total party kill from being mauled by moose rats before you even leave the first town), so I'd recommend playing it only after you've gotten a good grounding in the series plays in IV and V. Swords of Xeen falls into the same category -- good to check out once you've finished IV and V and are looking for more, but its roots as an amateur project show through in a number of unpolished elements. Overall, this pack breaks down as two all-time classics, a few more pretty good games worth playing for people who like the CRPG genre, and a couple of relics interesting only as historical curiosities. But even if you never play half the content included, you'll get much more than your money's worth from just hitting the high points.

I wish I was warned about this before I started playing, the game is entertainment equivelant of crack. Might and magic 4/5 (world of xeen) are absorbing my time so much. I only bought this for 6 and I haven't started to play 6 properly yet.