Finished another game...

[Bungleau]

as a solo zenmaster. 'Twas far too easy -- boring, even. Armed with a blessed sword of Argus and Main Gauche +2 (both blessed for max damage), few things stood for long before me. Vexed both the temple and the bushi dojo when I declined to become a Valkyrie and Zenmaster, respectively (and found it interesting that a zenmaster would be invited to become one...), but at that point, the game was over anyway.

Finished up at level 128 or thereabouts, with only one skill left to apply points to (level 13 mace, to be specific). Did something I regretted in the middle -- slaying oakenmir to get a seed. Couldn't steal one from him no matter how hard I tried, and I couldn't get him to summon some trees for me. He must have been worth 30 million XP -- I went from level 49 or so to level 80.

As for the rest of the game, it was rather anticlimactic. Having all the experience for myself made advancing levels a breeze -- a crab is worth about 17,000, and a sea shark 7,000 -- so just swimming about in the seas was a steady source of advancement.

Saw the belfry for the first time this game, and also managed to climb to the pathway around the entrance pool in Shurugeon Castle. Before anyone else goes looking, there's nothing there. Stacking that many barrels on top of each other was more than a chore; it was an engineering nightmare!

I think I need a W&W rest, so I've pulled out Might and Magic III to see how well I remember it. So far, I remember why I don't like certain classes, and miss the ability to change classes like in W&W... Had I realized I was creating only one sorcerer-caster, I would have changed things around a bit.

I'll still be wandering in here to see what's going on and stick my nose into things, and eventually, who knows: perhaps I'll set a goal like a two-hour game and see where I can get to.

[D*one]

congrats bung............happy hunting

[Wyvern]

Congrats, Bungleau!!!!

M&M III??!!?? You have a machine that will still play that? Wowzah!

Did you ever play M&M I ?? I still have memories of how the scenery was rather like walking through a pack of upright cards with pictures on each. I still have the map I made of that game all nicely laid out on graph paper!

Glad to read that you will not be leaving us completely! You've added much to the board with your posts!

Wyv

[Bungleau]

Thanks, Wyvern.

Actually, I don't have a machine that will play MMIII. But I have the Ultimate MM Archives, which includes some software (SloMo, or something like that) which lets you play. It slows my system down to around 9% of its capacity (or so it tells me...)

And I did play MM1. Secret of the Inner Sanctum was my first CPRG, and I spent hours mapping it out (in color, no less!) and tracking everything on every single square. I still remember my heart racing at "Dragon Town Meeting. Disrupt? (y/n)", and the joy when I got a friend's wife to watch the correct Star Trek episode to give me the answer to Og's riddle. *sniff*

Played it on an Apple ][e back then, in green and white. The graphics were outstanding... *smirk*.

Tried playing it again a year or so ago (when I got the Archives). It was every bit as challenging as I remembered, and I can't find where I put my notes. That's the problem with storing a few sheets of paper for 15+ years...

Although I've got to say that MMIII has been too easy... there's a fountain +20 levels near the opening town, with a hit point and spell point pool close by. If I time it right, my 10th level wizard is walking around with 400+ hitpoints .

And thanks for the kind thoughts on my posts. I try to help, without being too obnoxious. Most times, I hope I hit it right.

[PhilM13]

I'm thinking of getting MM VII.
Ain't played any MM games at all.

any comments on MM VII anyone?

[Bungleau]

Well, I've played a couple *smirk*.

MM1 through MM5 are poor by today's graphics standards, but IMHO, make up for that in storyline and challenges. They get better as they go along. AFAIK, they're only available as part of the Ultimate Archives.

MM6 brought a new graphics engine and some mean and nasty dungeons. Castle Darkmoor still gives me the heebie-jeebies, no matter what level you are when you go in. It's a third-person RPG with a good non-linear playing mode. IOW, you can go where you want relatively easily, whenever you want. Gameplay is rather long and challenging; it's easy to go over 100 hours.

MM7 added a twist to the story line and a choice to be made, between good and evil. It also offers the opportunity to own your own castle, although that means a whole lot less than I'd like. Gameplay is less than MM6, but still respectable.

MM8 put a whole different twist, with you getting one character only, and recruiting NPCs that you could treat like characters. A mostly non-linear storyline, except for some stuff at the end, and some people have complained that with dragons in your party early on, the game is far too easy. They could well be right...

Of the three, I prefer MM6, followed by MM7 and MM8. I'm just a glutton for punishment, I guess.

If you choose to play MM, you can find resources at the New World Computing website (nwcomputing.com). I hang around there infrequently now, but other MM experts abound. I don't see that Xignal has an MM forum up; those games are fairly old, by gaming standards. Of course, MM9 is in the works, which may inspire something else!

[PhilM13]

MM9 just got a bad 6.2 review from http://gamespot.com

[Packrat]

That might be true, but MM7 was great. Load it up, you'll like it.

[Bungleau]

I didn't know MM9 had shipped yet. Guess I'll be picking up a copy soon, in spite of the review. My experience is that reviewers' opinions, like everything else, need to be taken with a grain of salt.

It sounds like the gaming system has been rearranged to match W&W a bit more. Two initial classes with upgrades -- that matches up to 4 in W&W, with upgrades. I think there's a lot of playability in that, even if it forces you to be more creative at the start.

It's hard for anyone to make money in PC games these days, which is why W&W was shipped before some things could be implemented, and why (I suspect) MM9 has probably been shipped a little early as well.

The original MM game appealed to me for the puzzles and challenges, as much as the standard RPG gameplay. I still remember figuring out that one dungeon was a magic square, and you needed to fill it out. Took me a lot of time outside of the normal computer gaming, and I enjoy that.

I'll get my copy, run it through, and give the opinion of a veteran MM player who likes to give compliments and criticism where appropriate.

But in the meantime, do play MM7. I firmly believe that if you enjoy W&W, you'll enjoy MM.

[PhilM13]

MM9 cops another bad review! http://www.gamesdomain.com/gdreview/...02/mandm9.html