Might and Magic Millenium or Platinum?

Robert Sharp · 05-04-2006, 02:49 PM

I've been replaying M&M 6 and enjoying it. But I miss ArcoMage, so I wanted to get 7 again (must have traded it or something). I have two options. Get the Millenium, which has 4-7 or Platinum, which has 6-9. I never played 9, but I hear it's pretty bad. I also never played 4 or 5, which I think is the Xeen saga, which I've heard was really good. But will 4 and 5 play in XP? Does Millenium update them to play in Windows? I really only want 7, BUT I thought I'd get one of these compilations for the value.

Does anyone have the Millenium, or even 4 or 5? If so, can you run it in XP? Oh, and do you want it anymore? ;)

DanielElliot · 05-04-2006, 02:53 PM

The only Might & Magics I've ever played for any length of time were the two Xeen games, which I played together for the full World of Xeen MEGAGAME, and it was awesome. Highly recommended, and I'm sure it works fine in DOSBox

Robert Sharp · 05-04-2006, 02:58 PM

Oh, I forgot about that. So, you just install them both and it happens automatically? Or do you have to buy some strange World of Xeen pack to combine them?

DanielElliot · 05-04-2006, 02:59 PM

I really don't remember how it works, it's been what, 15 years? The end result though is that you can freely move between the light side and dark side of Xeen, and there's new quests that open up that involve both sides.

Actually, searching for Xeen in the DOSBox forums turns up that it doesn't work that well. However, there was a new version of it released this March, so maybe that is better.

croman · 05-04-2006, 03:05 PM

As far as the old games (non-bundled) you just installed 4 first then 5 and it happened automatically (this was before that fancy ole' internat thang so it kinda had to). It should be the same for the millenium pack I would assume.

M&M 3 was the first one that hooked me solid. It stood even with the Wizardry's and Ultima's of the time. The Xeen games continued it but I haven't completed a Might and Magic since 5. :( I'd definetly get the millenium pack. 4-5 are just plain Fun for old school RPG's, the same can't be said of 8 and 9.

edit.. me's confused by platinum and millenium terms, fixed

stusser · 05-04-2006, 03:16 PM

Yeppers, M&M 3-5 are great hack and slash RPGs, and 6-7 are pretty damn good too. M&M8 was mediocre and M&M9 was unplayable.

Was a sad day when NWC was bought out by 3DO/ubisoft. They murdered the series.

(Before you say it, M&M6 was already in production when they were bought out. The same engine was used for 6, 7, and 8.)

nixon66 · 05-04-2006, 04:02 PM

I'm still a fan of M&M II, but M&M III was the first that I completed. I also discovered early on that if you get powerful enough bows for everyone, then who needs to do face to face battles. Just run away and fire a few more shots off and continue till they are dead.

LionelThompson · 05-04-2006, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheo

I really don't remember how it works, it's been what, 15 years? The end result though is that you can freely move between the light side and dark side of Xeen, and there's new quests that open up that involve both sides.

Actually, searching for Xeen in the DOSBox forums turns up that it doesn't work that well. However, there was a new version of it released this March, so maybe that is better.

I promise I'm not pimping Gametap, but they have M&M 1-5 on it, and if you play Clouds of Xeen (4), it actually includes both games installed together. I'm working my way through it again (I've beaten all of the games at some point or other in my life) and it is not as user friendly as 6-8, but is an enjoyable experience again, and works perfectly at Gametap.

DanielElliot · 05-04-2006, 06:25 PM

I tried Gametap, it was alright if a little (actually very) overly flashy and bloated with animated menus and sound effects, etc. The selection of DOS games is ok, but could be much better. They have a ton of Genesis games, maybe even all of them, but other consoles are pretty light, and no Nintendo at all. Probably because the Wii will be offering their back catalog.

Howver, they sinned mightily by not letting you cancel online. Like Xbox Live, you have to actually pick up a phone, sit on hold, wait through a menu, tell the guy you want to cancel, wait while he tries to convince you not to, wait while he tries to figure out how to cancel your account, then call again a few days later to make sure it took, because they refuse to send any kind of confirmation to you.

Warning · 05-04-2006, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheo

Howver, they sinned mightily by not letting you cancel online. Like Xbox Live, you have to actually pick up a phone, sit on hold, wait through a menu, tell the guy you want to cancel, wait while he tries to convince you not to, wait while he tries to figure out how to cancel your account, then call again a few days later to make sure it took, because they refuse to send any kind of confirmation to you.

Yup.

I might actually resubscribe with Gametap in the future if they change their stupid cancellation policy. If the internet is good enough to subscribe to your service then it should be good enough to cancel as well.

Inactiviste · 05-05-2006, 01:39 AM

I'm a major fan of 3, 4 and 5. I fondly remember playing World of Xeen for hours around 1999, listening to music... I was a student then, had nothing better to do ! Il really loved the silly design of monsters, and the mad dungeons. I never finished any of those, but I sure played them a lot.

A few months ago, I bought VII, but the early 3 D graphics did prevent me from going much farther. It did not felt the same as the early ultra bright VGA ones (ah the times when PC games were actually colourful, because 256 meant flashy colours). Is it worth giving it a chance ?

Right now I'm playing DQ 8, and it strangely reminds me of MM III. Maybe it's the old school feel, or the silly monsters... Anyway, are there other games that could help me feel this nostalgia ? I heard Wizardry 8 was good, is it anything like the early M&M ?

Robert Sharp · 05-05-2006, 08:34 AM

I love M&M 6 and 7 (I even like 8, though not as much). Yeah, the graphics are bad, but I don't mind them too much. It's still a nice ride.

I find Wizardry 8 tedious in many ways, and it doesn't FEEL as open-ended as M&M to me. It's a good game though, and many people love it. I played it a good bit, but more because I wanted to feel that magic than any actual feeling.

Ex-S Woo · 05-05-2006, 08:43 AM

The only thing I remember about playing the old Might and Magic games is playing MM2 and cheaply leveling up by fighting the Cusinarts(?) and hoping that they frenzy and do those suicide attacks that net my surviving party members mucho xp (if I don't wipe, that is) :D

Xemu · 05-05-2006, 09:19 AM

Man, those Xeen games were incredible.

Between that and games like Ultima 4-7 sometimes I feel like technologies have been lost to us, like we have uncovered rare artifacts from ancient astronauts in the ruins of some temple and have no idea how to reconstruct them ourselves.

Don't get me wrong, there are incredibly awesome games coming out now in other genres that are just as good, but it feels as if the pacing and focus that made the Xeen games so great is just a forgotten art now. I'm sure a lot of that is the pleasant fog of nostalgia. But I don't think it's all of it.

Robert Sharp · 05-05-2006, 09:23 AM

Yeah, I missed out on those Ultima's too. I played 1 and 2, but none of the others. I didn't have a computer for a few years there and missed these games. I tried the Ultima collection, but couldn't get it to run. Maybe I'll try again, now that I have XP. I find it pretty easy to run old games with XP, actually, even though a lot of people have problems.

Kitsune · 05-05-2006, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inactiviste

Right now I'm playing DQ 8, and it strangely reminds me of MM III. Maybe it's the old school feel, or the silly monsters... Anyway, are there other games that could help me feel this nostalgia ? I heard Wizardry 8 was good, is it anything like the early M&M ?

I really enjoyed Wizardry VIII quite a bit, especially the little personality quips for classes and races when you do stuff. The dungeons were very good peanut butter RPG protein chunkiness. Battles probably got tedious for others, but were always a highlight for me. There isn't quite the same gallavanting glory as flying over the world in the old Might & Magics and going through false walls in way-too-large dungeons and ridiculously fun and cheap tactics with moronic AI enemies, but its a nice throwback that had some lovely areas of progress.

There's also Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land for the PS2, which is a very old-school like dungeon hack and a wonderful overall game with a great atmosphere and the excellent execution of those older games. Plus, it thinks up new angles along the lines what you imagine Wizardry and Might & Magic if those series were still strong today, not along the way newer RPGs have become.

Finally, you may want to check out Vagrant Story for the original PlayStation. Its Square, so its probably easy to find. It isn't a party-based RPG, but it has that same feel of wonderful crunchy gameplay mechanics of the earlier PC RPGs. Its also very beautiful for a PSX game and has an excellent plot. Vagrant Story is in the same stratosphere for console RPGs, as the old Ultimas, Fallout, Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate 2, Betrayal at Krondor, Eye of the Beholder, the old Might & Magics and Wizardries are for PC RPGs, that is, the cream of the crop.

-Kitsune

Inactiviste · 05-05-2006, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kitsune

Vagrant Story is in the same stratosphere for console RPGs, as the old Ultimas, Fallout, Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate 2, Betrayal at Krondor, Eye of the Beholder, the old Might & Magics and Wizardries are for PC RPGs, that is, the cream of the crop.

I was a huge fan of Eye Of The Beholder too, one of the first game I bought on PC, along with Wing Commander ! I'll give Vagrant Story a try, if I can put my hand on it. I'm not sure Wizardry for PS 2 came to PAL territories, unfortunately.

Ah the memories ! I now remember how much I loved the silly names random generated objects had in M & M 3 through 5... Like long-sword of mighty dark wrath of the gods (because it boosted attack, while inflicting shadow damage and having better criticals, etc.)

Robert Sharp · 05-11-2006, 03:01 PM

OK, I picked this up, and Xeen would NOT run, even with DOSBox. However, I found a fix, so I wanted to share it with everyone here. It works, and gives sound and everything. Trying to run these games out of XP, even with memory tweaks, compatibility, etc. just does not work. You need DOSBox, and you have to reconfig it, or it won't recognize the CD properly. Anyway, use this guys suggestions:

http://www.quandaryland.com/ubbthrea...373&page=fpart

05-04-2006, 02:49 PM	#1
Robert Sharp World's End Supernova Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: somewhere in OH gamertag: bobertchin Posts: 16,194	Might and Magic Millenium or Platinum? I've been replaying M&M 6 and enjoying it. But I miss ArcoMage, so I wanted to get 7 again (must have traded it or something). I have two options. Get the Millenium, which has 4-7 or Platinum, which has 6-9. I never played 9, but I hear it's pretty bad. I also never played 4 or 5, which I think is the Xeen saga, which I've heard was really good. But will 4 and 5 play in XP? Does Millenium update them to play in Windows? I really only want 7, BUT I thought I'd get one of these compilations for the value. Does anyone have the Millenium, or even 4 or 5? If so, can you run it in XP? Oh, and do you want it anymore? ;)

05-04-2006, 03:05 PM	#5
croman Spinning Toe Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 605	As far as the old games (non-bundled) you just installed 4 first then 5 and it happened automatically (this was before that fancy ole' internat thang so it kinda had to). It should be the same for the millenium pack I would assume. M&M 3 was the first one that hooked me solid. It stood even with the Wizardry's and Ultima's of the time. The Xeen games continued it but I haven't completed a Might and Magic since 5. :( I'd definetly get the millenium pack. 4-5 are just plain Fun for old school RPG's, the same can't be said of 8 and 9. edit.. me's confused by platinum and millenium terms, fixed Last edited by croman; 05-04-2006 at 03:27 PM..

05-05-2006, 01:39 AM	#11
Inactiviste Hustle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Paris, France Posts: 311	I'm a major fan of 3, 4 and 5. I fondly remember playing World of Xeen for hours around 1999, listening to music... I was a student then, had nothing better to do ! Il really loved the silly design of monsters, and the mad dungeons. I never finished any of those, but I sure played them a lot. A few months ago, I bought VII, but the early 3 D graphics did prevent me from going much farther. It did not felt the same as the early ultra bright VGA ones (ah the times when PC games were actually colourful, because 256 meant flashy colours). Is it worth giving it a chance ? Right now I'm playing DQ 8, and it strangely reminds me of MM III. Maybe it's the old school feel, or the silly monsters... Anyway, are there other games that could help me feel this nostalgia ? I heard Wizardry 8 was good, is it anything like the early M&M ? Last edited by Inactiviste; 05-05-2006 at 08:49 AM..

05-04-2006, 02:53 PM	#2
DanielElliot Social Worker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,601	The only Might & Magics I've ever played for any length of time were the two Xeen games, which I played together for the full World of Xeen MEGAGAME, and it was awesome. Highly recommended, and I'm sure it works fine in DOSBox

05-04-2006, 02:58 PM	#3
Robert Sharp World's End Supernova Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: somewhere in OH gamertag: bobertchin Posts: 16,194	Oh, I forgot about that. So, you just install them both and it happens automatically? Or do you have to buy some strange World of Xeen pack to combine them?

05-04-2006, 02:59 PM	#4
DanielElliot Social Worker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,601	I really don't remember how it works, it's been what, 15 years? The end result though is that you can freely move between the light side and dark side of Xeen, and there's new quests that open up that involve both sides. Actually, searching for Xeen in the DOSBox forums turns up that it doesn't work that well. However, there was a new version of it released this March, so maybe that is better.

05-04-2006, 03:16 PM	#6
stusser New Romantic Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 8,815	Yeppers, M&M 3-5 are great hack and slash RPGs, and 6-7 are pretty damn good too. M&M8 was mediocre and M&M9 was unplayable. Was a sad day when NWC was bought out by 3DO/ubisoft. They murdered the series. (Before you say it, M&M6 was already in production when they were bought out. The same engine was used for 6, 7, and 8.)

05-04-2006, 04:02 PM	#7
nixon66 Social Worker Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 2,187	I'm still a fan of M&M II, but M&M III was the first that I completed. I also discovered early on that if you get powerful enough bows for everyone, then who needs to do face to face battles. Just run away and fire a few more shots off and continue till they are dead.

05-04-2006, 06:25 PM	#9
DanielElliot Social Worker Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 3,601	I tried Gametap, it was alright if a little (actually very) overly flashy and bloated with animated menus and sound effects, etc. The selection of DOS games is ok, but could be much better. They have a ton of Genesis games, maybe even all of them, but other consoles are pretty light, and no Nintendo at all. Probably because the Wii will be offering their back catalog. Howver, they sinned mightily by not letting you cancel online. Like Xbox Live, you have to actually pick up a phone, sit on hold, wait through a menu, tell the guy you want to cancel, wait while he tries to convince you not to, wait while he tries to figure out how to cancel your account, then call again a few days later to make sure it took, because they refuse to send any kind of confirmation to you.

05-05-2006, 08:34 AM	#12
Robert Sharp World's End Supernova Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: somewhere in OH gamertag: bobertchin Posts: 16,194	I love M&M 6 and 7 (I even like 8, though not as much). Yeah, the graphics are bad, but I don't mind them too much. It's still a nice ride. I find Wizardry 8 tedious in many ways, and it doesn't FEEL as open-ended as M&M to me. It's a good game though, and many people love it. I played it a good bit, but more because I wanted to feel that magic than any actual feeling.

05-05-2006, 08:43 AM	#13
Ex-S Woo Mad Chester Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Six Trees, Tokyo Posts: 1,291	The only thing I remember about playing the old Might and Magic games is playing MM2 and cheaply leveling up by fighting the Cusinarts(?) and hoping that they frenzy and do those suicide attacks that net my surviving party members mucho xp (if I don't wipe, that is) :D

05-05-2006, 09:19 AM	#14
Xemu Social Worker Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 2,669	Man, those Xeen games were incredible. Between that and games like Ultima 4-7 sometimes I feel like technologies have been lost to us, like we have uncovered rare artifacts from ancient astronauts in the ruins of some temple and have no idea how to reconstruct them ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there are incredibly awesome games coming out now in other genres that are just as good, but it feels as if the pacing and focus that made the Xeen games so great is just a forgotten art now. I'm sure a lot of that is the pleasant fog of nostalgia. But I don't think it's all of it.

05-05-2006, 09:23 AM	#15
Robert Sharp World's End Supernova Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: somewhere in OH gamertag: bobertchin Posts: 16,194	Yeah, I missed out on those Ultima's too. I played 1 and 2, but none of the others. I didn't have a computer for a few years there and missed these games. I tried the Ultima collection, but couldn't get it to run. Maybe I'll try again, now that I have XP. I find it pretty easy to run old games with XP, actually, even though a lot of people have problems.

05-11-2006, 03:01 PM	#18
Robert Sharp World's End Supernova Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: somewhere in OH gamertag: bobertchin Posts: 16,194	OK, I picked this up, and Xeen would NOT run, even with DOSBox. However, I found a fix, so I wanted to share it with everyone here. It works, and gives sound and everything. Trying to run these games out of XP, even with memory tweaks, compatibility, etc. just does not work. You need DOSBox, and you have to reconfig it, or it won't recognize the CD properly. Anyway, use this guys suggestions: http://www.quandaryland.com/ubbthrea...373&page=fpart

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Might and Magic Millenium or Platinum?