Might & Magic 5

Might & Magic 5: Darkside of Xeen
Part of the series: Might and Magic
Studio	New World Computing
Publisher	New World Computing
Senior Developer	Jon Van Caneghem
Erstveröffent- lichung	1993
platform	DOS , FM Towns , PC-98
genre	Computer role playing game
Game mode	Single player
medium	Floppy disk, CD-ROM
language	German English
Age rating	USK
information	Can be combined with part 4 for the World of Xeen .

Might and Magic 5: Darkside of Xeen is a computer role-playing game by New World Computing from 1993. It is the fifth part of the role-playing game series Might & Magic and forms a coherent plot with its predecessor, Might & Magic 4: Clouds of Xeen , the so-called World of Xeen . A special feature at the time was the ability to combine both publications into one program, so that a seamless transition between the game content of both titles was possible.

action

Basic campaign

The game starts after the end of Clouds of Xeen . The group of heroes is supposed to follow Prince Roland from the cloud kingdom of Xeens to the dark side of Xeen, which is now accessible. Queen Kalindra usually rules there, and she wants to let the two game worlds grow together again in harmony. But her opponent, a certain Alamar, is aiming for a campaign of conquest. He forcibly usurped power in the kingdom, imprisoned Kalindra and taken her castle from the continuum. On behalf of the guardian of the kingdom, the dragon Pharaoh, the player's group of heroes fights for the liberation of the land. She exposes Alamar as the serial arch-rival and former world guardian Sheltem. With the help of the guard Corak, who is assigned to Sheltem, it is possible to put an end to its activities and thus to bring the story arc of the first part to an end.

World of Xeen

In the combined version with Clouds of Xeen , the game contains another quest series, namely the union of the two parts of Xeen. The quest series follows on from the conclusion of the Darkside of Xeen base campaign . Dragon calls on the group of heroes to complete Prince Roland's task and complete the unification of the two kingdoms. After completing the quest series, Prince Roland and Queen Kalindra marry and the two empires are transformed into a large empire.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Darkside of Xeen is unchanged from its predecessor: the player can choose to create his hero troop from a pool of ten classes and five races, accept a pre-generated group of six heroes or take over a group of heroes from the previous title. The heroes are characterized by 17 different skills that can be increased. When it comes to the level of difficulty, there is again the choice between the easier adventure and the more difficult warrior mode, which differs in the number of opponents.

The graphics of the game are identical: the game screen consists of a window on the three-dimensional game world, which shows the game in real time. Control elements and information graphics are located below and on the right side of the page. The characters are guided through the game world using the mouse or keyboard, battles take place in rounds. In addition to the environment, an automap function also records information such as quest hints and coordinates.

reception

reviews publication Rating ASM 10/12 PC joker 85% PC player 79% Power play 69%

"Dark Side of Xeen [sic] is a respectable role-playing game with a balanced level of difficulty. Unfortunately there is no significant improvement over the predecessor. "

- Heinrich Lenhardt : PC player

"Overall, Darkside is a satisfactory conclusion to the current Might & Magic saga."

"The bottom line is that Darkside is a satisfying conclusion to the previous Might & Magic saga."

- Scorpia : Computer Gaming World

The Computer Gaming World listed the title among the nominees for the magazine's internal role-playing game of 1993. The editors described it as “ the most impressive linking of two CRPGs in computer game history ” (German: “the most impressive linking of two computer role-playing games in computer game history . ").

Web links

• Might & Magic 5 at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Test ASM
2. ↑ ^{a b} Test PC Player
3. ↑ Test Power Play
4. ↑ Test PC Joker
5. ^ Scorpia: CGW's Role-Playing Expert Has Xeen It All . In: Computer Gaming World . September 1993, p. 28. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
6. ^ Announcing The New Premier Awards . In: Computer Gaming World . June 1994, pp. 51-58.