Might & Magic 8
Might & Magic 8 is, unsurprisingly, the 8th game in the Migth & Magic series, though exactly where it fits into the whole chronology is a bit unclear. A few years after the Armageddon's blade expansion for Heroes of Might & Magic 3, would be my guess, judging by the fact that the faction that got introduced in the expansion was mentioned.
The game plays quite similar to Might & Magic 7 (and by extension similar to Might & magic 6), with a nigh identical spell, character development and combat system. Unlike previous games in the series, you are only allowed to create a single character at the start of the game, and then other party members has to be recruited along the way. This is not as big of an issue as it first would seem, as you will quickly find characters from all the different classes, except for trolls (yes, the game has a silly race=class system for all the non-humans), and it also allows you to swap out characters in case you want to try different skill combinations.
The main highlight of the game was its character development system. With each level up, you get 5 skill points to spend on a large number of different skills, with each class having its own set of skills and possible specializations. And while the gameplay difference between having a sword or an axe might not be huge, all the different schools of magic (9 in total) all had their own unique flavour, and some other skills also had their own spell-like abilities.
The skill balance was not all that good though. Some schools of magic were simply more useful than others (light magic and body magic being the two most useful schools, while earth or mind magic felt pretty pointless), and skills like Identify Monster or Body Building (which could be found on the classes that needed it the least) were a real waste of skillpoints.
The game engine that the game uses was considered to nearly be ancient at the time of the games release, and it has not aged all that well. The sprite based graphics, in a 3d environment made it looks like all the creatures that populated the world were cardboard cutouts, and it never felt very natural, and while the sprites were well drawn and animated, by 2000, a proper 3d engine would have looked a lot better. That being said, nothing looks distractingly bad, so it is just a minor gripe.
The game fares a lot better in the sound department. While none of the effects sounds spectacular, the soundtrack is pretty good, and usually fits in really well, with the song that plays in Garrote Gorge, Ironsand Desert & Ravage Roaming being my personal favourite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGGp3mvffyg
The Might & Magic series has never been about deep & engaging storylines, and sadly Might & Magic 8 follows suit, with a relatively forgettable story about some "Destroyer" who wishes to destroy the world, which different regions being affected by different natural disasters. A major part of the main storyline is about gathering support from different factions (some mutually exclusive, though it does not matter which ones you pick), though there is one rather odd omission. Early on it is established that the lizardmen are suffering from these disasters, yet you never try to enlist their aid. The minotaurs & trolls are apparently important enough, as are a band of dragon hunters, but not the lizardmen (who seem to be a faction in better shape than the trolls & minotaurs).
Overall, I found the game to be relatively enjoyable, but rather short and incredibly easy, even though I was trying to avoid most of the "game breakers". I could easily make the game even easier by having a light/body magic focused Cleric and 3 dragons in the party (I only had one, but even that was probably one too many), or by simply switching out the characters that I found early on in the game for the ones with better stats.