Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen (1992) — first sold simply as Might and Magic: Clouds of Xeen — sends the heroes to Xeen, a flat world with two sides, and is the first half of the pair that forms World of Xeen[1][2]. It runs on the engine of Might and Magic III and plays much like it[1][3][4].
Development
- Designed and directed by Jon Van Caneghem; programmed by Mark Caldwell and Dave Hathaway; written by Paul Rattner, Debbie Van Caneghem and Jon Van Caneghem; music by Tim Tully[5][1].
- It cost $69.95 and needed 2 MB of memory, VGA graphics and a hard disk[6].
Releases
| Platform | Released | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| MS-DOS | 1992 | New World Computing |
| PC-98, FM Towns | 1992–1993 (Japan) | StarCraft |
| World of Xeen CD-ROM (with V) | 1994 | New World Computing |
Per Wikipedia, Hardcore Gaming 101 and the CRPG Addict, who date the Japanese versions differently[1][3][4].
Setting
XEEN stands for "Xylonite Experimental Environment Nacelle"[7][8]. A man claiming to be Roland, King Burlock's lost brother, urges the king to seek the Sixth Mirror; the adviser Crodo discovers that he is an undead impostor calling himself Lord Xeen and is locked in a tower, and through dreams asks the party to forge a weapon that can slay him[5][9][4]. The game begins in the town of Vertigo[6][5].
Gameplay
- A party of up to six — hirelings are gone — from five races and ten classes: knight, paladin, archer, cleric, sorcerer, robber, ninja, barbarian, druid and ranger[5][4][6].
- Alignment was dropped[4]; each class or race starts with a secondary skill such as Arms Master, Pathfinder or Cartographer[5].
- Two spell lists, cleric and sorcerer; spells cost spell points and sometimes gems[5]. COMPUTE! counted 76 spells[6].
- Two difficulty modes, Adventurer and Warrior; an automatic quest log; monsters visible on the map rather than random encounters[1][6][2].
Reception
- COMPUTE! called it "nearly perfect in design and execution"[6]; Dragon gave it 5 out of 5[10].
- Computer Gaming World's Scorpia found little plot and few ordinary people in the world, but thought fans would enjoy it[11][12].
- In Germany, PC Joker gave it 85%[9]. The CRPG Addict gave it 43 out of 100[12].
- By March 1994 the series had sold a million copies[13].
Russian release
No official Russian edition is known; Old-Games.ru lists a Russian version of unstated origin[14].
The story continues in Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen. More on this game: classes, skills, spells and monsters.