In many respects, this installment is a carbon copy of its predecessor. Unless you’ve got the latest video cards to support M&M 7’s surprisingly high 3D requirements, you’ll be seeing the exact same graphics as M&M 6. Spells are familiar, as are many of the monsters. And if you played Heroes of Might & Magic 3, that goes double.

Don’t imagine for a second that any of this makes M&M 7 a bad game. After playing second fiddle to other series for far too long (‘way back in computer RPG’s infancy), the folks at New World Computing finally caught their stride, and continue to deliver engaging storylines on interesting worlds.

The story begins after HOMM 3. The evil Archibald (he was freed from his stony prison near the end of M&M 6, remember?) has moved to Erathia, across the ocean from Enroth, setting of HOMM 2 and M&M 6. It seems he hid among Queen Catherine’s army — the queen herself came from Enroth to attend her father’s funeral, and wound up having to rebuild his kingdom. Both are menaced by unknown sea monsters — could these be related to the aliens the player defeated in M&M 6?

The game begins with a sort of "getting to know you" sequence, in which four friends sail to Emerald Isle to compete in a scavenger hunt. The prize is the tiny kingdom of Harmondale, smack between Erathia and the elfin demesne of Avlee. It’s a dubious honor, of course. Harmondale has fallen on hard times, and its rulers rarely survive long.

The first really strong wave of déjà vu hits when, upon arrival in Harmondale, the player must clear out a castle full of goblins (gosh, just like in the last game). But this time is so much better; the castle can be upgraded by the player as the party gains strength, makes money and forges alliances with the surrounding realms.

Another change noticeable off the bat is the ability of town guards to fight alongside the player against invading foes. Low on health? Lead a baddie back to a town, and watch the guards charge out and (usually) finish it off. Wandering the countryside, the party will even run across bands of allies fighting enemies.

In other changes, a grandmaster level has been added to the experience process. This still involves gaining experience, visiting training centers, adding points to various skills and then hunting down the expert/master/grandmaster tutors, but it also allows players, on reaching that highest level, to choose whether to be good or evil.

Yep, the game can be played two different ways, at least after that point. The entire storyline branches.

A seemingly minor addition — but a great addition — is the ArcoMage card game, played in taverns across the land. It’s based on Magic: The Gathering and that game’s ilk; each player has a tower and a wall, plus three resources (bricks, gems and monsters). Various cards drop from the pack. These either attack the enemy, build up the player’s defenses, add to the resources or a combination of the above. Sounds confusing, but it’s a great break from the (other) action, plus an easy way to make money.

Again, problems start with a pretty high requirement for 3D graphics, and despite the name there’s far more magic than might (as there always is in these games; even heavy hitters like knights and paladins need magic to really survive the game). Still and all, this installment does good by the series as a whole.