The game would also feature ties to previous titles with its characters and story threads, including those related to the franchise's Heroes series. If they fail, the elemental storms sweeping the land of Jadame will become great enough to destroy the entire world. In this game, players would take on a party of adventurers tasked with restoring the balance of four elemental points before they converge upon a mysterious crystal summoned by the Planeswalker Escaton. Recycled elements of the plot and the relatively inferior nature of its design in comparison to its peers at the time were also cited as detriments. At this point, however, the aging engine and the similarity of its gameplay to that of its predecessors would take its toll among critics if not the fans of the series. Players would continue to seek out out quests, fight terrible creatures, and explore another vast world laid at their feet. The basic goals would remain the same as a party-based, open world RPG.
The eighth entry of the Might and Magic series continues to use the same engine pioneered with Might and Magic VI.
