Magic and Mayhem: The Art of Magic

Bethesda Softworks have announced that Art of Magic is now shipping to stores throughout North America. See you all online real soon!

a new review at actiontrip.com gives thumbs up to "a huge number of tactical possibilities" and thumbs down to Aurax being "an extremely slow character".
But that's what haste is for!

site update: significant updates to the campaign section, including walkthrus and other details for the first 4 levels.

all campaign pages now exist, ready for the addition of walkthrus and tips as we get them

Bethesda Softworks have announced that "The Art of Magic has gone gold and will begin shipping to stores throughout North America in the next two weeks."

"According to a company [Bethesda] spokesperson, a gold master candidate is currently in testing, and if it is accepted, the game will officially go gold and ship to stores in early October." Source: gamespot.com

site update: with the previews flying in thick and fast, the press page has been given an overhaul.

The new preview at www.gamezilla.com goes on to give the following bottom line:

"RPG players need to keep their eyes open for this release. If the preview copy is any indication of the final product (and I suspect it is), gamers are in for a real treat. Although it features a slightly borrowed script from many other RPGs, the strong graphics, easy controls and overall replayability make this game one to watch for. Gamers, get ready to rock n' roll."

"Things are looking up for this sequel. With fresh gameplay, new creatures, spells, and a smooth graphics engine Art of Magic looks like it will at least live up to its predecessor."

"Overall, I really enjoyed playing this game. Although this isn't a review, if the beta version were for sale I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to strategy game fans. The Art of Magic should be out in a few weeks. I'll be hanging out on GameSpy with a fireball with your name on it, ready to take on all challengers. See ya there."

"Art of Magic looks like a solid offering in the RTS/RPG blend genre; with a solid graphics engine and inviting gameplay, there's a lot to like."

the November 2001 issue of PCZONE (#108) has awarded Art of Magic their award of excellence. The review goes on to say that "it's an improvement in terms of presentation over the original title, and the gameplay that made the first game so addictive is still soundly in place". See pages 66-67 for the full review.

new preview at www.pcstrategygames.com, which most notably does a great job at covering the evolution of the Magic & Mayhem series, from Chaos for the ZX Spectrum to the present 3D incarnation of The Art of Magic.

the new preview at gamepen.ugo.com says "The camera controls are simple and don't interfere with actual gameplay. The actual visuals are good, the landscapes are detailed and seem alive, the creatures, which range from sprites to dragons, all look good. The spells look fantastic; they've used some excellent lighting on these."

having trouble connecting the demo over gamespy arcade?
check out the new patch on our technical support page

read the full preview at www.armchairempire.com

19-09-01

"Art of Magic plays rather like a bizarre
combination of Sacrifice, Nox and Black & White,
if such a thing can be imagined."

read the full preview at www.gamesdomain.com

19-09-01

"The developers did what everybody wanted from them.
In essence, Art of Magic is nothing but
good old Magic and Mayhem in a total 3D world."

read the full demo review at www.freelancer.ag.ru

15-09-01

"The sheer variety of spells and RTS style combat makes me want to call this Magic: The Gathering meets Warcraft"

read the full preview at www.gamesmania.com

14-09-01

finally...the demo is downloadable!

see the downloads page for more details

13-09-01

"clearly shaping up into
an impressive genre-bending title"

read the full preview at www.gamespot.com

10-09-01

latest screenshots (taken from the demo) here

07-09-01

interview at freelancer - freelancer chats with Climax Entertainment's Steve Norris to catch up on progress on Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic.

bio page at buzzsite - here

preview at IGN - here

02-09-01

demo released!

I'm just back from Gen Con, where the demo of AOM was finally released.

Gen Con UK (www.genconuk.com) ran from August 29th to September 2nd, and took place at Olympia 2, London. It describes itself as an annual convention supporting all forms of Gaming, especially Role-Playing Games, Card Games and Trading Card Games, Board Games and Live Interaction Games.

VIE had an 8 player LAN set up, with the beta version of the AOM being thrashed. Visitors to the show played mostly 4 player battles with all the wizards available (they're unlocked in the final product as you play through the campaign mode). We had a couple of intense 7 player matches. Needless to say that considering the venue, dragon's were extremely prevalent inmost of the games. That is until everybody found out the real power of expensive yet devastating judgement spell :)

Feedback was extremely positive, and I was happy to see a lot of familiar faces returning each day to play some more. Freebie versions of the demo had been pressed especially for the show, therefore I finally expect to see a few of you joining old 'orgon' for a battle on gamespyarcade.

Were you there? ? Al, Soulcleaver, Plup, Harvey, etc
Did Paul and/or me (the intense looking, shaven head bloke) meet you?
If so, drop me a line and tell us what you thought of it all.

There are no details as yet of a version of the demo being downloadable, but I'll continue to keep my ears open. And for those of you lucky enough to have a copy, don't forget to send me your screenshots.

25-08-01

latest screenshots here

18-08-01

spell tactical index now complete!

Final spell-of-the-week, "totem of life" concludes the spell tactical index

12-08-01

New spell-of-the-week, "totem of light" added to the expanding spell tactical index

04-08-01

New spell-of-the-week, "totem of guarding" added to the expanding spell tactical index

28-07-01

New spell-of-the-week, "teleport" added to the expanding spell tactical index

20-07-01

New spell-of-the-week, "subversion" added to the expanding spell tactical index

16-07-01

Art of Magic Beta Test (US only)

Bethesda are currently inviting US candidates for the U.S. beta test for Art of Magic. More details here

14-07-01

New spell-of-the-week, "scythian_bow" added to the expanding spell tactical index
Minimum/recommended hardware spec updated
work on the site
- latest update of the creature upgrades

07-07-01

New spell-of-the-week, "raise dead" added to the expanding spell tactical index

05-07-01

work on the site
- latest update of the creature upgrades

04-07-01

VIE's Art of Magic press release

"VIRGIN CONTINUES MAYHEM
Anticipated PC title confirmed for a September 2001 release
Real-time role-playing and strategy fans can once again rejoice � Virgin Interactive has confirmed that Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic is due to be released on PC CD-ROM this September.
Virgin today announced that highly-acclaimed developer Climax Entertainment has taken over the development reigns of The Art of Magic from Charybdis. "

more at: http://www.bastion.co.uk/link.asp?i=217&r=5956&r2=3817

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