''Shifters'', also known as ''Shifters of Might and Magic'', is a 2002

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the playe ...

developed and published by

The 3DO Company The 3DO Company (formerly THDO on the NASDAQ stock exchange), also known as 3DO, was an American video game company. It was founded in 1991 by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, in a partnership with seven other companies. After 3DO's flagsh ...

for the PlayStation 2 in 2002. Set in the fictional ''

Might and Magic ''Might and Magic'' is a series of role-playing video games from New World Computing, which in 1996 became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company. The original ''Might and Magic'' series ended with the closure of the 3DO Company. The rights to the ''M ...

'' universe, it is a direct

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...

to the PlayStation 2 incarnation of ''

Warriors of Might and Magic ''Warriors of Might and Magic'' is an action role-playing game developed and released by The 3DO Company for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color in 2000, and for PlayStation 2 in 2001. The three versions, although they all follow a similar storyl ...

''.

Gameplay

The player controls Alleron, the lead character from ''

''. Alleron must defeat a horde of flesh and metal invaders who are replacing villages with steam-powered cities. Unlike the previous game, Alleron has gained the power to shapeshift and can assume 24 different creature forms, such as a humanoid ram and a griffin-style creature. Alleron travels through six different worlds in which he must battle with members of that world's race, often ending in a boss battle. During the game, there are secret areas that are only accessible to particular shapeshift forms. However, the main game can always be completed no matter the choice of form. The combat system has different attacks based on the current form and weapon. Different forms and weapons have different attack combinations, some of which can send enemies flying. Some forms come with a different spell than other forms. Some spells can be used to gain access to previously inaccessible areas which often have secrets or treasure. Spells useful for combat also can be gained, creating more favorable circumstances in certain combat areas.

Reception

The game received unfavorable reviews according to the

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website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

'' reviewed the game, calling it a "game of a great many disparate parts, all of them widely varying in quality, somehow stuffed together into a single, highly unwieldy package ..It's not an entirely bad game, in other words, but the good bits are like needles lost in the giant haystack of the ones that aren't so good."

References

External links

* * {{Might and Magic series 2002 video games The 3DO Company games Action role-playing video games Might and Magic spin-off games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Single-player video games Steampunk video games Video game sequels Video game spin-offs Video games about shapeshifting