Joseph Merrick said:
I finished them all (except RoA1), here's a quick one sentence summary:
Best first person dungeon crawler ever. Challenging, revolutionary at the time of release. Very good music and unprecedenced atmosphere.
Two of the classics. I liked them more than EoB series, they were more "casual" but still very, very hardcore. Graphics are way nicer than those in EoB. Puzzles are easier as well.
The second best dungeon crawler (not really... overworld is HUGE) ever created. Game is absolutely AMAZING. It can take up to 100 hours to finish. It is not a DOS game anymore (so no 320x240 8-bit VGA graphics) but a full 65k colours Windows title. You can fly in this game! Teleport to ANY place you want even in the middle of a dungeon (Lloyd's Beacon spell). Pretty much like Baldur's Gate 2 M&M6 overwhelms you. There is so much to do. The whole world is a sandbox - you can go EVERYWHERE you want. Wanna try tackling those Titans with 10 000 HP while you're party has average 60 HP? Go on. They will more than kill you... they will ERADICATE you (not ever Resurrection spell can help!). Game has the perfect amount of challenge right untill the very last dungeon where you can shoot lasers and shit.
Oh: dungeons in Mandate of Heaven are second to none.
This is Ultima Underworld 3 much like Dead Space is System Shock 3. Game has new-age graphics (bumpmapping, selfshadowing etc.) but still retains the atmosphere of the old Ultima Underworld games. It is a 100% dungeon crawler (based underground after all). The difficulty spike near the end of the game is ENORMOUS. There is one species of heavily armored enemies that simply cannot be defeated without using quick-save/ quick-load cheating. And you want to defeat them cause they sport the best armor in the whole game. Last boss looks ridiculous and breaks the whole game IMO.
Another duo of classics. Unbeatable without FAQ and printed out maps. Very hardcore. A french title BTW. I remember drawing the maps myself on huge 1m x 1m pieces of paper. Game is REALLY hard. You have to save after each fight. Some of the later dungeons are deadly with traps and spells that spell doom for your party in 1-2 turns. Best weapon in the game (Chaos Sword) is only usuable by Chaotic characters. Good characters... should not use it as it will hit them instead of the enemy. Pretty interesting mechanic.
The only 1 game from Joseph's list that I did not finish (RoA1).
RoA1 and RoA2 are UNBEATABLE without FAQs. There are some very hard puzzles and plot moments where you simply don't know how the fuck you should proceed. The series have an interesting food and water mechanics. All of the spells in the games are based on Das Schwarze Auge RPG system and don't mean shit (it's names) to even veteran RPG players. Game is in first person but combat is isometric and turn-based: exactly like Final Fantasy Tactics, X-Com. IMO these are the most hardcore and most difficult games on this list. Only for the truest and most hardcore of hardcore DOS RPG players out there!
See RoA1&2. Much better graphics, much easier game. EXCELLENT red book audio (don't know if it is present in the DD version?). Recommended if you want to start playing the Realms of Arkania trilogy.
A game that is nowhere near as perfect as M&M6. Same engine, same monsters, same mechanics etc. but the magic was lost. Think Modern Warfare 2 to Modern Warfare change. The same but... not the same. Not as fun, nor revolutionary.
See M&M7. New World Computing tried some interesting mechanics in this part (you could turn to dragon IIRC). IMO this part is better than M&M7. M&M7 had very cliche maps and locales (elven forest, dwarven mine, human settlement etc.) while M&M8 has some more interesting ones: dragon volcanoes, elemental planes etc. It is the Black Ops of modern Call of Duty games.
I mentioned it a while above. Pretty good RPG from Interplay. Kind of like Demon Souls? Not in the difficulty level but graphics and tone. There are some pretty hard-ass bosses in this game (Snow Queen). Overall a very underrated RPG that had tremendous marketing campaign. Highly recommended as it is one of a kind because of how it looks.
This is a weird one. It is the last of Might and Magic games and it feels very dumbed down. Really not recommended as nothing in this game makes sense or "clicks". Small maps, small dungeons, lack of series staples spells etc. I only beat it because I had to beat all M&M titles (M&M1-9).
Stay away.
I can also recommend
Anvil of Dawn made by the Might and Magic guys:
http://www.gamespot.com/anvil-of-dawn/