Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

**Zenicetus** · 10-26-2006, 19:58

I tried the demo. It was fun. The basic style is FPS but it's very "physical"... you don't just shoot the enemy at long range (although that's an option). Most of the combat is melee, with lots of different moves you can make. You can do things like pick up a crate and toss it at an enemy to knock it off-guard, kick out a wooden support strut for a balcony to bring it crashing down, sneak up behind guards and kick them off cliffs, etc. Also lots of chopping off heads, arms, impaling Orcs on the floor with finishing moves, etc. It provides a good feel for up-close, physical combat.

I don't know if it will appeal to all FPS game fans, because there's a lot of button-mashing and defensive moves compared to something like COD2. It can get kinda frantic when you're dealing with more than one enemy at a time (like that last set piece in the castle room with multiple Orcs). It almost feels like a cross between a FPS and a Mortal Kombat type game. But I guess you'd get comfortable with it after playing enough. I mapped the main combat buttons onto a Nostromo N52 game keypad controller to use alongside the mouse, and that helped.

The demo was very linear, and I guess the game will be like that too, but that's typical for FPS games. I'll probably buy it as a coffee break time-waster. I don't think it will be an immersive RPG like Oblivion, but sometimes I just want to a half hour killing stuff, and this looks good for that.

**alman7272** · 10-28-2006, 07:45

It was pretty cool fighting, but not RPG-ish enough for me. I'll see what reviews say.

**doc_bean** · 10-28-2006, 15:43

Apparently it's still incredibly buggy. Unplayable on several systems. At wait until the first patch is released an then check around if it's still in such an awful state...

**edyzmedieval** · 10-29-2006, 19:12

Ok, so I guess I'll wait to play the demo first.

**doc_bean** · 10-29-2006, 22:14

According to another forum I read, a smoothly running demo isn't a guarantee.

However, pretty much everyone who has managed to get this to run decently seems to think it's a great game. Though it appears to be mostly about kicking orcs off a bridge

**Zenicetus** · 10-30-2006, 02:01

Originally Posted by doc_bean

According to another forum I read, a smoothly running demo isn't a guarantee.

However, pretty much everyone who has managed to get this to run decently seems to think it's a great game. Though it appears to be mostly about kicking orcs off a bridge

And what's wrong with kicking orcs off a bridge?

The final game is probably more than that. There is a hint of a storyline in the demo, although it's probably linear. Also, I think it's designed to let you play as a melee bruiser, or a thief/rogue, or mage type, depending on what skills you develop. Or some combination of the three. For example, there is an indicator in the GUI for how much you're hidden in shadows, so sneaking is an option in areas that aren't brightly lit. The demo does encourage Orc-kicking because melee is easier when the character is brand new, and it's also fun to experiment with the physics engine.

**Bob the Insane** · 10-30-2006, 04:12

Got this and been playing it...

In many ways it is old school FPS with pretty linear levels and objectives. The level design is good though and the pacing is excellent. The one good thing about a linear game is that can allow for a solid stoyline and in this case that is what we have... The locations and levels and pretty stunning and make extensive use of HDR...

A lot of people have been complaining about performance issues and I had some too, but as soon as switched off the above mentioned HDR I found I could have all the other bells and whistles turned on...

Reminds me a little of Hexen if anyone else remembers that...

Physical combat is excellently done and a havock physics are in full effect. Think Oblivion in style but better, faster, smoother and more challenging...

This is not RPG, it is FPS with stats and levels. Think first person Dungeon Siege...

It has excellent moments, like chasing a goul over the roof tops (you can climb, jump onto and jump off ropes). The first time you are attacked by a large flying dragon like creature, the first time you are attacked by a Cyclops and at one point I was attacked by a gigantic worm (think Dune sandworm for scale).

Old school but pretty and with a good story (so far)...