Dark Messiah Might and Magic

#1 I got to play it at PAX this year. I was so impressed that I started putting together a new computer just to handle this game. There are no words to describe how satisfying it is to land a great bow shot.

#2 I agree completely. It is without a doubt, the best game I have played all year. The performance issues and crashes are annoying, but I have gotten it to a point where I can play for several hours at a time (which is good in a way, because it gives me an excuse to go eat) and it is a lot of fun. You can't really spoil the story, though, since just about everyone will be able to predict it from the beginning. However, there were still a few events that I did not see coming.

Also, if you read the review of the game on Gamespy.com, don't take it too seriously. They seem to have reviewed the game with the expectation that it was a sandbox-type RPG with an Oscar-winning script or something. They say the level design is bad, but it's only 'bad' from the standpoint of typical, linear RPG's. Dark Messiah has some amazingly huge levels, built with a good attention to detail. Outdoor missions typically have several routes you can take and even many indoor missions have more than one path. I was particularly impressed with the amount of secret areas and hidden treasure caches. I'm playing through a second time and still finding new ones. Exploration REALLY pays off in this game. So, yes, it can occasionally take a little brain power to get through a level, but I welcome a game that makes me think, rather than just mash buttons.

And speaking of mashing things, combat is awesome in this game. I was really disappointed with the combat in Oblivion, thinking that there would never be a truly good 1st-person melee game; but Dark Messiah has done it right. Melee combat has a very brutal, visceral edge to it, but ranged combat is just as good(no pumping someone full of dozens of arrows like in Oblivion). And the spells are all useful and many have a very satisfying 'oomph' to them. You have so many options for combat that it's insane. A personal favorite of mine is to cast a fire trap, then freeze the ground in a line towards it and wait for an enemy to take a ride. Fun.

So, if you were even the slightest bit interested in it, you should go ahead and pick it up.

#3 I think you'll like Gothic 3, Anton. I am in the UK right now and purchased it when it came out. It is pretty good, by the time it comes out in US all the problems should be fixed, mostly they're performance issues. I have a pretty good computer and it doesn't run that well. I know you liked Oblivion and thats the big comparison for Gothic 3. It is quite a bit different however. The world is more "alive", as in things you do will actually effect towns and stuff. Whereas in Oblivion and Morrowind the world was pretty static. So it feels more like a role-playing game. It's not the best PC-RPG out there, but neither was Oblivion. Looking forward to Neverwinter Nights 2 though. 2006 has actually been a better year for RPGs than 2005 was. Not as good as 2004 though where was had Vampire Bloodlines and Knights of the Old Republic 2, now those are good games.

Although I liked the Might & Magic games, I am not to interested in this one, it seems to action focused with a totally linear storyline. Maybe like a first person Diablo. The combat looks good but I don't think it'd carry me to play the game past the first hour or two. This is coming from someone who prefers turnbased combat though :D

#4 @Matt Huston

Yeah, this is pretty linear. But then, it's how the game works. It's like playing a movie or a book. But that's not bad, it's awesome. But it's not even in the same category as a game like NWN2 or Oblivion. It's very extremely story driven. And it's fast paced. The game is nothing like a slow paced RPG like NWN2 or Oblivion. Well, maybe i can't say that since i haven't played NWN2.

#5 Woohoo! Glad to hear you guys think its awesome. I have been looking forward to this game for ages, in fact I'm upgrading my machine this month just to play it (and NWN2/Gothic 3), but I've been a bit offput by some of the reviews. Still would have bought it however.

Also glad the 1st-person melee works well, since I'm designing my RPG from that viewpoint. I'll be taking notes :)

#6 It's buggy long load level times and sound studders on a 6800 nvida card. Hold off until the patch.

#7 Yea, I doubt I'd like it that much, I prefer to have some choices when it comes to the story and how I play. I think my favorite part of an RPG is the dialog choices, persuading, bribing, intimidating people to get my way, yes I always have to play as an evil character. Afterall, what's the point in playing a "role" in a role-playing game when I play my Mr Goody-Two Shoes self, I can do that in real life :)

Gothic 3 is stuttery on my AMD Dual Core 2.2ghz, nvidia7600, 1gb DDR2 (800). It is playable at low but I would expect better since I can play Oblivion at highest setting.

#8

Quote:Dennis De Marco: It's buggy long load level times and sound studders on a 6800 nvida card. Hold off until the patch.

whats your system setup like? because I was having the same problems.. both sound adn long long load times... until I did one thing that fixed it all... I upgraded my machine from 1 to 2 gb of ram... as soon as I went to 2gb of ram all performance issues went away immediatley... the sound has not so much as stuttered once since then and my average load time for a level went from about 4 minutes to 25-30 seconds... it's a memory issue... plain and simple it takes alot to run this game... but if you have it... it's awesome! lol

BTW my total system specs are as follows and I run the game at max graphics with NO problem whatsoever... no crashes, no sound issues (now that I upgraded lol) and good FPS.

AMD Athlon 64: 2.2 Ghz (still running 32 bit OS though so the 64bit doesnt really factor in here)
2GB DDR 400
256MB NVidea Geforce 7600 GT PCIe video card
Sound Blaster X-FI Gamer Sound Card

Sadly it does take a damn nice system to run it smoothly but I had this same setup with 1 GB ram and had the long load times and sound issues very badly... as soon as I jumped up to 2GB ram it all went away and has played ALL weekend long without a glitch. Hope this helps some, info wise.

As for the game itself: completely linear gameplay but a very good storyline... as was said earlier it's more like taking part in a book or a movie that was prescripted... however the fast paced action and the combat is what makes this game shine... the combat system is simply the best I have ever seen... very adicting and satisfying, the SP game is fun and a very good story but the multiplayer is awesome... a button masher wont get very far in this game and even less in the multiplayer world because this combat system rewards those who learn how to fight and think at the same time.. ie. when to be offensive, when to go on the defense... take in your surroundings and use your environment to your advantage etc. Not everything is best solved with a frontal assualt and 100 mouse clicks... perhaps it would be easier to sidestep the first blow and kick your opponent off the ledge of the cliff etc...

Overall rating: (1-10)

Linear gameplay (BOO!): 7 (7 because the action and gameplay itself make up for being completly linear in many ways.

Storyline: 7 (predictable for the most part, but well implemented)

graphics: 10 (its the HL2 engine and they knew how to use it... nuff said :P)

Combat: 20!!!! (nothing I've seen can even come close to comparing with it!)

Overall gameplay: 9 (very satisfying, lot of fun but I don't see the SP being played through more then twice (linear not much replayability, however I forsee the MP lasting a very long time.. especially if they let us mod it! (don't know about this as I havent gotten around to checking on it but imagine you can or will be able to))

I would def recomend this to anyone who likes 1st person action adventure RPG's or more correctly titled.. 1st person fantasy action adventure :P

#9 Hey, I remember this game. I bought this just before getting NWN2. It was fun.

#10 I liked it several times more than Oblivion, though Breakdown still has a better overall feel for first-person melee combat (as does Condemned and Riddick). I'm about five hours in and have no idea how far along I am. But the first two hours were more rewarding than the sludging hours spent bullheadedly leeching out my $50 worth in Oblivion.

My friends loved Oblivion, though. They're covering every inch of the map and trying to find every herb in every nook and cranny. What is sad is that it was the "dream RPG" that I always thought of making when I was a kid. Now that it is made (and has been for a long time), I still prefer Ultima VII's sense of open-endedness to Oblivion's.

M&M has been entirely predictable (so far) in terms of story. The action has been nice. It is pretty. I've ben enjoying myself, which is more than I can say for a number of RPG's released recently.

#11 @ David Blake - I completleyforgot about chronicles of riddick... that game had awesome melee combat too, i havent seen condemned or breakdown.. I'll have to check those out.

#12 Condemned as a game is not that great. It has some great atmosphere but it gets very repetative very quick. It is also pretty easy. I'm not sure how the PC version plays, but the XB360 version is a cakewalk. I have read complaints about slow attack-time, but I never had a problem with it. Heavier weapons take longer to wind up. Breakdown is for the XBox and is about $10 on most discount racks. The game was okay, but the combat was done very well. I hadn't played it either until I was complaining about first-person combat and someone else recommended it to me.