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PC | Action | Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

Boxart for Dark Messiah of Might & Magic
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic 20 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.00
  • SOUND: 3.00
  • CONTROL: 4.00
  • FUN FACTOR 3.00
  • AVG USER SCORE 5.0
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.1

Review: Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

Review by Brian Newton | 11/20/2006 | 17:00:42 PM PST

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is a broken game - which is a shame, because with a bit more effort it could have been something rather intriguing. It takes some significant gameplay risks and attempts innovation in both its single player and multiplayer modes.

When it's running well, it can create intense melee experiences that are unlike anything in recent memory, but there are enough gameplay quirks and technical problems that prevent it from rising above mediocrity.

Points for Creativity
PROTIP: Combine moves, such as knocking down your opponent before killing them.

PROTIP: Combine moves, such as knocking down your opponent before killing them.

The star of Dark Messiah's single player mode is its combat system. Games have often attempted to simulate fantasy melee combat, but have met varying degrees of success. None, however, have captured the frenetic nature and creative elements of a swordfight as well as Dark Messiah has. For example, combining a power attack with a step to the right will result in a swing that moves your opponent to the right. Opponents can be knocked down and subsequently killed.

Dark Messiah uses the highly lauded Source engine created for Half Life 2, which gives the environment a high degree of realism. That combined with enemies that can and will fall of ledges, knock each other over and catch fire if pushed into a blaze, create a virtual playground of destruction. The game actually encourages chaos by rewarding you with quick and easy kills as you become more creative.

PROTIP: Look around: a platform's supports can be crushed to bring pain down on your foes.

PROTIP: Look around: a platform's supports can be crushed to bring pain down on your foes.

The multiplayer mode was created by an entirely different development studio, and it shows. One of its creators was an originator of the Battlefield series, so it shares some gameplay elements with those games. The main mode is the Crusade mode in which you side with either the undead or the humans. The differences are primarily aesthetic, as you can be any one of the five different classes (mage, warrior, assassin, priest and archer) on either side. Each class plays quite differently and often serve a "rock, paper, scissors" role against one another. The goal is to capture and hold points scattered across the map. The more you hold, the faster your opponents' points drop until one side drops to 0 points and loses.

The slight twist is that on the 5 maps, each side's "stronghold" serves as a bookend, and as you lose matches, you are pushed back. If you lose your stronghold, you lose the campaign. These stronghold battles can be quite exhilarating, with towers slowly moving toward the walls as you try to stop your enemies from storming the city.


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