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Reviews » Dark Messiah of Might and Magic [PC]

Might and Magic is a series that has stood the test of time by sticking to one genre, turn based strategy. The Heroes of Might and Magic games have been forever it seems, and the formula just keeps working. That all changed when Arkane and Kuju decided to take the series in a new direction with Dark Messiah, a more action oriented direction. Dark Messiah is the polar opposite of the strategy games fans have come to know so well over the years, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

One of the key features of the game is under the hood, an upgraded version of the Source engine, complete with all of the physics trimmings. While the game at first doesn’t seem too big a leap graphically, the further into the game you get the more it becomes apparent the amount of work that went into modifying Source to pull it off. Enormous levels, improved shaders for everything from explosions to spells, giant enemies and large battles are things you’ll never see in Half Life 2. Excellent use of 3D skybox design in the levels gives a grand scale to your surroundings, including huge castle walls, a tall ship’s towering masts and an entire vertical cliffside. The levels blend together nicely in a similar fashion to HL2, except each section is much larger. Meticulous environmental detailing is evident throughout the entire game, right down to a completely scratch written system to render spider webs. The goal of the levels was definitely immersion, and it’s done exceedingly well the vast majority of the time. Another component of the environment is the enemies themselves, which almost always come in greater numbers than you’re used to. With the exception of hulking opponents like the Cyclops, smaller baddies will usually swarm you in groups of four or more. Coupled with friendly AI’s you come across occasionally (or your sidekick Leanna), you find yourself in pitched battles frequently. Both the single and multiplayer games have a focus on the feeling of a larger conflict outside of your story, and the game pulls this off nicely. As mentioned earlier, the shaders got a major overhaul primarily to suit spell usage. The spells are done very well graphically, both in first person and the effects they have on enemies (such as freezing an enemy, or electrocuting him). Graphically and environmentally, it’s a step above anything made with Source to date.

The primary reason most people will buy this game is for the single player campaign, which is great to say the least. Story wise, the plot is as good as can be expected in a first person action game, but gameplay is where the single game shines. The combat, should you choose the way of the sword, isn’t your typical hack and slash in first person. Quick attacks can be useful on undead or spiders, but will get parried effortlessly by better equipped foes. This is where the power attack system comes in, allowing you to prepare and let loose a stronger whack that sends the enemy reeling. If you get in a couple of hits in quick succession, an “adrenaline mode” will be triggered, allowing your next power attack to become a fatality blow. Fatalities are different for each weapon, but all are enjoyable to watch in the compulsory slow motion. As you gain melee combat ranks you gain more specialized attacks including a leaping slash and spinning attack, as well as the ability to disarm an enemy upon winning a sword lock. Along with your quick and power attacks is a kick attack, which is used to knock enemies back or use the environment to your advantage. Kicking enemies off of ledges, into spikes or fire, and into traps becomes second nature after awhile. Some would argue the borderline ridiculous amount of traps and spikes in the levels makes the kick attack overpowered, but remember you still have to lure the enemy close enough to use it. The least impressive part of the sword and dagger combat system is the blocking, which is your run of the mill “hold down a key to block” style. It’s not all-powerful though, because enemies power attack too, and will break your block in no time if they catch on to your constant use of it.

All of that was just the sword and dagger combat. The game also allows you to go down the path of a mage or rogue, though the primary focus is definitely swordplay. Magic comes in handy no matter what class you want to play, however. Spells are manipulated in the same way weapons are, you “equip” your spell and hold attack to prepare it, and then release to cast. It’s simple and effective, though it can seem like forever until the spell is prepared when you’re getting hacked to pieces. Spells range from a simple flare spell with minor fire damage to a fireball, lightning bolt and freeze, covering all of the elements. Battlemages would do best to take the fireball and lightning bolt, while rogues will find the Fire Trap spell most useful (it’s an invisible land mine like spell), but the point is there are spells for everyone. The omnipresent healing spell is there, as well as a few other defensive (or at least not as offensive) spells like Weaken and Shield. One of the most useful and entertaining spells is Telekinesis, which as you can guess is more or less a magical Gravity Gun.

The third facet of the combat system is ranged combat by way of a bow. This area of gameplay is probably the most disappointing in the single game for most people. Bows are represented in a typical first person shooter style, where holding attack readies an arrow and releasing fires it. Arrows seem underpowered compared to other weapons, and it’s extremely difficult for even the best shooter to get a clean headshot with the exaggerated arc on the shots. Bows suffer from a limited variety, and you’ll find carrying one of each type around isn’t very useful. Considering taking enemies out from a distance quietly is a large part of stealth tactics, this makes playing a rogue very difficult. The best use of the bow in the game is hands down the Rope Bow, which does just what it says: firing it at a wooden surface will create a climbable rope. This bow can be used to create systems of climbable ropes you can leap to and from, since multiple ropes can exist at once. A timely rope bow arrow can get you out of a mob of enemies, help you escape traps and find alternate routes into many of the areas in the game. Lots of the puzzles in the game involve this mechanic as well, making you think outside the box to manipulate the objects in the level and string ropes to pass obstacles.

Dark Messiah’s multiplayer is somewhat unique…it’s more of the same, but tries a novel map cycle system to give a different feel to the game. While the core gameplay element is a typical flag capturing, class based setup, the Might and Magic influence bends the worn out mechanic into a more interesting game. Don’t take that to mean it’s Battlefield with swords and magic, because it isn’t.

When you drop into multiplayer you’ll be greeted with a class selection menu with five classes on it. Each of these classes can be compared to your generic classes from any other class system: Archers are snipers, Warriors are grunts, Mages are heavy weapons, Rogues are scouts and Priestesses are medics. All of the classes are fairly balanced at this point, and each is necessary to a coherent team effort. Once you get into the game itself, the first thing anyone who has played the single campaign will notice about the multiplayer mode is that the environment isn’t all that useful and interactive anymore. Whether to balance the game or because of performance issues, Kuju all but removed the impressive interactivity with the maps you enjoy in single player so much. This unfortunately makes the maps seem much duller and less exciting without the ability to drop a cart of barrels on your enemy’s head. The combat remains consistent with the single game, minus the now useless kick attack of course, and the same pitfalls found in single player can be found in the multiplayer game as well. Arrows are more useful tactically on the large multiplayer maps, but still have a mean arc to make them difficult to use. Spells take a long time to charge up, and if you aren’t careful will get you hacked to pieces very often.

Luckily, to level out some of these problems there is a skill point system in place reminiscent of the single game’s skill tree, just on a class to class basis. Those lame duck arrows can be upgraded to go further, have poison or fire attached, and later a shotgun-like multi-arrow trick can be purchased with your skill points. For mages and priestesses, more skill points equate to more spells and faster recharge. Knights get endurance upgrades for longer sprints, special slash attacks and defensive tanking spells. Rogues get a cloaking spell and subsequent upgrades to it, poison upgrades to their daggers, and eventually a backstab attack that can take out an enemy quickly and silently. Skill points are of course gained by getting kills and capturing flags, and an experience meter can be found next to your mana bar.

Probably the most interesting component to the multi game is the novel map setup. Basically, there are five maps, and if you would envision it as a line, the game begins at the midpoint. The two maps on each side of the midpoint get closer to each faction’s fortress. Depending on who wins the map, the next map in the cycle will move the winner closer to the enemy’s home base. The dynamic cycle makes the game seem more like an ongoing war than a ten minute round on a random map.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - PC

Presentation

While the beefed up Source engine provides top notch visuals, the requirements are steep.

Gameplay

The best first person swordplay this side of Mount & Blade, but the magic and bow combat comes off as lackluster.

Replayability

If you enjoyed it the first time, lots of secrets and different endings are there for a second play through. Multiplayer provides a unique take on flag-capping teamplay, but the level system can lead to serious balance issues.

Value

Aside from being nVidia's hot bundle item for new video cards, it's available through Steam and retail, for an average month old game price. FPS junkies or those seeking a unique first person melee experience should find it a great pickup.

Overall

All in all, the single game is borderline amazing in all aspects and the multiplayer only waters the experience down a little bit. Multiplayer is just unique enough to be fun and interesting, and is a nice twist on the otherwise worn out flag capturing game we’ve seen so many times before. If you can run it and enjoy first person swordplay, it's definitely worth your time.