RPGWatch Forums - Dark Messiah - French Review @ Jeux Video

The reviewer seems to have liked it so much he wet his pants.

In a small nutshell, this is what it says:
+ (some background and plot exposition that I won't bother to translate)
+ More like Deus Ex or System Shock than Far Cry or other FPS's — an action RPG
+ Skill points acquired by advancing plot, not whacking beasts, so a few bonuses aside, you'll always end up with approximately as many of them no matter what you do
+ Best combat system the reviewer has ever seen in this type of game, leaves Oblivion and Gothic 3 in the dust (goes on for a long time about this)
+ Kicking goblins into fires is fun
+ Different skill trees let you develop as a melee fighter, archer, mage, or "assassin," and all of these play styles are well implemented and supported (again goes on for a bit about this); he seems to like the stealth-style the least although says that it's not bad either although very challenging to play
+ Lots of kewl lewt, not all of which is usable by all characters (some have specific skill req's)
+ Level design permits a number of different approaches, suited to different play styles
+ Lots of dark corners and hidden goodies to find
+ Cool level design, good gameplay, great physics, reasonable system requirements courtesy of Source Engine
+ Animations "worthy of the name" that add to immersion as dying enemies try to hit you, run off for reinforcements, or get away, or some cutie tries to seduce you
+ Above average music and (French) voice acting
+ Sense of humor included at no extra charge; they liked the dialogue with the hero's mysterious (female) spirit guide
- long load times
- bug causing a stutter on hit (which should be fixed in release version)
- no dynamic lighting
- some careless texturing
+ Character development requires real choices (not enough points to become good at everything)
+ Multiple alternative endings
=> great replayability

Sounds fun. Sort of like Deus Ex with swords.