Dark Messiah - Review @ Gamespot

I like gamespot overall, they have a wide variety of coverage that I can get in one place. This is the only other gaming site I read on a regular basis, as I'm rather biased towards RPG's. That said, you just have to take gamespot's reviews with a grain of salt. They're gamers just like you and me, so I just treat their comments as I would a forum post on say, rpgwatch/rpgdot.

I do miss the old days of Might and Magic though. I loved M&M6 and the Clouds of Xeen was a great game too. Wish there were more of these in the pipeline.
 
I don't see why people are defending this game because "it wasn't supposed to be an RPG anyways". What exactly is it supposed to be then? It doesn't compete in the RPG market and it doesn't compete in the FPS market either. The Gamespot reviewer didn't just say that the game's RPG elements sucked. He also said that combat and level design were shallow and repetitive and that the story sucked. Like I said previously, if you're going to accept that this game isn't an RPG, then let's compare it to F.E.A.R., Far Cry, and Half-Life 2. Does the action stack up? Nope, it certainly doesn't. It's Oblivion without the open-endendess, RPG stats, or beautiful graphics. Big whoop.

I and many others predicted that this would happen the day that it was announced. Ubisoft and Arkane took Arx 2, dumbed it down for the XBox 360 by stripping out the role playing elements, and then slapped the Might and Magic name on it to try and sell it to PC RPG fans. It's the perfect formula for a crap game that nobody wants. You could see this coming from a mile away.

But if it fails it will be because it was a buggy mess and then Arkane won't get funding for their next project and they'll go 'the way of the Troika' ... is that what you *really* want?

Arx Fatalis 2 was their next project, don't you see? But it became this piece of crap. No, I don't care if they go the way of Troika if this is all that they are going to do.
 
That was me that posted that last message, by the way. :)

BTW, Jeff Gerstmann is the guy who reviewed the game. He is not a big PC RPG player, so if this game was supposed to be viewed as just an action game, it got the benefit of the doubt.
 
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I didn't realize that there were a lot more M&M titles out there. According to Wikipedia:

"There were several spin-offs from the main series, including Heroes of Might and Magic, Crusaders of Might and Magic, Warriors of Might and Magic, Legends of Might and Magic, Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen and Might and Magic Tribute (under development)."

Looks like you can add DM to the spin-off list as well, which is similar to the Crusaders/Warriors/Legends action games. HoMM has the most RPG elements of all the spin-offs and IMO is the best of the lot.

I hope they are done with the "Something-Something of Might and Magic" spin-offs for good! :)
 
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I am comparing it to those other games, it absolutly kills FEAR. Sure FEAR had good combat, but it was the same exact combat in the same exact room and corridore throughout the entire game. It is much more repetative than Messiah is.
I'd easily put it on par with Far Cry. The end of Far Cry was terrible, so was the voice acting, I havn't finish Messiah yet, so that's still in the air.

Yeah, it's probably not as good as HL2, but what is?

I don't know why the haters are using this review as the benchmark. It's the only one so far to give it a below 80 mark. Most reviews are quite good, as are the overall user reviews.

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/929360.asp
 
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Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic are legitimate. The rest are 3rd-party companies that bought the name and abused it badly. Starting with 3do and trickling down to the current offering. Make your own games folks. If you want to buy a name, live up to that name's standards.

U5: Lazarus is a great example of a developer who tried their best to create a game that lived up to its predecessor's standards.

MM: Tribute might eventually be the same, though I fear that their group isn't nearly as dedicated/talented as the Lazarus crew was.
 
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I enjoyed the demo for what it was and will probably purchase the game at some point. It seemed like a weird Oblivion/Half-life hybrid to me, but seemed to have decent atmosphere and combat.

I think all the vitriol towards this game is that as more and more of these type of FPS hybrid games come out genre fanatics (like those on this site) feel their genre will be made obsolete. To be honest, that is a real fear that we all share and should not be discounted.

However, in Ubisoft's defense, their site never once mentions RPG as a descriptor for this game. In fact, they continuallly call it a "fantasy action game" which is appropriate.

I don't think Gamespot's reviewer had any preconceived notion about the game. I think he just didn't like it. However, as others have said, the reviews so far are more than agreeable.
 
Coming soon from We-Buy-RPG-Titles:

"Pastry Chefs of Might and Magic" :p

Yes, it does seem that's the direction that it's all heading, doesnt it. Might and Magic meets Cooking Mama:)


Jeff reviewed the game as he saw it, and a "light story" to him was somewhat of a downer in a game with such a lineage as Might and Magic. That's why there is the expectation of "something more" in the story and rpg aspects dept, I think. I dont think Gamespot wanted to be disappointed on this game, quite the opposite. Besides heralding the game's demo and building up anticipation for the weeks leading up to the release, they also posted a downloadable game guide, which they dont do for just any game.
 
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I just installed DM a few hours ago and I'm on the second level right now. I really like this game so far but it definitely has some issues. I get some random stuttering every so often for instance. This must be due to poor programing because there's no way that a game built with the Source engine should be stuttering on my system. - Core 2 Duo E6700 - Diamond Radeon x1950xtx

The depth perception seems a little strange sometimes as well. Sometimes a swing of my sword will miss an enemy that seems to be very close to me.
 
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Spent too much of the weekend playing it. Found I had to restrict my build to keep it interesting. As in Oblivion, the AI's predictability cheapens the experience. The orcs might bark at each other to flank, but they never take cover, circle around you, hold the high ground, or otherwise show any glimmer of intelligence. They just run toward you in a tight clusterfuck and eat lightning bolts five at a time. Ancient and terrible undead warriors can't deal with someone running in circles. I wish Arkane every success, a raft of sequels and a host of imitators, because I really really want someone to get this right.

(Hard, autosaves only, the offensive spell and the mana regeneration skill lines only, no blades or bows, no ring of regeneration. I hit mana regen halfway through the island and Sareth suddenly went from an impossibly weak stick-fighter to Serious Sam.)
 
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People need to start recognizing action games when they see one. This is fps style, a few levels and some skills won't change that, so review it as an action game. I'm not a fan of action games myself, nor am I a fan of DAoMM, but I honestly believe it's quite good as far as action games go.
 
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People need to start recognizing action games when they see one. This is fps style, a few levels and some skills won't change that, so review it as an action game. I'm not a fan of action games myself, nor am I a fan of DAoMM, but I honestly believe it's quite good as far as action games go.

I agree with you, and plan to guage the game basic on its own merits, not the perceived quality of a franchise.

That said, the point that a franchise has a value and some in-built quality is also true ... and I can understand that some would be displeased with the game based on that alone.
 
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You hit the nail on the head and I don't know a perfect way to balance these issues. The game deserves to measured on its own merits but fans have a right to have expectations of a franchise. I guess that's the fire you play with when you choose to use a franchise as a sales gimmick.
 
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Wow, some here are very unhappy with the game. It seems as though expectation is the culprit though. I can agree that DM is far more action than RPG, but that is precisely what makes the game fun in my opinion. I know that some consider action gaming low brow, and that others are displeased with the usage of the M&M name. Furthermore, I know that if I expected the game to be a blockbuster RPG I would be sorely disappointed, but I didn't. I expected the game to be exactly what it is an, action RPG. Regardless of the genre, the game's story could stand to have a few improvements coupled with more mystery tossed at it; but when it comes to combat, action that is, I think it wins hands down. I wouldn’t wish any ill-will toward a game that anyone here is looking forward to playing. As a long time gamer and career nerd I know how much even-handed anticipation can pay off. I am glad that I got a chance to play a game that I really enjoy, all technical flaws aside of course. With that said I hope that whatever comes next will satisfy any role playing needs some of the members have here. As I just mentioned, the game really could benefit from a deeper, well written, and more carefully revealed story. In the end though (tech. flaw ignored), when considered for what it is outside of the franchise and any expectations implied by the usage of the name DM is a damn good game.
 
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