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 Release Date: 2/12/2008 Powered by the Source engine, Dark Messiah: Might and Magic Elements lets you experience the brutal combat, highly interactive environments, and dark atmosphere of the Might and Magic universe. Jump in the boots of Sareth in his quest for truth and justice and dive headlong in an action-filled adventure where only your wits and prowess will make the difference.
From: http://reviews.teamxbox.com/ It’s been well over a year since Ubisoft took its popular Might and Magic franchise into the FPS world in Dark Messiah of Might and Magic on the PC. Now, 360 owners are getting their bite at the proverbial apple, with the release this week of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements. With more than a year since the PC release, one can’t help but wonder if the console version was worth the wait.
According to the lore of the Might and Magic universe, more than a thousand years ago, there was a great war which pitted Humans, Elves, and Dwarves against hordes of invading demons. The war came to an abrupt end when the wizard Sar-Elam, the Seventh Dragon, sacrificed himself to imprison the demonic forces forever. Of course, nothing lasts forever … especially in video games. In Dark Messiah, players take on the role of Sareth, a young adventurer training under the wizard Phenrig. After years of training, Sareth is sent on a mission to recover relic known as the Skull of Shadows, which if it falls into the wrong hands could be used to break down the prison’s walls and unleash the demons on the world once more.
At the start of the game, the player chooses from one of four different classes: Warrior, Archer, Mage, and Assassin. True to adventure game form, the Warrior is a melee specialist, focusing on tanking through enemies with brute force. The Archer class takes out foes from a distance, firing off arrows and taking ‘em out in true sniper form. Mages are your token magic users, preferring to wipe out orcs, goblins, and other nefarious characters with the power of spellcraft rather than the end of a sword. And finally, the Assassin class skulks in the shadows, slipping his blade in-between the ribs of his enemies. Completing missions and fighting enemies earns the player skill points which can be used to unlock new abilities for his chosen class.
If you’ve already played Dark Messiah on the PC, you should know what you’re in for here. After all, this is pretty much the same game released over a year ago, but with a few extra levels and some tweaks to the controls to adjust for the move from keyboard to controller. For those unfamiliar with the PC game though, Dark Messiah is akin to titles like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. That is to say it’s more akin to a first person shooter than an RPG, but it’s also meant to be more adventure than action. Basically, it’s trying to be a little bit of everything. Of course, there’s something to be said about the old adage, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
Visually, Dark Messiah tries hard. The environments are sharp, and all of the textures pack in a surprising amount of detail. Lighting in the game is spot on, and pulls everything together to make the world really feel alive. Take a look at any screenshots and you can’t help but be impressed. The problem is those screenshots don’t show the game in motion. The framerate in Dark Messiah is all over the place. In some areas, things move as smooth as silk, and in these spots the game truly shines. In other places though, the game slows to a crawl, chugging along sporadically with all the grace of a pregnant yak. Imagine taking all those pretty screenshots, string them together, and use them as a flipbook and you can imagine how it looks at its worst. |
