Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements

"Behold, my Dropkick of Doom!"

This game has received quite a bit of bad press for reasons I didn't quite (and still don't) understand. Even when people are trying to bash it, it always sounded pretty fun to me. However, it must be said that this is no Oblivion, nor does it make itself out to be. You won't find any sidequests other than scouring levels from extra swag, there is no open world, and your progression is not up to you. With that said, Dark Messiah is actually a very entertaining, albeit repetitive game.

STORY
Apparently, quite some time ago a really evil guy and his Demon army was locked away, but somebody screwed up a spell (a stupid wizard, naturally) and the prison wasn't actually complete. Thus there was always the threat of the Demons escaping and wreaking havoc on the world. You play as a magicians apprentice named Sareth, sent out to retrieve a magical artifact known as the Skull of Shadows. As is to be expected, the Skull is of some great and mysterious importance.

I do have to mention that the “plot twist” that occurs is quite possibly the most asinine thing I've ever seen. Not that it's stupid, it's just that it is pretty much revealed less than an hour into the game (by way of a completely obvious cinematic and some badly veiled hints) and when it is actually revealed, it's not much of a surprise. I actually started laughing, since I'd figured it out five hours ago. Of course, people who aren't so quick on the draw (and I can't imagine who. Maybe those who don't look at the manual and completely ignore the title of the game?) might get a small shock.

GRAPHICS
For the most part everything looks pretty good. Character models are top notch, and there are some downright unbelievable levels. The sense of atmosphere in some of these is so awesome it's almost unrealistic. This is due in large part to the genius use of lighting, something that still impresses me on next-gen games. In one area, you come out of a tunnel into a massive cave, with an open top and a set of ruins built right into the wall. The light from above highlights certain parts of the ruins, giving the whole area an almost surreal effect.

However, this surreal effect is also furthered by something a little strange. There is a distinct haziness to the entire game. Don't take this to mean that it's hard to make out objects, rather the colors of everything look muted. While this doesn't detract from the game, it does feel a little odd at times. One truly annoying thing is the poison effect. When poisoned, the screen will be covered with a green haze, making it almost impossible to see, let alone land a good blow on an enemy.

SOUND
You'd really think that it would be possible to have more than three comments for each enemy. I think I heard “Stranger must die!” every twenty seconds when fighting Orcs. It really begins to irritate when they start to attack, screaming the same thing over and over. Almost every other enemy in the game has the same problem, so when fighting something like a spider, the silence is almost a relief.

GAMEPLAY
At the start of the game, you'll pick one of four characters, each of which is pretty self explanatory; the warrior, sorcerer, archer, and assassin. They each earn their own unique skills and can only use certain weaponry. Obviously, the style of play varies dramatically for each. A warrior can duke it out with a group of Orcs, and the archer will have to distance himself to get off a shot. Personally, I don't think enough was done to make the different classes truly stand out from one another. For instance, save for the sorcerer, none of the classes learn any real spells or skills. And even in that case, they really aren't all that great (Ooh, fireball. Ooh, lightning. Ooh, telekinesis.). Where's the Poison Arrow for the Archer? How about an Invisibility spell for the Assassin? Things like that could have spiced up the action a bit more.

At the core, the game is all about combat. It's very easy to wail on your enemies, but mindless attacking is not encouraged. In fact, you must keep an eye on the stamina bar throughout the fight so you can unleash power attacks at the proper time. These are crucial to success as they inflict major damage on enemies. Combat is also pretty brutal, but I think it could have been kicked up a notch. There is some limited cranial decapitation, but it would have been nice to have been able to chop off some limbs. It would have been interesting to see how that would have affected gameplay. However, combat isn't all hack and slash. You also have a very handy kick (The Dropkick of Doom, as I have dubbed it) move at your disposal. Using this, it is possible to send enemies flying into spike racks, fire, or just the gaping abyss. You can also cut ropes and kick out support pillars to send things crashing down. While this is a cool mechanic, it just doesn't feel natural most of the time. The things you can interact with are often placed in hard to reach places, meaning you'll have to spend time to actually get your enemies to a point where they can be dispatched. And what's the sense of kicking a goblin four times to get it onto a spike rack when I can whack it once on the head and be done with it?

Another aspect is platforming. Much to my surprise, this was actually handled quite well. I rarely found myself miscalculating jumps and dying. In fact, you can hit the jump button again to grab onto a ledge should you screw up. For the most part this allows you to move through areas with ease, meaning when something big is happening (as it usually is when you have to do some platforming) you can focus on the matter at hand.

The levels themselves aren't as varied as I would like (If I was Sareth and I had to go through this many tunnels, I would've laid down and died a long time ago). You'll spend a significant chunk of time in uninspired tunnels and caves. A great portion of the game is dedicated to your infiltration and escape of one giant temple, which takes up a good three chapters (about five hours of game time if I remember correctly). Early on, I got the impression that I would be running through a different environment every chapter, which would have been cool since the developers have an obvious flair for level design. Early chapters had me running through a large, cavernous valley, a city, and later the rooftops of said city.

THE VERDICT
Like I said before, this is no Oblivion. If you want a game that allows you to go anywhere and do anything on your own time, you'll be sorely disappointed. And, I won't lie and say the game is full of surprises. You'll be doing the same things throughout the game over and over again, and when you find a new enemy, you can bet you'll spend the next hour or so killing it over and over again. But, if you're like me and you have a violence fetish, this should be right up your alley.

HIGHS
- Interesting physics based gameplay
- Simple, but fun combat system
- Extra gory kills
- First person platforming actually works!

LOWS
- Completely linear
- Some really weird bugs
- Repetitive enemies

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/08, Updated 10/01/08

Game Release: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements (US, 02/12/08)