Dark Messiah of Might & Magic
We’ve provided some comprehensive coverage on the Ubisoft title Dark Messiah of Might and Magic when we took a detailed look at the multiplayer aspect which certainly didn’t disappoint. On this occasion we headed down to Ubisoft’s HQ for some hands-on time with three of the single player levels. We’ve seen so much of this game through trailers and screenshots that our expectations were high, and after only a short period the HEXUS gaming editor could hardly hide his delight after witnessing some of the superbly gruesome animations (he actually squealed with delight, he's such a girl you know), whilst I took a more sober approach by examining the actual gameplay, keeping my head down to avoid further embarrassment for the HEXUS team.
Game Background
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic is an action game set from the first person perspective. It's powered by an enhanced version of the Source Engine, the award-winning game technology Valve created to power Half-Life2 and takes place in a fantasy world full of deadly assassins, powerful warriors and vicious orcs. In Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, players are introduced to the world of Ashan, the new setting for all future Might & Magic games. Ashan is a dark and unforgiving world, scarred by a bloody history and threatened by an apocalyptic prophecy: the Dark Messiah.
Click for larger imagePlayers jump into the shoes of the young hero Sareth, who has been trained in the arts of magic and war in order to battle the prophetic Dark Messiah. Players will have the choice to become expert warriors, mages or assassins, each with their own cache of devastating weapons and spells to use in battling huge and vicious enemies. Through combat, players will unlock new skills and equipment, advancing Sareth's experience and improving his performance, battle combos, hits, spells and techniques and setting his course for his destiny.
Click for larger imageCombat
The combat is extremely straightforward and offers both a physical experience and a tactical one. If you are wielding a sword or a dagger you can tap the left trigger to slash an enemy or hold it down to enter a stance. The stance mode unleashes a more powerful swing or thrust of your weapon and, depending on whether you’re running, walking, or standing still, will react differently due to the context-sensitive system that has been put in place. The same applies to your defence; depending on how the enemy attacks you, will depend on how you defend that attack. A static attack may result in a simple block, whereas a running attack may end with a parry. These variations in blocking and attacking manoeuvres prevent combat from becoming too repetitive.