| Heroes of Might and Magic: Dark Messiah : pc review |
The RPG or (role playing game,) is one of the longest standing genres of videogames, and unlike other genre’s such as the scrolling shooter, it’s probable that the RPG will be around for many years to come. That isn’t to say that RPG’s we play now are exactly the same ones that first appeared on the gaming scene all those years ago on early computer systems. Or to say that all RPG’s that we play now are exactly the same, Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft are both completely different from one another, yet they are still both role playing games.
When previews for the game Heroes of Might and Magic: Dark Messiah started to circle, from the screenshots and the gossip it looked like a game that could quite easily rival what many people had already dubbed the greatest RPG ever, Elder Scrolls IV: Shadows of Oblivion. Messiah’s combat system promised so much, and the game would use Half Life 2’s Source engine, to allow for immersive and realistic graphics, with a physics system that allowed player’s imaginations complete freedom as to how they would vanquish their foes.
However, a game can only deliver so much, and while Dark Messiah is a very competent First Person Slasher with an incredibly bloody and realistic hand to hand combat system. Messiah isn’t strictly a role playing game, and is very dissimilar to all of it’s predecessors in the Might and Magic series. It becomes obvious very quickly that many people may have bought this game and felt extremely disappointed.
The first instance in which this game falls down is the path the player has to travel on their epic journey is very strict, and only allows the players to diverse from the narrative route on a few occasions. This makes the optional endings at the end of the game feel tacked on and redundant, rather much like those of Deus Ex, where the player’s actions didn’t effect the narrative outcome until the very end of the game.
That isn’t to say that the game’s narrative is poor, there are some very interesting twists in places that keeps the player guessing (these I shall not go into so as not to spoil the plot for anyone that hasn’t played it yet.) And as Will Wright has argued on more than one occasion ‘why do we feel the need that games should have narrative?’ But for an RPG that has been pitched against Oblivion, the plot just doesn’t feel suitably epic enough. Even when you find yourself battling through war torn towns with Ogres storming the front gates, the strict path that the level design impedes upon the player has a negative impact, and the player no longer feels that they are in the middle of a world at war.
A strong plot, as any Final Fantasy fan will exclaim is the most important thing within an RPG. And players from the Oblivion ilk will also be disappointed as there are no sandbox elements to this game at all. You cannot design your character, neither can you name him and take on the quests in the order that you wish whilst levelling up.
I am not saying that the lack of these features make this game terrible, I am just pointing out that it has been marketed wrongly. This is as much an RPG as the film Tombstone is a Western. Yes Tombstone is set in the Wild West, but the style of it is very much action. Yes Dark Messiah is set in a fantasy realm, but the main crux of the game play comes from the intuitive combat system and in particular the ‘adrenaline rush,’ which is Messiah’s term for its brand new bullet time sword play.
It has been years since I have had this much fun with a game’s slow mo feature. Ever since Max Payne’s release, gamers have been inundated with titles that try and sell themselves on the ‘cool’ factor of bullet time. But I don’t think I’ve seen it done this well since I picked up a PS2 pad with Max Payne all those years ago, (OK, maybe with FEAR as well but that is definitely it.) The satisfaction that is felt when you slice an Orc’s head off and watch it go flying through the air while claret rains all over the screen is almost sensual. Surely I should feel morally corrupt from deriving such pleasure in skewering a monster onto my virtual sword, only to then pull it off with my foot in a fire work display of blood.
Dark Messiah therefore is a very action based computer game, and it shouldn’t suffer under the scrutiny of RPG fans and critics just because it was marketed incorrectly. It still should be enjoyed because it’s game play mechanics are implemented very well. The game offers so many ways in order to destroy your enemies, performing an ice spell on the steps in front of an Orc as he charges towards you, will cause him to loose his step and tumble down. Allowing the player to run over to his sprawled out body and slam his sword into the felled beasts back before it has a chance to get up. The addition of a kick attack is also helpful in shoving irritating ghouls into spikes, or off a cliff, or better still, into a fire.
If you are someone who is looking for a FPS shooter that is a little bit different, then you would do very well with this game. Even if you are a huge fan of the RPG genre, and all you find yourself playing is World Of Warcraft, this is still a good solid fantasy adventure, just don’t be expecting any huge depth, as you most certainly will not be finding yourself returning to the game in a few months time in order try and find all the secret weapons and hidden armour. But for a nice break between WoW or Oblivion sessions this game is perfect.
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