Dark Messiah: Might and Magic

Our first review is of Ubisoft’s Dark Messiah, their latest instalment from the Might and Magic saga. For over 20 years we have been able to romp through the realms of their fevered imagination in some form or other.

In the single player game you take on the role of Sareth, a student of the mage Phenrig. The game starts with you in a catacomb unarmed and heading into unknown waters. The voice of your mentor leading you through each task as you progress.



Once some of the simple moment controls have been explained, how to climb ropes and smash down overhanging platforms, you then are introduced to the combat side of the game and to be honest I found it amazing.

Time has been spent thinking, planning and developing new and interesting ways in which the character brandishes a variety of common weapons, swords, bows and daggers as well as an intriguing set of side spells, fire arrows, lightning blast and many more.

The graphics on this are, to say the least, outstanding and what greets you as you enter the realm of Ashan is a highly detailed environment and sprawling landscapes. You do not go alone however; before you leave the safety of your mentors side he fuses you with a guardian spirit by the name of Xana.

Although this is helpful in those ‘which way next’ situations it can prove to be irritating when she constantly talks throughout your journey. Intermixing with the fast and furious combat sections and clever quests, for instance chasing a creature whom has stolen a magic crystal, which you need to continue further in the game, I am sure Ubisoft are ticking all the right boxes for hard core RPG fans.

Besides the annoying chatter from your inner voice, the only down side of this game is the limitations of the story line. Within the first few minutes and for those of us who read the manual, it is clear upon what happens and what you have to do. As with many new games today there is an online element, and due to using the Half Life 2 engine the multiplayer version is tied into Steam, Valve’s online gaming community.

Here you can pick the class of your character, archer, swordsman or wizard amongst several others. I personally feel that not enough time was spent on developing this side of the game and in fact it seems like it has bolted on as an after thought to keep Valve happy.

During your battles you character can unlock more powers or abilities, however you are tied into the original class you pick at the start otherwise you loose all the enhancements that you have gained in you battle’s. Couple that with the random crashing of Steam’s online servers the multiplayer aspect of the game is not really worth writing home about and this spoils what is quite a good romper overall.

Rating: 7/10 PC only