Might and Magic Dark Messiah: WHy did you like it?

[Andhaira]

Ok I haven't gotten arounjd tok playing htis yet due to a low pwered pc. However, its generally regarded as a good game, even by codexers. I was wondering why that was since the game has little to no meaningful dialogue, no choices and consequence to speak of, fps view and combat, extensive use of cheaptactics (kicking), and its realtime.
Also, the story is cliche. There is no char gen, rpg elements are simplistic.

So what gives? WHy do you like it?

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

Its the first FPS game I have played where it feels like you actually have a body instead of being a floating gun. Your step sounds like you really are heavily-built killer, your screen tilts and moves like you actually had a head and were running/getting hit/jumping etc. instead of floating around, and so on. Dark Messiah is a fun action game, far from perfect but some parts of it are better done than in anywhere else.

Of course I'd have preferred Arx Fatalis 2 instead, but I'm not complaining.

 

[MetalCraze]

Dark Messiah was fun
but then 30 minutes of the game have passed...

 

[Gragt]

Some spoilers, beware (though there isn't much of a story to ruin).

It's not an rpg at all, the only choices you can take are limited to cleansing the demonic taint or accepting it and what to do of the skull at the end of the game (and there the cinematics are basically the same each time).

It is far from perfect, as said the story is weak and you can pretty much make out the big lines at the end of the tutorial, the characters can easily be forgotten and the few verbal exchanges they have do not help.

Yet I liked it very much. It looks nice (though I have seen better looking games running a bit faster), the first-person melee combat is really well rendered, you can use the environment to kill enemies (maybe too much sometimes, waiting for them to line up to kick them into spikes can get boring) and Arkane know how to create a proper ambiance for crypts and dungeons.

Being able to use skill points to develop his character as a warrior, mage or thief is also nice. Again here we have a few unbalances: the mage is powerful but you basically use one or two spells and the rest is trash, the thief can sneak up on enemies and do devastating backstab damage but it often becomes too tedious to do and you'd rather charge in as warrior... Yet it in a way playing a thief reminded me of Thief and Thief 2.

The game got some really bad press but while I acknowledge its flaws (and some are pretty big) I still found it very fun to play. I did not buy it at release but now that it's available at budget price, I'd recommend it if you like action games and have the computer to make it run. Do not expect teh best game evar but an honest action game with its flaws and strenghts. But it's certain that you do not play DMoMM for its story.

 

[Herbert West]

BLOOD, GIBS, KICKING, DECAPITATION, IMPALEMENT, HACK N' SLASH, VIOLENCE

That's about it, but enough for me to enjoy it!

 

[Durwyn]

I want the fucking Might & Magic X !

As for The Dark Messiah... For the first 15 minutes i loved it... After 30 m it was good... After 1 hour it was meh..
Nice combat and physics aren't enough to keep me playing it. Boooring

 

[RK47]

it's not often you can actually sneak up behind an orc and backstab him in first person combat. The sneak attack animation is exceptionally well-done. That's how FPS Action RPG should've gone instead of giving us that 'same swing and random hit dmg' as well as 'sneak attacks do X5 Dmg' messages.

The kick is overpowered and was an overused gimmick, I never recall my boots being THAT powerful in any FPS ever, but offered a fresh feature. Environmental death traps is a nice feature as well as finishing blow on a disoriented enemy. Overall it's a dream of mine to experience such combat in FPS RPG instead of the half-assed stat based stuff we get.

 

[MetalCraze]

I never recall my boots being THAT powerful in any FPS ever.

Jedi Academy

 

[Monolith]

WHy do you like it?

I didn't. I finished the demo, didn't like the combat and since there's not much more than that...

 

[Jasede]

I want the fucking Might & Magic X !

I too long for a faithful sequel to Might & Magic IX

 

[Section8]

Ok I haven't gotten arounjd tok playing htis yet due to a low pwered pc. However, its generally regarded as a good game, even by codexers. I was wondering why that was since the game has little to no meaningful dialogue, no choices and consequence to speak of, fps view and combat, extensive use of cheaptactics (kicking), and its realtime.
Also, the story is cliche. There is no char gen, rpg elements are simplistic.

So what gives? WHy do you like it?

Because not all games have to be RPGs, and there are a lot more enjoyable games outside of the RPG genre than in it.

 

[thesheeep]

I too long for a faithful sequel to Might & Magic IX

Can't we just forget about IX and pretend it never happened?
So let's just say we wait for M&M IX....

 

[nik2008ofs]

Might and Magic IX exists and it was ok... not great, but not as bad as people would have you believe.

I played halfway (got to chapter 6) through Dark Messiah in a single 7-hour sitting, but never tried to double-click on its desktop icon again, somehow I just lost interest after the first marathon... maybe some day I'll finish.

 

[Jasede]

No, it was that bad. It was my first Might & Magic game, and I -liked- it, but as soon as I played Might & Magic 1 I realized how terrible IX was.

 

[Suchy]

It's fph&s and it's good at it. I liked the combat, but gets repetitive and boring pretty fast, as the game features almost nothing else.
I'd love to see fp combat like this in a real RPG (with mounted combat a'la Mount&Blade), where the main focus is actually the story, and with less but more challenging fights.


As for M&M... All were utter crap. Swords&Lasers my ass.

 

[Jasede]

You're a twat.

M&M were great. Go back 2 Twitcher.

 

[Suchy]

Yeah... I remember just holding 'A' for 'Attack' and watching hordes of goblins getting killed in a matter of seconds in that greatest of the great tactical TB implementations... Fun, fun :/
Don't remember if it was M&M6 or 7, I just stopped playing after that.

And I loathe mixing s-f with fantasy.

 

[Jasede]

Yeah, so why are you on an RPG board if you hate Might & Magic and Wizardry? Go away.

 

[doctor_kaz]

Eh. It was a totally mediocre game. Moderately enjoyable for all of the ways that you could use the environment to kill your enemies. Kicking them off of cliffsides and onto spikes was fun as hell. But the combat other than that kind of sucked. First person melee combat just doesn't work.

 

[Suchy]

Maybe because there are RPGs I enjoyed much more? Like Betrayal at Krondor, with really good story and TB combat that was actually fun. Or Star Trail with even better TB implementation (though all the participants had way too much HP). And they didn't feature laser guns.
Or Bloodnet - which did feature laser guns, but you wouldn't find an elf with a bow there.
Or Gothic with terrible combat, but good story and funny characters.
Or Fallout, or Ultima 7, or........

 

[Jasede]

Hmph, apology accepted.

 

[thesheeep]

First person melee combat just doesn't work.

Wrong.
There are numberless games that have FP melee combat and do it just right.
Many of them are actually Source mods.

Sure, 3rd person gives you a better overview, but melee combat is more than possible in FP.

 

[nik2008ofs]

And I loathe mixing s-f with fantasy.

Jasede, how could you suggest that M&M are enjoyable? Suchy loathes such mixings, the developers should be publicly executed, how dare they try something that Suchy loathes? I mean, it's loathsome, Suchy says so!

 

[Jasede]

Your mom is loathsome. B-)

 

[Claw]

Wrong.
There are numberless games that have FP melee combat and do it just right.
Many of them are actually Source mods.

This post is worthless without links! :evil: