Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements

[Frogacuda]

So apparently the demo for this went up on 360. I'm pretty sure all 5 of the people on TNL that bought this game on PC thought it was awesome, and personally, it was my GOTY 2006, but now it's coming out on a system people here care about, so don't let this game bomb twice.

For the uninitiated, Dark Messiah isn't really a proper RPG as much as it is a first-person action game with RPG elements. It began life as a sequel to Arx Fatalis, which in turn began life as a revival of Ultima Underworld. It's basically a love-fest for Looking Glass' classic first person games like Deus Ex, Thief, and of course Ultima Underworld, with liberal amounts of Half Life 2 thrown in for good measure.

It is not comparable to Oblivion, and it is not a full-fledged RPG with a ton of exploration and what-not. For what it is, it's a really excellent action game, with very flexible combat, and a lot of interesting skills to mess with.

[Opaque]

So apparently the demo for this went up on 360. I'm pretty sure all 5 of the people on TNL that bought this game on PC thought it was awesome, and personally, it was my GOTY 2006, but now it's coming out on a system people here care about, so don't let this game bomb twice.

It's not the same game.

It's a bastard child that took everything good about the original and fucked it right up the ass. Do not buy this game, play the original instead. That's what I'm going to do.

[Frogacuda]

How do you mean? It is the same game + 3 new optional levels.

Except the multiplayer. That's completely different, but I never cared about that.

[Opaque]

The experience system isn't even remotely the same.

Unlike the PC version of Dark Messiah, skills will simply unlock based on your class in the console version instead of having you pick from an open skill tree

[Frogacuda]

It's class-based? What the fuck is up with that?

[Opaque]

That's what I'm saying. They butchered it.

[Frogacuda]

God dammit. Way to blow your second chance.

[bVork]

Not to mention it somehow manages to lose the visceral feel and tight control of the PC game. It feels really floaty and unresponsive.

[Frogacuda]

This is what happens when you try to fix something that wasn't broken. I guess they figured it bombed horribly so there must be something they need to change.

I blame everyone who didn't buy this in the first place.

[Tain]

Not to mention it somehow manages to lose the visceral feel and tight control of the PC game. It feels really floaty and unresponsive.

I thought I was crazy and the game didn't control as well as the PC demo I remembered. Good to hear this, at least, for when I eventually play the real thing.