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BUGGY

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 18
Date: October 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is full of bugs, and definitely not worth purchasing at this time. My roommate and I both purchased copies on release day, and we both ran into several problems, not always the same.
- Finding and copying the proper .dll's to a directory
- 10-15 minute load times (or freeze up) on multiplayer maps.
- Sound and lag issues in Single player
- This game uses Steam, and sometimes it wants to update the entire game (10 Gig)

Wait a few weeks, see what Ubisoft fixes, then check the forums to see if it is really worth it. I just wasted 100 bucks for 2 copies of an incomplete game... please save your money and don't do the same.

Not a real might and magic game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 16
Date: October 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Those of us who grew up with Might and Magic remember the games and New World Computing. This current offering has no relation to the game. Somehow, this company has the rights to the game but not the creative people involved particularly Jon Van Caneghem who has left NCSoft and now found Trion.

If you want Might and Magic, try Guild Wars. Ignore this attempt at companies gaining money by buying a recognized name and selling crap behind it.

A great, absorbing, and FUN game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: November 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If this were a game forum, I'd note these short reviews and pass on by. But on an open SALES forum like this, I feel compelled to give my impressions of Dark Messiah--impressions which are quite different than the others posted here.

I too have played every single Might & Magic game that was released over the years (all the way back to the original M&M) and every Heroes of Might & Magic (including the recent HOMM 5). That Dark Messiah doesn't live up to Jon Van Caneghem's original vision strikes me as an over simplistic and erroneous judgment. I will agree that if you're looking for a continuation of New World Computing's M&M flavor (no pun intended), in my opinion that hasn't been around since Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven was released in 1998, and some would argue since 3DO acquired New World Computing in 1996.

I think Dark Messiah dovetails well enough with the M&M world and lore--which is plenty big enough to draw from--but far more importantly that it holds up very well as an exceptional game in its own right. In other words, that it is FUN. Graphically, Dark Messiah is gorgeous, it sounds marvelous (despite some occasionally less than spectacular voice acting), and the story and immersion-factor are superb. Dark Messiah is certainly an action game first and an RPG second (a distant second), but if you enjoyed such FPS/RPG hybrids as System Shock and System Shock 2, the Thief series, Deus Ex, etc., I can't imagine your being unsatisfied with Dark Messiah. It's got loads of action, personality, style, and fun.

As for bugs: I've seen the large number of problems that some people have had with Dark Messiah not running or not running well on their machines. I have certainly had that experience over the years with many other games too, but not with Dark Messiah. For me it has played flawless for about 15 hours now. The graphics are smooth, the sound is excellent and without stuttering, and I haven't encountered one crash or even a slowdown yet. If you're concerned about Dark Messiah working on your PC, you may want to wait for the patches to arrive. But as for myself and a good many others, I can tell you with confidence that from where I sit Dark Messiah is a smashing success.

The other reviewers (baring the last one) are morons.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is excellent, if you have a computer that can handle it.

If your computer is "buggy with it" it's because your computer is a piece of crap.

I'm running an Opteron @ 2.92GHz with 2GBs of Mushkin PC4000 and an 8800GTX and this game screams gorgeously on my 24" Widescreen monitor at a full 1920x1200 with HDR and 6X AA no problems what so ever.

FPS rate never gets below 40, it looks stunningly beautiful. If you want combat comparable to sword-fighting-FEAR-like combat, in an enivornment nearly as beautiful (and in some parts more) as Oblivion, get this game.

The thrill of goring someone with your sword for the first time or hacking their head, arm or leg off is unmistakably fun. Ubisoft hit another home run as far as I'm concerned (only other game of theirs I own is FarCry). It is an excellent game and should be purchased by anyone that likes First Person Slayers but always misses not being able to hack limbs off of their opponents cuz most FPS games are with guns ;)

Also, Xana and the other chick are quite sexy (I'm a girl so this means something when I am saying it), and while some of the voice acting does suck, Xana in particular is awesome. She reminds me of me. LOL

Buy it. I got it for free with my 8800GTX from EVGA ;)

Great Game, Two Big Ifs

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

IF you haven't played Heroes of Might and Magic V,

and

IF your computer can't beat the RECOMMENDED system specifications,

DON'T buy it.

On the other hand,

IF you like RPGs but don't have the time to spend 90 hours on a game, or hate getting three-quarters of the way through only to find out you missed a secret and can't get the Ultimate Weapon, or discover you need to spend an extra six hours levelling up because you don't have the HP to beat the end boss,

and

IF you like your fantasy games gritty or with a hard edge, where Bad Things Happen to Good People and named NPCs might even die, like Diablo - or maybe where the protagonist is a right [...], like the comic book Hellblazer,

DO buy this game, and have a great bloody time.

The game is a little on the short side, and some of the voice acting - particularly your wizard master, Phenrig - is terrible. But this game employs the Half-Life 2 physics engine more fully than Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines, and doesn't have any of the problems of Arx Fatalis, Arkane's earlier RPG.

Machine Messiah(my '03 Falcon can run it fine on reasonable level)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The magizines always warn of the steep requirements of this game, but anything (as in any GAMING RIG) with in the last 3 years can run it fine. If your PC can't you are going to Best Buy to shop or Circuit CIty, in this case your PC is crap in a box. My PC is only 2.0 ghz(as in not dual but single 3200 AMD) and at med/high levels it runs without stuttering. Also remember, XP will stutter a bit at first in a new peice of software but in time will "get used to running it". The storyline is superb and just because it isn't Hero's tactical style doesn't mean it has no merit. This is an intermission between Hero's V and probably VI(who knows). The single individual hero type game is my personal favorite anyway more than epich battles(we've had quite enough of that in 21st century PC games/moveis). I reluctantly picked up this title at Haistings on a whim and found that my reluctance was unwarrented as it runs fine with most bells and some whistles too. The RP element is mostly Arx Fatalis(the original makers ported an Arx Fatalis II as an M&M utilising Steam) no Arx storyline continuety, just the engine/RP system but the HoM&M storyline is there(adhering to the M&M timeline). This game is reliant on your playing skill as much as (or more) than the character's skill and attributes.(as in your fighting levels must be carefullly timed to be of any use at all and strength, endurence ect only plays a small part in taking down the enemy.) the physics is better than most games and only ocasiionally, not continually does a Blackguard or Imp get stuck in a fire pit or barrel, this only happens on slow PCs and he will eventually just poke you with a bow. I do not know if the Phys X expansion card is supported I've heard rumors it is and isn't but it works mostly fine without such a device. Orcs are always hard and I have little faults with thier AI.(probably because they fight in the outside areas away from clutter). This game is hefty on action and can get repetitive and tiresom as very little dialgoue or human transaction takes place(not a true RP) but there is good human interaction and relations between you and a handfull of key characters, most notibley that "voice in your head", Xanna and of course, Lenna the more corporial mortal who picks up the slack more pragmattically. SOme scenes(particularly the spider caves and the "chapter 3" "knife in the dark") are Lord of the Rings rip-offs but hey, I like LoTR and like it here as well! Good game, great phyisics as promised by CGW(MSG) only a few bugs(mostly relating to mem leakage) but great otherwise.(not ONE SINGLE Crash!)

Listen to "Kaite O's" Review................

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Kaite's review was right on the money. Now I'm running this game on one of my systems that I've just upgraded and the game runs fine. I wanted to do a *STRESS TEST"(something i do with each PC i own after upgrading) and found that the only *BUG* i ran into so far(I'm about half-way through the game according to the guide i refer to) is at the very beginning when riding up to speak to the guard-the sound loops *HORRIBLY* FOR ABOUT 5-6 seconds,but that's it. I'm running this game to test out the a new (Nvidia 7600GS 512MB AGP card) on a...get this..a 2yr old 'Compaq Presario-SR1303WM w/ 1GB of memory(maxed), a fairly decent cd/dvd rom combo and a Segate 80gig hard drive and the game runs fine even with the settings on HIGH,"NO B.S", so i have no idea why others are having such problems with this game, must be the new 7600GS-THE CARD CRANKS for an AGP Videocard-which we all know that "AGP" is heading slowly to it's grave. On my (Customized-PCI-E/Self-Built) system, this game runs gorgeous.Can't understand the so-so reviews for this product.-holyknight7

Play Oblivion Instead

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have not been able to play the game. Every time I have attempted to, it restarts my system. I have downloaded all the "patches", installed, uninstalled, and over again trying to get this game to work on my pc which does fall within all of the specified game requirements to be able to play the game. Obviously there is a huge problem with the game and I can not understand how a game publisher/game developer would release this without working out these major issues. Also, I am out the money it cost me for the program, since they have all of the laws against piracy which leaves me with a game that doesn't work, and without the money that it cost me for this glorified coaster.

might and magic

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Over all a good game, gameplay is fun, not to repetitive. Predictable story line though, and quite linear at that. Uber fun to kick people off high ledges and into enviromental hazards, like spikes and crates.

A fun, artfull time.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The fight animations pleased me most when I first played this game. You can tell your character flows through various stances by the arm movements. The sword strikes are solid, as is all the quarterstaff flourishes and combos. Shooting arrows is realistic, and who wouldn't like to form a fireball between your hands and throw it at stuff? The variety of weapons and approaches to this game make it replayable. The fun fighting alone makes it replayable. The art department did a very good job with this game. Nothing seems out of place, all the characters are realistically (within a fantasy world) represented with style.
If you find any part of the game too easy (or too hard), just alter your playing style for more challange. You can find some items that turn the battles to your favor..too much so in my opinion. But then I prefer drawing the battles out as long as they can last. Though kicking orcs into bonfires, off cliffs, and onto spikes is a fun way to end things quickly. This is also one first person type fantasy game where you can play as an exclusive magic user with real success.
I played this game on my laptop..2 GHZ, 1 gig ram, ati xpress 200m. The first time, i set the directx level to 8 for smooth gameplay. But the second time, i left the directx level to 9, and it played just as smoothly. No noticeable stutters or jerks. (i do have the resolution set to 800X600, though). Make sure to download the 2 patches and install them in order. I mention this so if you have a better machine than mine, you know it will treat you well.(just close all your other programs, and defragment your harddrive.
This game takes advantage of all the lighting, presence, and physics the source engine has to offer.

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