Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements Review
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If you've already played Dark Messiah on the PC, you should know what you're in for here. After all, this is pretty much the same game released over a year ago, but with a few extra levels and some tweaks to the controls to adjust for the move from keyboard to controller. For those unfamiliar with the PC game though, Dark Messiah is akin to titles like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. That is to say it's more akin to a first person shooter than an RPG, but it's also meant to be more adventure than action. Basically, it's trying to be a little bit of everything. Of course, there's something to be said about the old adage, (Jack of all trades, master of none.)
Visually, Dark Messiah tries hard. The environments are sharp, and all of the textures pack in a surprising amount of detail. Lighting in the game is spot on, and pulls everything together to make the world really feel alive. Take a look at any screenshots and you can't help but be impressed. The problem is those screenshots don't show the game in motion. The framerate in Dark Messiah is all over the place. In some areas, things move as smooth as silk, and in these spots the game truly shines. In other places though, the game slows to a crawl, chugging along sporadically with all the grace of a pregnant yak. Imagine taking all those pretty screenshots, string them together, and use them as a flipbook and you can imagine how it looks at its worst.
