Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements Reviews
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Rather than offering the type of open world exploration and sense of control that Oblivion offers, Dark Messiah locks you into the story in strictly told chapters. There are no side-quests, other than discovering a few obvious 'secret areas', and the level objectives are frustratingly rigid. It is entirely possible to have the game not move forward because one enemy somehow did not spawn in the right spot, at which point you must scour the level trying to find that last misplaced enemy to kill before the game recognizes that you have 'defended' the area. It does not happen often, but when it does, good luck not turning it off for good.Thunderbolt gives it a 5.
The game is so set in its ways that you never even get to decide your character's upgrades. Each of your fifteen levels you can earn in the game has a set skill upgraded along with it. There are no skill points to disperse, and no altering your character's predetermined path. You had best be sure of what class you want to play as, because the game is also strict as to your character's role. There is no, "I'll start as a warrior, then maybe learn the bow". Sure, you will see bows, daggers, and staffs lying around through the game. You will even be able to pick them up, but as a bit of a thumb-tease, the game refuses to allow you to use weapons outside your class. You can look at the other classes as a way to extend the replay value, but honestly making it through the game without boring yourself to tears once will be hard enough. Due to what feels like awkward controls for the mage and frustratingly large display of your bow as an archer (seriously, who walks around with their bow constantly cocked?), warrior class seems to be the best bet to make it through the game with the fewest additional issues.
The combat in Elements is surprisingly robust. There are four classes to choose from: Assassin, Warrior, Mage, and Archer (if you feel like blowing 400MSpoints there are more available on Xbox Live). Each class uses a different type of weapon and has different starting statistics. The one thing that each class has in common is the ability to kick. Legs are rarely used at all in first-person games, let alone used as weapons. It's the shining feature in the game, and combined with the Source-engine physics, creates opportunities for hilarity at every corner. Granted, combat in Elements may take no skill, but it sure is satisfying to punt an orc in the butt and watch him fall off of a cliff, horrid voice acting and all. Upper body attacks consist of swords, knives, axes, and bows, as well as some magic. Any weapon encountered in the game can be picked up, which is a brilliant feature, until you realize that all first-person shooters let you do that, and that it's just easier to distinguish between guns than swords. Then it just seems nice. As the game funnels you through linear environments, the charm of being a high-fantasy action game begins to wear off. Elements relies so heavily on tired shooter gameplay that the setting soon becomes irrelevant, and soon players will feel as if they're playing a game of Medal of Honor that only allows melee attacks. It's entertaining, but derivative, and the game soon grates on the nerves.
