Dark Messiah - Elements

[Talislan]

Ok, so I've been looking at getting a new CRPG with the ongoing challenge of having a Laptop that is over three years old. (the graphics card will handle NWN but not NWN2).

As I don't currently have the finances to by a new PC/Laptop (and couldn't justify the money if I did) I am stuck with desperate hope of something turning up for my xbox360.

Now before anyone gets carried away I have already got both Oblivion and Mass Effect. Oblivion, great as it is, has been played to death and back. I am enjoying ME but I want something Fantasy, more D&D oriented.

And so that brings me to the impending release of M&M Dark Messiah - Elements. This looks, in trailer form at least, to be somewhere along the lines of the game I am looking for.

What do people know about it? my particular concern so far is that the abilities trees look far to simple as you level up and there is no clear indication (or at least I haven't seen one) of whether you choose the one 'path' or cross class your character as you go along.

On a side note if anyone knows of any other 'Oblivion'/'D&D' type games coming to the 360 or are in developement then please let me know. With the one Caveat: I don't want to play online (no MMORG please) and best to steer clear of the anime style (personal preference re weapons looking realistically plausable)

Many Thanks

T.

 

[ohGr]

I played the demo (it's up on the Live Marketplace) and didn't really care for it. The controls and movement seemed... clunky.

As for other similar games, i picked up Two Worlds for $10 off Gamefly and, despite the rather lackluster reviews, i'm really enjoying it. It's very much a low-budg Oblivion, but i'm having fun with it.

 

[Talislan]

Cheers ohGr,

did you get any idea of what the character development is like?
(and what's it like in Two Worlds - been steering clear cos of the reviews and the number of second hand copies in my local GAME store)

Anyone else?

T.

 

[Vocenoctum]

I played the Dark Messiah demo and liked it, but I don't recall any real glimpse of leveling system, just controls. It's been a bit since I played it though, so specifics are murky.

 

[ohGr]

I didn't play DM long enough to level-up, so i don't know what it's like.

As for Two Worlds, it's pretty much exactly like Diablo II's, except there's really no classes; you just have a bunch of skills you can choose to invest in when you level up (you begin the game with access to some, but for the rest you'll have to find a trainer). Two-Weapon Fighting, Mounted Combat, Archery, Alchemy, Lockpicking, Stealing, Berserking, five different schools of magic, stuff like that. It's not too in-depth, but it works.

A couple things i really like about it, though. One, you don't just get skill points when you level up. You also get one after completing some quests and every time you perform a certain action a specific number of times: killing monsters, picking locks, stealing and activating teleporters. Two, there's a mage you can talk to in most large cities that will, for a nominal fee, "reset" your last five levels or so, letting you respend your ability and skill points. You can even have him do this multiple times in succession, effectively resetting yourself back to level 1 and completely rebuild your character. It's a very nice feature.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

One game you could try out... Though you probably need a better graphics card since it uses the NWN 2 engine is The Witcher. While not quite Oblivion styled, it is closer to that then some CRPG.

 

[Talislan]

Thanks again ogHr,

Sounds good in concept, especially the rebuild from scratch idea. The main backlash against the game that I have come across is the 'lag' or slowing down and loading times, especially during 'encounters'.

What's your take on this?

Fallen Saren: thanks, have looked at The Witcher but you're right, need higher graphics ability to get that one working. bummer
With any luck someone will bring it to the 360 in the future.

T.

 

[ohGr]

I don't find loading to be a problem. Loading saves is relatively quick and the game will rarely pause for a few seconds to load terrain.

The framerate is indeed... unstable. It skips frequently, but not enough that it makes the game unplayable.

That said, they did release a patch about a month ago that addressed those very problems. If you have no way of updating the game, they'll probably be much more problematic.

 

[Enforcer]

There is no character development... When I leveled up in the demo, they just put points in my skills for me. No choices for the player whatsoever (aside from which equipment to use).

And I agree that the controls in Dark Messiah are clunky.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Gah, Oblivion shot down in the first post! I am playing through it right now and really enjoying it (except for a rather irritating bug which has abruptly ended my ascension in the Mage's Guild).

Is Dark Messiah - Elements a followup to the original? I wasn't aware that was on the 360.