As far as originality goes, this game virtually has the field to itself, bar a few titles from older systems where the premise was vaguely similar.
What makes this so original, well you possess people. You play a Cherub that has been sent down from up above by ‘The big man himself’ to eradicate ... Read review
Messiahputs a spin on typical third-person action-adventure gameplay. The player's ... more
character, a diaper-clad cherub named Bob, has been sent down from the heavens to set the world straight. Scientists experimenting with dimensional portals have brought the Lord of Darkness, as well as other nefarious minions, into the world. God hopes you, as his miniature messiah, can clean up the streets and restore order.Bob lacks many important abilities; the baby angel can run, crawl, push buttons, and hover slightly with his tiny little wings, but he can't carry weapons or directly fight his many enemies. Bob must possess characters inside the game world in order to use weaponry (which include flamethrowers, machine guns, grenades, and shotguns), solve puzzles, and traverse difficult platform-style obstacles. The player will possess and depossess dozens of different character types during the adventure--everything from dancers, rats, and cops to nuclear technicians and large armoured beasts.Messiah's diverse gameplay consists of knowing whom to possess and when, and then using the host to the utmost potential.Despite being in development for over three years,Messiah's 3-D engine and special effects compare well with the latest and greatest computer games. Still, there have been reports of glitches with the most recent advancements in 3-D video card technology. A troubleshooting page at www.messiah.com/troubleshooting.htm solves most graphics card issues.Messiah's visuals scale down to meet your computer's speed. If you're using a slower computer, the engine automatically removes detail and special effects so you maintain a satisfactory frame rate. The effect works, but the amount of detail lost means you should still strive for the fastest machine possible (at least the minimum requirements) when you assume the role of Messiah.--Doug RadcliffePros:The art of possession introduces a unique spin to gameplayExcellent graphics engine that scales down to meet your computer's speedSolid blend of a third-person shooter and third-person sneakerCons:Several bugs in initial release
Postage & Packaging:£1.99 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Decent graphics, gameplay, audio Disadvantages: A little lacklustre in some departments, a few bugs here and there
As far as originality goes, this game virtually has the field to itself, bar a few titles from older systems where the premise was vaguely similar.
What makes this so original, well you possess people. You play a Cherub that has been sent down from up above by ‘The big man himself’ to eradicate wrong doers on Earth. You can possess any character in the game, of which there are over 40.
Once possessed you take over their ... ...is used well for certain puzzles. You may be unable to open a certain door, whilst another character may be able to – that means you have to possess them. The way to possess someone is by jumping on them from behind – eek…. Where do you enter them eek! Scary indeed.
This game has moments that are extremely funny though more than a tad sadistic. At the beginning of the game for example two soldiers started shooting at me. So I possessed ... more
As far as originality goes, this game virtually has the field to itself, bar a few titles from older systems where the premise was vaguely similar.
What makes this so original, well you possess people. You play a Cherub that has been sent down from up above by ‘The big man himself’ to eradicate wrong doers on Earth. You can possess any character in the game, of which there are over 40.
Once possessed you take over their abilities as well, which is an extremely nice touch and is used well for certain puzzles. You may be unable to open a certain door, whilst another character may be able to – that means you have to possess them. The way to possess someone is by jumping on them from behind – eek…. Where do you enter them eek! Scary indeed.
This game has moments that are extremely funny though more than a tad sadistic. At the beginning of the game for example two soldiers started shooting at me. So I possessed one of them, and used his weapon to shoot his friend. Then for the piece de resistance I proceeded to take the man I had possessed up to a very high ledge and made him jump off! Well I did warn you it was sadistic, I then jumped out of him and watched him crawl about with shattered legs, asking me to end his life for him.
THIS GAME IS NOT FOR CHILDREN
It’s a good game, unfortunately in some parts, it gets caught up in a tawdry platform game nightmare. Those bits should have been taken out of the game, as they do nothing to keep the frenetic pace going.
Graphics wise, this game still looks pretty good and does a decent job of scaling graphics performance to your machines specs. If you have a very high spec machine, then the graphics will try to scale up to a point. This game notably was one of the first released that took advantage of Hardware Transform & Lighting (T&L) which means that if you are the lucky owner of a graphics card from the GeForce range, this game will take advantage of it fully.
I believe this game should have stayed in development for a little longer as the originally release for example wouldn’t even boot up on my machine. This was because you were supposed to insert CD 2 (which was for in game music) after you clicked start. Nowhere did this get mentioned, a patch was out almost immediately for this oversight.
This game does have some moments of sheer class, an example that I can think of at the present moment is:
You possess a prostitute, you can then transfer into someone elses body by going up to them, and if they are receptive to you (ie Male) then you can kiss them. This enables you to jump into the other persons body then.
All in all, if you like the idea of this game, and have a reasonably up to date computer then I advise you to purchase this game (cost should be around £9.99). Kev
Advantages: good idea, original Disadvantages: far too hard and lacklustre
The 'idiot' being me...
I read reviews of this game well in advance and was intrigued by the originality of it all. You play a cherub, which moves around the world on a mission from god, by jumping into the bodies of people. You need to use the bodies of people not only to progress through certain areas, but also for your own defence, as in your cherub state, you are defenceless and weak in the extreme.
It looked gorgeous, and what I had heard ... ...with humour, albeit adult.
It did look gorgeous. But for all the souls that this little cherub jumped into...they seem to have forgotten to put one in the game. Not being a very competent FPS/action gamer, I wanted desperately to get into this game. But I couldn't. It is *hard*, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was hard for more experienced gamers too. The storyline isn't very involving, you end up feeling like you're not getting anywhere, and ...
littlemissdrunk 17.09.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Messiah (PC)
...weight of its own inspiration. Messiah is unfinished and perhaps a little too ambitious for its own good. I tested Messiah on three graphics cards: a vanilla TNT1, a GeForce 256, and my reliable Voodoo2 SLI platform. For some reason, it worked only on the TNT1, and it tanked completely on the others. Users have reported a wide range of graphics problems on all sorts of configurations. The game also has problems with EAX and Aureal, depending on your ... ...Like Earthworm Jim and MDK, Messiah is long on personality and short on length. We're talking 15-20 hours of gameplay here, tops. Though some devious puzzles, a generally mediocre control scheme, killer AI (not in a good way), and a whole lot of jumping puzzles do pad the experience somewhat, Messiah's story ends just as it's getting started. Welcome to Faktur. Faktur is a futuristic city that takes the bad parts of both Sodom and Gomorrah (biblically ...
MDFK_uk 08.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Messiah (PC)
Advantages: Graphically superb. Hint of originality Disadvantages: Difficulty, even the easiest level is far too hard. Your controlled character is far too weak.
Messiah - A game I spotted with a preview rating in ComputerActive, and seemed to have a lot of potential. Well, it did, and does, it needs finding perhaps. Developed through Shiny and Interplay, the delay of this game coming out I understand raged onwards for some time, and a hurried ending looks to have taken place. This, unfortunately seems to have turned the cards slightly from a most original game to a regular platformer. I'm not saying there ... ...been something special. Messiah concerns Bob, a young winged sprite who has the power to control the souls of other bodies, and it's primarily through this function that you conduct your passage through the game. The mite himself, without protection, is as delicate as a chocolate fireguard on melting point, and a few solitary shots will kill him, so it's essential to keep him under cover at all times. I also would like more power in his wings, because ...
KRMkD 29.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Messiah (PC)
I read reviews of this game well in advance and was intrigued by the originality of it all. You play a cherub, which moves around the world on a mission from god, by jumping into the bodies of people. You need to use the bodies of people not only to progress through certain areas, but also for your own defence, as in your cherub state, you are defenceless and weak in the extreme. It looked gorgeous, and what I had heard from various sources indicated ... ...It did look gorgeous. But for all the souls that this little cherub jumped into...they seem to have forgotten to put one in the game. Not being a very competent FPS/action gamer, I wanted desperately to get into this game. But I couldn't. It is *hard*, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was hard for more experienced gamers too. The storyline isn't very involving, you end up feeling like you're not getting anywhere, and you get killed all of the time. ...
Chart 29.11.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Messiah (PC)
Advantages: Original idea, huge playing time Disadvantages: A bit of a letdown, cliched puzzles
Messiah is an original game where way in the future, things have gone wrong and evil stalks the land. G-d decides to send down an angel called Bob to clean up the earth - but stripped of his powers and very much mortal, Bob's got a tough job ahead of him. It is original and thought provoking and differs from the average game which makes it so great. Messiah is however a bit of a disappointment- the puzzles are cliched, the level design is dull and ...
Ringo 22.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Messiah (PC)
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Advantages: Fully interactive environments, great first-person combat system, multiple ways to accomplish goals, online multiplay. Disadvantages: High system requirements for best visuals, large download if using Steam downloader, minor bugs.
Dark Messiah attempts to merge semi RPG with FPS-style gameplay and successfully creates an new type of game.
OK, time for a game review.
Most of my gaming time is taken up by my passion for Guild Wars, in fact most of my time is taken up by Guild Wars! It's about the only game that could have pulled me away from Battlefield 2, which I did play for quite a bit, but got drawn back to GW, which I have been playing solidly for over a year now, as well as run my Guild site and small community.
You may think that GW and Battlefield 2 (and games of it's ilk) have nothing in common, and until now that would have been true. Let me introduce you to Dark Messiah - part of the Might and Magic series. I know nothing at all about the MM series so I won't go into that here, rather I'll just tell you about the Dark Messiah game itself ...
Advantages: Combat system, soundtrack, graphics, atmosphere Disadvantages: Game might be unstable
Dark Messiah is an extremely fun action game. If you have played before any of the Might and Magic games, be prepared that this game is not a RPG though it has several RPG elements like skills and inventory. The game uses Source engine - the same that made Half-Life 2 one of the best games of all times (so far) and the game feels somewhat similar to Half-Life 2, not Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, how many have compared it. I've read lots of Dark Messiah reviews written by professional gaming journalists, and IMO part of them treat the game very wrongly since this is not a RPG but pure action game. And Dark Messiah delivers pure action!
What I love most in the game is the combat which is the best I've seen in any game so far. Player can kill the enemies in dozen ways including swordfighting, backstabbing with daggers, burning with direct ...
Bob is a working-class angel, ordered by God himself, to clean up the putrid, disgusting, sleazy, and infested world of the future. He has been given the power of possession so that he can sneak up on any person, animal, or genetically engineered being and leap right into their soul! With your help, Bob can then use their bodies, their weapons, or even their bare hands to strangle, cripple, impale, and incinerate the cities of sinners sent to stop you from finding Satan himself. Hiding in their souls, Bob can use these sinners' bodies against their will as armor (to take pain for him), or he can use them for camouflage (to hide inside them) and pretend to be just another twisted citizen in the Messiah world.
