Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

When Ubisoft started working on their Brothers in Arms franchise, they took a near complete copy of the game to an actual WWII veteran who was so blown away by the authenticity of what he was looking at. His awe at the realism and passion throughout the game was so genuine they decided to use his testimonial as a selling point to the media.

With this approach in mind, I thought I'd show off Ubi's latest PC offering, Dark Messiah, to an Orc friend of mine to get his thoughts on the Orc race's representation throughout this fantasy romp.

"Balaki not happy with look of Orc people in moving picture, Dark Messiah," he revealed to me with a forlorn look. "Orc people proud and handsome race, we wear far more cloth than what see in Dark Messiah, and we no like being same place as Goblins, they not friends of Orcs."

His problems didn't stop there, either.

Balaki went on to express concerns over the reasoning behind the Orc actions within the game, stating to me that "we do eat humans, but only on special occasions, like Christmas and day of birthing not whenever we feel like as shown in pretty pictures [the game]".

Indeed, it seems in light of these comments, Ubisoft and developer, Arkane Studios, have opted for the stereotypical vision of the creatures from Ashan (the world of Might and Magic) without actually consulting the real deal.

"Rest assured, Balaki will be talking to someone about this injustice," the Orc told me. "And for making Orc look bad, someone at Ubisoft's head will roll."

Stern words.

Despite a misrepresentative look at the world of Orcs and Goblins, it is hard to ignore Dark Messiah, and I can see why Arkane have created a game with all the fantasy bells and whistles we've come to expect since the popularisation of RPG/fantasy worlds (thanks to Lord of the Rings and what not). So from the human perspective, I applaud Ubi and Arkane's use of "creative license" and will go on record to back their latest game for innovation, presentation and immersion (lucky for me, Balaki can't read).

While Dark Messiah is set in the Might and Magic universe, it is a stand alone game that chronicles the trials and tribulations of a young warrior names Sareth (you). Sareth is a prodigy of sorts, trained in the arts of magic and combat by the great mage Phenrig. However, not all is as it seems, and once Sareth's first quest expands to include the reasoning for his very existence, it's time for the hopeful warrior to start questioning his life foundations.

Before he realises all of this though, Phenrig successfully sends our young hero on a quest to find the Skull of Shadows, the final remains of an ancient wizard who, almost a thousand years ago, managed to seal a ferocious evil in a prison in limbo. However, powerful as he was the wizard's magic had a slight flaw, a small crack, if you will, a crack this ancient evil has been using throughout the ages with incredible patience to puppeteer their own bidding so that one day they might bring into effect a series of events that would see them freed and once again able to exact terrible pain and suffering on the world of humans. At the centre of these orchestrated events are the birth and place of our very own Sareth, but it may just be too late before he realises.

Dark Messiah's plot is a deep and involving one. Sareth's narrative is told mostly in-game with on-the-fly scripting, though the occasional cut-scene does reveal new truths, twists and turns as the story progresses. But for the most part, you're in charge of revealing our protagonist's path and it's really quite satisfying as each piece of the puzzle is put together.

Along the way Sareth is infused with an entity working with Phenrig. Xana is a seductress who now lies deep inside Sareth so that only he can hear her words and advice (which is a good thing because most of what she has to say is pretty mature and suggestive), while he also befriends Leanna, another mage-in-training who seems to have a bit of a thing for our hero.

Early on in the game Sareth's path is seemingly set in motion for Phenrig's own gain, but as you pool together the various story arcs a larger picture comes into play and you'll be charged with some grand decision making (or at least some cool reality checks).

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