Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Rating: M
Release date: October 25, 2006 (PC), February 12, 2008 (XBOX 360)
Platforms: XBOX 360, PC
Multiplayer: Yes, over Steam game networking/download service.
Downloadable content: No.

I originally picked up Dark Messiah on a whim while out shopping at a bargain outlet. I got it installed after a couple problems with the mm.exe program that runs with the game. These problems are fixable by doing things to the registry of your computer, and there are tutorials on the net, if you'd like to do so. However, I didn't really have very many problems, just a couple freezes and the like. If you have a Steam account, run the game exclusively through that. Otherwise, run it solely through the disk installer.

For a game that I picked up on the cheap, Dark Messiah is quite fun. The levels are challenging and support multiple approaches, from obliterating everything in your path with spells and swords to being sneaky and engaging the enemy only when necessary. The combat mechanic is also different from any I've used before, since it enables the use of a kick to disorient enemies and shove them into either the environment or their comrades, often to deadly effect. The game also makes use of an adrenaline effect, which, when active, gives the player a chance to use finishing moves, such as impaling a downed enemy with your sword. If that doesn't work, the player can always use a variety of spells, from your standard fire and freeze spells to telekinesis, along with a spell or two that helps you regenerate health and which will quickly become most people's best friends, especially because health items like potions are incredibly scarce.

In addition, the player is rarely lacking means to defend themselves. Most dead enemies will drop either a short sword or a bow and its accompanying quiver. Weapons like the sword, daggers, and staff can be used to parry an opponent's strike and leave him open to a brutal counterattack or give the player time to heal themselves.

Simply because the player has these tools at his or her disposal does not mean that the game is easy, however. Enemies will often attack you in groups of three or more, and will flank you if you're not careful. This can be rectified by keeping your back to the wall or to a doorway, and ducking into said doorway when things get hairy. Using magic, especially fire spells, will also give you some breathing room. Give yourself too much breathing room, however, and you give your remaining enemies time to regroup.

All in all, Dark Messiah is a great game, considering how cheap (and how old) it is. Most PCs should have no problem running it, and it's certainly a good enough game for rainy days. If you'd like to pick it up for just such an occasion, you can find it in my Amazon aStore.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Rating: M
Release date: September 6, 2011
Platforms: XBOX 360, PS3, PC 
Multiplayer: Yes.
Downloadable content: No.


Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is one of two games this year that I've been waiting for, the other being RAGE, which came out October 5th. I had been and still am a big fan of the tabletop game, which is produced and published by Games Workshop, so seeing Warhammer 40k come to the console was just a big plus to me.

And what a plus it is: the game is visually stunning, with each environment looking crisp and real. The executions are epic, and serve to remind you why a Space Marine is a Space Marine. The multiplayer is also fun, albeit tough at times.

Most people on the multiplayer will start out at higher levels than you will, usually 20+. While this means that you may die quite a bit in the beginning, it also means that you can copy the classes of the players that killed you, enabling you to get a feel for the higher-level gear early on.

Multiplayer is also team-based, either team deathmatch or point capture, so you'll almost always have someone by your side blasting away. The players are split into two teams: Chaos Space Marines and regular Space Marines. There are three classes (Assault, Devastator, or Tactical) that the players can choose from once they've been assigned to a team, and a customizer unlocks at level five, enabling you to pick your own colour schemes and loadouts.

After you've had your fill of multiplayer, (or before, if you prefer) jump into the campaign. At the start of the campaign, the player controls Ultramarine Captain Titus, and is assisted by his command squad. However, the player is more than capable of taking out most threats by themselves, especially as the game goes on. This is helped along by the fact that the player can perform Executions, short cinematic moments which depict Captain Titus ending his enemy in a suitably gory way. During each Execution, Captain Titus is invincible, and regains a little bit of health upon its completion. Thus, if the player can string together Executions like Christmas lights, they should have no problem staying alive throughout the majority of the game. Each Execution leaves physical results, also: depending on the way Titus finishes his foes, he can end up with his armor spattered in gore. Unfortunately, said gore vanishes after a few minutes or so, leaving Titus' armor mostly pristine. However, this also leaves it ready for another bloodbath.

If you'd like to join in the carnage, Space Marine is available, as always, from my Amazon aStore.

Borderlands

 
Rating: M
Release Date: October 20, 2009 (NA PS3, XBOX 360), October 26, 2009 (NA PC)
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Multiplayer: Yes, two-player splitscreen and four players over LAN or LIVE/PSN.
Downloadable Content: Yes: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, and Claptrap's New Robot Revolution.

Borderlands is one of those games that you can play a million times over and never have exactly the same playthrough. The reason for this is that there are four different classes (Soldier, Hunter, Siren, and Berserker), each with three distinct subclasses. Add over 17 million guns to the mix, and this game will be able to keep you playing for hours.

If you go solo, Borderlands is very challenging. Get one or more friends to join the mix and the game ramps up the difficulty, making each enemy that much harder to kill. This affects the rarity and value of the loot that each enemy and boss drops, making it that much better to go at it with friends.

In addition, there are some bosses that are hard to take out without friends, such as Crawmerax the Invincible, whose max level is 72. The player's max level is 69 (har har). At least one DLC, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, thrives with four players since it is arena-style wave combat, with the enemies of each wave gaining different perks that make them harder to combat.

Once you complete the game, you can go through a second playthrough with your character wherein all enemies are leveled to 50, thus making each of them an even match for you. This should be easy with two or more players, though, and the loot will be much more in line with each player's level, as will the experience points gained.

Whether you play it with one player or four, Borderlands is still an epic game. If you'd like to get in on the experience, the game and its strategy guide will be available from my Amazon aStore.

Requested Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Rating: PG-13
Running time: 137 minutes/2 hours, 17 minutes.
Release date: May 20, 2011

On Stranger Tides is the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie and the first one directed by Rob Marshall.  It draws inspiration from a 1987 fantasy novel of the same name by Tim Powers, as does the Monkey Island series of games created by LucasArts.

Overall, On Stranger Tides focuses more with naval folklore than the previous entries do. There are mermaids, Blackbeard, and a quest to find the Fountain of Youth, which becomes an important plot point. The series also contains less combat and more plot, with there being only two main instances of such (about quarter of the way in and near the end).

Two new characters are also introduced, one of whom I've already mentioned. Their introduction shapes much of the plot, just like the introduction of Davy Jones and Lord Cutler Beckett did for the second and third movies.

With these two new characters come a slew of old characters such as Joshamee Gibbs, Hector Barbossa, Captain Teague (even though it's only a bit performance), and Jack Sparrow himself. Noticeable in their absence, however, are both Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, which I believe is a good thing since there's really no way either could contribute to the plot.

This shows that along with a new director, Disney seems to be taking the series in a new direction. Hopefully, it'll be a good direction.

As always, On Stranger Tides is available from my Amazon aStore.