First is Worst

Maybe when it comes to games. First two big games of the fall have their share of issues and seem rushed. I am glad to be playing them but they are a little less than I expected in certain ways. Perhaps the fact that these games are out before the other big ones is testament to how buggy and flawed they are. In the case of Splinter Cell I'd say it has more to do with being a multi-platform game and most of it being developed in China. Dark Messiah is the buggiest PC game I've played all year.

As a huge Splinter Cell fan, Double Agent is so average. I really can't rag on it too much, it was never too buggy to play. The single player was entertaining and the multiplayer is one of the best online 360 games. The few bugs of the online have been nearly wiped out. The sudden very low framerate and frozen lobby loads are nearly gone. I'm almost glad the multiplayer is overly simplified, because once NWN2 and GoW arrive I won't be playing too much Splinter Cell anyway. That simple play allowed everyone to jump right into it. The past ones were very complex. Damn...I guess the game is that good online because the last-gen graphics are not a problem. No one has been complaining about Double Agents Xbox graphics online. Atleast the Shanghi studio made a better try for an ending (single-player) than they did when they made Pandora Tomorrow. There are 2 endings in fact.

I just gave up on Dark Messiah tonight, having to turn off my PC 5 times tonight due to crashing loads. Going into Chapter 9 I tried 5 times from 2 different saves (loading saves doesn't fail) to get into and it crashed to the error report or just froze on load. This happens to loading throughout the game. Thats really sad, because this is a really great game. As I read reviews, official website forums, I think the bugs are affecting peoples view of a fine game. I've had to restart my PC or task manager/quit program over 20 times since it came out on the 25th.

Dark Messiah - made by Arcane Studios and published by Ubisoft. Arkane made a game called Arx Fatalis. A 1st person RPG. Much like Oblivion before there was an Oblivion and someone wanted to make a shorter, more approachable Morrowind. A good game...if, kind of weird. The blacksmithing in DM is taken from AF. Though you can't make too many different weapons in either game.

It sounds like Arx Fatalis too. The ambience and decent sound effects. The score is better than Arx but doesn't stand out at all. Alot of the graphic artwork also looks like Arx (which has been heavily criticized already for looking to dated, even on the Source engine). A highpoint in the sound is Xana, the sexy succubus type demon who rapes the player character in the beginning of the game. The player doesn't remember all of this but Xana becomes part of him, sort of living in his mind, guiding him along the way. She talks dirty alot. Other than her the voice acting is barely par.

The use of the Source engine in the 1st-person fantasy combat is the real draw. Its alot of fun. Take Oblivions combat and make it 4x as dynamic and fun. This in-game action is bug free, which saves the game from being a complete disaster. The leveling system is very simple as is the inventory, which streamlines things to drive the frequent combat. This combat is the best part of the game. The story isn't bad at all, but there isn't a huge emphasis on it. The level design is good. The spell, bow, and sword combat is the heart of the game and very good at that. Good enough for me to endure the 20x freezing, rebooting bullshit I've been dealing with. The few reviews on this game are averaging to 83% out of 100. I expect later ones post-patch to push 9/10.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is one of those PC games that being played after patches will be adored. Pre-patch, the problems really affect the experiance and is an example why the console-only gamer will not venture into the PC world. Its very good, I don't want to go back to Splinter Cell online I want to finish it but at this point, Splinter Cell is a great alternative to looking at a frozen loading screen.