Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic (PC DVD)

The lowdown:
Although popular in certain circles, the traditional Might & Magic games were pretty hardcore fantasy based strategy and role-playing games. This game though uses the original settings of those games to create a brand new first person action game that while it still retains some role-playing elements is primarily all about chopping up monsters into BBQ meat. As such, the melee combat is more complex than normal with an array of different attacks for different situations, including a handy kick for knocking bad guys into dungeon traps. It might rankle long time fans that all the emphasis is on violence but this is the best chance yet for drawing in new fans to the franchise.

Most exciting moment:
The game features a very unusual levelling system where instead of getting experience points for killing monsters you get it for completing specific objectives. This cleverly ensures that you can upgrade your character just as effectively without the need for constant combat - perfect if you prefer to play a more stealthy style of game.

Since you ask:
The game's highly impressive graphics use the same Source engine that was created for the classic Half-Life 2. It's not the only outside help the game has got, with developer Kuju (who also did the multi-player in Call of Duty: Finest Hour), brought in to create the multi-player modes as an essentially separate element.

The bottom line:
An interesting new step into the action genre for the heroes of Might & Magic.-HARRISON DENT