Okay, after playing the single player beta and now the multiplayer beta, I am convinced that this has to be the best in the Might & Magic series so far. The graphics rendering is hot! I'm a big FPS (first person shooter) gamer and this is the FIRST that I've been able to look down (in game) and see my toon's feet! I'm not sure if you realize how utterly awesome that is or not. The guys at Ubi, arkane and kuju are on top of their stuff! The realistic gameplay runs really smooth for such a graphics intensive game and I don't have to tell you what a plus that is.

On top of all of that, the promotions they have are crazy man! I've already won a Dark Messiah t-shirt designed by the guys over at Penny Arcade, and I love it. My Dark Messiah mouse pad is on the way now too! If you want some really cool Darm Messiah sway, head over to www.disciplesofsareth.com and sign up. You earn gold through missions, polls, recruiting, and a host of other activities. You can join in discussion on their community forums as well, and even get gold for great posting too. Turn in that lovely gold and get some sweet Dark Messiah gear! Seriously, check out this shirt and tell me you don't want one!

oniyagi's Profile at GameSpot

Almost a thousand years ago, the Wars of Fire were fought across the face of Ashan. On one side were ranged Men, Elves, Mages, and their allies; on the other, Demons. Great Devastationwas wrought, but in the end, the allied forces wre victorious, due to the sacrifice of the wizard known as Sar-Elam, the Seventh Dragon.

Using his nearly godlike powers and supported by his fellow sorcerers, Sar-Elam cast the Demons out of this world into a place of eternal fire. From the very stuff of his spirit, he wove a cage of magic to contain them forever.

Sar-Elam was betrayed, however, by one of his students. Corrupted by demons, Sar-Shazar deliberately sabotaged the ritual. He introduced the tiniest of flaws into the prison, a weakness that allowed demonic influesnce to seep into the world during times of an eclipse. Sar-Shazar also prophesied that a son would someday be born to the Demon Sovereign and a faultless human maiden, a walker between worlds who would use the relics of the hated Seventh Dragon to sunder the Demon's prison forever.

Satisfied, the Demon Sovereign settled in to his prison to wait, and to plan.

Meanwhile, all that remained of the Seventh Dragon was his skull. Now called the Skull of Shadows, it was taken by those loyal to the goddess Mother Asha, source of all magic. They hid it safely away in an ancient temple on a deserted island, far from the works of Men, Elves, or Demons. There it sits, to wait the day when its powers might be needed.

In Dark Messiah Might & Magic (set 18 years after the events of heroes V), you are Sareth, young apprentice to Phenrig, a powerful wizard who has raised you in the arts of magic and war. Battle orcs, goblins, trolls, undead, dragons, and many more terrible creatures across twelve huge levels as you master over thirty weapons and twelve spells.

Join one of two factions in a multiplayer game, Human or Undead. Use some of the over 50 skills in 3 different modes of mulitplayer:

Deathmatch

Team Deathmatch

Crusade

with up to 32 other players on 5 different geographically linked maps:

Stonehelm, a free city of the east, set on a steep ness protected by huge walls.

Vradek's Crossing, a small coastal market town near Stonehelm.

Border Keep, an ancient ruin surrounded by two abandoned temples

Nelsham's Scar, a coastal cliff scorched by a deep pit which guards the entrance to the undead realm.

Nar-Heresh: the gigantic undead necropolis, set in deep caves guarded bottomless pits.

Take a look at a brief overview of the classes available for mulitplayer. Each picture has both factions.

He is the sniper, dedicated at dealing high damage on a single target.
Upgradeable weapon: improve damage dealt, range, zoom, reload time...
In melee - choose to get 'one last shot' or run away.
Arrows fall under gravity - find high ground.

He will provide artillery support with awesome magical weaponry that will deal huge radius damage at distance.
He can choose to be a generalist or a specialist, and to focus on one primal energy, fire or electricity.
He is the weakest class in close-combat, and also generally weaker than the others at low levels, but godlike at high levels.

He also benefits from a good protection against enemy spells thanks to his ability to cast shields. However he remains vulnerable to any physical attack.

The priestess has a dual profile. She can be a devious enemy or a strong team support. She can cure or buff her team or harm, slow, poison and blind the enemy.
Resurrection lets her bring friends back from the dead, or eat the souls of enemies. A resurrected comrade will see his fate linked to the priestess, meaning that if she dies, so will he.

The warrior has only one goal: get close, and kill fast. He has no ranged attacks, but some shield / soak abilities that allow him to reach his preys.
His is fastest over short distances but tires easily. So if he runs too early, his enemies will escape.

He is lethal, silent, and sneaky. He can become invisible thanks to his cloaking ability. However, he will become more visible the faster he moves. He can deliver an instant kill thanks to his backstab ability.
Then the assassin masters the art of luring the enemy. He can feign death, disguise as enemy team, and prepare some traps in critical areas.

© 2006 Ubisoft Entertainment.. All Rights Reserved. Might and Magic, Dark Messiah, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Developed by Arkane Studios. Valve, Half-Life, and Source are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Online mode developed by Kuju.