Messiah
Messiah puts in its second appearance at ECTS, this year with more content and less hype. Is it worth the wait?
Last year at ECTS the coming of Messiah was greeted by street preachers and a gospel choir outside the Olympia. This year the hype was much more subdued but the game itself was looking much better, with more gameplay on show and more impressive graphics and level design.
So is it really going to be worth the wait, or should we find ourselves a new messiah? "Bob's On Fire"
For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last couple of years, Messiah sees you taking control of a cute little cherub by the name of Bob as he seeks to save the world.
To achieve this you'll need to possess the bodies of the people you find along the way, 50 different characters in all, ranging from cops to hookers. All of these characters have their uses, and deciding who to possess and when is a big part of the game. Knowing when to leave is also important, as if the body you are possessing is killed you die with it.
Luckily once you've possessed a character you have access to all the weapons and equipment that it's carrying, as well as any other items you find along your way. The most impressive is probably the flamethrower, which sets your victims on fire. There's something satisfying about watching them stumble around in agony, wreathed in flames, often running into other people and setting them alight as well. Conclusion
Messiah seems to have been under development forever, but it looks like it's finally beginning to come together.
The world feels more alive, with the characters doing more than just standing around waiting to be shot, although the AI still seemed to be fairly rudimentary. Cops patrol and smoke, mechanics stand around welding bits of machinery... Take Bob to a nightclub and he'll get down and boogie to the music.
Unfortunately Messiah has been in development for so long that technology has overtaken it. The graphics are crisp and atmospheric, but hardly groundbreaking any more. And everybody and their dog now has an engine with dynamic level of detail for the models, which was once hyped as a major feature of Messiah.
But one thing is certain - Messiah will definitely be one of the more unusual titles of next year... How often do you get to play a game as a flying baby?