by So I sat down over the weekend and finished DM of MM and I can say that it maintains its status as Tier 1 through to the end. I’m not sure if it cusped my mental “favorite games of all time” at any point, but it’s a solid game that even threw a couple curve balls at me that I had not quite experienced in an FP (First-Person) RPG before.
–Obligatory Spoiler Warning–
Overall, the story wasn’t anything to write home about. You play as Serath who is possessed by a demon–near the end you get the customary “good path/evil path” choice which affects minor aspects of the end-game. I, of course, chose the evil path because, (to quote Dark Helmet) “Good is dumb.” That and the evil path came packaged with a sexy demon. I suppose there are those out there who would’ve chose the young and peppy Leanna but frankly when I abandoned her in a prison and she turned into a Lich, I just laughed. Sound cold? It’s probably because you haven’t had to listen to her talk. The Succubus is hilarious by comparison.
The overarching plot is that Serath is the foretold Dark Messiah, bringer of doom or somewhat. Along the way, forces try to stop you–and I can’t say I blame them… I mean, you are sort of the villain in their eyes, even if you choose the good path. The final conflict comes in the form of a dual with a mighty Necromancer but… let me be real here. The combat–while fun–is not complicated and I won easily just by stun-locking him with my daggers. At the end of the evil path, you can choose to rule the world with your demon father, or with the Succubus that lives in your head. That decision was a no-brainer.
I’m assuming that there are roughly 4 endings to the game–2 divergent good and evil paths, each with the choice to join your father or not. I only bothered to get the ending where I joined the Succubus, but it was a bit lackluster (I imagine the other endings are likely to follow in suite). Essentially, Serath’s demon father zaps the Succubus, but Serath uses the power of the 7th Dragon’s Skull (it’s a McGuffin) to send his father back to hell. The majority of the cutscene is just your father talking about how he’s immortal and how he’ll seek revenge. It was a let-down, simply because you don’t get to see anything like Serath and the Succubus ruling the world together, or at least them celebrating in some way. Oh well.
The real fun of the game comes from the levels and their design. The multiple-pathways thing that I mentioned in my first impression maintains itself pretty well through most of the levels and there are enough traps and odd hazards that even though you are never free from the reigns of the plot, it was still fun to jump around to all the nooks and crannies looking for secrets. At about the 25%-75% portion of the game is where it really feels the best. The designers start giving you some pretty cool items including a bow that shoots climbable ropes that you can use throughout the entire game, magical elemental weapons and stat-changing gear. The equipment is a bit sparce, but that just makes what you find all the more unique. Unfortunately though, at about the 75%~100% portion, the game just starts giving you the same stuff that you’ve likely found already, if you had a modicum of curiosity to find some of the game’s secrets.
I recommend it as a definite pickup if you like FPRGP’s, multiple endings and/or a plot light enough not to get in the way, but existent enough to give purpose for your adventure. I may pick up the game again sometime in the future and do a pure wizard run, or maybe restrict myself from using the healing spell to add extra difficulty. Either way, my memories of this game will remain positive in the future.
