Published by Interplay
Reviewed by Mr. Bigglesworth on 8/11/00

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First Impressions:

Graphics:

Redeeming quality number one was the fact that the game had some fairly detailed graphics. That's not to say there was a whole lot to write home about, but the level of detail with which the world was depicted led to an enjoyable visual experience. The explosions seemed real, both to the eyes as well as the ears. One down side to the graphics, however, stemmed from the fact that some objects seem to repeat themselves a little too frequently. It almost reminded me of the Flinstones with the never-ending background of the same house and tree that you could drive by for hours. But it wasn't that bad.

Sound/Music:

The soundtrack for this game is screaming! The music was done by Fear Factory, and they did an excellent job of producing a sound that was both intense and invigorating. The programmers also incorporated it into the gameplay wisely. In the event that you suddenly needed to start running or dropping into action mode, the background noise would suddenly turn to music and get you more involved with what was going on. The sounds in the game were also appropriate for what was going on. In addition, there is some dialogue involved, but it is hard to hear and difficult to understand, at best.

Gameplay:

Gameplay in Messiah is difficult. Once I was finally able to tweak all of the settings just right to get the game to run, the actual playing of the game started to feel more like a chore than a pleasure. The controls are not easy to master, nor are the default controls printed out, anywhere. They are available for viewing under the options screen, and some of them are even briefly described in the manual, but not to any great length.

The object of the game is also a difficult concept to master. Your character is a small angel who hasn't yet earned his wings, sort of. He has a small pair of wings that will sustain him in flight for short periods of time. This actually becomes necessary when you go to possess someone, as you have to try and hit them in between the shoulder blades.

What is the purpose of possessing people? Well, people act as a shield for your character, Bob, the tiny angel. They also allow him to access different areas. So, by possessing one person, you can gain access to a restricted area, and then by possessing another, you can gain knowledge of weapons usage. You cannot carry one person's knowledge to another person, however, so you don't always get to carry a weapon. Nor do you always have access to certain areas.

And thus the adventure begins. You must run around possessing people until you find the right combination of persons to get you through the game. Actually, the only thing I felt like possessing was the code to the game so I could have it rewritten for better gameplay.

Enjoyment:

I did not enjoy this game. Between the difficulty in getting the game up, running, properly tuned and the lack of an easy to use interface, I could not find much pleasure in playing Messiah. That's not to say that it is a totally horrible game, it just did not make for an enjoyable experience at all for me.

Multiplayer:

There is no multiplayer functionality to Messiah.

Overall Impression:

Overall, I believe the concept of Messiah to be a good one. The possession of characters to further your efforts in resolving the game is a wonderful idea. The idea of man becoming so smart that he finds a way to try and take over heaven and hell is wonderful. I just don't believe that this game really follows through and delivers. It fails to pay out in enjoyment, from the cryptic controls and difficult setup, to the genuine lack of direction inherent in the game. It was just not the game for me.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

Interestingly enough, the most powerful characters of the game, depicting the future of mankind, were women. These women, of course, are dressed in outfits that range from minimal to barely passing for clothes. The heads of the police, the captains, etc, are women, but they do not really depict women in the best possible light, because you don't ever see these higher-up ones unless you're lucky. You mostly only see the prostitutes. It is true that the majority of the random citizen characters are men, and the workers are men, also. Or at least they look like men. In all, it is difficult for me to say what the message is about women, here, other than that they are included as characters and considered equally degenerate as male characters in the game.