Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Forcing Dark Messiah of Might and Magic's single-player story and gameplay into a single, distinct genre is just about impossible. But pegging Dark Messiah's multiplayer Crusade mode as sharply influenced by the iconic Battlefield series, and finding the fingerprints of the seminal Team Fortress all over its deep gameplay is clearly right on the money.

OK, so it's got a magical (and mighty) twist, but this is class-based team multiplayer at its core - and dare we say - at its finest. We got a chance to play on two of the levels during a bloody hands-on session that unveiled the answers to all of our questions about the up-till-now mysterious multiplayer.

First, Dark Messiah will ship with multiplayer modes that are likely familiar - deathmatch and team deathmatch. However, the control-point-capturing Crusade mode truly sets Dark Messiah apart, and will likely see the most traction with players. For starters, the Crusade mode is a crusade, a campaign taking place over multiple rounds with each round happening on a different battleground. This Human vs. Undead tug-of-war ends in a castle-storming climax, but to get there, each team needs to push ever-deeper through enemy territory.