Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Previews

Both GameSpot and GameDaily have written up new previews of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, based on a demonstration they received at Arkane Studios's headquarters in Lyon, France. A snip from GameSpot's article:
There are four classes of weapons in Dark Messiah: swords, daggers, bows, and staves. Each class has approximately seven weapons in it, so you're looking at a total arsenal of about 30 weapons. Naturally, you'll start out with basic weapons, but you'll earn more-powerful ones as you progress, so you can start out with a regular sword but work your way up to larger, stronger versions, such as the sword of fire (guess what it does). Swords are the preferred weapon for a straight-up fight, while daggers are better for sneaking up on someone. The staff isn't quite as powerful as the sword, but it has a longer reach and is ideal for battling multiple opponents simultaneously. Then there's the bow, which is the primary ranged weapon. For protection, there's armor, which comes in various forms. Fighters will steer toward heavier armor, such as chain mail, while thieves and assassins will prefer lighter armor. Meanwhile, wizard robes will help spellcasters.

And a snip from GameDaily's article:
The role-playing elements come into play when you obtain Skill Points. Several combat, magic, and miscellaneous skills (such as Stamina, Endurance, Vitality, etc.) have three levels, which require skill points to obtain. Each higher level grants you additional powers in that particular set. For example Magic Affinity (which isn't available in the demo) increases your maximum allowable Mana. Level 1 costs you two skill points and increases your Mana to 40. Level 2 will cost you five more skill points, but increases your Mana to 70, and Level 4 will cost a whopping ten additional skill points but jacks your Mana up to 100.