Published by: THQ
Developed by: Vigil Games
Release Date: January 5, 2010
Available on: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
INTRO: One of the first releases
of 2010, Darksiders has you taking on the role of War, one of the four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse (badass, right?). It is up to you to take
out the planet, but you can’t go balls out just yet. You find out that
you’ve been had and that someone has unleashed a conspiracy to get you
to destroy Earth before the right time. As usual in video game land,
you are caught up in a battle between heaven and hell and you must
battle both angels and demons to find out who pulled the wool over your
eyes.
Does the first Horror game of 2009 kick ass, or will it sink into the
depths of Hell’s bargain bin? You can be sure you’re about to find out-
just tune in next week!
Oh right, I’m not allowed to do that. Okay, well just read
on then!
GAMEPLAY:
A whole new IP, this one feels feels fresh and plays well. Feeling and
looking like a badass comic book. You start off with all kinds of
amazing powers, and then you lose them almost right away, which gives
you something to look forward to and takes up the meat of the game. My
only real complaint with the combat is the dodge move which just seems
out of place with the rest of the awesome combat. The main combat
consists of you stringing together basic combos and then using your
Wrath or Passive abilities to finish off a foe.
Wrath abilities will obviously cause more violent and immediate
destruction that renders a foe to chunks, while the passive ones are
strange and different and often use the environment to dispatch things.
You won’t be hitting 10 thousand strike combos, but believe me when I
tell you it is quite satisfying to finish off the bad guys in style. If
I had to describe combat in a word, it would be ‘accessible’. This game
has a lot of different elements going for it, and will offer up the
ability to fight, platform, solve puzzles and collect all kinds of
stuff. When you get weapons like a portal gun and a flaming
crossbow, it’s very exciting. You won’t get bored while you
play.
This is just a small taste of how the game plays- this is a smooth game
but it’s also a huge game. Feeling like the Zelda games, Darksiders
features a pretty open world and although you might find yourself
frustrated when you are going back and forth a lot (especially me
because I have little patience). The game is easily a 15 hour adventure
and features awesome enemies, huge bosses, a fantastic storyline and is
totally fun to play. Not to mention you get to ride your Demon Steed
around!
If I had to register a complaint, it would be that there is some
serious technical crap going on while you play. The screen tears a lot,
especially when you’re flipping the camera around to see where you’re
going and what you’re doing. Also, the frame rate hiccups quite a bit
when there are a lot of enemies on the screen. Whatever you’re doing,
you’ll encounter this at some point.
Gameplay:
8.5/10
GRAPHICS:
I really dug the graphics in this title. It feels like a bizarre comic book that’s come to life and the visual style really works. The modern apocalypse at the beginning of the game and the water textures are both dazzling. The character models look a little cartoonish, but it works. If you’re into the red stuff, this one has it in spades and it all looks lovely as you decapitate foes with the spinal cord still attached, each demon spilling liters of blood, etc, etc.
Graphics:
8/10
AUDIO:
Darksiders features a
splendid aural offering of orchestral scores that really go well with
the game. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when epic period piece
games cheapen things up with a lame guitar track that just loops the
same heavy metal beats over and over again. On top of this, the voice
acting here is amazing and top marks go to Mark Hamill, who steals the
show as The Watcher, your companion along the way.
Audio:
9/10
FINAL VERDICT:
This game came out on the
same day as Bayonetta and I prefer it far more than that title (I don’t
get the hype for that game at all). I can’t wait to see what will
happen if this game gets a sequel. This is a fine, fine starting point
for a brand new series and it’s totally worth your time. The
combat is fun, the upgrades are well paced, the puzzles are tough and
there’s enough adventure and badassery to please anyone.
Final
Score: 8.5/10