GAMEFURY

Darksiders – Review (X360, PS3)

It may be easy to dismiss Darksiders as another God of War clone, but doing so would cause you to pass up on a game that is surprisingly unique and simply fun to play. The similarities between the two game are simply cosmetic and Darksiders provides a much deeper experience. Sometimes the addition of these more complex elements slow the gameplay, but for the most part, they provide the gamer with a more fleshed out adventure.

At first glance it may be hard to believe, but Darksiders gets much of it’s inspiration from Zelda. The world is more or less open right from the start, but many of the areas are inaccessible until you gain equipment that opens the path, such as a glove that smashes ice, a boomerang that can light torches, or a claw that can pull you to higher locations and swing across gaps. By the end, you will have gained so many weapons and abilities that it can be a little intimidating. There were a few occasions where I got stuck simply because I forgot I had the item needed to proceed. The game could be knocked for lack of originality, but this also can be a plus since many PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers haven’t had a chance to play a Zelda game, so it will be a fresh new style to them. The puzzles are handled well. They never require too much thought, but I always got a sense of accomplishment when I figured one out.

The combat isn’t anything amazing, but remains fun throughout. Movement is a bit slower and more deliberate than in other action games, but this is actually a good thing, as it adds a bit more planning and strategy to the fights and never breaks down to button mashing. A few new weapons are gained throughout the adventure, but I found no need to use anything other than the sword that I started the game with. Souls can be gathered from fallen enemies or from objects in the environment (apparently even a broken wooden desk has a soul) which can be turned in to the shopkeeper, Vulgrim, for ability upgrades or new combo attacks. Vulgrim’s shops also double as fast travel locations, which helps you get around the large world.

Every boss fight is handled just about perfectly. Each seems nearly invincible until their pattern or strategy is discovered. None take very long to figure out, and even those that did, I felt a bit dumb once I realized what I was missing. Every one of these battles is completely different than the others and each is an amazing, epic encounter. Oddly, the final boss is actually the most basic battle. Part of me was disappointed by this, but another part was thrilled to finally be able to use the same moves and strategies on a major opponent that I had been using on the lesser enemies throughout the game.

The environment feels like a missed opportunity. One would think that the setup involving the destruction of the world would provide some impressive set pieces, but that simply isn’t the case. Outside of the opening and closing hours, there aren’t any memorable locations. Each level serves as an area to move War from one plot point to the next. Nothing looks bad, but everything is just bland and unremarkable. The action and puzzles easily overshadow this problem, but it was still a noticeable oversight.

Outside of level design, the rest of the graphics are impressive. They may not be the absolute best in texture and polygon count, but the style more than makes up for it. There isn’t a single character in the game that doesn’t look cool. There are plenty of flashes and special effects that keep the action fun to watch. There were virtually no graphical glitches or crashes to be found, making this one of the most solid play experiences in recent memory.

The story is what sets the game apart from the competition. Many games talk of a coming apocalypse, while others take place afterwards, but never before has a player had the chance to take such an active role in the destruction of humanity. The game opens with the player taking control of War, one of the Four Horsemen, as he trudges through a city laying waste to all in his path while angels battle demons and meteors smash into the Earth. Sadly, after this epic scene, the plot changes to one of betrayal and revenge. It is still intriguing, but not as much as the destruction of the world. It even starts to lose it’s focus after several hours, but gets back on track near the end. The ending sets up a potential for a sequel with a cliffhanger, but this one is done to perfection. Overall, the game has a decent length, but comes in just shy of my preferred ten hour mark.

The voice acting is top notch. Everyone is believable (well, as believable as you can be when talking with thirty foot tall demons and heavily armored angels) and each has a standout performance. War tends to try and be a little too badass, talking in only threats and one-liners, but this does give him some memorable quotes. Mark Hamill plays The Watcher, a somewhat creepy demon assigned to keep an eye on War. While his performance is great, it comes a little too soon after Arkham Asylum and the voice he uses is virtually identical to the Joker’s.

A good tagline for Darksiders would be ‘Zelda for adults’. It has all the memorable puzzle elements, but also a darker plot and brutal violence. While many of its ideas have been borrowed, they are blending together into a unique and exciting action experience.

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