When the Man Comes Around

Darksiders brings us a familiar setting for the end of the world and then some but puts the story in a different light.  From the beginning, Heaven and Hell fought one another endlessly in a war that has consumed the entire universe.  To stop the endless cycle of violence the Charred Council stepped in as a mediator and, wielding their Four Horsemen, slaughter both demon and angel alike until a truce was formed that came to be known as the Balance.  Around this time arrived the first humans and, forseeing the potential in the mortals, the Charred Council hailed the creation of the third kingdom of man.  However, knowing that the Balance would not last forever, the Charred Council laid the ground rules out for the battle of Armageddon.  Before the battle is to begin between the three kingdoms however the Seven Seals that serve as the symbol of the Balance would be broken only when the kingdom of man is fully prepared for the divine war.

Unfortunately it seems that someone’s jumped the gun a little as man in modern times is little more prepared for the end of the world than James Cameron is for a poor box office showing.  On modern day Earth the battle begins as angels and demons alike descend to Earth like meteors for the long-awaited conflict.  As thousands die in the battle around them, War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, steps onto the scene and begins his duties.  However, after approaching the archangel Abbadon and learning that the Seventh Seal was never broken and the battle has begun prematurely, War watches as he is killed by Stragos, one of the greater demons, before being killed himself.  War awakens before the Charred Council and is accused of starting the war before man was ready, leading to the total destruction of humanity and the reignited war between Heaven and Hell.  War, faced with eternal damnation, pleads to be sent back to Earth to discover the true culprit.  The Council agrees but in doing so strips War of his powers and assigns the Watcher, a servant of the Council, to keep an eye on him and prevent War from opposing them.  And thus our story begins.

Darksiders’ story takes players around a principle city a century after the battle where the legions of Hell have taken over.  Across the landscapes of the destroyed city War finds himself searching for the answers without any mercy for those in his path.  It is definitely an enticing one to learn and keeps you coming back even as the credits roll.  If you’re looking at for a new series built around the concept of an intriguing story filled with brutality, Darksiders 2 (when it comes) is something to look into purchasing.

One Hundred Million Angels Screaming

Darksiders plays just like any other God of War clone that has come along in recent years but to give it a title as such is both demoralizing and disrespectful.  As one of the Four Horsemen you are endowed with the ability to rip foes asunder in increasingly more brutal ways than before.  And, that, my friends, is nothing short of FUN.

This game is brutal; devastatingly brutal.  As players progress throughout the game you gain access to more tools to decimate your enemies with, several of which start off as being merely puzzle solving and exploration oriented.  However, in the end the best weapon you can use is also the one you start out with: the Chaos Eater.  This prolific bringer of organ destruction is longer than War is tall and will tear through your enemies in a most enjoyable fashion.  The combo system for the Chaos Seater allows for an almost infinite amount of hits based on the situation before you so you’ll be evoking those Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden feelings quite quickly.  This, along with War’s Chaos Form, which allows him to turn into a twenty foot tall demon for a short amount of time, makes for a fun and enticing combat system.

The enemy variety in the game is a mixed bag unfortunately and is really the only true downside to the game.  While there are plenty of enemies around to keep the blood on your weapons fresh, the variety you will find is disappointing.  Many of the common enemies have three or four different and progressively tougher versions of themselves and exhibit almost no changes whatsoever other than a different skin.  The amount of closed-in arena battles can lead into the realm of annoying as some dungeon areas have you stopping to dispatch foes with seconds between encounters.

 The Whirlwind is in the Thorn Tree

What makes Darksiders really interesting is its blending of genres.  Despite being a combo-based hack-n-slash game it is also a bit of a platformer and even incorporates exploration and RPG elements.  Put quite simply, it is the closest blending of God of War and Legend of Zelda to date, taking elements from both and coming out with what seems to be the Reeses of 2010.  Players can actively upgrade their weapons through repeated use and can purchase enhancements and new attacks for each one.  Various attachments can be found in the environment that will both actively and passively enhance the weapon of your choice.  Given the right combination thereof farming for souls or finishing off enemies faster is easily done.

Vigil’s freshman product is not without a couple freshman errors, none the least of which is the game’s forced lengthening.  Several instances in Darksiders force players to enter arena battles in which players have to meet certain conditions in a battle (usually killing enemies a certain way) in order to progress on to the dungeon ahead.  Now, had these been optional it would have been tolerable but for these to be required to advance is simply irritating.  This reviewer does not know if these arenas were designed to train players on how to utilize War’s different abilities (especially these arenas occur early on in the game) but the forced lengthening of the game by an hour or two is simply a waste of time.  Next time Vigil, make these fights optional; players will have more fun with them that way.

The world of Darksiders is large to say the least.  While some areas may take a mere minute or two to traverse you’ll find yourself desiring transportation later on in the game.  Thankfully Vigil anticipated this and incorporated Serpent Tunnels that link areas as well as War’s horse Ruin… despite the fact that you’ve played half the game before your proverbial Horseman becomes one.  The tunnels are an excellent way around and help to make back-tracking a less painful.  Exploration is a surprisingly large part of Darksiders and once you find a new weapon or tool you’ll quickly be back-tracking into previous areas searching for new locations and rewards.

Backtracking can be a double-edged sword though and unfortunately Vigil nicked its finger on this one.  Allowing players to return to previous areas is a good thing and usually works when this is passively enabled.  Vigil chose to make this mandatory unfortunately as near the end of the game players are forced to visit several areas they’ve previously visited with a new ability in order to collect pieces of an item that is to be used in the final boss fight.  Had this have been optional this reviewer would have certainly done it anyway but for it to be forced on the player is simply a bad design decision.

 It's Alpha's and Omega's Kingdom Come

From a visual standpoint Darksiders is a beautiful game.  Joe Madureira, the creative director for the game, brought his comic design A game when it came to the art direction and the results are nothing but stellar.  Characters, enemies, and environments alike are supremely detailed and always great to look at.  While the environment variety is your typical color wheel variety with very little blending between any of them they are still nice to look at and give you different ideas on how the Apocalyptic landscape feels.

War is not one to be trifled with if Vigil has anything to say about it.  Quite possibly he is the baddest mofo in the entire Darksiders universe.  Every character in the game knows this too as War is issued a small amount of respect before all the main villains and allies alike.  You will be offered everything in the world in exchange for your sparing of the enemy; too bad War has a one track mind.  The respect offered up is actually quite refreshing in comparison to most hack-n-slash titles out there like God of War as only a handful of times in the genre have I actually felt like a badass when not fully powered up.  Good job Vigil.

The sound design for Darksiders is enjoyable as well and immerses the player into the game quite well.  No two environments share similar sounds other than those of the protagonist so props for that.  Indeed, from the overgrown plateaus and waterfalls of Anvil’s Ford to the wind-swept desert of the Sea of Sand, the environmental sound design is great.  The voice acting is no slouch either as the cast is a nice variety of famous voice actors with Liam O’Brien (Gaara from Naruto) taking the helm as War.  Mark Hamill’s rendition of the Watcher is excellent as well, though it almost comes off as a rhaspy version of the Joker from Batman Arkham Asylum.  Prolific voice actor Phil LaMarr, whose done everything from the Simpsons to Metal Gear Solid, plays Vulgrim, a greedy demon who serves as the game’s merchant.  Even Moon Bloodgood, one of the actresses from Terminator Salvation as well as the holder of the title of one of the most enviable names in history, takes on a role (Uriel).  Overall it’s a nice cast that lends well to the characters they portray.

And Hell Followed With Him

Darksiders is, by far, one of the best hack-n-slash titles to come out in recent years and is a remarkable first effort from Vigil.  That’s not to say it’s a godsend, but if you’re looking for something that screams satisfying dismemberment without rampant quick time events then Darksiders is something to pay attention to.