Darksiders: Wrath of War

PLEASE NOTE: the 'screen tearing' issue on the Xbox 360 that was mentioned in numerous reviews at the time of the game's release, has long since been patched & resolved via an automatic online update... my second playthrough was with the patch applied and the visual improvement/difference was night & day.

Given the amount of unfair comparisons it's attracted, I'll start by saying that Darksiders was never intended to be a substitute for games in the style of God of War / Devil May Cry / Dante's Inferno, etc... Yes, there is a fair amount of combo based melee combat but it's all in the service of the adventure and exploration of the game's world which, slowly opens up as you tackle the various puzzles, enemy bosses, and acquire new abilities and pieces of gear/equipment.

So to be clear, Darksiders is an action/ADVENTURE title.

I actually enjoyed it more on my second playthrough, having then mastered the control scheme and also using the collectible 10-piece 'Abyssal Armour' set - because it made all the combat encounters a more forgiving affair and I could more freely experiment with the combat system and combinations of weapons/gear, etc.

I liked: the visuals and art style; the numerous puzzle challenges (which extends to most of the boss battles); the voice acting in general; and the story to a degree. Regarding the latter, be aware that the tale itself unfolds rather slowly, although the pace does pick up towards the end.

Weak points for me included: the story-telling (not the story itself, but rather its pacing); the sometimes slow or unresponsive controls during combat (albeit not so much that it prevented me from enjoying the carnage); the control scheme which seemed unnecessarily convoluted at times; the additional 'wrath abilities' which didn't seem overly useful (at a lower difficulty setting); and for variety's sake I wish there had been a few more 'instant kill' animations for the various enemy types.

How long it takes you to complete Darksiders will depend upon a few things, namely: what diffculty setting you chose at the outset; how keen you are to discover all the hidden items in the gameworld; and also to what degree you decide to upgrade the different weapons and other combat abilities.

Bottom-line: Darksiders is a very decent addition to the action adventure genre, represents good value for money at today's reduced price, and an impressive first title from developers, Vigil... granted, all of the gameplay elements are highly derivative but it's been repackaged in a fresh and interesting manner and with obvious care, and I certainly look forward to a sequel someday in the not too distant future.

The Earth is no more. The Apocalypse as foretold in the book of revelations has come about. You are war - accused of bringing this about. As Earth falls asunder, Demons and Angels battle each other into oblivion.
With your powers stripped, you stand before the charred council (neither Heaven no Hell) your only masters, and you are sent back to Earth to find out what really happened and why you were summoned. It seems War has been used by someone, as part of a malevolent grand scheme.

Phew, the opening plot is really hard hitting as is the gameplay.

Combat is initially a fairly basic hack and slash affair with a few Superman strength style "pick up a car and throw it" powers on top. However, as you begin to regain your powers, scope for mixing things up combat wise gets more interesting. You also gain new limits of strength into your weapons. It seems most people choose to stick with putting points into their initial sword weapon and specializing.
Another wonderful idea is the contextual manner in which you kill an enemy. If you finish it off with weapon slashes, you will get souls from the body. If it's a weak type of enemy and you finish it with an attack that finishes it immediately (the B button) you get health back. This kind of trade off between type of finisher, giving you health or currency is quite ingenious. If you were fighting a losing battle, I'm sure there's a time that will come up when you'd take health over currency from the additional enemies around the room. When the time comes, that feeling of control over your gameplay balance will be satisfying. This isn't done to a massive effect and the health returns aren't much but every little counts towards this interesting idea.

As the game goes on, the combat encounters become more and more crazy, with the challenge level being ramped up higher. When you encounter a type of enemy that you dread to fight you know you're playing a game to keep you on your toes. When a trap is sprung and two of those enemies plus two of a sort you equally hate to fight appear along with adds (additional enemies) your fingers are about to work overtime, dodging and slashing and concentrating on your technique. Defence in Darksiders is key, more than attack. This is seen in the counter attack option by pressing RB at the last moment as an attack comes in.
Combat wise, I would definitely recommend the harpoon thrust move with your sword. It gives you the move of the direction + RB dash but adds a combat strike to it. You'll be dashing a lot in combat, so why not do it with a pointy weapon sticking out?

You will get the opportunity to regularly visit a shopkeeper and buy new moves and gear. This is done well, with souls as currency.
The entire theme of what they're attempting pays off even in these little elements.

Fights start becoming rather deadly affairs, with enemies doing massive damage to your character, even on the normal difficulty. Truly you are forced to play well to survive, it's as simple as that - mastering when to attack and when to fall back. Luckily you're given a dash dodge option as previously mentioned. With a simple tap of the RB you can be away from the enemy in the direction you pushed the stick. Utilising this manoeuvre though is key to success with Darksiders, lest the swinging arcs of deadly weapons be your downfall.

Again like Zelda, you will have rooms full of enemies to fight at once and not becoming confused with your lock on is also important if you're using it. On a few occasions I did have some trouble telling the lock on focus to focus on the bigger threat because it had moved off screen and to the side. In reality, there's little that can be done to help that, with a game lock on system. You just have to work with it and improve yourself. It isn't all that necessary to be locked on anyway. You can do just fine if you guide your weapon slashes in the right direction. You'll find them rather helpful for thrown items though - again, like Zelda which had the bow and boomerang.

The game delivers a solid, punchy look and feel, with a colourful thematic to graphics, gameplay and dialogue. The Angels and Demons are accomplished works of art, some some of the Demons especially being a feast for the eyes - why do the bad guys always look the coolest?
There's some other really well rendered characters in the game.
Ulthane immediately comes to mind - a vivid memorable character that would be interesting enough to star in his own spin off! His huge features and thick Scottish accent are one thing, but some of the lines he delivers are brilliant! Calling Angels "pigeons" as he fights them helps cement his character's mindset firmly in place for us.

The next statement might surprise some of you. The gameplay itself feels very much like Zelda. Okay, then ENTIRE game feels like Zelda! There I said it. Lock ons for combat, the start screen with a map on it and tabs to take you to other screens of interest (like Zelda again). Of note is the stats screen which shows you the degree of fun Vigil are having with this game, with statistics such as: Number of deaths, Distance Travelled (and the game mis-spelled travelled?), Total Souls Collected, Highest Combos and Demon Blood Spilled (measured in gallons). The latter made me smile and look forward to the prospect of delving deeper into Darksiders.

Another Zelda-like point is the permanent health quarter pieces that when collected as four, make a new bar of health. Then there are areas with inaccessible side routes that require some piece of gear you'll get later and have to return to use. Similar to Batman Arkham Asylum or (there's that name again) Zelda.
You even have a companion with you (The Watcher) who pops out only to give you information and keep an eye on you. The Watcher rarely does anything for you when you summon him manually, mostly just asking "yes?" so it feels a little pointless most of the time.
Then there's the chests that contain maps that reveal the whole dungeon to you, bombs that grow as plants that can be picked and will regrow, revelatory in play music each time you find a way to progress and blocks to push to help open the way on.
The mounted combat feels just like Zelda. You could easily believe you were riding Epona as you slash locked on enemies down with sword strikes and a speed boost meter (which thankfully is not comprised of carrots) - that is if Epona had a fierce demeanour and flaming hooves. Okay, this horse `Ruin' is more fun than Epona. There, I've said that as well now.
So it plays just like Zelda, but the real question you're asking is, "Is it better than Zelda?"
Interesting, well it's certainly better than the more recent Zelda games (better than the Nintendo Wii's Zelda to name one). It's more intense and heat filled in combat. You're more likely to strain an arm muscle in Darksiders than you would in Zelda. Zelda has a bit more of a quieter pace to its story telling, unravelling things in a fantastical magical way that children can enjoy as well. Darksiders is pretty mythical in its own way but lacks a certain element that the best Zelda games have, the degree of character interactions and side projects to undertake. In Zelda you visit towns and villages full of people to interact with. The only people you interact with in Darksiders is `The Watcher' and that doesn't count because he's more like a "Navi" type, Vulgrim who is your Lich-like vendor and that's pretty much it. Anyone else in the world (outside of cut scenes) is there to hack to pieces. That's okay though, Darksiders needs to be different to Zelda in at least a couple of ways, right?

The controls are quite responsive except some of the key double jump/glide manoeuvres that didn't quite come off all the time.
The game's controls are on the edge of almost becoming too complicated. It never steps over that mark, don't worry but you truly are using the entire controller quite a lot of the time. This seemingly more convoluted design actually enriches the playing experience, further adding to the combat tactics available to you. Even at one basic level, the X button makes my sword slash and the Y button makes a different weapon slash. To throw the glaive you find yourself doing a combination of things, sometimes clicking the right stick and throwing manually, sometimes holding LT and clicking the stick then un-clicking to break a selection and re-clicking to make target points appear, if LT is held down...To even go into your other combat form you hold LB and RT. It likes to make you use double the amount of buttons that other games would. But again, this isn't a bad thing. It doesn't hand you a dumb experience, it makes you fight for everything you earn. It really is easy to pick up the controls on the first play session. I wouldn't suggest leaving the game unplayed for too long however (as in weeks); you never know, you might lose some of your edge with this system and have to force yourself to remember on the fly.
That's not to mention the combos you learn from the vendor either, but that sort of thing is standard practice in hack and slash `em ups, so you're probably used to having to retain moves.
Again though, a long period away might find you only losing your edge. The longer you play the game, the more natural the control system feels to you. It's really quite an achievement.

The sound aspect of the game is a high point. You'll find a couple major voice actors in the game. Of note in presence is Mark Hamill playing `The Watcher'. The main character `War' is voiced by Liam O'Brian - a name that might be well known to western "dubbed" `Naruto' anime fans, for he is the voice of `Gaara of the Desert'.

The levels are strategically designed to hinder your progress, making you take side routes. Read more ›

Let me start off with what this game is like. Legend of Zelda was stumbling home one night when Devil May cry offered her a hand home. Along the way they started chatting and when LoZ got home it offered DMC to go in and have a cup of coffee. One thing led to another and a few years later they spawned a game with both their best areas. Now i keep reading how this game is like God of war but if i'm honest it's more DMC. In fact a lot of the moves are extremely similar. Harpoon, Then theres the one that shoots them into the air and then you smash them back down. That and you can turn into a raging fire demon (That looks like the Balrog in lord of the rings but i'm not touching that with a 10-foot barge pole :p). So any who say it's a GoW Rip off please note that it's more of a DMC rip off :p

Moving on. The graphics are stunning. You fight a few demons at a time and yes they all look the same but they are well designed. They used High definition for once! Recently played Dragon Age Origins and in some cut scenes you'd see the walls were very pixelated. I have yet to see this in Darksiders.

The Gameplay is brilliant. I have always been a fan of DMC fight style. Buy new moves, use them get more orbs buy more moves, buy items etc But i'm always stuck on what to buy as there are quite a few things to buy. Plus I love pressing B to get a finishing move. My fave so far is chopping up the Angels but ill let you see how he does it.

I'd definitly give this game a 9/10 but as the stars only go up to 5 i'll give it a 5 as i guess it deserves a 5 rather than a 4. I definitly recommend this game who loves Hack and Slash games!