REVIEWED – Darksiders

Title:  Darksiders
Platform:  PlayStation 3
Developer:  Vigil Games
Publisher:  THQ
Reviewed By:  Bustah Woolf
SCORE:  B+

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The number of games out now that allow you to wander through a post-apocalyptic wasteland are numerous, and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of them letting up anytime soon. Then a game comes along that not only lets you wander around a world destroyed, but lets you be a part of it starting from its final days. Starting with an amazing cutscene that shows all kinds of cataclysmic events unfolding, Darksiders drops you right into the action and into the shoes of War, Horseman of the Apocalypse as he fights in the end of days itself, and then ultimately becomes framed for triggering it too early. This is the basic plot setup for the game, and while I’ve read some reviews that say the plot was ridiculous, personally I was engaged until the ending credits. With a story full of betrayal, revenge, various plot twists, and colorful, vibrant characters, Darksiders has a plot that grabs you from the beginning and never lets up until end game.

Borrowing gameplay mechanics from other games like it such as Soul Reaver, Zelda, and God of War, Darksiders brings nothing brand new to the table, but my combining the best elements of these great games, everything within feels rebuilt and refreshing. It takes the exploration and gameplay of Soul Reaver, combines it with the dungeon crawling, item seeking, and boss fights of Zelda, and adds a dash of God of Wars combat system for good measure. Each of the mechanics in this game are very well executed, and nothing feels tacked on, rushed, or uncared for. Thankfully, controlling all of it is also nice and easy to get into, and takes little time getting used to the button layouts, combos, and triggers for various things. My only qualm at all with the controls is the sometimes unresponsiveness when jumping off the edge of something. Too many times, War decided he would rather commit suicide in a pit of lava then actually jump over a chasm. While this was certainly irritating however, once you get used to having to time your jumps a little earlier, it never really gets in the way anymore.

The Darksiders world is much more alive and vibrant for a game set in this type of environment, and features good use of the HD consoles to bring to life bright colored forest-like areas, dark graveyards, and vast desert wastes. Each environment seemed lovingly crafted, and Vigil has done an amazing job ensuring that a game set after the world is destroyed doesn’t have to look like Mad Max ALL the time, which was refreshing. The characters are amazing, each one feeling alive and well fleshed out, thanks in large parts to the voice actors, and the contributing artwork by famed comic book artist Joe Madureira. Borrowing from a style used in games such as World of Warcraft, the characters feel more alive then your typical dismal, end of the world game.

I was particularly impressed with Vulgrim, a shifty demon merchant who is only out to make a quick buck. The enemies in Darksiders are also nicely varied. From giant fire-breathing demons, to graceful, yet-deadly angels, to giant golem-like automations, Darksiders has enough variety in enemies to make each area new and fresh, and it was nice to see that late in the game you still aren’t fighting the same zombies from the beginning, just in a different skin color. The 360 version of the game however suffers from horrendous screen-tearing, and some framerate issues. Thankfully the PS3 version suffers from neither.

The sound effects and music in the game are very well done as well, the clashing of swords, and a thunderous, epic score really make you feel like you’re fighting in some epic fantasy action film and really helped to draw me into the world that the developers had so lovingly created. From every gunshot, to cars being thrown, to the maniacal laugh of a demon, the world is brought to life that much more through great sound work and direction, and kudos goes to Vigil for ensuring that every aspect of the game was paid the same amount of attention.

All in all, Darksiders is an amazing, fun, lengthy romp combining some of the best used mechanics in various games. It’s real only faults are the fact that while it does amazing at what it attempts to do, it brings nothing especially new to the table. I’m not really one for having to be THE innovative game every time someone releases something, but it would have been nice to have seen them bring a unique and different idea to the table no matter how small. The second, and last fault is the sometimes unresponsive controls. In a game that requires you to do a good amount of platforming, ensuring that the jumping was precise would have made things a lot smoother and easier, and hopefully it’s something that gets fixed in the sequel, or maybe even a patch, however unlikely for the latter.

If you’re a fan of Zelda, Soul Reaver, God of War, Devil May Cry, Metroid, or any other games from the various genres then I would definitely recommend at least giving Darksiders a try, because playing through the end of the world and kicking the crap out of some angelic ass, has never been this much fun.