Darksiders

This is a Hack'n Slash game starring WAR, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse. A mishap causes Earth to be ravaged by war between heaven and hell and WAR is betrayed in the event resulting him to go on a quest for revenge and find the truth about the betrayal.

The narrative was clichéd and felt like your typical hack'n slash scenario. I still liked the whole premise though. WAR itself was a decent character to helm and he was voiced by the same actor who voiced Gaara in Naruto, so that was awesome. Along our journey, we meet several characters, some were good and well acted.

The game pulls a God of War II at the beginning, stripping our hero of all of his godly powers and leaving him as a weak, broken being. We go on a long quest to regain the power, slowly, and ultimately take revenge. Seems kinda a familiar doesn't it. Well, the game HEAVILY borrows from God of War franchise, and I do mean that. You'll be reminded of that franchise throughout. Which isn't to say it is a bad thing, it does a pretty good job of copying it and creating a good and enjoyable experience.

The gameplay consists of solving puzzles, some platforming reminiscent of prince of persia games, and lots and lots of tearing down demons and angels alike. The combat starts out pretty barren, but fun nonetheless. As you progress through the game, you achieve new items and weapons. You can buy abilities and combos to enhance your combat. The feeling of progress was pretty great. You slowly but surely start to feel like a powerful being, what WAR truly is. The combat however was restricting. Only one button for the main weapon for attack, which restricted combos and versatility a lot. Secondary weapons also had only one button for attack.

The boss battles were a mixed bag. Some were pretty good and fun while others were too easy and disappointing. The final boss especially felt like a pushover instead of being a force to be reckon it. The lambs for the slaughter, the usual grunts were great and varied a lot. During the final areas, some of them got really strong and added a bit of challenge.

The game featured TONS and TONS of puzzles and stuff to solve and find out a way but disappointingly, all were very straight forward and easy to solve. Maybe they should have spend less time creating more puzzles and more time making them more challenging. Quality over quantity.

The game also overstayed its welcome. It was just too long and started to drag a lot. The repetitiveness factor was too much due to the increased length. Took me about 14 hours to finish it and if they could have removed 4 hours and just lame puzzle stuff for a more streamlined pacing and adventure, it would have been a lot more fun to play.

Regardless of the drag, the game ended up being a great hack'n slash game. Can't wait to try out its sequel and play as DEATH!!

8/10

Although I'm calling it God of War Lite, that's not an insult really. A lot of stuff in the God of War series are frustratingly annoying button-mashing sequences, or pointless puzzles meant just to increase the gameplay time. Those are thankfully not present in this game. Final blow sequences are all just one button press rather than a randomized sequence of them.

There has been a lot of comparison to other games like Portal, Zelda, and God of War. I think God of War is the most relevant comparison, as GoW has a similar plot to this one. I finished playing the three God of War episodes, and then I picked this one up once I was done with GoW3. The ending of this one is lifted from GoW3, or at least very similar. But I was able to go through this game quicker than any of the GoW's as the time-wasting puzzles and button-mashing sequences were not present.

When this game was released, the way it was advertised and the way it looked made it out to be a God of War type game. When I first started playing it, it did seem to be such a game. However, as I progressed the world was one you explored, you collected items. You had to use newly acquired items you found in buildings to defeat bosses. Then, I pushed a gravestone and uncovered a hidden path, went down and got a piece of life shard and realized...this is patterned off Legend of Zelda, not God of War. Basically, the game could have been called, The Legend of Zelda: The Apocalypse!

The story has one of the four horseman arriving on Earth as all hell is literally breaking loose. However, something is not right as his brethren are nowhere to be seen. It seems something is wrong, and soon War is killed. He awakens in the presence of the Underworld's council and it seems something triggered the apocalypse early. War is tasked to find out what has caused this to occur. He heads back to Earth which is now overrun with monsters and zombies, nary a human in sight. War must visit temples and uncover his lost powers in order to figure out what is the cause behind the early war of heaven and hell.

The game play as far as the combat does have a bit of a God of War flair to it. You use your sword, gauntlet, sickle, guns, glaive and assorted other weapons to defeat the minions of darkness and the angels of light. The combat though proves to get very difficult as you progress through the game. I would give the game a higher score, but I put the game's difficulty on easy, when I do that it is because I want to do more with the story and not die numerous times. Well, I died a lot near the end! The fighting was absurdly difficult and I chuckled when I finally won the game and an achievement popped up for winning the game on easy and it said, "That was easy!" The exploration is rather fun, but some of the puzzles get annoying too. It is just one of those games that seems to have been made with a strategy guide in mind.

So overall, I enjoyed the game. I did take a huge break from it though as I had trouble in the Black Throne tower. I literally did not play the game for over a year! So I would have gone more into the story, but I cannot remember a lot about it. I am glad I won it though as now I have closure on this fine game. I am not sure whether I will get the sequel, but I most likely will at some point. It is nice a gaming company kind of mirrored a Zelda game for a change rather than the same old hack and slash game that is so popular these days. Of course, some of the Zelda qualities were annoying too!

I honestly never finished this game. It's good and it's clear artists and developers put a lot of work in it, but it's just not Darksiders 2.

In Darksiders and Darksiders 3 we see the same manner, menu, abilities. Monsters are unpleasant, there are holes in the story. Gameplay never got me, since Darksiders 2 I played 17 full times. War is wild, unstoppable and as he is a savage, he knows mercy to those who deserve it. Kinda strike and then ask. Much more weaker compared to Death, who is more lethal, stronger, refined and wise, almost immortal.

Anyway, War is done perfect, his voice, his appearance, weapon and plot.

This game is an absolute must for any self-proclaimed "gamer," and in my humble opinion is a true gamer's game. Though the game doesn't look too sharp, the sub-par graphics are more than redeemed through incredible art direction (via creative director Joe Madureira), solid and diverse gameplay, and an above-average gameplay time. The character design especially is awe inspiring.

The first thing you'll notice about Darksiders is that its mechanics are extremely derivative. At its core, it is Zelda, Devil May Cry, and God of War woven into a post-apocalyptic setting. The story/plot has its ups and downs, and you make no choices as to how it progresses, but it has some impressive highlights and the ending alone is worth the playthrough. There is much to explore and much to be found, all of which makes for an easier time in combat, but is not necessary. The combat itself is rather simple, and can be repetitive, but isn't necessarily button mashing, though it could be if you wanted it to. Multiple weapons with like sequences make fighting hordes of minions from heaven and hell alike relatively simple, with some tactics involved.

The platforming and puzzle segments can be quite difficult, and some even require a little creativity, which makes them oddly rewarding. Some of the puzzles are immense and require strategy, while others are simple or are merely carnage fests. The "finishing blows" utilized in combat, against weakened enemies, can be dazzling, and few get old. As I stated earlier, the mechanics are quite diverse by the game's end, and you'll find the mechanics used for puzzle solving and platforming sequences can be employed in combat, some to great effect. This can be frustrating, as you gain abilities playing through and simply cannot access everything from the beginning of the game. Regardless, the developers applied every mechanic at multiple junctures in the gameplay (some applications are ingenious), overall making for varied and challenging gameplay.

Yes, this game steals most of its ideas from Zelda, Devil May Cry, God of War, Tomb Raider, Portal, Panzer Dragoon, Prince of Persia, or Shadow of the Colossus, but its done incredibly well. The gameplay, coupled with art direction and a relatively well-done story, justify this game by leaps and bounds. I highly recommend it, especially considering its initial playthrough can consume upwards of 25 hours, and that is mostly unheard of in next-gen gaming.