REVIEW -- The balance of genres is disrupted in Darksiders.
Joseph Smith
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Entertainment
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Vigil Games first-born child "Darksiders," on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, combines ideas from both God of War and the Legend of Zelda franchises, while making them feel fresh and new. Are puzzle dungeons apocalypse proof?
The game starts of smack in the middle of Armageddon with you, as the Horseman War leading the way. But, as it turns out, War acted on a false alarm, bringing the end of the world too soon, and disturbing the balance between Heaven and Hell. After the dust has cleared, you are sent before the Charred Council, who has kept the balance since the dawn of time. They decide to send you back to Earth a hundred years after the Apocalypse to find who was responsible for framing you, and to slay the Destroyer, leader of Hell's forces.
You'll mainly be fighting demons, but War will also cross blades with the Hellguard, a group of angels that blame War for the death of the leader and for being stuck on earth after Armageddon.
When you first pick up the game, it will feel like a cross between God of War and Devil May Cry, with multiple enemies to kill, as well as a combo meter to rack up. Although, the hack-and-slash demon and angel killing covers up the dungeon-exploration and puzzle solving, a la Legend of Zelda, complete with various Zelda-esque items (boomerang, horse, hookshot, etc.) that you'll use to take down the bosses, both mini and big.
The game also makes references to Halo 3, with War picking up turrets and rocket launchers to blast angels and demons, and even a Portal gun.
The game looks amazing artistically thanks to its comic-book art style, but the game does suffer graphically, thanks to slow down when things get crowded, and some slight screen-tearing on the 360 version.
Sound is also with, with great voice acting done by Liam O' Brian as War (famous for his role of Gaara in Naruto) and Mark Hamill as the Wacther (famous for his role as both Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, and The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series).
Darksiders blends together multiple gameplay elements, but manages to not only combine these elements almost flawlessly, but make them feel fresh and new when taken in context with the rest of the game. If you love hack-and-slash games, and you love puzzle-dungeons, then you'll love Darksiders.
3 out of 5
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