Darksiders is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ (now by Nordic Games). The game takes its inspiration from the apocalypse, with the player taking the role of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 5, 2010 in North America, January 7, 2010 in Australia, January 8, 2010 in Europe and March 18, 2010 in Japan.
This is one of the titles that I have recently completed on my gaming backlog, so I felt that I owe you guys a review even if it's a rather short one.
Plot: (FULL Spoilers)
Since the beginning of time, the Kingdoms of Heaven and Hell have waged war, with neither side ever being able to gain an advantage over the other. Thus, in time, a mediator group named "The Charred Council", arose to maintain order and balance; to this end, they created a brotherhood, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (War, Death, Strife and Fury) to intervene and enforce their laws where and when necessary. Amidst the conflict, humanity emerged. Foreseeing that humans would be integral and contribute to the balance's stability, the council declared them a third Kingdom, the "Kingdom of Man". The Council brokered a truce between Heaven and Hell: the Seven Seals were created to be broken when the Kingdom of Man was ready for the Endwar.In the present day, War (Liam O'Brien) arrives on earth where the final battle appears to have begun. Confronting Abaddon(Troy Baker), the general of Heaven's army, War discovers that the other Horsemen have not arrived and the Seventh seal has not been broken. Surprised by War's presence Abaddon is killed by the demon Straga (Troy Baker). War battles Straga and is defeated, but is saved from death by the Charred Council (Fred Tatasciore). The council accuses War of destroying the balance by bringing about the Apocalypse prematurely, aiding in the destruction of Mankind, and siding with the forces of Hell. War protests his innocence and demands a chance to find the real culprits. The Council agrees on two conditions; he lose his former power and be bound to one of their servants, The Watcher (Mark Hamill), who has the power to kill him if he strays from his mission.
War returns to Earth, where a century has passed since the forces of Hell, led by "The Destroyer" annihilated humanity and the armies of Heaven. What remains of Heaven's armies have been stranded on Earth and formed into a meager resistance led by Uriel (Moon Bloodgood). War greets the demon merchant Vulgrim (Phil LaMarr), who tells him that the Black Tower is The Destroyer's lair, and advises War to seek out Samael (Vernon Wells), a once powerful demon lord, for assistance. Samael explains that four demons called "The Chosen" guard the Black Tower, and asks War to slay them and bring him their hearts in exchange for gaining access to the Tower. While doing so, War meets Ulthane (J. B. Blanc), a skilled blacksmith from a race called "The Makers". Initially fighting each other, they are forced to defend themselves from Uriel and her Hellguard who hold War responsible for Abaddon's death and their defeat. Confronting the last guardian, War discovers that The Chosen were not meant to defend the tower, but to prevent Samael's return. Regardless, War brings Samael their hearts and the restored demon honors their deal, sending him to the tower, saying they will meet again.
Inside the tower War finds Azrael (Keith Szarabajka), the Angel of Death, imprisoned. Azrael confesses that he and Abaddon conspired to bring about the Apocalypse early, fearing a delay would risk Heaven's defeat. However, Abaddon's death ruined the plan. Having found the proof he needs, War decides his mission is complete but The Watcher decides otherwise, citing the Destroyer must die for balance to be restored. War obliges, facing and slaying Straga to free Azrael.
Freed, Azrael saves War as the Tower collapses, and takes him to the Garden of Eden. Heeding his advice, War visits the Tree of Knowledge to see how to defeat the Destroyer. The Tree gives war a vision. After dying, Abaddon was sent to hell and offered a choice by an unknown entity: to serve in Heaven or rule in Hell; choosing the latter, he becomes the Destroyer, and now guards the unbroken Seventh Seal. The Destroyer plans to lay siege to Heaven. Uriel leads the Angels against him and is defeated. The charred Council is shown to have been aware of the conspiracy, but knew the Horsemen would not act without proof. Thus, the Council allowed the Apocalypse to start early, summoning War themselves, knowing he would track down and kill the conspirators to clear his name. Finally, War sees himself being taunted by The Watcher and fatally stabbed in the back with a sword. Azrael deduces the sword is the Armageddon Blade, a weapon capable of slaying the Destroyer, and tasks War to find the shards of the blade and take them to Ulthane to reforge it.
Uriel confronts War a second time, challenging him. War is victorious but spares her, and reveals the Destroyer's true identity. Grief-stricken and enraged by this knowledge, Uriel leaves to prepare the angels for battle. Collecting all of the sword fragments, War returns them to Ulthane who reforges the Blade. Meanwhile, Uriel and the Hellguard attack the Destroyer and fall as predicted. In the aftermath, War confronts the Destroyer and is given the option to join him. War refuses, battles the Destroyer and emerges victorious after killing him.
War retrieves the Seventh Seal, but is subdued by The Watcher who takes it to prevent him from returning to his full power, knowing he will turn on the Council for their betrayal. Uriel intervenes, taking the Armageddon Blade and stabbing War in the back as predicted, fulfilling the oath of their earlier duel, and breaks the Seventh Seal. The shattering of the Seventh Seal restores War to his original power, and frees him from the Council's control. The Watcher threatens that Heaven, Hell, and the Council will chase him before War kills him. Uriel is grateful to War, saying his actions have repaid any harm he caused the angels but warns that her duty will likely require her to fight him once again. Consequently, she warns War that he cannot stand alone against the armies of both Heaven and Hell to which War replies by saying that he is not alone and three riders are seen in the sky headed toward him as the game ends.
The Verdict:
Darksiders is VERY God of War-esque but the game doesn't hold your hand as much as that game series does in terms of combat. You have a bit more freedom in terms of your creativity in combat. Darksiders is a mature-themed Legend of Zelda-style game and experience with players undertaking in part in a battle between Heaven and Hell on a Biblical scale. Don't let the religious influence deter you, as Darksiders isn't one of those games that shoves it's religious beliefs down your throat.
That being said, the controls are very limited and awkward while riding Ruin (War's horse that you get towards the end of the game). I wish there more actions were possible other than your pistol and basic sword strikes from Chaoseater.
I personally found that the secondary weapons were borderline useless and found myself relying entirely on Chaoseater in combat. The Tremor Gloves were too slow, but hits hard when you do manage to find an adversary that would stand sit long enough for you to hit them with them. The Scythe was great for crowd control but pretty weak overall. Your best option in combat was to launch enemies into the air and juggle them to death. Magic and the Chaos Reaper form are cool but they aren't enough to rely on due to the mana cost to use consistently. As a result, combat becomes really redundant pretty fast.
The game makes backtracking, especially during the game's finale a total bore/chore without any clear distinctions on what you're looking for. The Vulgrim Holes help somewhat but you still spend a lot of time roaming in circles than you should have to.
The in-game map shows a general direction where you should head, but it's not always right nor precise. I HIGHLY suggest downloading a simple walkthrough guide online to guide you in the right direction.
I personally found that the boss fights were the best part of Darksiders, but the last two encounters were extremely underwhelming, especially War's final confrontation with the Destroyer. I thought it was rather odd that the early boss fights were better and more nerve-raking than the last few boss encounters.
That being said, the controls are very limited and awkward while riding Ruin (War's horse that you get towards the end of the game). I wish there more actions were possible other than your pistol and basic sword strikes from Chaoseater.
I personally found that the secondary weapons were borderline useless and found myself relying entirely on Chaoseater in combat. The Tremor Gloves were too slow, but hits hard when you do manage to find an adversary that would stand sit long enough for you to hit them with them. The Scythe was great for crowd control but pretty weak overall. Your best option in combat was to launch enemies into the air and juggle them to death. Magic and the Chaos Reaper form are cool but they aren't enough to rely on due to the mana cost to use consistently. As a result, combat becomes really redundant pretty fast.The game makes backtracking, especially during the game's finale a total bore/chore without any clear distinctions on what you're looking for. The Vulgrim Holes help somewhat but you still spend a lot of time roaming in circles than you should have to.
The in-game map shows a general direction where you should head, but it's not always right nor precise. I HIGHLY suggest downloading a simple walkthrough guide online to guide you in the right direction.
I personally found that the boss fights were the best part of Darksiders, but the last two encounters were extremely underwhelming, especially War's final confrontation with the Destroyer. I thought it was rather odd that the early boss fights were better and more nerve-raking than the last few boss encounters.
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