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| "Limited Edition" Xbox 360 Box Art |
What’s this - a major release being reviewed by me at a time
that actually seems relevant rather than several months or years later? Perhaps
one day I’ll be a real game critic. When
someone told me a game was coming out where you played as Death in a hack and
slash, action adventure platformer, I replied by cutting them off at “played as
Death” and ran for that. True, I’d never
played the first Darksiders game, and
I had joked to myself, “c’mon, it’s playing as Death. This is probably going to
be the shortest game ever.” Now, several hours in and so, so many piles
of rubble that were my enemies later, I found out how wrong I was, and I found
that I had been playing one of the most awesome games I have ever played. After all, you play as Death, how could this game possibly suck?
The game is, naturally a sequel to the original Darksiders – which, again, I haven’t
played – so spoiler warning! The game is
actually nice enough to give a short, concise summation of the events of the
first game. Mainly that War, the
Horseman, got the jump on the Apocalypse, kind of starting it before it was
supposed to be and screwed over the whole of Humanity. So he is now at the mercy of “the Charred
Council” – a group of beings of one sort or another that mediate between Heaven
and Hell – who have decided to put him on trial for the annihilation of
humanity. This is where Darksiders II picks up, with Death
deciding that he’s going to absolve his brother of any wrongdoing by…wait for
it…bringing Humanity back from the dead.
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| "Hello, my name is Mort, I'll be your chef this evening." |
What follows is an absolutely fun hack n’ slash game with
some platforming and puzzle sections that I just love - nothing short of a joyride. And I know some will complain that I leveled criticism
against Conan last week for being a
generic hack n’ slash that does absolutely nothing new and nearly bored me to tears,
but that doesn’t apply to Darksiders II
for a number of reasons. The ones that
stick out most vividly were the puzzle sections – in which Death’s required to maneuver
objects to open pathways, unseal doors, and activate golems to complete tasks –
and the storyline. The whole Biblical
apocalypse thing and the “after the end” theme really got my interest and it’s
a rather interesting plot all things considered.
In the beginning, Death seeks a way to bring back Humanity
so that there will be no crime to try War on. Having no idea how to do this,
however, he journeys to a frozen tundra where he encounters the Keeper of
Secrets who tells him (after being beaten nine ways from Sunday) to seek out
the Tree of Life. He arrives in a world
where dwarves had apparently been taking whatever growth hormones the Navi from
Avatar have been taking and reveal to
him that the path to the tree is blocked.
Before the Horseman can get to the tree, he has to help them in various
ways.
I call him “Horseman”, but Death actually has very little actual
riding to be doing. He has a crow named
Dust - who serves as the “where the hell do I go?” marker on your minimap – and
a steed called Despair, which is awesome all in its own right and is
nigh-invulnerable (except against bosses), wreathed in green flames and with a
call very much…well, like a horse. But
you get to use the beast so little besides roaming through certain sections of
the world to get through to quests. Even
Death will comment if you attempt to summon the horse where you can’t,
proclaiming that he “[has] to go alone”.
Not much of a Horseman if I don’t ride my horse. Just saying.
Apart from that, and a few minor issues with the mythology
(like calling them “the Creator” and “the Destroyer” in place of “God” and “Satan”,
respectively. I mean, really?
Although “Fury” and “Strife” replace Pestilence and Famine on the Horseman
roster, so what do I know?), I like literally just about everything else about
this game. The combat in particular is great in that there’s a variety of
interesting weapons to slice and carve your enemies up with. Death’s main weapon is, as one can expect, a
scythe - specifically two scythes that can join in the middle for awesome
finishers against enemies and are the primary weapons throughout the game. Death also has a secondary weapon that can be
anything from a giant hammer or a giant axe to claws and armblades, giving
plenty of options.
The armor choices are nice, too. Death doesn’t have the whole Grim Reaper get
up that he’s more often known for, instead just opting for a skeletal mask and
wearing armor of various designs, almost all of which look completely awesome
and very fitting of a being such as him.
Of course, Death does take on his more traditional look with “Reaper
Mode”, where he becomes a taller, robed figure with a massive scythe who deals
out an insane amount of damage and is very difficult – if not impossible – to so
much as damage. That being said, Death can actually die, though it feels really awkward when that happens
(seriously, shouldn’t the universe break?).
All in all, mythology and equestrian issues aside, this game
is solid and definitely gets a recommendation from me. It’s got great combat, a great story, and the
characterization of Death is actually rather enjoyable. High marks from this game, and I will look
forward to the sequel, and to playing the first one. So, that being said, why are you still
reading this? Go and buy Darksiders II
right now.
…Yes, I’m talking to you! Go!
Darksiders II is now available from THQ and Vigil Games.
This review is based on the Xbox 360 version.
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