Thanks to THQ for the review copy

Game Play

Darksiders II, can be roughly summarized as an amalgamate of every game mechanic I’ve ever loved. Combining that with a backbone of gorgeous and intriguing landscapes, unique leveling systems, piles of side quests, and the ability to modify the way Death plays, and you truthfully get a great game. I’m guilty of judging many things, and thinking that this would be a simple 8-10 hour run was my first mistake. My first play through on normal clocked in at 23 hours without focusing on finding hidden items, or completing the multiple side quests given to me by other in game characters.

I found the story in this sequel to be much more compelling than that of the first. I enjoyed finding out what was happening to Wart, but Death’s quest to save his brother hit home much more for me. It was also a lot easier to love Death he is a bitter, sarcastic, bad-ass. War was a touch drier, okay, much drier, a lot drier really. I also enjoyed interacting with the characters much more. Death asked questions in an insulting way, no matter who he spoke to. I had as much fun wondering what he’d say next as I did finding out important story elements.

Generally when trying to kill a game on a scheduled time limit I find that I become irritated with additional story elements, or puzzles that keep me from finishing the project at hand. With Darksiders II, it simply wasn’t the case, although many puzzle types were re-used in the same realms, each realm had its own unique systems you had to discover that kept the solving fresh. Instead of wishing I didn’t have to run across the map to find another key, or open another box, I was more intrigued that they had utilized several components from earlier levels to tie into an even bigger conundrum.

I’m trying to avoid giving too much intimate detail so as not to spoil the story. But I will comment on the boss fights being a touch predictable. They weren’t predictable in the sense of who, but in the how. Generally (barring the fights against Samael and the Archon) the solution to beating the enemy was handed to you on a silver platter. The weakness was always made glaringly obvious and if they didn’t have a weakness showing, it simply meant to attack full-bore. I wouldn’t call it a major negative but it did take away the sense of accomplishment. Many levels felt like a huge excursion, followed by a quick boss kill.

Sound

The soundtrack to Darksiders is phenomenal. I would expect nothing less from a title of this calibre. The sound effects while being crisp, didn’t always fit when it came to volume. Finishing a boss as the reaper was often quieter than the attacks during the battle. The huge dichotomy created by this felt confusing at many finishes. After a heated and loud battle filled with sword slams, shield clanks and even explosions. Death would finish them quietly with his giant Scythe. The finish didn’t match the battle in almost every fight. The only portion of the game this didn’t apply to is the end. The final kill was heavy, intense, and had my heart pounding for the entire ending sequence.

Story/Content

It’s hard to knock a game for story when the main character is so interesting, and the plot is one of such emotion. Who can’t connect with someone heading to the end of the world to save their brother? I won’t say the ending is anti-climactic; it served the purpose that was intended. The game series is building up to a quadrology, and simply ending the problems would make it impossible to tie in the other Horsemen. I have to give credit to the writers and creative team on story as a whole though. Once again expecting a pretty dry and straight run through Death’s adventure the amount of extra content makes the game worth it’s $59.99 price tag twice over. Once you have finished the game you can choose to play new game plus (keep your level and equipment, everything gets harder, and give it another shot. ) You can take your character into the Crucible mode to battle waves of monsters for rewards, or you can return to your game and finish wrapping up every loose end you left behind.

The story on normal may last 23 hours, but on higher difficulties, and with 100% completion I’d venture to say that 60 hours would be the bare minimum you’ll spend.

SPOILER ALERT
I’m going to discuss the ending after this warning paragraph. If you don’t want to know, skip to controls/combat. Otherwise read on, and feel free to discuss.




The ending left me with 2 wants and 1 major question,: My first want would be a more epic purpose to Death’s sacrifice. He reaches the end of his quest and is laughing over his confusion on the next step. Why not have Lilith try to convince him to resurrect the Nephilim? Could he not struggle more with his decision to fling himself into the well of souls? I was happy with the ending, I don’t want to be a naysayer, but after dragging yourself across the entire known universe and every plane in existence. Death simply throwing himself over the edge after handing his mask to the Crowfather seemed a touch light-hearted.

Spoiler over

Controls/Combat

This is one of the best parts of the game, and the series truthfully. The amount of weapons you collect throughout the story gives you ample time to adjust your combat style to any scenario. I stuck to using Achidna’s Fangs, and whichever set of blades did the most damage from the underworld on. But you can easily become a master of hammers, maces, swords, blades, or fist blades before the story is finished. The timing based attacks also added more depth for those wanting a technical set up. Dodging at the correct time left the enemy punished by a shadow of the reaper, stuns gave you opportunity to siphon life with critical attacks, and the different set of attacks available let you juggle and mix up combinations during every combat piece. There have been few games that bring a combat system forward that I enjoy quite as much as this. I won’t say the combat is better than Bayonetta, but Darksiders leaves little to be desired.

The Long and Short

This game is worth it’s price tag. If you haven’t played any in the Darksiders series I recommend running down a used copy of the first game. Last I checked they were a scant $17.99. The amount of content and the story alone make the game worth anybodies time. You don’t have to be an RPG junky to snag this game and start grinding. It truthfully has something for everybody. It is at times mildly anti-climactic, like I said during the story section it feels like occasionally the developers don’t want you to get too excited at moments that really should have your heart pounding. The pacing may be a tad strange, but the game delivers it’s point and keeps you interested.

If you’re looking for something to fill time and make you happy it did, this is where I’d go.

Score:

• Controls: 9
• Sound: 7
• Story: 9
• Replay: 8.5
• Overall: 8.5