Darksiders Xbox 360 Game Review
Story - Wrath of War (4 out of 5)
The story is pretty unique and interesting. A different and refreshing take on how the world might end. We have angels, demons, guns, griffins, and really large bats.
Heaven and Hell have been waging war against each other since the beginning of time. The Charred Council is there to preserve balance between the two forces. The enforcers of the Charred Council are The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse; they prevent any unfair play between Heaven and Hell. Then Man comes along, and a third kingdom is established. So seven seals are created and placed on Earth. When all seven seals have been broken, the end of times will be unleashed upon mankind.
Suddenly angels and demons start to fall to earth. They are fighting amongst each other and ripping the world to pieces in the process. Then War is summoned and sets out to return order to Earth. As he progresses he finds that his power is slowly leaving him, and the other Horsemen have not been summoned. War is summoned back to The Charred Council and blamed for starting the end of man. Shamed, weakened, and with a creature called ‘The Watcher’ watching him, War asks to return to Earth to find the ones responsible for summoning him and the end of mankind.
Gameplay - Slice and Dice (4 out of 5)
Darksiders is another button masher with some interesting puzzles. A little different than God of War and more like Devil May Cry this game doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. It is straight forward and honest. This is a game in which you will traverse through post-apocalyptic Earth and tear through angels and demons alike. You will ride on Griffins and hurl cars at monsters.
War is given his trusty sword, Chaoseater, with which he sets out to clear his good name. Along the way War will acquire new weapons and abilities. You will see a shuriken boomerang like something from Xena, a revolver, and of course a scythe. Each weapon has its own function and utility in destroying your foe.
After pummeling your enemy for a bit, you will be prompted to execute them in some violent manner. These range from ripping in half to decapitating a hellhound. Each creature has a unique execution that is cruel, heinous, and rewarding. After each vanquished foe you collect souls (just like God of War and Devil May Cry) to help you level up your abilities and weaponry. After a certain point in the game, you are given Chaos Form. This is War in a demonic form. In this form War is large, red, and fiery and of course incredibly powerful.
The puzzles in the game are fun and interesting. Reminiscent of Legend of Zelda, they aren’t overly challenging but will have cause to make you think logically. Often your gear will be the difference between you progressing to the next level or not. This prevents any unwarranted exploration. The game is linear in progression but clean and perfected in execution.
Graphics - War is on Steroids (4 out of 5)
The design of Darksiders comes from Joe Madureira, who is well known in the comic book world. War himself is a massive steroid injected beast of a …..Horseman. Seriously it looks like War has been bottle fed baseball talent enhancers from birth. He isn’t the biggest guy on the block, just the most bad ass. Commonly enough your enemies will be towering over War. The demons are unique with different themes behind each model. Vulgrim looks like something from an Egyptian horror movie, and the Watcher looks like something from a sci-fi epic.
The angels look like mechanized robots from the future. They have metal wings with plasma or some sort of energy for feathers, kind of like Too Human. The models are a unique mesh of typical angelic attire with a modern everyday ass kicker update.
Voice Actors - ITS THE JOKER! (5 out of 5)
Some fairly big names play the voices of some of the characters in Darksiders;
- Liam O’Brien as War
- Mark Hamill as The Watcher
- Phil LaMarr as Vulgrim
- Moon Bloodgood as Uriel
Just to name a few. You might know Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker or the voice of The Joker from Batman Animated Adventures. Moon Bloodgood was a supporting actress in Terminator Salvation. Phil LaMarr is an ex-Mad TV cast member. Liam O’Brien is known for his voice roles in Bleach and Naruto.
Overall (4 out of 5)
This game is in all honesty a lot of fun. The story is a little hazy at times, but the game play is simple and fluid. Borrowed from other games and jammed into this one the formula isn’t new, but it also isn’t broken. The gameplay is fun and clean, but still unoriginal.The graphics might be slightly over the top, but are well suited for the world created. If you love action-adventure games then this is a must buy. This a game you will want to play. No words can describe the level of fun riding a Griffin and unleashing righteous vengence upon hell fiends. If you are at all interested in taking the fight to hell, check out Dante’s Inferno.