Darksiders

It’s difficult to judge what to say about Darksiders. this game never crossed my path until after I had received a copy of Darksiders 2, naturally I have to rush out and get the original before I could play that. Having not even heard of it before the sequel I had no idea what to expect, but expectations weren’t high.

Happily the games low stature is completely undeserving. Although the game itself is classed as an action/adventure this doesn’t really describe it properly. In fact, the only description that does it justice is to compare it to The Legend of Zelda. Although this may sound like small praise, consider the fact that Zelda is truly a legend amongst games, with Ocarina of Time regularly referred to as one of the best games ever made.

Following a dark storyline, you play as the Horseman “War” after the apocalypse has begun. After being framed for prematurely bringing about the end of days, War is on a mission to redeem himself, prove his innocence, and seek revenge on all those involved. A very noble quest.

The gameplay takes place in a post-apocalyptic city which is divided into separate sections for you to travel through while on your quest. When you begin your quest you go straight for the help of Samael, one of hells most evil; naturally the person you want to ask; and of course he wants you to do a small task for him first. This task being the hearts of those who imprisoned him, and being the major part of the game. You accept, despite doubts you may have of his honour, and so it is your job to take the hearts of the chosen – 4 of hells most powerful demons to return to Samael. Like Zelda, this quest takes you to opposing sections of the city, each of which are cleverly segregated in a fashion not unlike the areas of the Krypton Factor. You must travel through various dungeons, fighting demons and solving puzzles to open your way to the end.

During your journey you fight many demons, and the combat system is very well tailored to the job. Veterans of Zelda would be at home with the sword combat, but Darksiders has actually improved upon this, giving extra combat actions, such as move combos and the ability to use a secondary weapon from a choice of either power gauntlet, or Scythe borrowed from your brother Death, and special powers including Wars Wrath – which seems him turn into a giant, rage powered monster of super strength.

Throughout your journey you will come across new items to help you with your quest, amongst these being the Abyssal Chain, which lets you grab items from afar and swing across gaps, and the Voidwalker, which gives you the ability to create portals to solve puzzles, as well as proving that Aperture Science are involved with the devil.

Obviously drawing so many similarities between Darksiders and Zelda, I rate the game quite highly, but also the story which is well written following a subject I am really fond of. I think the game is fantastic, offers enough sidequests to waste time without being the be-all-and-end-all, and overall is just a fantastic play.

Game Info:
My Rating: 9/10