Darksiders – Think like Link, Fight like Kratos
Due to my old standard definition TV going out about a week ago I have finally updated myself to the HD world and as such, I have been having a mini Xbox360 revival. My game of choice currently is Darksiders.
I had heard about Darksiders a few months ago on the Gamers With Jobs Conference Call. It was described as something along the lines of "you go around as one of the horsemen of the apocalypse and kill angels and demons". The concept sounded neat but that was the last I heard of it. When it released earlier this month, from the screen shots it looked like another God of War clone. Luckily, it is not.
Anyone who tells you that this game is most influenced by God of War is a liar. This game is essentially the new Legend of Zelda. Instead of Link, you play as the apocalyptic horseman War who looks like he stepped right out of World of Warcraft character designer meeting. Instead of the kingdom of Hyrule, you find yourself on post apocalyptic Earth. An apocalypse YOU were tricked into starting and there are very many unhappy individuals that want you dead.
The combat, however, feels a bit more polished than a Zelda game. Instead of just your standard two or three attacks, you have a multitude of combos on a variety of weapons that you can buy and upgrade. Enemies drop souls that are used as currency, replenish your health, and replenish your rage. This is where the God of War comparison comes in. But in the end, this game feels like 20% God of War and 80% Legend of Zelda.
The gameplay is incredibly solid. I am playing on apocalyptic difficulty since I was told the normal difficulty was a bit easy. Early in the game it was not unheard of to get two or three shot by enemies. Combat was fast paced and unforgiving and dodging was essential. Now that I have upgraded my health quite a few times the game feels a bit easier though dodging is still very important. Apocalyptic difficulty definitely keeps you on your toes and I would expect nothing less.
A good deal of time is spent dungeon diving. So far, I have been through two proper dungeons: an evil cathedral that was essentially a fire temple and a section of subway and sewers that was essentially a water temple. In each temple you get a new item or weapon to help you solve the puzzles of the stage. Within the fire temple equivalent, I received an item that works the same way as the boomerang in Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
At the end of each dungeon, you face a boss that requires you to often show mastery of your weapon and the gimmick of the dungeon. I found the fire temple boss to be much harder than the water temple boss but both were enjoyable.
Overall, I have found Darksiders to be a really fun game. It does not do anything new but I think what it does, it does well. A lot of people scream for innovation nowadays, but personally I am just happy to be playing another Legend of Zelda game.
March 22nd, 2010 - 13:25
I just started playing through Draksiders and I have to agree that this game is solid. I’m guessing I am somewhere around the halfway point and I see the similarities to God of War, but this game is not a God of War clone. To sum up my impression of what I have played I would say that Darksider is a game designed for gamers. It feels like the designers said, we loved playing games X, Y, and Z. Lets take what we feel makes these games fun and apply them to our game, but we will do it better. I am all for innovation but Darksiders proves that, from time to time, good game design and lots of polish can be just as interesting.