Let's Talk... Darksiders

 Darksiders is a game that is very much walking a fine line between being a corny and cringe-worthy experience well-worth dismissing and actually being something totally awesome. The game’s Angels vs. Demons setup and notably hammed up character models wielding impossibly large shoulder plates and gauntlets set off immediate warning signals. Along with the corny-looking aesthetic, the game threatens to present a tired and completely unoriginal gameplay formula with plenty of direct inspiration (bordering imitation) from many of gaming’s classic, such as The Legend of Zelda and Portal. However, it becomes quickly apparent that Darksiders’ well-realised world and unique interpretation of borrowed mechanics make it an exciting and well-crafted homage to The Legend of Zelda and all 3^rd Person action games.

Combat has a nice weight to it, and is not too dissimilar to God of War or Devil May Cry

Although Darksiders may borrow many of its mechanics from The Legend of Zelda, it by no means borrows the bright and colourful tone of fairies and elves. Darksiders instead opts for a darker and very bloody approach by putting you into the shoes of War (yes, really), one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse as he gets caught up in a raging war between Heaven and Hell, a war in which humanity was all but decimated. War aims to figure out how and why these two armies were called to fight one another whilst also clearing his own name of any misplaced blames in the process. It may be a little slow to get going but the game eventually tells a pretty good story of revenge and redemption, if not an entirely unique one, that concludes in a satisfying manner that aptly sets up for a sequel.

Darksiders makes no secret that its mechanics and formulaic gameplay are overtly borrowed from other games, mainly The Legend of Zelda. But if you’re a fan of the Zelda games, or any games of a similar vein, then Darksiders’ use of Zelda mechanics in a more mature setting should seem quite appealing. The game follows a very standardised “Metroid-vania” formula in that you must acquire particular items and learn new mechanics to progress. The game sends you across on Overworld-like map through dungeons that require you to use a particular mechanic, or combination of, to proceed through puzzles of increasingly complexity before fighting a great big boss fight. The formula is by no means original, but the subject matter and its presentation are enough to keep it fresh and exciting.

Darksiders loves its bulky, over-sized characters

One of the major ways Darksiders manages to keep the gameplay from getting stale is through its excellent and reasonably complex combat system. Darksiders features a lot of combat throughout and in-between its many dungeons, and the game does a great job of maintaining a steady stream of tweaks and alterations in the form of new that keep it from getting stale. Much like God of War or Devil May Cry, the combat features numerous of knock-ups, air combos and a lot of attack, pause, attack-type combos, as well as some awesome looking execution moves. Your main tool of destruction is your 6-foot-tall-beefy-as-hell monster of a sword, which is customisable with a number of obtainable upgrades and enchantments that change its impact and effect. Along with your main weapon, you are slowly kitted out with a number of different weapons such as a large scythe, power gloves, a very Zelda-esque boomerang, and a fairly useless pistol. Unfortunately, most of the boss fights are underwhelming and feel over-simplified, with each boss adhering to the classic rule of three (somebody on the dev team was clearly major Nintendo fan). Much of the hype built up around certain bosses is let down by a lacklustre spectacle of a boss fight.

The game looks pretty great for 2010, in part thanks to the striking art direction and beefy aesthetic of many of the character models share. A great visual style is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack and some really stellar voice-acting. The writing does a great job of preventing the setup from coming across as very corny and hammed up. War comes across as a tough guy without making you cringe and Mark Hamill puts in an expectedly wicked performance as The Watcher. The game controls refreshingly well on keyboard + mouse for a 3^rd person action game and I actually preferred it over a controller.

There's a nice variation in the types of environments you'll visit along your 15 hour journey

Overall, Darksiders could easily be dismissed as an unoriginal game that relies too heavily on the mechanics and formula of other games whilst. But its dark and bloody tone, bulky and brutal character models, and a unique and well-realised world make it a thoroughly enjoyable and well-designed experience worthy of any fan of the classic Zelda games. However, if you’re looking for something deeply original and innovative then Darksiders most certainly is not that.