As we know in real life, War leads to Death. This also holds true in Darksiders II, as we play as Death. One of the four horsemen within the apocalypse and War's brother, who is on a quest to clear his name and to bring back humanity. This is not a true sequel since it takes place in the same timeline as the events of the original Darksiders. The Amazing - Vigil Games has brought along a new entry in the this game universe, and it is larger, grittier and 10X the fun experienced in the original!
Gameplay
The core gameplay in Darksiders II is similar to the first; hack and slash enemies with a huge array of scythes, or unleash combos with your secondary weapons comprised of various axes, hammers, and claws. You will still spend a lot of your time climbing walls and exploring vast dungeons solving challenging puzzles. This serves as a great way to break up the action, whereas the first game was more going from room to room to battle your foes. Although there are not too many new game mechanics for solving puzzles, they are varied enough to keep from growing stale. This brings us to one of the best additions to Darksiders II, the ever so glorious RPG mechanics. Defeating beasts and demons no longer feels like a waste of time, since every kill you make earns you XP and every chest you crack open gives your wonderful loot and currency. This is a fairly detailed RPG system. Once you level up, you are given a skill point which you can assign to task trees, to unlock special abilities for Death to use. Loot will quite often drop from slain enemies. The user interface makes the RPG system that much better. You can view the item on the ground and compare the stats to see if it is worth picking it up or not. Weapons are divided into classes from common to legendary and are color coded to make it even more simple. If I had one complaint about the menu system it would be that the text is too small to read without leaning closer to my TV. I play on a 1080p 42" and sit about 7 feet away and I had a hard time reading the menu. Other than that it was easy to use and very clean.
The story and side quests in Darksiders II can take you in the upwards of dozens of hours. It also has a Crucible mode, which is a series of arena wave based challenges that increase in difficulty. After 5 waves you have the option to take a reward of loot or to keep playing on for a chance to earn better prizes. Survive all one hundred waves and consider yourself the champion of all things Darksiders!
The story is well structured and carries you on from puzzle to boss fight and so on, as you travel to many areas and new worlds. One nice feature is that when you reload a save, the game will play you a narrated recap video. It is a nice touch and I'm glad it was feature that was added to the Gold Master. Once you beat the game you have the option of starting a New Game + which allows you to start the game over while still keeping all of the character progress that you have made.
Graphics
The first thing that struck me when I played was how grand the landscapes were in both size and scope. The art design in this game is proof that the developers put a lot of heart and sole into this RPG. From a city kept a float by two giant serpents, to a huge field surrounded by towering mountains, the art exudes polish. Excellent use of colors and particle effects makes the game shine. The graphics as a whole, aren't the best in todays ever changing era. Although, some of the shrubbery takes a while to pop in and some textures seem lower resolution than others, one can still fully understand where the focus of Vigil Games' was. The overall design still does really well for the atmosphere of the game. A few technical flaws keep it from absolute perfection. The game will occasionally pause when you are riding your horse through new areas or when opening doors. It isn't too frequent and I found it only mildly frustrating. I found myself slicing at enemies only to have them get wedged in a wall and be out of reach. A few times Death would get held up on a tiny seam in the floor that I should have easily been able to walk over without having to jump or back up. It sounds like I had an absolute terrible time, but no! Looking at the entire picture, it was very well put together and the graphics go very well with this type of post apocalyptic action game.
Sound
The music in Darksiders II really struck a chord with me. From the epic crescendos of the first boss fight to the Celtic flute and string instruments, I knew that the music composed by Jesper Kyd would be phenomenal. The music blends nicely to the atmosphere as you ride across the fields and strikes up to epic proportions when you have engaged in combat. The sound effects when you slice into an enemy or when your scythe clanks off of a rock pillar are spot on and help to create the universe!
Michael Wincott lends his voice talent for Death and brings in a great performance. As a character he always has some sarcastic comment to bring into the dialogue but continues to have plenty of depth. Almost too much depth, considering you are playing as the Grim Reaper himself, and you are willing to lend your aid to people in need, but it goes good with the story never the less.
Conclusion
I was thoroughly surprised with Darksiders II. It is a challenging, yet clever game that implements some excellent RPG mechanics that continuously drives you forward in a search for the next best loot drop. With a story that is much longer that the original and a wonderful art/sound design, Darksiders II is a game that must be played! A few technical flaws do little to hold it back. Vigil Games should be proud for a job well done, and we can sit tight while waiting for the next adventure come from the hands of these developers!
Score: $48 of $60
In a Few Words: Must Be Played!
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