Gaming on the cheap: Darksiders

Though I got my copy of THQ and Vigil Games’ “Darksiders” through a lightning deal on Amazon.com for $20, you should probably be able to pick up the game, which was released in January, pretty cheap used at a Gamestop. I had my eye on Darksiders when it was originally released but never ended up picking it up. I’ve always loved the action/adventure genre and have felt that the Xbox 360 was lacking real competition in the face of Sony’s God of War or any of Nintendo’s franchises like Metroid or Legend of Zelda. I was holding out hope that Dante’s Inferno could fill that void but it was pretty tough to find anything positive said about that game so I decided to pass on playing it. Though it only arrived last week and I’ve put a few hours into it, I’m already both incredibly happy I finally decided to buy it and pretty dumbfounded I didn’t see more positive feedback about the game.

In Darksiders, players take on the role of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As the story goes, a fragile truce struck by the Charred Council between the forces of Heaven and Hell have kept humanity safe on Earth for centuries. According to the Council, humanity will play a major role in the end times which would be marked by the breaking of the Seventh Seal. During present day, angels and demons descend onto the Earth and begin wreaking havoc, at which point War appears on the planet, summoned to action by the end of times. It isn’t long before War finds out that the other Horsemen have not been summoned and that the Seventh Seal has not been broken. After losing a battle with a powerful demon, War is sent before the Charred Council and is accused of bringing the Apocalypse too early. Sentenced to die, War persuades the Council to let him return to Earth and find those responsible for bringing about the Apocalypse. He is allowed to return on the condition that he be accompanied by The Watcher, a powerful entity tasked with making sure War completes his mission. By the time War returns to Earth, a century has passed and humanity has been essentially destroyed by The Destroyer and the forces of Hell. Much of the forces of Heaven have been devastated as well, though a small resistance remains.

It is at this point that players find themselves in the game’s hub-world, if you will, The Scalding Gallow. From here War receives and embarks on new quests and will first encounter the demon, Vulgrim. Vulgrim first tasks you with collecting a number of souls for him. Souls, in Darksiders, act as currency, health and refills for your Wrath meter (magic/mana if you want to call it that). Once you’ve satisfied Vulgrim’s request he will sell you new abilities, weapons and upgrades – for a price, of course. Souls are easy enough to earn and you’d do well to upgrade War’s abilities as soon as you can – the enemies in Darksiders are no joke.

Well, that’s not entirely true – some of the enemies are laughably weak compared to one of the Four Horsemen. On the whole, though, the enemies War will face are fearsome monsters that take plenty of punishment before they go down. While his sword, the Chaoseater, is a powerful weapon, War will also have access to other side weapons like a Scythe and a Pistol which can be equipped to the Y button. War will also find special items along the way, the like the Earthshaker horn and Crossblade, which can be selected and used with the right trigger. War can also use magic spells to even the odds but using these requires Wrath which is only earned by defeating certain enemies (or by obtaining a certain upgrade).

War’s combat abilities are limited at first, only a few upgrades and unlocks will begin to reveal War’s full combat potential. War can easily chain together regular attacks (X), special attacks (Y) as well as being able to perform moves like uppercuts (for air combos) and air dashes. The combat in Darksiders is fast, fluid and very solid. Darksiders also makes use of the modern, action movie standard, popularized by “300,” where the action slows down and speeds up to highlight the action – though it’s hard to say whether it “benefits” or “suffers” from this technique. Even when surrounded, you never feel like you’re fighting against the camera to see where you need to and locking onto and selecting certain enemies is easy and doesn’t usually hinder combat too much. For the most part, I tend not to lock onto enemies unless it’s to chuck a car at a giant demon’s face or use the Crossblade – it’s easy enough to attack certain enemies without being locked on but it’s near impossible to hit anything with thrown objects without it. It is possible to use click the right stick and use a free-aim but isn’t too helpful in combat (save for a few specific boss fights). War can also quickly and stylishly finish off beaten-down enemies with a press of the B button. When prompted, War will initiate a brutal finishing move that yields a slick execution animation. But what really makes the combat and War’s brutal, visceral fighting style shine is Creative Director Joe Madureira’s artistic abilities.

Before working in the video game industry, Madueriera was famous in the comic world for working on Marvel’s “Uncanny X-Men” in the 90s as well as his own comic series, Battle Chasers. Madueriera’s considerable artistic talent makes the world of Darksiders seem that much more alive with hulking, horrifying demons as well as War’s own bulky, intimidating looks. In this world, the remnants of human civilization have been twisted by the forces of Hell and would not have looked as stunningly cool or downtrodden without the work of a seasoned comic book artist.

And the world of Darksiders is truly a sight to behold. The forces of The Destroyer roam free, human architecture has been twisted to fit demonic purposes, and it all takes place in a giant, persistent world. That is to say that Darksiders could be viewed as more of an open-world affair where players can revisit and explore past areas (with new gear) rather than a linear game where players advance from level to level. An on-screen minimap will help player navigate this destroyed world and larger area/world maps can be accessed as well. Because Darksiders offers some simple puzzling and fetch quests (most of which are “find a key to open this door”). Travel is made even simpler once War unlocks a method of fast travel (using Vulgrim locations as travel points) and even his hellish mount, Ruin.

While most of Darksiders is focused on combat with some puzzles thrown in to break up the action, Darksiders also benefits from some great voice acting. Some particular favorites of mine were The Watcher, voiced by Mark Hamill (yes, the same) and Vulgrim, voiced by Phil LaMarr.

For some reason, Darksiders was pretty much overlooked by most gamers when it was released back in January (nearly a year ago now – jeez). Though most critics readily heaped praise on the game for succeeding in a genre that’s as nearly bloated and overpopulated as first-person shooters, I’m pretty sure Darksiders wasn’t too big of a financial success for THQ. That being said, THQ creative director Luis Gigliotti has stated that he’d like to see Darksiders be a franchise for THQ, though it was recently announced that the next game would be pushed back to 2013.

While I (obviously, I mean, I’m writing a column about buying it for cheap) was one of those gamers who passed on Darksiders when it was released, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for the sequel. With its stylish, engaging world, excellent pacing, great voice acting, surprisingly deep and entertaining combat, I’ve been constantly regretting not playing this game earlier. Though I picked mine up in an Amazon lightning deal, you should be able to easily find a copy of Darksiders fairly cheap at Gamestop, Amazon or maybe even Best Buy. And, I can’t stress this enough, you definitely should pick up this gem if you have the chance.