[360/PS3] Darksiders Review

[TrackZero]

Darksiders Review

Title: Darksiders
Platform: PS3/360
Developer: Vigil Games (http://www.vigilgames.com/)
Publisher: THQ (http://www.thq.com/)
ESRB: M (Mature)
MSRP: $59.99 (PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/Darksiders-Playstation-3/dp/B001D7T2VC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1263264849&sr=8-1)/360 (http://www.amazon.com/Darksiders-Xbox-360/dp/B001D7T2VM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1263264849&sr=8-2))
Editor: Andrew 'TrackZero' Hodder

What's Hot: Great combat system; Solid puzzle design; Delivers what it promises; Beautiful art design

What's Not: Possible broken Vsync or lockups on the Xbox 360 (patch coming soon)
Darksiders is the type of game I wish we'd see more often. Solid production value, blatantly borrowed gameplay design (from titles that already have a warm place in our heart), followed up with some good old spit and polish. This is the type of game where you actually have to go out of your way to find things to complain about. It's certainly surprising to have this quality of a game coming from a new studio in Vigil Games. Traditionally, fresh developers come out of the gate presenting some kind of new gameplay hook to get noticed. However, Darksiders obviously knows its roots and sticks to them well.

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Take the core of Zelda, add a dash of God of War, mix in some Gears of War and you're kind-of-sort-of getting an idea of what Darksiders is. Now that's not to sell Vigil Games short. It's certainly no mean feat to take such a variety of influences and manage to not just get them to work together, but to do so well. Fundamentally Darksiders is a mix of combo-move combat tied to a nice puzzle based progression.

You'll find yourself exploring a Metroidvania style open world, clearing out what are essentially dungeons (though not always in so obvious a format) via combat and puzzle solving. Always chipping away at previously inaccessible areas with each new item you acquire to find powerups, maps, crystals and so forth. Puzzles often focus on a particular theme for the area you're in, but as the game progresses, you'll start finding a nice mix of all the techniques you've had to learn previously. Expect to see a number of the traditional favourites: boomerang, hookshot, block pulling and using mirrors. You also get into some new designs, including what is a more simplified version of the Portal gun being integrated into more traditional puzzle solving as well as another item which slows time.

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Combat is fast and furious, while being forgiving. You'll unlock a tree of different moves between a handful of core weapons, each modifiable with glyphs which enhance certain aspects. Tied in to that, many of the puzzle solving tools you'll be using are also applicable in combat and often required with bosses. Your weapons also level based on your use of them, giving further customization as the game progresses.

Each type of enemy you encounter has their own tactics. Since they often come in mixed groups and there are a large variety, this leads to a nice flow of adaptation in the moment. Being that a large part of the game is also puzzle based, the combat areas often provide lots of ledge space to knock your opponents off of (strangely there always seems to be plenty of room for you, however). Fighting on horseback is also present in many areas of the world, allowing you to keep distance from your opponents while balancing out with extra damage when you do get up close and personal on your ride, Ruin.

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Graphically, Darksiders definitely oozes beauty and style. This isn't necessarily surprising since the Creative Director of the game is well-loved comic artist Joe Madureira (or Joe Mad for short). The world is stunningly designed, leading you to stop and smell the proverbial roses on many an occasion. This also ties in when you're searching around for hidden chests or ledges to access. Character design sticks to a comic book style (again, not surprising with Joe Mad), with disproportionate body types, which fits with the story, keeping an easy tone and not taking itself too seriously (which is saying something, given the material the story is working from).

The sound isn't to be missed either. Aside from a few extra-loud effects, everything hits on the nose. With excellent directional, distance and atomospheric effects altering what's coming to your ears. The music works to set the tone well, though tuned down so that it never fully steals your attention away.

The only issue of note with the game is unique to the Xbox 360 version. The problem issue is with random screen tearing (which the intensity seems to totally vary person to person) which on occasion can also result in a system lockup. Thankfully Darksiders seems to save your progress constantly and I only ran across a crash once in my 20 hours of gameplay (lost about 30 seconds of what I had been doing). Vigil Games is currently working on a fix though. As for the screen tearing, I can only speak for myself, it only happened on occasion and often when nothing was really happening onscreen, personally I didn't really notice or care. If you really need that Vsync enabled at all times though, look at a PS3 copy.

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Ultimately, it's what doesn't need to be said about Darksiders that speaks volumes. There's no trade offs or weak design. The game takes you by the hand from go and shows it knows what it's doing. There's no new big gameplay breakthroughs to be had here, but at the same time there's no loss of balance or time taken away from polish. Vigil Games managed to successfully merge the Zelda style world and puzzle design with more modern action titles. Darksiders delivers a great presentation and a fun story, wrapped in already familiar gameplay dressing and lets you just enjoy from start to finish. That kind of trust is something every gamer should have when they open their wallet.


Score: 4.5 out of 5 CoGs
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4_5.png

Drew says, "Darksiders is a fresh IP from a new studio that uses tried and true game design. It delivers a great experience through the end of the credits, which is something more times should aspire towards."

*Note - Review based upon the 360 version of game.

**Disclaimer - Please be aware that one of the games producers, Anjanette Stach (Backseat Killer (http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/member.php?u=43)) is a member on Colony of Gamers. We've made our best effort to ensure this review is fair and balanced, but feel free to take this writeup with a grain of salt. Anjanette is offering to answer any questions posted about the game in this thread.

[Karak]

Very well written review. I can't say I agree with all of it but thanks for writing it up.

[KidCactus]

I played through the game (on PS3) in two days. Not because it's short — it took me 15 hours to finish — but because I just couldn't stop playing. I was more or less perfect for me; the tempo, the mixed up styles of gameplay, the overall comic book feel, and I very much agree with the review and the score.

[roboninja]

Well, this game is definitely on my potential buy list now, whereas it was not before. Good review.

[LordDon]

I'll almost forgive Joe Mad for stopping his work on Battlechasers for this.

[Wilkz07]

I played it, had fun with it, got stuck on a puzzle and gave up. I'll come back to it later. Great write up, the game had good mix everything I want in a game except a run button.

[Talanvor]

I think I'll be picking this up. Thanks for the review, and I was going to see if there were differences between the 360 and PS3 versions so I really appreciate seeing those types of things mentioned.

[Kelegacy]

This is a gamer's game, just as Play says. It really is a great title from what I've played. I haven't even beaten Tiamat yet. I fucking hate having to work for a living. I need to win a lotto or something.

[Commissar Rob]

Oi, like I don't have enough sitting on my shelf to play right now...but this looks fun. I may have to pick this up after I finish up Assassin's Creed Part Duex...

[EternalGamer]

I'm almost at the end now and I've spent more than 20 hours with the game. It's probably my favorite game in several years. Drew's right in that it is no small feat to combine all these gameplay elements into such a polished experience and this game does it well. It borrows a lot of ideas, but it also implements many of them with cool new twists. Like the way the various tools (including the portal gun) are used in combat scenarios.

I became kind of disenfranchised with the Zelda series over the last few years even though adventure games (like Zelda and Landstalkers) are my favorite type of game. But for me, this is the game I always wished Zelda was and I enjoyed it far more than the recent few entries in that series.

[Primus]

I am really enjoying this game, a sequel will be a day one purchase for me. It is Zelda (among other things) but it also acknowledges that I am no longer 10 years old.

[Psykoboy2]

While I have played bits and pieces of this game (out of context) at various conventions and expos (I played the thing back at E3 08!), I was worried as I first sat down and played it fully - something did not feel right. There's the obvious issue of playing on the 360 with it's well known (and hopefully soon to be fixed) problems, but something else didn't feel right.

Maybe it was playing it right after a session of Bayonetta, I don't know. But I felt out of place. Then I came to the Twilight Cathedral and it all fell into place for me. Everything clicked and a wave of Soul Reaver passed over me and suddenly, I was comfortable again. And the rest was perfection (at least so far as finishing the first 2 big bosses).

[Draconis]

Great Review, I completely agree with it.


Its clear the further I get into this game, that in a way its distinctly its own beast. What with its storyline, Far above Top Notch voice acting, and animation all being distinctly its own, its also clear that the game takes formulas from many classics in the history of Video Games, and blends them together Lovingly.

Comparisons can easily be made to the Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver series, Gears of War, Panzer Dragoon, Legend of Zelda, as well as Devil May Cry and God of War as well as Portal.

What the game does is take the things we love about all of these games, and somehow, astonishingly, blends them all together in a melting pot that just WORKS. How it does it, when it does it, is phenomenal. As I've said repeatedly, one can clearly tell that this game feels like and Is an Homage to all that we as gamers love, but is also at the same time a very very deep labor of love from Vigil Games.


Thus far I've finally beaten the Black Throne, and oddly enough, I found Its puzzles the easiest. There was one combat section that took me several tries just before the last set of puzzles, but I finally got past it and then destroyed the level utterly.


Oddly enough, I find myself feeling like I did with the old days from the Original Legend of Zelda, where I refuse to look up hints and I want to discover and beat everything myself. I also see myself playing this game far more then once, as my enjoyment of the game and the differing difficulty options give me plenty of replay value for my viewpoint. Its a shame that the game cannot mix things up and rearrange stuff like a "Master Quest" from the original LoZ after a first playthrough, but thats more of an "I want" then they should pay heed to.


Now, to be fair on something. I know I've been gushing about Darksiders in the Console forums, but theres actually a very good reason as to why.


I came into Darksiders blind. I didn't really know what to expect, save that I was interested in the game, and I had some disposable income. I also picked up Bayonetta the same day. They both were pre-ordered.

After I got home from work, I installed Darksiders first to my 360s Hard Drive, expecting to play it a few minutes and then quickly go to Bayonetta.


However, that never happened. Darksiders grabbed me so much, so unexpectedly, and it has NOT let me go.

My enjoyment of this game has been thorough, and I find myself having a love for this game akin to when I first played a Link to the Past back when I was a kid.


Put simply, this game, will by and far, forever go in my eternal Top Ten favorite games of all time. I know it may or may not mean much to the team or Joe himself, but to Backseat Killer I give both my eternal thanks to you and all on the team for such a fantastic and overwhelmingly surprising title that will forever remain in my memories as one of my favorite games, and also a question.

I've seen the Other designs of the Horseman, Wars brothers, and Sister as it were. With the reception the game has had, (and hopefully awesome sales numbers), can we expect to see, and hopefully play one of these characters in the sequel?

Here's looking forward to playing as Death in the Sequel or perhaps even Fury.

Again, thanks to all involved for such an awesome game and an EXCELLENT start to 2010.

[torrefaction]

I'm with Draconis, this game brought the gamer out in me. I haven't loved a game this much in a very long time, in terms of pure enjoyment. It's got depth, it doesn't beat you over the head with the trivialities of the world, rather it implies them and lets you build some of the background and ideas yourself (I always hate when games go on long diatribes about shit the character in question should already know.), but leaves a constant mystery about the plottings of the demons, angels, and the Council (Not to mention "Old Ones"). The comparisons to Legacy of Kain are pretty apt, although the Prince of Persia draw seem to get left out a lot.

The gameplay is gold, and I just find myself constantly loving it. If I had to niggle some complaints out, it'd probably be the speed of the character pre-Ruin (Would a haste wrath power have been so awful? ;) ), and what feels like a discouragement on using Wrath powers in general. Also, because of the open world...some of the areas I felt movement was arbitrarily restricted. I can't fly over that rock to get to that area I was just in, so I have to take the long way? I could NORMALLY fly over that rock, if it was any other rock. But I recognize that the need to ensure puzzles couldn't be easily "broken" occasionally take precedence over freedom of movement, however frustrating that may be during backtracking because I wanna find all the goodies.

The graphic and art design are just stellar overall. There's nothing quite like it, they manage to take a dark bleak world and still make it colorful and vibrant, all while maintaining a consistent feel, look, and design.

The PS3 still has some of those damn VSync issues, but not a single crash thus far.

I'm freeing Azrael ATM.

Here's my real hope for the sequel, and I thought about it right away, as soon as I started playing as war. I want 4-player coop with all the damn Horsemen. With what is apparently some impressive talent on a fresh team, and some original takes on old ideas as well as some new hooks here and there, I'd love to see what they could do with that.

I envision massive battle plains like we saw in the desert area on occasion, riding through battle with all the other Horsemen.

I haven't loved a game this much in a long, long time. Top ten for sure.

Backseat Killer and Vigil...welcome to my favorite developers list.

[Morratut]

Great game, i am really enjoying it. I would recommend this to fans of the genre.
Just facing ofF against the third boss. Good fun and a great start to 2010 :)

[Ghostbear]

This game touches my g-spot.

Thats my Gamer Spot you pervs!

[torrefaction]

Great game, i am really enjoying it. I would recommend this to fans of the genre.
Just facing ofF against the third boss. Good fun and a great start to 2010 :)

Which of the 3-6 genres are you referring to? :P

[Gerbs]

I'm playing on the hard difficulty, and I find there really isn't all that much in the way of health drops from enemies. Green orbs will come flying out of foes but it'll fill maybe 1/10th of a life bar if I'm lucky. Taking a hit causes anywhere from 1/2 a bar to over a full bars worth of life it seems. Also getting constantly hit from off screen sucks, besides that the game is pretty good! I better get the achievements for hard, normal, and easy when I beat it hah.

[ReaverX]

I'm playing on the hard difficulty, and I find there really isn't all that much in the way of health drops from enemies. Green orbs will come flying out of foes but it'll fill maybe 1/10th of a life bar if I'm lucky. Taking a hit causes anywhere from 1/2 a bar to over a full bars worth of life it seems. Also getting constantly hit from off screen sucks, besides that the game is pretty good! I better get the achievements for hard, normal, and easy when I beat it hah.

Try using more grab moves. I'm playing on Hard as well, and you basically have to use grabs to take out enemies to get green orbs. The one hit kills on certain enemies (the green bats, and the "duskwing" flying creatures in particularly) net green orbs as well.

[Gerbs]

Try using more grab moves. I'm playing on Hard as well, and you basically have to use grabs to take out enemies to get green orbs. The one hit kills on certain enemies (the green bats, and the "duskwing" flying creatures in particularly) net green orbs as well.

Yeah I'm doing this on almost every enemy I can. It's definitely doable it just amazes me how fast I can go from 3 full bars to red near death in 2 seconds.

[TrackZero]

Yeah I'm doing this on almost every enemy I can. It's definitely doable it just amazes me how fast I can go from 3 full bars to red near death in 2 seconds.

As the game goes on, you'll get a ton of skulls (think I had 10 by the end), should be fine in a bit.

[Hawkzombie]

I still can't believe I didn't realize this was a Joe MAD! game until after I bought it and looked at who did the story and designs.

[ReaverX]

I still can't believe I didn't realize this was a Joe MAD! game until after I bought it and looked at who did the story and designs.

Hell, that was the main reason this game was on my radar from the beginning.

He definitely has a signature style. The first time I saw a cutscene from the game I freaked, because it was essentially one of his comics in motion.

[Iron Past]

Yeah I'm doing this on almost every enemy I can. It's definitely doable it just amazes me how fast I can go from 3 full bars to red near death in 2 seconds.

I don't know how far you are in the game, but you better get really good at dodging and countering. Like TrackZero said, you get a lot of skulls without even really trying, but I swear I lost at least three bars one time with a single hit. Given the ease of fighting, though, it was generally not a problem, and regardless of what some may say, all moves are telegraphed.

Also, it's worth it try and counter every once in a while, as the damage area is pretty generous and it does wicked damage. Oh, and difficulty achievements do stack, no worries.

[EternalGamer]

I think the game has gotten decently challenging on normal. Not anything impossible, but it's hard enough that it makes me worry that those who signed up for "hard" to get achievements might get more than they can handle for their first play through.

[Gerbs]

I found once or twice I countered but the enemy continued the combo and hit me even though I blocked perfectly. That's lame. Some attacks are easy to dodge and pretty telegraphed but some seem to seek you out even if you dodge.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

My damn copy is still not here, every day I rush home to check the mailbox.

What's the consensus on the difficulty?

I don't know if I should start out on normal or hard.

I typically start out on hard unless it's absolutely punishing and likely to get in the way of first run through enjoyment with constant deaths.

Please put away your Gamerability-peens and try and answer honestly.

EDIT: Should have refreshed before posting... Thanks Eternal, I may start on normal then.

[Spigot]

I'm absolutely adoring this game and I came into it blind. I kept confusing it with Dante's Inferno for some reason.

I'll second that I wish that more developers would do what Darksiders does and stop trying to chase the next awesome game mechanic and instead find a pile of awesome game elements and cobble a delicious gaming stew from the disparate bits.

This is also one of the first games I've played since getting my new surround system that really makes me sit up and realize that I've got a powered subwoofer now. Boom! BOOM!

[shodan2020]

This is a gamer's game, just as Play says. It really is a great title from what I've played. I haven't even beaten Tiamat yet. I fucking hate having to work for a living. I need to win a lotto or something.

Tiamat's rough. Probably one of the toughest boss fights in the game, IMHO. Took me 15-20 minutes and I think at least 4-5 retries to get the timing and dodges right so I didn't get owned.

Great review and a great game. I'm so glad I pre-ordered this.

[EternalGamer]

My damn copy is still not here, every day I rush home to check the mailbox.

What's the consensus on the difficulty?

I don't know if I should start out on normal or hard.

I typically start out on hard unless it's absolutely punishing and likely to get in the way of first run through enjoyment with constant deaths.

Please put away your Gamerability-peens and try and answer honestly.

EDIT: Should have refreshed before posting... Thanks Eternal, I may start on normal then.

Lon Lon, you may be fine on "hard" if you normally play on that difficulty. The beginning of the game is not very difficult on normal, but near the end, there are regular enemies that can take you out pretty quickly if you aren't careful. I'd guess "Hard" is about like Normal on Ninja Gaiden Black, but Normal is harder that "Acolyte."

[Draconis]

Lon Lon, you may be fine on "hard" if you normally play on that difficulty. The beginning of the game is not very difficult on normal, but near the end, there are regular enemies that can take you out pretty quickly if you aren't careful. I'd guess "Hard" is about like Normal on Ninja Gaiden Black, but Normal is harder that "Acolyte."


Completely agree. As you upgrade in weapons and vary up combos, with primary and secondary weapons and the Gun, Hookshot, or Boomerang as it were, the combat can get varied and frenetic.

However, its pretty easy. Towards the end however, the game will start to solidly kick your butt if you are not on your toes. And I mean it. I had some decent level of frustration at the part of the Black Throne before the last puzzle bit, and I had to go through that combat over and over until I beat it.


Normal is a good way to go before you tackle Apocalyptic.

[Adam Blue]

This is just one of those games that, despite its little flaws, deserves a perfect score. Would you tell someone not to play this game? I'm going to hopefully be doing a review on my site, and I guess the cats out of the bag, but if you are a gamer this is worth the $60.

Also, I started on Normal and it's pretty easy. There's a few moves you learn that allows flawless killing.

[JayK47]

My God. It sounds like the 360 version of Zelda. Too bad I am bored to death of the Zelda formula. The game looks great in shots and videos. But so did Brutal Legend. I'll pass. Good review.

[Draconis]

My God. It sounds like the 360 version of Zelda. Too bad I am bored to death of the Zelda formula. The game looks great in shots and videos. But so did Brutal Legend. I'll pass. Good review.


The thing is, Its NOT really Zelda though.

Here, I'll explain what I mean. The ONLY comparison that can be made to Zelda, is the dungeon mechanics, and some of the weapons. Thats it.

Darksiders does not have "Side Quests", as it were. It doesn't have a main town or castle hub like zelda did where you interact with people, or an overland you openly explore and go from town to town to fulfill quests.

The terrain is part of the game, but a way of travel to the next dungeon or part of the Story. The game is very linear, and nowhere near as "open" as Zelda is.


This, in my opinion, is a good thing, as Darksiders keeps you focused on one thing. Action, and variety of combat and flow.

For example, to the first dungeon. You head through some terrain, get some cut scenes, and then a panzer dragoon sequence on the way TO the first dungeon.

Then the third Dungeon. It has freaking Gears of War sequences with the giant gun in it, and you have the option of using it or not.

Its variances like these, where the pace is constantly changing in flow and dynamics, that is part of the beauty of this game and makes it SOMEWHAT like zelda yet its own completely unique beast.

[Adam Blue]

My God. It sounds like the 360 version of Zelda. Too bad I am bored to death of the Zelda formula. The game looks great in shots and videos. But so did Brutal Legend. I'll pass. Good review.

I've said this before, but while it has elements of Zelda....it is NOT Zelda. Zelda is something entirely different, which I think many gamers have forgot about.

If you are a GAMER, if you read this site....you NEED to play this game.

[JayK47]

Ha. Well the part of Zelda I hate most is the dungeon portions. Funny thing, I don't mind usually exploring the world and messing around in the towns. But you spend a lot of time in dungeons. I also do not tend to like linear. Seriously, this game sounds bad on paper. But I may rent it to see what all the fuss is about.

Edit: In my rental queue. Everybody else is renting it, so I should get to see how much it is like Zelda in a few years;)

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

Lon Lon, you may be fine on "hard" if you normally play on that difficulty. The beginning of the game is not very difficult on normal, but near the end, there are regular enemies that can take you out pretty quickly if you aren't careful. I'd guess "Hard" is about like Normal on Ninja Gaiden Black, but Normal is harder that "Acolyte."

Hmmm.

Can you drop the difficulty half way through the game?

I guess if it's really only late game then it's not too much of an issue as presumably I will have more a hang of the game by then.

[Spigot]

Definately rent it, JayK47. I had no urge to play this until everyone started chatting it up. Yes, it is Zelda-ish but when you add in the God Of War combat and platforming, along with all of the other things cobbled together from other great games, it becomes something very special.

It is the Dead Space of action/RPG kind of game. It doesn't do a lot of original stuff but hot damn, it does it well.

[Adam Blue]

Ha. Well the part of Zelda I hate most is the dungeon portions.

What's interesting is I don't see these as dungeons like everyone else. To me, they play like a typical God of War level. They are rather straight forward and just heavy on the combat with puzzles thrown about. To me, a dungeon was less linear with multiple ways to go throughout it. Almost maze like.

[Spigot]

As for the difficulty, most of the monsters are fine, but every so often they toss in a big monster that just seems to take forever to take down. Granted, I'm still only working towards the Tiamat fight, but some of those monsters, while not really hard, per se, take a while to kill.

[Draconis]

Hmmm.

Can you drop the difficulty half way through the game?

I guess if it's really only late game then it's not too much of an issue as presumably I will have more a hang of the game by then.



It really isn't. The game is very forgiving in combat, and only like...17 hours in for me, is it really starting to challenge me. I think you'll be fine in Normal mode.

If in doubt, start off in Easy. But unfortunately, I don't think you can switch the games difficulty unless you start a new one.


However, Normal is pretty tame in comparison to alot of the other hardcore combat games. And it isn't because its weak, but rather that the combat system lends itself to your understanding so very well, and that there are no QTE like in God of War where you have to press some unforseen sequence to kill an enemy.

Its just one button, which I seriously freaking love as it helps Combat just flow and feel completely liquid. It literally helps it feel like War guns down an enemy, and boom, hes right on top of the others in a split second.

[quidmonkey]

My damn copy is still not here, every day I rush home to check the mailbox.

What's the consensus on the difficulty?

I don't know if I should start out on normal or hard.

I typically start out on hard unless it's absolutely punishing and likely to get in the way of first run through enjoyment with constant deaths.

Please put away your Gamerability-peens and try and answer honestly.

EDIT: Should have refreshed before posting... Thanks Eternal, I may start on normal then.

Hard man. It checkpoints often, and you always come back with half health and magic.

[quidmonkey]

If I had to niggle some complaints out, it'd probably be the speed of the character pre-Ruin (Would a haste wrath power have been so awful? ;)

I found you can move a little faster if you aerial dash and hold in the right bumper, which will immediately dash again once you hit the ground. Voila! You can now double-dash, which is a bit faster than walking.

[menage]

Sorry, but I found the controls a bit too unforgiving to go on normal even. My problem with the controls is that they';re mapped in a stupid way so I always miss my block counters because I'm still recorvering form my dash animation. I just hate it when the RB doesn't respond in time.

(and no it isn't me cause I'm pulling off witchtime and insane combo's like a MF in Bayonetta, the RB just isn't suitable for combat). They just shouldn't have mapped the buttons for dash and block to the same button imo. PS3 owners should have it easier though.

That's the only niggle I got though, awesome game all the way.

[Kelegacy]

So are there life bars for bosses on Normal difficulty? Because I saw a youtube video for the Tiamat fight and it looked like a lifebar at the bottom. I'm on Hard and there was no lifebar. Even when I locked onto Tiamat. Is that part of the challenge? I'm guessing yes.

[Kelegacy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874169037&cm_re=darksiders-_-74-169-037-_-Product

Anybody on the fence waiting for a price drop, here you go. $39.99 with free shipping. What more of a deal do you want!? :)

BUY. THIS. GAME.

[TrackZero]

Hard man. It checkpoints often, and you always come back with half health and magic.

Ah, that's one thing I forgot to bring up. Whoever made the checkpoints in this game needs a hug. Fantastic stuff.

[Iron Past]

And for that matter, it does a fantastic job of background loading. There's a hefty loading screen at the start, but after unless you warp somewhere and the occasional pause going into the menus there's none.

[Kelegacy]

And for that matter, it does a fantastic job of background loading. There's a hefty loading screen at the start, but after unless you warp somewhere and the occasional pause going into the menus there's none.

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. I love when games have minimal loading.

I installed the game to my HDD so I don't notice a hefty load screen at the start...and if there is, it hasn't made me aware or bothered me.

[Talanvor]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874169037&cm_re=darksiders-_-74-169-037-_-Product

Anybody on the fence waiting for a price drop, here you go. $39.99 with free shipping. What more of a deal do you want!? :)

BUY. THIS. GAME.

Damn, only for the 360, PS3 version comes up as $56.99. I was all excited there for a second.

[Kelegacy]

Damn, only for the 360, PS3 version comes up as $56.99. I was all excited there for a second.

Yeah, sorry about that. I don't know why the two are price differently. 360 games seem to always get better sales than their PS3 versions. Odd.

[Spigot]

That's because the PS3 version is so much better :)

[Kelegacy]

That's because the PS3 version is so much better :)

Maybe. I love and hate achievements. If there were none, I'd probably buy all my games on PS3. Funny how such a little thing can sway my purchases. I think most games look better on my PS3, but then again, my PS3 is hooked up to a better tv.

Basically I need to buy a better tv for my 360.

[Spigot]

Heh. I've started going to the PS3 for most of my multiplatform titles unless there is a technical reason to stay away because my PS3 is hooked to my receiver via HDMI AND because, now that I have a quiet computer and have done away with the background hum in my house, the 360's grindy, blaring fan and disc drive noise is incredibly obnoxious.

And every PS3 game has trophies now. They're not as addictive as achievements, sure, but they're there.

If I were to ever get a quiet 360 with HDMI, I'd probably be split on which system to buy for, but until that time, my PS3 collection will be getting a little bigger over the coming year, methinks.

Plus it doesn't hurt that this game seems to be technically better on the PS3. I haven't experienced any of this screen tearing and so forth that the reviews keep mentioning about the 360 version.

[Kelegacy]

If my PS3 was hooked up on my desk, I'd be playing it. The wife hogs the living room tv, but the PS3 serves as our DVD player as well. It performs much better than the 360 IMO (DVDs look better to me), and it's quiet as hell. So if I stole it, we'd have to watch DVDs on the 360. Which...well, I might do it sometime soon. I'm neglecting my PS3 only because it's attached to the main tv.

The Gamestop clerk did try to sell me on the PS3 version, however. He stated it was made with the PS3 as the primary platform. If that's true, that's strange but would explain some of the differences between the two.

I've heard the PS3 doesn't have the screen tearing but the PS3 version isn't as vibrant and has less AA and more jaggies. I have noticed screen tearing on my 360 version, almost everytime I turn the camera, but I have to focus to really notice. Hopefully it's fixed soon (like, before I finish the game, otherwise what's the point?)

[Spigot]

I haven't noticed a lack of AA or jaggies and I can't see how the game could look more vibrant than it does without searing my retinas. It might be one of those things where you'd notice if you were doing a side-by-side comparison but I'm definately not noticing anything out of the oridinary.

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

Well it finally arrived today and I had a great time playing on hard up to Tiamat. Gave her a couple lives but am having trouble beating on her on the ground, as if I get too close I can't get far enough from her nuke in time and if I stay too far I can't do enough damage. I'll get her tomorrow!

I'm a bit worried my 360 might be dying though, as I had some disc read errors the other day and I had to restart this game when the narrator stopped speaking during the intro. I've also had some pretty appaling framerate issues in the few hours I've played so far which is not something I've seen mentioned as an issue with the game. It's not really affected the game but it is frustrating when I'm trying to quickly swap between enemies and I get the tearing AND big FPS loss at the same time while I move the camera about.

I might make some HDD room and see if installing it helps, but I'm still having a lot of fun.

Coming from Bayonetta the combat is not QUITE as tight and has given me a few deaths that I wouldn't have had if I had the same level of control as in Bayonetta (I'm also really missing the true invulnerable dodge, evading sometimes doesn't get me QUITE far enough from the bigger foes' swipes), but there's so much other impressive stuff in the game that again, it's not really an issue.

It also seems kinda unfair to compare it to Bayonetta, which is pretty much JUST combat, when this game has so much more to it than that.

Anyways, looking forward to getting back into it tomorrow after work.

[AgtFox]

Anjanette can probably let us know if there was a lead system or not and what it was.

As for the DVD thing Kelegacy, get a cheap DVD player and retake the PS3. I've never used any game system as my primary DVD player (outside of the PS3 for the rare Blu-Ray I get).

[quidmonkey]

Well it finally arrived today and I had a great time playing on hard up to Tiamat. Gave her a couple lives but am having trouble beating on her on the ground, as if I get too close I can't get far enough from her nuke in time and if I stay too far I can't do enough damage. I'll get her tomorrow!

You're only gonna have the time to get off a normal X combo in close. Once you see her go into a recover animation - retreat! It's a battle of patience.

If you didn't use it, you should have a health item to help get you through.

[Iron Past]

(I'm also really missing the true invulnerable dodge, evading sometimes doesn't get me QUITE far enough from the bigger foes' swipes)

Oh yeah, don't ever dodge backwards. Like, ever (unless it's a rather large AoE attack, i.e. Tiamat). Try to study the telegraphs and learn which way enemies will strike and life will be much easier.

[rvieira]

Oh yeah, don't ever dodge backwards. Like, ever (unless it's a rather large AoE attack, i.e. Tiamat).

This !! I was playing Assassins Creed 2 before Darksiders where dodge backwards is safe ... and start to think I just sucked at this game... thanks for the tip!

By the way great review!

[Talanvor]

Coming from Bayonetta the combat is not QUITE as tight and has given me a few deaths that I wouldn't have had if I had the same level of control as in Bayonetta (I'm also really missing the true invulnerable dodge, evading sometimes doesn't get me QUITE far enough from the bigger foes' swipes), but there's so much other impressive stuff in the game that again, it's not really an issue.

That is one massive sentence, but I'm going to agree anyway. I just picked this up and played for a little over an hour, and I miss Witch Time so much it hurts. It's not helping that health works so differently between the two games, I think I'm getting annihilated every time I get touched.

I think, if I had to do it over again, I'd go Darksiders -> Bayonetta rather than the other way around.

That said I'm really enjoying myself. I love just picking up those zombie-type people and squishing their heads. :D Having Mark Hamill as the Joker playing your Watcher is just too funny and awesome.

[Kelegacy]

I KNEW the Watcher sounded familiar! I've been trying like hell to remember where I heard the voice.

[EternalGamer]

The combat becomes a lot cooler the further you get into the game. They incorporate all the items you get into the combat in some unique ways (the fight on top of the cathedral is one of the weaker ones, in my opinion). I agree that blocking doesn't work the way I'd like. I'd rather it always block when you hold it down, rather than have it reset if you dash/do something else so that you have to hit block again for it to re-register. But I rarely block anyway. The dashing works great, both double dashing on the ground and air dashing. Though, as it has been said, dashing backwards is generally a bad idea. Dash sides to duck out, and dash back into to continue attacking.

[Chaos Machine]

the dash-dodge-dash-harpoon trick is almost easymode on most fights, it does soooooo much damage and it gives you offense AND mobility at the same time. Its also great for breaking up a clusterfuck of enemies. Upgrade it ASAP.