What the Hell is this? It almost slipped off the front page of GamePro before I even caught it. Anyone else heard of this?
Quote:
It’s Chapter 6 of the book of Revelation. This final, chaotic and often controversial section of Bible tells of apocalypse and God’s final judgment over Satan. It’s dark, gritty and intensely violent…the perfect setting for a video game. This is Darksiders: Wrath of War, an impressive-looking new game from THQ and Vigil Games. You’ll play as War, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who is known for his fiery red horse named Ruin, excessive violence and a destructive greatsword. The Four Horsemen, including War, are sent to bring upon the Apocalypse, but they are tricked into unleashing chaos too soon. This brings an early end to humankind thus creating a rift between angels and devils that are left battling for the remaining earthling souls. For his wrongdoings, War is sent back to Earth by the Charred Council–regulators of Heaven and Hell–to figure out just what went wrong…sans his powers. Pick up objects in the environment to conserve precious ammunition. It’s God of War meets Diablo for those who need a video-game recipe. Zombie enemies called “the Wicked” add to the Darksiders’ gloomy atmosphere, and when War begins combat, he’ll have his trusty sword to make quick work of any opposition. Other weapons, including a chaingun, will appear throughout the game, categorized as either demonic or angelic. War can also pick up world objects–even cars-- to use as on-the-fly weaponry–quite a nifty feature. Once acquired, Ruin the horse can be summoned at anytime. As you progress and fight your way through Earth as War, you’ll be able to slay both angels and demons because you’re not actually on the side of good or evil. So you can slaughter either, earning souls for each kill to trade with a demonic soul dealer for character upgrades. So far, Darksiders’ combat looks God of War-esque in this open-world action game, and the presence of environmental puzzles should provide even more Kratos nostalgia. But the ability to upgrade War with enhanced physical skills (superior jumping, for example) adds another layer of action. From here, we saw War bound across giant cracks in the earth that divide good and evil. And once War recovers his red horse Ruin, he’ll be privy to stomping baddies via deadly hooves, not to mention a bevy of other combat maneuvers. Keep an eye out for more coverage of Darksiders on GamePro.com, though we’re not expecting this one until early next year.
Having played quite a bit of preview code for this I’ve gotta say this is looking like it’s going to be the first of many great games of ’10.
There are a few niggling issues with the framerate, on the 360 it is surprisingly jerky, but War, the main character, handles really well and the level design and structure is amazing. It sort of makes me think of what Brutal Legend should have been, i.e. a Zelda/God of War hybrid. The design ethos isn’t mind blowing, but it’s consistent and some effects (like Sandworms rippling underneath deserts) are really cool looking.
Unless something goes terribly wrong with the rest of the game I’m genuinely excited for this.
ETA: In actuality the best way to describe the game is a next-gen version of Soul Reaver. Very similar feel between the games, although Darksiders has better overall controls. War isn’t as light on his feet as someone like Dante, but he’s way more nimble than Raziel/Kratos et al.
Yep, looking forward to this one. Looks like they’ve nailed the combat based on the game play vids floating around, now they just have to make sure the zelda clone game play holds up for the entire length of the game.
The more I’ve seen about this game, the more I want to play it. I really like the art style, and the gameplay looks like a lot of fun. The beginning of the year is shaping up to be really busy for me, but I think I’ll have to find some time to play this game.
Just found out Im getting a free copy of this from a mate who works in the industry here in Oz - I’m excited. I need to start thinking beyond Mass Effect 2 for what I’ll be playing next year.
The game does nothing new, but it does everything it does pretty damn well. So far it feels like the good mash-up between Zelda and God of war with a couple of Panzer dragoon on the rails sections thrown in. The combat seems really simple initially but get a couple more weapons like the throwing star and the scythe and things start to liven up especially since you can use those weapons all at the same time. So far, the game throws new enemy types at me on a regular basis.
The graphics are decent, while the story and pacing so far have been good. Half way through the first dungeon, and I’m going to be putting bayonetta on the back burner till I finish this.
I’m really loving this game. Its a great little zelda/GOW clone thats been polished up and done really well. I’m really digging the art design too. Reminds me a lot of the chunky designs in World of Warcraft.
The game really steps up when the angels start appearing and then it gets awesome when you step into the Dune Sandworm infested world/dungeon. Trying to get away Sandworms on horseback while shooting them in the face is ace.
I’m wondering why THQ aren’t promoting the shit out this game. They’ve got a possible franchise on their hands.
If they put out a demo I would probably buy this. I looked at the box a long time at Best Buy yesterday, but haven’t read enough to really want to buy it with so much coming this month.
This sounds like something I’ll definitely check out after I finish up Mass Effect 2 (playing through ME1 again right now)…and the Dragon Age Expansion. And Alpha Protocol, and Final Fantasy XIII and…well crap, I’ll check it out sooner or later. It looks/sounds good.
Dammit, with the CE of Mass Effect and the Steam sale, i can only afford one purchase this month…Bayonetta and this will have to duke it out, i guess.
Also, this looks like it will fill the massive horror that was Too Human, at least for the 360.