Review: Darksiders II (Xbox 360)
Darksiders II revisits the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, this time placing gamers in the role of the Grim Reaper himself, Death.
Taking place alongside the events of the original Darksiders, this new game in Vigil’s action/adventure series sees Death set out on a quest to find a way to absolve War’s apparent crime and resurrect humanity, who have been destroyed during the pre-mature apocalypse.
So how does Darksiders II measure up to its predecessor? Does it fall into the trap so many other sequels do, or have Vigil been able to pack a whole lot of new content to make this second serving fresh and worth your time?
The Review
Reflecting on my time with Darksiders II, I can’t help but feel like it’s been held back to serve as the main event. The first game felt so contained, so isolated in its story and setting that we were never truly given a look into the deep world these characters inhabit. Almost as if Vigil was holding back on us.
Darksiders II certainly changes that, offering up a truly epic adventure. Throughout Death’s journey you will travel to some truly fantastical worlds, which in terms of scope outweighs anything you saw in the first game. Likewise, the sheer depth of lore constructed for this fictional world will smack you between the eyes. Not only that, Death himself is by far the coolest horsemen this side of the apocalypse.
Unlike his ‘a man of few words’ brother, War, Death is self-confident, sharp witted and an incredibly honorable guy. I found Death to be much more likable. He had a bit more charm, and just a hint of class. The voice acting for Death was solid. His voice is gruff and at times, demonic, but there was still a hint of sadness and pain that connected me to Death as a character. Though the real show stealer in Darksiders II voice cast is the actor who narrates the games stylish cut-scenes. The actors grizzly voice just fits the material and tone of the game so well.
Death’s story is a much more personal one, and one that helps you establish a connection with him. This is a big kudos for the writing team, getting you to care about the motivations and history of the Grim Reaper. Each time a layer of Death’s story was peeled back I found myself gripped to the edge of my seat, grasping my controller and preparing myself to venture onto my next quest to progress the story forward.
Whereas War was no slouch when it came to battle, Death is very much a fine tuned killing machine. His smaller physique allows him to be more nimble in battle, dodging and rolling (using the right should button) around his foes while slashing at them with his twin scythe’s with the X button. Aside from his signature scythe’s, Death is able to equip any number of massive axes or hammers as his secondary weapon. These weapons are pretty useful, since they can deal massive amounts of damage to your enemies in a single blow by pressing and holding down the Y button for a charged strike.
Not content with providing players just two ways to deal out punishment on the unholy hordes, Vigil have offered up an entirely new skill tree with abilities unique to Death himself. Broken up into two categories you can choose to either raise damned souls to fight on your behalf, or equip Death with some truly impressive ‘reaping’ moves. You’re never locked into just either or, as you can pick and choose to spend your skill point on whatever is available to you. One skill point is granted each time you increase in level, which brings me to the game’s most stand out moment, and possibly the biggest shake up to the formula of the original.
Darksiders II has reached past its predecessors most obvious influences, ranging from The Legend of Zelda to God of War (though elements of these games still exist), to encompass more role playing elements common in games such as Diablo and the more recent Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning. The most obvious example of this is in the new loot system.
The new loot and item mechanics in Darksiders II is surprisingly deep, actually. Each item in the game now features its own set of stats, that when equipped will increase your own. Wearing the obvious Diablo influence on its sleeve, items are grouped together in different coloured tiers. Items that are simply white and named plainly will just serve the basic function of increasing your base stat by however many points depending on the items individual level. Whereas a purple item, being much rarer, will increase your stats a way lot more depending on its level. Not only that, will grant a bonus on critical damage, experience earned or, if you’re real lucky, give your weapons elemental damage.
And then there are possessed weapons, which is probably my favorite thing ever. They’re incredibly rare as I only came across one during my run, but when you find one keep a hold of it and don’t sell it like I did. Why? Because you can feed it other items. That’s right, feed your weapon. Like a pet! Possessed weapons feed on the magical properties of other items to fuel its own power, and if it absorbs enough your pet scythe or hammer will increase in level, allowing you to choose to upgrade it to have a higher critical hit rate, more chance at bleeding or simply more damage per hit.
Darksiders II also features an in-game messaging system, referred to as tomes, which you can use to send and receive weapons and items from your friends. So if you come across more than one of these possessed weapons, and have a friend just starting out, you can be a pal and send it their way.
Apart from the strides towards a more role playing vibe, which also extends to how you interact with NPC’s (non-player-characters) and the overall feel of the game, Darksiders II is structurally similar to the original. Which isn’t a bad thing. You still make your way through large, expansive environments, moving from temple to temple, and solving increasingly complex puzzles.
Death’s nimble nature isn’t restricted to just combat, but to solving and overcoming puzzles as well. Darksiders II requires you to jump, climb and shimmy over all sorts of obstacles and terrain. Doing so is a natural and easy process. The game doesn’t require you to do more than just press a button and point Death in the direction you want him to go. However, there is some precision issues I came across, particularly when performing a horizontal wall run Death would sometimes leap vertically, or just fail to latch onto the wall properly.
The issue of requiring precise timing and control input to perform an action like wall running extends to the overall gameplay, to a point. At times the controls handle a little loosely, almost sloppy. This pretty much applies to the camera. I’m unsure whether its a issue with how the game was made, or its simply unable to keep up with Death’s quick actions. Though this really isn’t a totally game breaking flaw, and exploring the game world is still fun, and enjoyable. Which is a fantastic thing considering how huge it is.
The first section of the game world alone almost (almost) matches the size of the original Darksiders. Luckily you have access to Death’s steed, Despair, right from the get go. Other extra improvements to help you navigate the expansive environments include the ability to fast travel and a crow named Dust. Dust is an interesting addition since he’ll help guide your path, indicating where you’re supposed to be heading whenever you press and hold down the left analog stick. While potentially a throwaway mechanic, I found Dust amazingly useful in finding my way whenever I was lost in the games huge world, especially considering the games environments can easily turn your around.
While there is a welcomed variety in the games environments as they are, there was a substantial lack of this same variation in the overall design of each location. Too much of one colour, or the same wall textures used over and over saw me easily get turned around. I’m aware it’s a minute issue — but it’s certainly not the only one. Darksiders II is built on the same engine as the first game, and it’s beginning to show cracks. The cartoonish art style certainly still works, since neither game really uses a great detail in the character models or environments, but it looks just a little out dated.
Graphics aren’t important, let’s get that straight right now, but the reason I’m pointing it out is because there is a slight hint of screen tearing whenever you move the camera around while there’s too much going on at the same time. Again, it’s a minute issue and certainly doesn’t detract or derail the flow and pace of the gameplay, it’s just something worth making a note of.
I posed the question earlier to whether Darksiders II measured up to the first game. My short answer would be a resounding; yes. The 2010 original, in my opinion, served as the matinée. Vigil teased us with larger things bubbling under the surface, only to have the full scope of this fictional world break loose when Death finally rode into battle. Though it’s not without its issues. Some loose controls and graphical issues can hinder your experience, though never detract from it. With a much larger world to explore and a deep looting and item system akin to traditional role playing games, Death’s journey makes for a fantastic and fun experience.
Darksiders II is a sequel that is certainly worthy of your time.
