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Games You May Have Missed: Darksiders
by on 2011-07-15 at 12:39 (14851 Views)
Given the dearth of games that have captivated my attention, this summer has given me an opportunity to work on the backlog of games that had piqued my interest but I had not been able to pick up due to the constraints of life. Chief among them was Darksiders, a game that many have heralded as a darker, moodier Legend of Zelda. Considering my love for the Zelda franchise, this seemed like the perfect game to satiate my yearning for Skyward Sword.
Darksiders takes place in a world where Angels and Demons wage a war that is mediated by a third force known as the Charred Council. Players are given control of War, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and servant to the Charred Council. When the treaty between Heaven and Hell is broken prematurely, War is sent to Earth to punish those responsible and restore the balance. However, greater machinations seem to be at work, and War is soon dragged before the Charred Council to explain why he appeared to have aided the forces of Hell in bringing about the end of the world and dooming humanity. Stripped of much of his power, War returns to Earth one-hundred years after the forces of Hell have devastated the planet in hopes of clearing his name and for a chance to punish those who shamed him. The world he arrives in is bleak and depressing. Buildings have long since collapsed, streets have caved in, and the corpses of humans wander the abandoned cities. However, that’s not to say the entirety of the game casts an infinite spiral of depression painted in black with hints of grey. While the world is certainly desolate, vivid colors are used to portray the different areas of the world such as the bright greens used in the forests that have retaken the city or brilliant reds cast by the unending fires. It’s somewhat surprising (not in a bad way) that such a vibrant palette was used in a story focused on rage and destruction. War must traverse this world and challenge the Destroyer who reigns over it as well as its army of demon minions to restore the balance.
Armed with only his massive sword, the Chaoseater, War sets out on his journey. While the Chaoseater is more than capable of hacking and slashing through the swarms of demons and adversaries he encounters, War also arms himself with a collection of weapons and tools to solve the various puzzles that hinder his progress. Similar to the Legend of Zelda franchise, War travels through dungeons which are filled with puzzles and obstacles, eventually finds the weapon of that dungeon which allows him to travel to previously inaccessible areas and solve more complex puzzles, and finally confronts a boss whose only weakness can be exploited with his recently acquired weapon. No horseman would be worthy of the name without a trusty steed to call to his side, and War is no different. Although he initially must travel through the post-apocalyptic world on foot, War is eventually reunited with Ruin, his mount which can be easily called to his side as long as the area allows. Additionally, War has an arsenal of spells with offensive and defensive capabilities to aid during tricky battles at the cost of Wrath (Mp). And in battles where all other weapons and tactics have failed, War can unleash his powerful Chaos Form. This scorching behemoth is capable of ignoring most attacks while dishing out an onslaught of devastating blows.
For the most part, Darksiders is an entertaining and fun game on its own. War is your typical anti-hero badass who’s out to get what he wants and isn’t about to let anyone stand in his way -- or stand near his way for that matter. Vigil Games managed to produce, for the most part, solid gameplay and an interesting story that is entertaining to progress through. However, while playing through Darksiders, two major issues kept repeatedly gnawing at my ability to truly appreciate this game. The first is how completely unoriginal most of the gameplay is. It’s one thing to draw inspiration and pay homage to something you admire. It’s another thing altogether to appear like an uninspired facsimile. Darksiders unfortunately feels like the later. I can name a precursor for all but one of War’s weapons from another game, and for all I know, that’s just because I didn’t play the game it is from. I’m not saying it ruins a game to have weapons that are similar to those found in another franchise, but when you get to the point where there is a weapon that functions like the portal-gun and produces blue and orange portals, I think there’s a problem. Additionally, the gameplay feels like a hybrid of the Legend of Zelda’s puzzle solving and world exploration and God of War’s cut-down-any-and-everything-that-has-a-face combat. In fact, the chests, combos, currency, health, and a variety of other aspects seem drawn directly from God of War without even an attempt to conceal the source of the inspiration. Some degree of similarity is acceptable, and quite frankly should be expected, in games of the same genre. Unfortunately, Darksiders’ gameplay far exceeds that expectation to the point that it feels only the characters and story are original and the gameplay was produced by cobbling together pieces from other successful games.
Now, while I’m more willing to look past the lack of originality in Darksiders since it was coupled with fun gameplay, my second issue is more of a problem. Personally, Darksiders felt far too unpolished for a finished product. In the time it took me to beat the game, I managed to fall through floor twice, get stuck between a wall, and trapped a boss in an infinite loop. I can understand one of these issues happening by chance, but the fact that I encountered all four problems just while playing through the normal course of the game, not while trying to look for secrets or while doing something creative, is a big problem. Luckily, I picked Darksiders up last month, so I didn’t have to deal with the horrendous screen tearing issues that were reported upon its original release, but that is just another problem that should have been resolved before the game was released. While a number of people have complained that the Zelda franchise needs to change (something I personally disagree with), the flaws present in Darksiders have made me appreciate the time and care that goes into producing those games. I’ve played every Zelda game (minus the CD-i games since no one counts those) and I have only twice felt a dungeon dragged on and was a chore. There were five dungeons in Darksiders and one was such a pain, I had to take two breaks in between. It is because of blemishes and imperfections like this that Darksiders falls short of the games it appears to emulate.
At the end of the day the question is whether Darksiders is worth picking up or not. I suppose that depends on how highly you value originality and quality assurance. The lack of originality does not hinder the gameplay (in fact it probably helped make the game more entertaining) and the bugs I encountered were easily remedied by a quick load. Honestly, at less than $20, I have a hard time not recommending Darksiders. That said, with a sequel on the way, whether I pick up Darksiders 2 at release or wait till it also drops in price will depend on Vigil Games’ ability to step out from the shadows of the games they draw inspiration from.
War is coming. With all its glory…
…and all its horror.
All Images are owned by Vigil Games.
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