Darksiders:
Wrath of War (PS3)
Christo van Gemert
Fans of hack-and-slash games, like Sega’s recently released Bayonetta, Capcom’s Devil May Cry or Sony’s God of War, will know what to expect from Darksiders. For those who’ve never heard of these games: expect a lot of button-mashing, as you get inundated with on-screen enemies. Chaining combos together, unlocking bigger weapons are served with a small helping of puzzle-solving.

The dramatic intro sequence is a bit confusing; it shows meteors raining from the skies, causing havoc in modern-day cities. Things take a step from bad to worse when the flames subside and the meteorites are actually monsters not quite familiar to Earth. Some of them are attacking humans and causing chaos, while other, bewinged humanoids are fighting back. Clearly, it’s some form of Armageddon, involving angels and demons.

Then the player’s character lands, at which point it’s every man-monster for itself. Taking the role of War – one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse – gamers start fending off the bad guys and the good guys, to return order to humankind. This wasn’t supposed to happen, something messed with the balance, and now the end of time has come a few millenia too soon.

Controls are pretty basic, with no complicated button combinations to memorise. There are advanced skills, but for the most part it’s possible to get by using a few basic combinations. Thankfully, there are no long-winded tutorial levels, and the game cleverly integrates instructions for new abilities as they’re unlocked.

At first, Darksiders feels a bit linear, but as new skills are made available, players can roam previously explored areas to find new secret caverns and power-ups.
While it’s fun, there are a few repetitive bits, and some of the enemies can be punishingly difficult to beat during the earlier levels. It’s also not a paragon of graphical perfection, with a relatively bland palette and rough edges.
It sure is fun, though, and will be worth replaying at least once or twice, until God of War 3 arrives.

In summary

Digital Life says: A super-fun hack-and-slash game, with a bit more depth than you’d expect
Plus: Lots of enemies; grand scale; lots of exploring
Minus: A bit repetitive; average graphics
Contact: www.thq.com
R699