Darksiders II Pre-E3 Video Preview

You’ve already played Darksiders II.
You just don’t know it. Though THQ’s action/adventure sequel is still
several months away, the game borrows from so many games of its genre
that it immediately feels familiar. Combat is reminiscent of God of War.
Navigating environments as Death quickly recalls moments of Uncharted.
Equipment, experience and leveling up systems feel like a typical RPG,
but with an exaggerated art style that may remind you of Kingdoms of
Amalur. And through it all you get a strong resemblance to Zelda, which
contains some amount of all the aforementioned titles.

Many assume familiarity or the absence of absolute originality is an
unforgivable sin in a video game. Yet Darksiders II, for all that it
borrows, blends the elements of its predecessors well. If a derivative
game that features engaging combat, solid control and considerable depth
through its customization options is a bad thing, then this industry is
cursed with a number of failures.


Put aside the fact that Darksiders II borrows from some of the best in the industry,
and you’re left with an action game that pulls you in with its
stunningly accessible depth. Every enemy drops something of value,
whether it’s gold, armor, weaponry or some mix of all three. Modern RPGs
could learn a thing or two from developer Vigil, as a pop-up window
will quickly inform you whether equipping each item will benefit Death,
or whether you’re better off holding it for sale later. The fact that
Death’s design reflects the armor and weaponry choices you make helps
reinforce the immediate sense of gratification this game offers. There’s
no agonizing over menus and charts - just a simple and clean interface
that allows for complexity without slowing gameplay down.

Combat is smooth, effective and addictive, allowing you to mix heavy,
light and (eventual) ranged attacks with ease. The fact that Death’s
arsenal is constantly in flux helps considerably, as one second you’ll
be gleefully smashing enemies with a hammer, and the next you’re testing
the effectiveness of an axe. It remains to be seen how deep the
fighting system will go, however, as the first 30 minutes of the game
mostly focused on mashing attacks in whatever openings were available.
Considering all that Vigil has learned from rival action games, here’s
hoping battles in Darksiders II demonstrate a remarkable maturity as the
story advances.

Death is certainly not his brother, War, and to emphatically
illustrate that, Vigil designed a character that is far more agile than
his predecessor. Enter plenty of Assassin’s Creed, Uncharted and Prince
of Persia-esque ideas. Death not only scampers around his environments
like a monkey with a mission, he can run along walls and vault up poles
like nobody’s business. Most of these actions are done through the use
of a couple context-sensitive buttons, and it’s a relief to see that if
Darksiders II mastered one tributary gameplay element, it’s this one.
Many games fail to make level navigation sensible. This game doesn’t
seem to fall into that trap.



If there is one concern about Darksiders II it’s this - though it
skillfully pulls together many familiar ideas into a package that is
very entertaining, it doesn’t master or evolve any of those concepts.
Combat is good, but lacks the crisp precision of Ninja Gaiden or the
creativity of Zelda. Navigation does at times feel like Uncharted or
Assassin’s Creed, yet the camera feels a bit eager to adjust itself
unnecessarily. The art design of the world is remarkable, yet the game’s
engine just isn’t crisp enough. There are better looking games out
there. In other words, despite looking to the past for inspiration,
Darksiders II doesn’t appear to attempt to best its predecessors. At
least not yet. It would be a bit surprising to see the complete identity
of a game summed up in its opening half hour.

Still, even if these complaints remain consistent throughout the
game, none of them will come as much of a surprise to fans (or critics)
of the first game, Darksiders II borrows much, yet is still entertaining
despite some rather obvious flaws. That said, the addition of loot
drops, skill trees and the fundamental speed of combat goes a long way
in making this sequel feel fresh. Sometimes familiarity can be a good
thing, particularly when recalling some of the finest franchises of all
time.