Darksiders two review

**SALTYxSANDWICH** Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:27 pm

If it's one thing I've learned in the last week, it's that reapin' ain't easy. You might think that filling the obituary pages for a living would be easy work, but casting the swift hand of Death carries a heavy, heavy burden.

It has the brutal, maim-happy combat of a certain ash-laden God, along with Hyrulian inspired dungeon-plunging puzzles and a lot of the casual role-playing elements from a game like Kingdoms of Amalur, of course from the now defunct 38 Studios. It's a jack of all trades and a master of none, though it does a few exceptional things.

I know I'm not the first to say it, but there's also a delicious irony in Death's journey being the one to restore any murmur of a pulse to the waning THQ.

Death's twenty-hour odyssey runs concurrent with War's plight from the original Darksiders, as the pale rider learns of his brother's alleged crimes and flies into a rage, setting off to clear the name of his righteous brother. It's much like Halo: Reach, in that you already know how it'll end, though it's still a wonderful story of hope and sacrifice.

While it's great to finally get a lot of bang for your buck, the pacing in Darksiders II was somewhat of a wreck. Certain objectives were unnecessarily long-winded to add minutes to the clock, but when it came to the all-important final act, it seemed Vigil couldn't wait to wrap things up. It's disappointing that it can take hours to navigate and conquer the Court of Bones, yet you're able to tie up all loose ends and knock off the last boss as though it's a mere fart in the wind.

Don't even get me started on the enraged hour I spent partway through when the game forgot it wasn't a bloody awful third-person shooter. Let's just say that prophetic voice was right when he told Death he wouldn't like 'what he found on Earth.'

I dreaded the puzzles going into Darksiders II, but, in the end, they were child's play. The designers did a nice job of holding your hand for the first few hours, practically flashing up a neon arrow to point you in the right direction. Luckily, it knew when to let go and sort of let you fend for yourself within reason by the end. The puzzles, though carefully considered, were predictable and often had you fetching your most recently acquired skill out of your trick bag. When Death wasn't solving the same old plinth 'n' ball puzzles, it was the combat that proved to be a real challenge.

I found the macro key system to be a tad clunky and limiting, especially given the sheer abundance of skills you can go to war with, but aside from that, the hack 'n' slashing was clean, seamless and largely satisfying. Even keeping Death kitted out with all of the finest wares is trouble-free, as all items are level-restricted and have colour-codes, so even a dumb guy navigate and equip with nary an issue.

A lot of these features are huge departures from the original Darksiders, but they're steps in the right direction for Vigil.

I also loved the main menu; it's a stroke of genius. It seems like just any old close-up asset of Death loitering in front of a nice backdrop, though it turns out to be the game preloaded at your last checkpoint, ready to reap at your say so. It is touches like these that make the things Vigil got terribly wrong much easier to overlook.

Darksiders II is a crasher. Though it was infrequent, it was still a pain when it occurred. It's just fortunate that Vigil built in a generous auto-save system. Not only that, but there were a handful of occasions when I'd get wedged into the geometry, leaving Death suspended in the world's most long-winded barrel roll; reboots were required.

Despair is gaming's most superfluous stallion, built-in solely to encourage traipsing about the large, empty voids Vigil left between key locales. I get that the art team were proud of the wonderfully designed vistas that can be seen along the way; it's just a shame that they'll go largely unappreciated because no-one wants to needlessly be sat on a horse when they can fast travel instead.

That said, while a lot of the vistas and backdrops might go unnoticed, you won't ever weary of your surroundings; an amazing feat for such a game. From the moment Death is dropped into the Nether Realm, you'll be taken aback by the beautifully diverse terrains, and it's a feeling that lingers on long after you step away. Some places are ablaze with rich colours and look almost tropical, whereas others are devoid of colour and are made up of only the bleakest shades.

Though Death is a soldier capable of unfathomable heartache and destruction, he's a lean and agile rider, nothing like War, his brother. Michael Wincott turns in his finest voiceover performance to date as the sardonic reaper, who talks the talk when he isn't busy walking the walk. Despite coming off as well, kind of a dick at times, I found Death to be more likeable and empathetic than his brother. That said, the whole cast is great, I especially enjoyed the seldom seen Crowfather, he was a delightfully twisted soul.

The orchestral score does have a lovely resolve and it was, like most games, written to loop. Sadly, you'll grow increasingly aware of that fact in no time, at all. Do try to enjoy it before the novelty wears off, won't you? Or, I mean, at least before the audio craps out in yet another of Darksiders' little technical hiccups.