Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Darksiders, Zeldaportaldevilmaycrygodofwar!

[Luscan]

Played it for 6 hours last night.

This game is absolutely terrible. The combat doesnt feel right. There is no "flow" to it. And the aesthetics are generic and bland. It's sad to see a respected artist put his carrer on the line because he unwittingly decided to plaster his name all over this wreaking pile of manure.

It plays like they literally went ahead and tacked on elements from other succesful games, creating this frankenstein monster of sorts. Sure, this can be said about alot of games... but the idea theft here is so glaring... so obvious... so... insulting. And worse of all, it's all been done in a much better fashion before.

I turned the game back and got Bayonetta instead. Good move. Now there's something fresh. And yes, it's Devil May Cry of sorts... but it doesn't insult me with lack of effort like Darksiders does.

Darksiders is a formula driven cash-in. Not unlike those cheap Rock Band spin-offs that are popping everywhere.

Played it for 6 hours last night.

This game is absolutely terrible.

If he played it for 6 hours then it must be doing something right :V

[Ianos]

It's been getting a post-review bashing in the office, annoyingly. It's hard to explain to people that you do have to play it for a few hours before it picks up, as I do accept that is a genuine annoyance.

Still, it's not "shit" like many have claimed. So there.

[Garwoofoo]

I'm actually quite interested in this. It's the first game for ages where I've been actively annoyed that there isn't a demo, because I'm not confident enough to splash the cash sight unseen.

Bayonetta, on the other hand, I've decided just makes me cringe, with all its semi-naked women and nonsense about Infinite Climax and so on. It might be a very good game but I'll leave that one to the 13-year-olds I think.

[Wev]

I can sort of see where the Kotaku poster is coming from,but I find the fact it does feel like God of War meets Zelda is why I enjoy it. Its not too heavily leaned to one side of that formula and gives you a break from either the exploring or the battling at just the right points.

[JDubYes]

Bayonetta, on the other hand, I've decided just makes me cringe, with all its semi-naked women and nonsense about Infinite Climax and so on.  It might be a very good game but I'll leave that one to the 13-year-olds I think.

Why would a game about an 8ft bondage librarian (as far as I can tell) make you cringe?

In my misguided attempt to try and offset some of the damage done to the videogame industry by cavalcade's breakdown, I've bought both, and will probably be playing one or t'other once I've finished God of War II, so I'll let you know what I make of them.

Incidentally - particularly anyone who's played both - are either Bayonetta or Darksiders really so close to God of War that I'd be better off playing something else (even if it's just a day or two of Street Fighter IV, FIFA 10 or PSN games) before I start them? Darksiders in particular looks quite similar, and, while I doubt it's too bad, I am becoming increasingly aware of the third-person hack and slash action-adventure theme going on here.

[Garwoofoo]

You bought the PS3 version of Bayonetta? Good luck with that.

[Brian Bloodaxe]

There are an awful lot of them around just now. You have the God of War collection, Dante's Inferno, Bayonetta, Darksiders and at some point God of War 3. there isn't another Ninja Gaiden remake due is there?

[Garwoofoo]

there isn't another Ninja Gaiden remake due is there?

NG2 Sigma on the PS3 is only a couple of months old.

There's also Metroid: Other M sometime this year - don't know too much about it but it looks like a NG-style third-person actioner too. A real departure for the franchise.

[CheddarFrenzy]

There's also Metroid: Other M sometime this year - don't know too much about it but it looks like a NG-style third-person actioner too.  A real departure for the franchise.

/sits back and waits for Dok-splosion...

[JDubYes]

You bought the PS3 version of Bayonetta?  Good luck with that.

Like I said elsewhere, to all intents and purposes it was free, so as long as it's vaguely enjoyable/playable I'll live. From what I've heard the slowdown issues aren't as bad as publicised anyway, it's just the apparently incessant loading that might get old.

There are an awful lot of them around just now. You have the God of War collection, Dante's Inferno, Bayonetta, Darksiders and at some point God of War 3. there isn't another Ninja Gaiden remake due is there?

I'd forgotten about Dante's Inferno. That did look like it could be pretty good, but I didn't download the demo, and it seems, even moreso than the others, like it might be a bit too close to God of War III in terms of both release and gameplay (and apparently apparently they've literally copied the controls wholesale, too).

Did anyone try the demo?

Thinking about it, it's pretty much a given that many of these games were moved to 2010 to avoid Modern warfare 2, but. bearing in mind all their similarities, wouldn't they have been better off in 2009? I mean, in the music industry some labels delay their artists albums to be released on the same day as a big release so that people who rarely venture into music shops might impulse buy and pick them up at the same time.

I'm not saying the same principle would work exactly with games* (the price can be a barrier for some when it comes to buying multiple games, for a start, but there's also the issue of time...), but if the same marketing campaign had been run last year, and perhaps the game released at slightly less than the RRP, are you telling me that no-one would've picked up Bayonetta if it'd been released alongside MW2?

* - says the man who, if memory serves, bought Devil May Cry, Jak and Daxter, Tony Hawk's 3 and SSX Tricky on the same day back in 2001...

[Garwoofoo]

but if the same marketing campaign had been run last year, and perhaps the game released at slightly less than the RRP, are you telling me that no-one would've picked up Bayonetta if it'd been released alongside MW2?

It worked for Borderlands - they took a chance, launched it into the market at a busy time, and as far as I understand it sold very well.

The poor Christmas line-up was frustrating, especially as it has definitely led to a games pile-up in January and February instead. Thing is, it's not like MW2 appealed to everyone anyway - there are plenty of people here for instance that haven't picked it up and don't intend to. A game like Bayonetta or Mass Effect 2 could easily have held its own against MW2, I think, as MW2 is a mainstream title whereas the others are more eagerly awaited by core gamers. Just a thought.

Of course, come the summer, there will be bugger all out as usual.

[aniki]

Did anyone try the demo?

It looks, feels and plays like a HD XBLA release of a Dreamcast game.

[Luscan]

It looks, feels and plays like a HD XBLA release of a Dreamcast game.

Which for £10 wouldn't be a bad thing, right?

[Mr Party Hat]

If they don't make a sequel to Darksiders after that ending, it'll be a bloody crime. Such a great game.

[Prole]

Okay. I've finished a playthrough of this and I thought I'd post something about it.

Thing is, I can't really add much to what has already been said. It really is like Vigil have mashed together the bits they like from GoW / DMC / Zelda / Soul Reaver / Portal (amazingly). With those 'influences' you really have to think that the game has no hope of ever exceeding the sum of its parts; and I actually don't think that it does - but it's such a strong hand that it only really has to be decent at all of them for it to be a perfectly worthwhile experience. Which it is.

Let's start with the technical stuff. Tearing. Very much in evidence at first, and really quite annoying after a while. I'd have to say it was the main reason I kept switching this off and grinding Forza 3 races for the 'Solid Gold' achievement. However, this has been patched and has made quite a difference to the feel of the game.

(I have actually found one other tiny bug on the 360 that should apparently have been fixed by the same patch that sorted the tearing, but it's a very minor thing that doesn't affect the gameplay at all and you'll only notice it if you assiduously hunt down all of the collectables. Like what I did. Unsurprisingly.)

That out of the way, let's have a look at the ingredients on show:

GoW / DMC - comparison here mostly for the combat, but the entire vibe is kinda GoW anyway. Combat is okay. I don't feel like I can give it any more than that. Weapon upgrade and move sets are very DMC, but you don't get that feeling of precision in the combat that DMC gives you. Yes, you can button-mash your way through a DMC game (amd moreso in a GoW game IMO), and you'll end up doing that here. This is mainly because the moves that help to link your combos (blocking especially) are a bit hit and miss, and eventually you'll stop really caring about beating your best combo count and just wade in. In some respects it does feel a bit unfair to compare the combat to DMC - that is truly excellent for the type after all - but it so unashamedly rip it off that you have to measure it against that bechmark and it falls short. It's not at all bad, and in the end you will be able to hit quite big combos due to how ridiculous one of the moves for your gauntlet is, but it ain't great.

Zelda - as MPH previously posted in this very thread, there is a point where the game may as well ask you if you want to see its Zelda impression because it has been practising one for a while. It's a pretty good Zelda impression, actually. It's well worth your time to check it out. If you enjoyed Twilight Princess, or even the exploration and retreading elements of Metroid Prime you will find a lot to like here.

Soul Reaver - as Ianos noted, War even has tattered wings for gliding. There are demons running around the place. The occasional block has to be moved from one place to another. However, where I thought the Soul Reaver was Tomb Raider dressed up for Halloween, this is still much closer to DMC and its ilk. Still: tattered wings, gliding - made me think of Soul reaver and it made me smile so that's a big tick in its favour.

Portal - when it started to show the very rich vein of Portal running through some of the levels this game moved from 'pleasing diversion' to 'OMG I can't put this down'. It unashamedly rips off Portal. When you create portals they're even coloured orange and blue, FFS. True, it doesn't have the versatility of Portal's ability to put portals where you please but the use of them is very well done, and moves the rating for level design from 'kind of generic but well done' to 'actually really rather good'.

The ending sets itself up for a sequel. Unashamedly? Undeservingly? I don't think so. I'm interested in seeing another Darksiders game. I'd be interested in seeing how some of the other Horsemen might play, actually... also, it'd give them the opportunity to sort out the voice acting. Mark Hamill was fine doing his best Joker voice for The Watcher, but War himself? Just not right, really. Could do much better. At least it wasn't Nolan North; Nahan Drake as a War might have been just a bit too jarring.

So, good fun this. Much better than I was expecting, even if all I was expecting was a box-ticking exercise in action adventure game design. The only thing that could make this better would be some sort of New Game + option, if only so the grinding you'll do for weapon XP can have a better context.