Darksiders: Wrath of War

[NonBorn]

Darksiders










First Look από το GamesRadar

Spoiler!

Though it's drawing a lot of comparisons to God of War, according to the developers, Darksiders was originally envisioned as a "badass Zelda." You play - here comes one of the reasons for the comparison - as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Demons have destroyed the Earth, and you've been separated from your cohorts. It's your job to explore the ravaged world and reunite with your allies - hacking, slashing, jumping and solving puzzles along the way.


All of the usual gameplay mechanics are here - and what we saw definitely felt like a mix of Devil May Cry with Zelda. Dungeons to explore, block puzzles - involving punching destroyed subway cars, sure, but block puzzles all the same - were present and more or less correct (particularly for a game that's so far out on the release radar.)

The story, which reads like something you might find scrawled in a D&D-loving Nine Inch Nails fan's ninth-grade biology notebook, involves wars between the angels and demons, with the Earth caught between. Only the Four Horsemen stand to the side of this conflict, ruled by the angels but not fighting directly. Instead, they use their powers to cleanse the Earth.


How does War get the job done? With big armor and a big sword. He can teleport from place to place, swing the sword mightily - including causing spikes to shoot out of the ground and damage his enemies. Combos rain down, of course, in furious flurries of sword strikes. Whether those combos actually feel any good is still a major question, as we weren't allowed to get our hands on the game. Guns are also available - earthly, demonic and angelic weapons are all strewn around the world, in fact.


It's not just about conventional weapons, though. In one instance, War used a Jedi-like force pull to summon a nearby wrecked car towards him. Then he launched the car at an enemy. Being a Horseman, of course, you'll need a horse. You'll earn it later in the game - and then be able to work your horse into combo attacks. We can't wait to see how the hell that works.

Still not convinced the game owes a debt to Zelda, given the mature stylings? You'll traverse eight dungeons - getting a piece of gear in each one that lets you solve its puzzles. Hrmm. That sounds familiar. Given the quality of the Zelda series, though, if these boys are doing their homework, it could all work out fine. But those are some big boots to fill, so we're going to have to wait and see if it can even come close.

E3 2007: Darksiders - A Second Look από το IGN

Spoiler!

Following THQ's press conference, IGN was able to get a second, longer look at the newly-announced Darksiders. Joe Madureira, the man behind Darksiders and a beloved comic-book artist, gave us the full tour. He brings a fan perspective to development and an artist's sensibilities to an apocalyptic story.

You play as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Having just helped in bringing about the apocalypse, you've found yourself in the midst of a war between demons and angels. Following a betrayal, War is left stranded on a ruined earth without his powers. Your goal is to regain your powers, discover who betrayed you, and exact your revenge.

Despite the setup, Joe Mad insists the game is not story driven. This is a game about kicking a lot of ass and having cool weapons to fulfill that task. That's fine with us. Though we generally like some meaty story elements, Darksiders' slick style looks diverse enough to keep us interested without a lot of cutscenes.

In the short demo, we witnessed War play with a number of weapons. His primary method for dealing death was his mighty sword. At one point, following a prolonged battle with a large gargoyle-like demon with fire hands, we witness one of Darksiders' many cinematic finishes. War drove the sword through the demon's hand, pinning it to the ground. Then beat him to death. Sweet.

Other weapons included a throwing blade, a chain that could draw enemies near or toss them about, and a chain gun. That's right, you get to fool with mythical tools of destruction and modern-day weapons as well. This variety of hack-and-slash and shooter element gives Darksiders some promise. Yes, it does sound a lot like Devil May Cry, but Darksiders' modern weapons are more in line with Gears of War than DMC. It doesn't appear you will be switching between the two and juggling enemies constantly.

Throughout the adventure, you will fight both demons and angels on the path to discover what's become of the other Horsemen. The demons are clearly designs of Joe Mad, who is known for exaggerated proportions. Though the creatures were designed by a comic-book artist, the game itself doesn't have any sort of comic-book angle to it. There's no cel shading, no slick comic-book panel presentation. This is more of a traditional action game with grotesque creatures and some inventive weaponry. The angels, which were not shown, aren't going to be your typical supermodels with wings. Joe Mad described the angels as a "bad ass, warlike race."

At some point in his journey, War retrieves his steed. Unlike God of War, which had its winged horse only for traveling segments, Darksiders keeps the steed in play throughout. War's horse is basically another weapon, which can be called upon at any time and switched on and off as quickly as you would a sword or a gun.

All of these weapons, including the steed it seems, will be upgradeable. You can customize with a variety of modifiers. Your armor will change as you progress and by the end of Darksiders, War will be an almost unstoppable force of nature.

The first half of Darksiders has War searching through a ruined metropolis. Though the subway area we saw suggested the city might be based on New York, the unnamed city War fights his way through is considered to be Anywhere, USA. The second half of the game takes a much different turn as War journeys into the Abyss. The artwork on display for the Abyss was sort of a fantastical Hell, full of rich colors.

Darksiders won't be out for PS3 and 360 until 2008, but it's already looking like a solid offering. While it's hard not to compare it to DMC and GOW, Madureira likens the full experience to The Legend of Zelda... if Hyrule were destroyed in the Apocalypse, Link was given a chain gun, and grew some balls. Miyamoto, the gauntlet has been thrown.