VG Review - Darksiders II

First video game review on here and like I said before, it will not have the same structure or flow as a movie review, mainly because though you can't be totally objective about a movie, you really can't do that for a game. Everyone looks for something different in a game so I'll give you some opinions and impressions of the game and you make up your own mind.

 Darksiders II (360)

As you can see, I played this on the 360 so it may vary slightly from the PS3 version I have no idea.

I really enjoyed the first game and highly recommend playing it before this one so that the story will make a little more sense. Where the first one was fairly short outing that reminded most everyone of a Zelda game (in a very good way), Darksiders II is bigger in scope and play length (a little more on that in a moment, because it isn't necessarily a good thing) and while it still maintains a bit of the Zelda idea, it has some God of War thrown in as well as some Ninja Gaiden and like last time a tiny bit of Portal. They also were able to have a style and build to the dungeons that was all their own this time around. The environment that you start in has a very Nordic/Viking mixed with Celtic/Scottish feel to it which gives way to more independent style as you go on. Not that this opening style is too referential, it just has echos of real cultures that fade the further into the game you go. Character models are really awesome too with the over sized chunkiness of most of the characters (much like the first game) being offset by Death's relatively small and lithe stature. I did think that the texture for Death's chest was a little flat, literally, with the "3D" detail to everything else, Death's chest looks just airbrushed on, I guess it was a decision because of the changeable armors, but still.

The story is really pretty good as long as you're not looking for Biblical accuracy. I do find it interesting, however, that the Four Horseman are supposed to be Nephilim, which if you know your Bible are the offspring of Angels and the "Daughters of Men" that were one of the reasons for the Flood. Look it up, interesting stuff. Otherwise, it can be a bit much to follow from time to time, but, like I said, if you play the first game again before playing this one, you'll for the most part get it.

Game play and combat are more fluid than the style of the first game. This time Death's quickness and agility are his strengths instead of the brutish strength of War. You'll need to leap, flip, and stick & move to stay alive. You would think with this type of combat that the controls would be really responsive, but sometimes Death does things you don't want to or you end up using a potion (that are hard to come across when you need them, but plentiful when you don't) when trying to activate an ability. It is also frustrating to find short areas where you have to climb quicker than the lava is rising and if you make one little mistake, you're dead which is all the more difficult because the controls often will mess up on their own. It got better after the first patch, so hopefully they will remedy it more soon.

There's also a wide array of items and weapons to choose from with a very RPG feel to them. Unfortunately some of the stats really don't have any explanation of what they're for (i.e. Thorns?) so you just try things out until you see what you like. There are TONS of items to find and unlock from side quests and completing sets. Which leads me to my biggest complaint with the game. In order to collect all the stuff you absolutely HAVE to play twice because of a level cap on your first play through and to get the last 1/4 of the Crucible you have to hit a higher level than that. And the Crucible itself as well as The Arbiter's Maze just feel like they were tacked on to make the thing longer. I know the latter wasn't because you find directions for each level of the maze strewn about the whole game, but when you have the Crucible that is 100 levels of just wave after wave of different baddies in the same arena and the Maze that is the same room over and over with four compass direction doors with up to 10 directions to go in each level I can't help but scream "PADDING"! The early areas of the game are also really sprawling but get smaller and smaller as the game goes on, so that by the time you reach Hell, you've only got one medium sized dungeon and that's it.

Overall, I really liked the game and look forward to the next one, but it wasn't without flaws. They tried to do some different and interesting things compared to the first one and really soared with some, but failed in others. If you liked Part 1, make sure you play this one and, if not, give the first one a try then pick this one up if you like it.

PS-Playing Borderlands 2 right now and am really liking it so far. Review to follow. Any suggestions for a Top 10 list for Tuesday?