Visually, Darksiders impresses, but the early stages are underwhelming. Especially during the first stage, the textures lack variety, and the level design doesn’t foreshadow the greatness that proceeds it. As the story unfolds, however, the areas begin to look better, and the level design becomes less of a point A to point B experience. There is a nice use of effects that do not seem to slow the frame rate much. While the frame rate is variable, the game runs solidly, and enemy and character animations exhibit polish. For example, some enemies come streaming down from zip-lines and aggressively attack you.
The voiceover acting is decent–War tends to be adequate and sounds a little like a brooding Pierce Brosnan, but Uriel, the female angel’s performance is pretty flat. Vulgrim’s actor pulls off the greedy bastard role with zeal, while Mark Hamill steals the show as The Watcher, which is good, because he does quite a bit of talking throughout the game and offers guidance from time to time. The soundtrack succeeds in filling out the ambiance, yet it falls short of remarkable.
Darksiders is a great game, and most players should get a solid 20 to 30 hours of entertainment from War’s odyssey. The fun and enjoyment factor is strong, but the entire title lacks just a tad to put it over the edge. The first level seemed to be a missed an opportunity to start the game out with a bang. After all, you were supposed to be ushering in the Armageddon, but instead you are treated to a tutorial level. That aside, anyone who was looking forward to this title will be very happy with their purchase and it will surely satisfy many curious gamers as well. This is a strong showing for a debut title from Vigil Games, and I am looking forward to what they do in the future.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Cool use of weapons that overcome limited combos New gadgets will have you exploring old areas |
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