Like its predecessor, Darksiders II controls as slick as a freshly-cleaned scythe. All the polish in the world can't cover for the fact that Darksiders II offers nothing that makes it special in its own right, which is a pity since this is a polished game. The pre-order version of the game came with a hammer that couldn't be used until I reached level five, and by the time I was level nine a couple of hours later, every random enemy was dropping more impressive weapons. This is an especially bizarre choice considering the fact that THQ wants to sell DLC weapons to players-the problem is that the DLC is locked to a certain level. Even worse, the loot system ensures that players will have to constantly replace their armor and weapons over the course of the game-so even if the player finds a giant hammer with great abilities that they're fond of, just a few levels later it won't make a dent in the weakest foes. The biggest offender is the new "loot and leveling" system which makes the common mistake of increasing player damage and enemy health at the same rate, robbing the player of ever feeling like they're growing more powerful. From there it adds a wide variety of gameplay elements plucked from the last ten years of gaming, but never manages to make any of them feel like a solid or natural part of the whole. Speaking of Zelda, Darksiders II starts off with its third-person adventure framework, asking players to travel from dungeon to dungeon and unlock new abilities. Even the recent The Legend of Zelda games which suffer from a well-documented creative funk manage to at least bring a few memorable levels to the party, but Darksiders II feels like a constant stream of "meh." Worse, the overworld is less interesting than before, and I'm hard-pressed to remember anything noteworthy about the dungeons beyond the occasional clever puzzle. It's interesting in concept to get a look at the worlds of angels, demons, spirits and makers (the immortals who build worlds), but in practice the levels seem no different than anything one might see in a typical The Lord of the Rings clone. While Darksiders offered an interesting take on post-apocalypse Earth, Darksiders II sets its gameplay in four different ethereal planes. The story is something of a slog-with no emotional connection to the plot, the player is left with nothing to do but spend far too long riding from dungeon to dungeon, looking forward the time when the various checkpoints can be fast-travelled between. Death isn't a very strong character, and the supporting cast is so bland that their interactions with him are more likely to bore than entertain. Despite the ambitious subject matter, the story in the first game was generally flat and uninvolving, and that particular malaise has infected this sequel as well. Occasionally, it's less.Ĭontinuing the story of what happens after the apocalypse, Darksiders II casts the player as lead horseman Death (voiced by Michael Wincott) as he quests through a variety of fantasy lands, desperate to free his unfairly-condemned brother War. It's never more than the sum of those parts. Darksiders II isn't its own game so much as it is a pastiche, the developers slapping together pieces that worked in other titles, hoping that it would all make sense in the end. In the case of Darksiders II, the player can see where each individual element has been "inspired" by another, superior title. As such, I think it's important to reserve the term "derivative" to games that are notable only for their complete unwillingness to do anything but follow a well-trodden path. While everyone working in an artistic field draws something from those who came before, video games can seem especially unoriginal, owing to their habit of drawing from a common pool of gameplay mechanics, design concepts, and settings. The word "derivative" isn't especially useful when talking about video games. WTF This game literally put me to sleep in the early hours. LOW Having my reaper form cancelled out by a boss cut-scene. HIGH Nailing the perfect sequence of scythe combos and dodges during a fight.
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