Publisher: THQ
Platform: PS3, XBOX 360, PC
EU Release: January 5, 2011
Control the wrath of war as you make you way through this hack and slash adventure game as you slice through enemies with brute strength and use your wits and resources to complete puzzles. Sounds easy right, not so much. With three levels of difficulty, your skill will be tested as you seek out the one who called you to the earth to bring balance prematurely, and thus, got you in the dog house with the charred council. Not a fun place to be, believe me.
As implied above, you will begin as War is called to the earth to bring balance between the feuding heaven and hell as Armageddon is taking place on earth, why can't they ever get along!? As he is summoned, he realises he is the only one of his horseman brethren who has attending this royal rumble-Esq shindig. Soon you will witness the death of Abaddon (general of the heavens army) at the hands of Straga, a powerful demon fight for the underworld. You as war will then proceed to battle Straga, with access to the chaos form, but unfortunately lose. This won't be the last you see of Abaddon as the once revered angel will fall from grace .... and you are spared death as you are sent to face the council.
War demands a chance to find the one who summoned him and the council agrees, but first they seal away your power (losing your chaos form!!!) and tie the rather irritating 'babysitter with a knife to your back' The Watcher to you, to keep an eye on you through your quest. The following events that ensue include meeting the once powerful demon Samael who sends you on a quest to kill and retrieve the hearts of the chosen four who protect the black tower, the demon lord The Destroyer's place of residence, I heard it's nice in the summer. The Destroyer led the forces of hell to victory in the Armageddon battle on earth, and became displeased with the demon Samael and imprisoned him. He needs to the hearts of the chosen to regain his power, and along the way he helps you get your own power back in return. You scratch his back, he'll scratch yours. After the 'Big Four' you'll will make your way to charge the black tower and take on the The Destroyer face to face.
When I first picked up this game, it wasn't high on my play list and went a while without playing it, that was incredibly stupid of me. Incredibly. The first weapon you start of with is the Chaoseater, a fitting blade to be in the two-handed grasp of the Horseman War, and will help you to spill gallons upon gallons of demon blood as you play through the game. As you progress you can also unlock the scythe (weapon of death who will be featured in darksiders 2), the Crossblade, Earthcaller, Mercy (magnum pistol) and the Tremor Gauntlet. All weapons have some form of upgrade, excluding the Earthcaller, all of which can be purchase through the games merchant, Vulgrim, Through the games currency of souls. Souls can be harvested through killing enemies, opening certain chests and destroying parts of the environment. Along with these weapons, War can use of range of magic based attack to both attack and defend that are used when you have one full gauge of wrath. Things such as Wrath and Health will increase in total as you progress through the game and collect Health and Wrath shards.
And you also get a Horse!! Ruin is a badass steed, a loyal flame maned companion and can be summoned at any time (LB + RB/ L2+ L2), to gallop across the many locations in game. Blisteringly deadly combos and gruesome quick time event finishing moves will have you hunting for more and more demon blood for the thrill it provides, it literally had me singing every time I ripped apart a boss, yes, I'm that strange at times. The only thing that left me feeling annoyed were the puzzles and dodging system the game employs. Some of the harder puzzles had me resulting to walkthroughs, I'm in summer mode, thinking can be strenuous at times, maybe thats just me. Also with the dodging system, when facing mass amounts of enemies which is commonplace in the game, I found myself being overwhelmed when I'd target one enemy and speed dodge into the path of anothers lunging attack.
Graphics wise, the game is quite visually pleasing. From the batlle action to dialog cutscenes, the graphics are smooth and help enhance the gameplay. On the soundtrack side of things, its not really all that present other than than the general ambient sounds and sounds of weapons clinging and clanging in battle. In a way it helps complement the game, without an attention drawing soundtrack, it helps suck you into the game's gameplay and story line, leading to consecutive hours of gameplay time. If you have an eye for collecting, you can have your fill by hunting around for Abyssal Armor pieces, ten in total, and Artifacts that can be exchanged for souls. If you still haven't got round to playing this game, why not!! With it being so far after its release, the title can be picked up in a 2 for £30 bundle from most video game retailers. An absolute bargain. Keep an eye out for Darksiders 2.
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