Poor Darksiders: Wrath of War just can't catch a break -- the game's no where near being released (it's slated for August 25), and the general around the internet seems to be that it's just too generic to stand out. After all it's going to have some steep competition from other action titles like God of War 3, Bayonetta (my personal favorite), and Dante's Inferno (a thorn in my side). To make matters worse, Vigil Games' general manager David Adams has been bandying around the fact that it freely takes "elements from other games we love," and art director Han Randhawa has said that "War [the game's protagonist] is just a classic character - the embodiment of pretty much every other character out there."
Woops. Maybe Vigil Games should hire a publicist or a marketing department.
But a little enthusiasm and optimism never hurt anyone, and I think Darksiders could very well turn out to be an engaging action game in its own right, even if it doesn't win any awards for innovation. At the very least, the concept is fantastic -- you play as War, one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, as he tries to restore some order to Earth after a premature Doom's Day. It's War's job to find the other three Horsemen and figure out whose idea it was to have the Apocalypse without sending a memo around first.
As much as I'm fascinated by anything eschatological, and as badass as Darksiders sounds, I can't help but feel a twinge of regret at not being able to play as Famine or Pestilence. Darksiders features some spell-slinging, and I'm sure I could make good use of "Distended Tummy" or "Bleed out of your Eyes and Anus" magic.
Anyway, hit the jump for a new story trailer, and you can head over to Gametrailers for some new gameplay footage.
Joseph Leray is a founding Destructoid editor and has better hair than you. He speaks French and needs to send us his updated bio in English, preferably.
Likes
Confuse Ray, Feel My Blade
A Mabari War Hound,
Snot,
Spiral Arrow,
Argo,
Dan Smith's critical hit bark,
Rolling things up into my life
Meet the rest of the team
I'm glad to see the game is still alive and looking awesome. I personally don't care if it borrows heavily from other games, as long as it's done right and fun to play then I'm sold.
Plus I'm anxious to see what Vigil can do, these are the guys who are supposed to bring us a Warhammer 40K MMO too.
If the gameplay and design are tried and tested (generic?) I'm hoping that means a greater likelihood of awesome gaming. I don't understand the hate either and am definitely looking forward to this title.
Hey, if it's fun, I won't mind it being a generic action-adventure game. Also I do like the setting indeed and the art style is just killer. I'm excited for this.
This one of my most anticipated titles (along with Kingdom Under Fire, Prototype and fingers crossed....Otogi 3) of 09.
I agree with Nicojay in not getting the hate for this game. It looks great and you'd better believe that GoW developers (along with many other popular hack'n'slash/ beat’em’up teams) are watching Darksiders closely to review how successful it will be in implementation and sales.
Too many gamers worship titles like pro sports teams not making room for other ideas within this creative space. God of War did not invent many of the things it did well including Greek mythos, but we often hear complaints of some game or another ripping off its mechanics or story presentation. The saddest thing is many gamers will hold these prejudices then belly ache at the numerous sequels or cry about the lack of gaming ideas....weak. I will buy this game and from everything I've seen thus far (barring any deal breaking game flaws)...I will enjoy it very much. Game on!
If this game is generic as God of War, then it must be generically awesome. The story does look unique. And the graphics are sweet. Also, wasn't there a game about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that was supposed in production 7 years ago but got cancelled? What was the name of the game...
@Chronic
Yeah...."The Four Horsemen"...that was the name. I guess 3DO never finished due to setting the creative bar way too high with such a zippy title. Although the game seemed interesting and had some renders, they were doomed to utter failure....lesson learned? Making a game goes far beyond naming it, but the name you choose lends some evidence to how much thought has gone into the game. Darksiders is catchy! LOL
I'm probably the only person in the world that is not a fan of Joe Madureira's art. I'm just not a fan of BULKY people doing BULKY things with BULKY doodads attached to them.
As for the game itself, it looks technically okay, but nothing about it is drawing me in. The vibe seems very generic, sort of like Sega's Viking game that came out awhile back.
@SuitcoatAvenger I was kind of thinking that when I was watching the trailer, but the opposite- it is kind of cool seeing someone bulky chugging around instead of the same acrobatic flipping this way kicking that way going on
Yeah, this game is actually much more Zelda than anything else. The derivative titles mentioned above follow more the Devil May Cry formula, with heavy combat focus and a more linear level structure. We haven't had any games take a crack at the Zelda formula outside of, well, Zelda in a long time, so I'm very interested to see how this turns out.
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Contest:
11:30 PM on 05.20.2009
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Besides, it looks badass. So. Freaking. Badass.
omg
Plus I'm anxious to see what Vigil can do, these are the guys who are supposed to bring us a Warhammer 40K MMO too.
I agree with Nicojay in not getting the hate for this game. It looks great and you'd better believe that GoW developers (along with many other popular hack'n'slash/ beat’em’up teams) are watching Darksiders closely to review how successful it will be in implementation and sales.
Too many gamers worship titles like pro sports teams not making room for other ideas within this creative space. God of War did not invent many of the things it did well including Greek mythos, but we often hear complaints of some game or another ripping off its mechanics or story presentation. The saddest thing is many gamers will hold these prejudices then belly ache at the numerous sequels or cry about the lack of gaming ideas....weak. I will buy this game and from everything I've seen thus far (barring any deal breaking game flaws)...I will enjoy it very much. Game on!
That aside, looking forward to hitting things like that.
But I would pass one it.
Yeah...."The Four Horsemen"...that was the name. I guess 3DO never finished due to setting the creative bar way too high with such a zippy title. Although the game seemed interesting and had some renders, they were doomed to utter failure....lesson learned? Making a game goes far beyond naming it, but the name you choose lends some evidence to how much thought has gone into the game. Darksiders is catchy! LOL
As for the game itself, it looks technically okay, but nothing about it is drawing me in. The vibe seems very generic, sort of like Sega's Viking game that came out awhile back.
But then, the only game like this I'm looking forward to right now is Bayonetta.