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.