Let the Horsemen Reign!

So I had picked Darksiders up on its launch day (Jan. 5th) but just finally started it last night. Holy shit I've been missing a sweet game!

Before I get into its awesomeness, I will acknowledge that the reviews I read are correct, the game borrows HEAVILY from the Legend of Zelda, as well as a bit from God of War for the combat. But this is in no way a bad thing, in fact it is totally awesome. Legend of Zelda on Xbox 360 with an awesome new setting, more visceral combat, and flashy new visuals? Yes please!

If you haven't already heard, Darksiders lets you play as one of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse, War. You get all of his badass mythical weapons, his warhorse named Ruin, and his supernatural agility and strength. Which combines to make one of the coolest main characters I've ever seen, especially since the art for him (done by a famous X-Men comic artist) makes him look so unique and imposing.

The game starts out with a bit of a dud for the intro level, as you have no idea where you are or what you're supposed to be doing. But after running around the city a bit killing stuff, you trigger a cut scene and learn the plot from there. It's another similarity to God of War, due to a misunderstanding, the Apocalypse was started prematurely, so War is blamed and is stripped of all of his powers. Angry and vengeaful, as War incarnate should be, your Horseman sets out to kill everyone who wronged him and clear his name.

Which is where the game starts getting really fun. The action is addicting, with very flashy and artistic finishing moves to hack apart the demonic hordes that plague you. The game world is open, allowing you to explore to your hearts content as you head to new dungeons. The exploration and the platforming-style traversals evoke Zelda quite a bit, and add a lot of fun and depth to the core action.
But the game isn't just a straight knock-off. As you kill enemies and collect souls of the undead, you can purchase a number of other weapons, attack moves, and tons of different passive and active abilities, weapon enhancements, etc. This adds some enjoyable RPG-esque elements to the action, and allows you to customize your character and your fighting style to your own particular tastes.

I've only played the first 3-4 hours of it, but my first impressions are VERY positive. I can't wait to see more of this stylish, Zelda-homage take on the Apocalypse.

- Scott