Darksiders

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Darksiders
Developer(s)	Vigil Games
Publisher(s)	THQ
Designer(s)	Haydn Dalton (lead designer) Joe Madureira (creative director)
Composer(s)	Cris Velasco Mike Reagan Scott Morton
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA January 5, 2010[1] EU January 8, 2010 AUS January 7, 2010
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	BBFC: 15[2] ESRB: Mature (M) PEGI: 16+
Media	Blu-ray Disc, DVD

Darksiders is an action-adventure video game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. The game takes its inspiration from the apocalypse and battle of Armageddon described in the Book of Revelation, with the player taking the role of "War", one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The game was released for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on January 5, 2010 in North America and January 8 in Europe.

[edit] Story

The player takes on the role of War, one of the four legendary Horsemen of the apocalypse; the apocalypse has just taken place prematurely, and the world destroyed, and War finds himself tasked to find out who was behind this; caught in a battle between angels and demons, he has lost much of his power, and must find out where the other horsemen are, and who misled them into starting the final battle.^[3]

In Darksiders, Heaven and Hell are at odds and war with one another constantly. To preserve the balance; a mediator group, The Charred Council, sends their chosen warriors, The Four Horsemen, to kill Heaven and Hell's hordes until a truce is formed between the two rivaling kingdoms. Eons after the truce, a third kingdom is formed, The Kingdom of Man. The Charred Council foresees that man will be a major factor in the role of Heaven and Hell. As such, a final war between Man, Heaven and Hell would be decided during a specific time: once the Seven Sacred Seals have been broken.^[4]

During the present time, Armageddon begins on earth. Fire, with feuding angels and demons inside, fill the sky and land on earth destroying buildings and humans in their wake. During all the chaos, War, one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, lands on earth to bring order to the final battle at hand. While he fights both angels and demons, he begins to lose his powers. Upon his confrontation with Abaddon, the general of Heaven's army, he discovers that the other Horsemen have not arrived and the Seventh Seal had not been opened.^[5]

Straga, one of the Destroyer's Chosen, arises from the ground and kills Abbadon in front of War and Uriel, Abbadon's second in command. In retaliation, War battles Straga, but in his weakened state, he is killed. Upon his death, he is sent to The Charred Council and discovers that he is blamed for bringing the Apocalypse early. The Council sentences him to death but War pleads to be sent back to earth and find the one responsible for bringing on the Final Battle early. The Council agrees but on the condition that he is shackled to one of their keepers, The Watcher, who has the power to kill War in case he strays away from his mission.^[6]

Upon returning to earth, War discovers that he has been gone about 100 years and that all of the humans have died or become zombies with Hell winning the final Battle.^[7]

[edit] Characters

Characters: War and the Watcher look over the barren wasteland that was once earth after 100 years of demonic rule.

War is the protagonist of Darksiders. He is one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and has been summoned to earth in response to the final battle between Heaven and Hell. After the epic battle has ended, with Hell the victor, War is accused of starting Armageddon early and as a result has been stripped of his powers. As a penance for his alleged crime, he must walk the desolate earth forever. War, instead, sees this as an opportunity to clear his name and ventures off in search of those responsible. War wields a sword called "Chaoseater". He is voiced by Liam O'Brien

Ruin is War's trusted steed. Ruin accompanies War in battle throughout the game. Ruin was a normal horse who was then corrupted by hate, which began in the underworld where Ruin was mistreated. War can ride Ruin through the open-world of Darksiders, but is not available at the beginning of the game.

The Destroyer has been mentioned in many previews as the character who rules Hell, and who is in charge of the demonic invasion of the earth. He is probably analougous to Lucifer. He is the game's primary antagonist.

The Charred Council is a group of mediators between Heaven and Hell that hold War responsible for the events of the Apocalypse beginning early and the ultimate destruction of earth. They strip War of his powers and banish him to earth.

Samael is mentioned in the Talmud as the Archangel of Death. In Darksiders he is corrupted and has become a demon / fallen angel. However he rejected the Destroyer's rule in Hell and so was sentenced to eternal imprisonment. In the game, War must free Samael and make a pact with him.

Abaddon is portrayed as an Angel, in Darksiders, leading Heaven's forces against Hell's when the apocalypse started, but was slain. Since then, the remaining angel soldiers - cut off from Heaven when their portal of escape closed - roam the skies of the destroyed world attacking demons (and War) out of a desire for revenge.

The Watcher is a guide/warden over War. The Charred Council do not trust War so they instruct The Watcher, voiced by Mark Hamill, to follow War on his journey. He directs War to accomplish certain tasks that need to be achieved in order to progress through the game.

Death is a fellow Horseman of the Apocalypse. He wields a scythe called "The Harvester" and a black robe and has a skeletal physique, he is also known as "the grim reaper". His whereabouts are unknown.

Strife is a fellow Horseman of the Apocalypse - replacing the traditional horseman Pestilence. In his art, he dual wields large handguns. His whereabouts are unknown.

Fury is a fellow Horseman of the Apocalypse - replacing the traditional horseman Famine. She has a fiery whip in her artwork. Her whereabouts are unknown.

Silitha is a horrible, spider-like demon who spins her web over one corner of the destroyed city.

Tiamat appears in the game as a giant monstrous demon resembling a bat and haunts an area known as the Twilight Cathedral, acting as a boss. Tiamat is a primordial goddess of chaos, rage and the sea in Babylonian mythology, a people who once enslaved the ancient Hebrews who wrote the bible. The Hebrew term for the great flood depicted in the Old Testament comes from the word Tiamat. War must fight her as one of the game's bosses.

The Jailer is a huge monstrous demon seemingly composed of many different corpses, and acts as one of the game's mini bosses.

The Griever is a female demon who has been mentioned to dwell in the partly flooded subway system of the destroyed city. Her "pets" the "lowly vermin of Hell," (swarms of demonic locusts) have also made the subways their lair.

Ulthane is an "Old One" like War and the Charred Council, far older than Heaven or Hell, and a great craftsman of legendary weapons and armour.

Uriel is the Archangel currently leading the remainder of Heaven's forces on the destroyed Earth.

Vulgrim is a conniving demon who unscrupulously provides War with various upgrades during the game, in return for souls War has collected in his battles.

[edit] Gameplay

Gameplay; War shoots at demons with his pistol, Mercy, as he rides atop his steed, Ruin.

Darksiders is primarily a combat action game, with weapons such as giant swords and miniguns available. War also regains his powers throughout the game, and has his own mount, a horse called Ruin.^[8]

The powers and horse which War must regain play an important role in the game as they enable him to access areas of the world which would otherwise be closed to him.^[3] A wrath meter similar to the musou gauge in the Dynasty Warriors series fills up as War fights and gives access to powered-up and special moves.^[9]

Action takes place both underground where puzzles play a large role, and above ground in which free roaming is allowed. A demo of the game was shown at Comic-Con 2009.^[8]

Although early impressions have led journalists to compare the game to God of War and Devil May Cry due to its strong combination of combo based sword combat and guns,^[10] designer Joe Madureira has likened it to The Legend of Zelda series.

[edit] Reception

Darksiders has been met with generally positive critical reception. The game currently holds a score of 86 (for the 360 version) and 87 (for the PS3 version) on Metacritic. Critics have mentioned some screen tearing issues in the 360 version. ^{[11] [12]} But it has also been said by the same source that the 360 version has more vibrant colours and more detail in certain instances.

Play Magazine has given Darksiders a 10 out of 10.^[13]

UK games show PLAYR has given Darksiders a 9.5 out of 10. The 0.5 loss is due to the absence of multiplayer.^[14]

Game Informer has given Darksiders an 8.5 out of 10. ^[15]

GamePro Germany has given the PS3 version of Darksiders a score of 92%, and the 360 version a score of 91%.^[16]

The Official Xbox Magazine UK has given Darksiders a 7.0 out of 10, saying "Ultimately, how much enjoyment you take will depend on whether you fall in love with the cartoonish characters and if you're willing to accept the ridiculous, convoluted plot. Darksiders is well made and passes the time, but it just lacks that 'wow' factor which would elevate it to greatness. There are far too many moments that you'll have seen a hundred times before." ^[17]

IGN UK has given Darksiders a score of 8.9 out of 10, praising the art style and solid game mechanics.^[18] IGN AU rated the game 9.0 out of 10. ^[19]. From IGN US, Darksiders received a 7.8.^[20]

Eurogamer has given Darksiders an 8/10. ^[21]

Gamespot has given Darksiders a score of 8/10

[edit] Sequel

THQ Creative Director, Luis Gigliotti revealed in an interview with GameAxis that Darksiders will be a franchise and that THQ is contemplating a sequel. The sequel may include a multiplayer component.^[22]

[edit] Film adaption

The creator, Joe Madureira, is planning the film adaptation for the game.^[23] Joe Madureira is currently working on the screenplay^[24] and will sell the rights to a Hollywood Studio.^[25]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Darksiders website
• Vigil games' website
• THQ's Darksiders Page
• GameSpot's Darksiders Spotlight
• Official teaser trailer
• The Darksiders Wiki, an external wiki