May 2010 will see the release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in movie theatres, which could very well prove to be not only a decent action adventure film, but also the first good videogame-to-film adaptation ever made. If Hollywood indeed manages to turn such a pivotal corner, it would do well to stop aping the videogame industry and instead take more cues from the industry's up-and-coming developers, as the videogame industry in recent years has been proving to be far more successful at creating ambitious, action-adventure titles from far better source material. Case in point: Sony's immensely popular God of War franchise pays homage to Greek mythology, Electronic Arts' upcoming Dante's Inferno is based on the Italian poem of the same name and THQ's soon-to-be-released action-adventure game, Darksiders, draws inspiration from one of the oldest and most read texts in existence, The Bible.
In Darksiders, players take on the role of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who has arrived on earth in the midst of an Endwar between Heaven and Hell in order to carry out his charge of purging the earth of mankind and establishing a new world order. However, upon his arrival he quickly learns that both his arrival and the End of Days have been triggered prematurely, and as a result his supernatural powers to bring about the reckoning are absent. The consequences are both swift and cataclysmic. The minions of the Destroyer, led by the demon Straga, quickly overwhelm the Army of Light, and both War and the leader of Heaven's army are crushed like insects under Straga's feet. Following a century of convalescence in dishonour and defeat, War is brought before his masters, The Charred Council, in order to receive the ultimate punishment for bringing about the Apocalypse and dooming mankind, but his defiance even in the face of eternal torture and his conviction that another force was responsible for the End of Days is enough to convince the Council to spare him long enough to seek vengeance. Armed with his sword, Chaoseater, and his powers at only a mere fraction of their former strength, War returns to the lost world of Man in order to uncover how both he and the Council were deceived.
Make no mistake, despite its fairly grim origins, Darksiders is very much a dyed-in the wool action-adventure game in the vein of Devil May Cry and God of War, right down to the way that War's attacks and finishers are executed by specific button sequences and how demonic enemies rise out of the floor via glyph portals. In fact, Vigil Games' General Manager David Adams and Creative Director Joe Madureira will be the first to admit that Darksiders also draws direct inspiration from other classic games like Metroid, Zelda, and a few other much-loved franchises that one might not expect. Nevertheless, where Darksiders is bound to surprise and impress is how it fuses these various elements into a unique, deep, and challenging game experience that is far more intriguing and entertaining than the sum of its parts.
Much of Darksiders' novelty stems not only from its Biblical theme (one that has rarely been explored in videogames to such a literal extent), but also from its distinctive art design, spearheaded by the aforementioned Madureira, well known by comic book fans for his past work on X-Men and Battle Chasers. Madureira's signature style is brought to living, breathing reality in the world of Darksiders, and each and every environment, character and special effect is infused with his penchant for the beautiful and the grotesque. The visuals of Darksiders are simply jaw-dropping and stand alongside the recent Batman: Arkham Asylum as proof that the vivid, detailed world of comic books can be fully realized in the three-dimensional realm of videogames without compromise - that is, when the creative team is talented and dedicated enough to do the work.
Just a few hours with Darksiders will reveal a very solid game lurking underneath its visual trappings as well.
Darksiders' anti-hero War boasts a death-dealing arsenal that any action-junkie could possibly want in a protagonist, including among the most basic the Chaoseater, a monstrous sword whose mangled blade equals its wielder in height; the Harvester, a soul-consuming, barbed-scythe on loan from War's fellow Horseman, Death; the Crossblade, a shuriken capable of felling several lesser foes in a single throw or cleaving a stronger foe in two like a buzz saw; and Mercy, a lethal, four-barrelled pistol that will force even the minions of the Destroyer and the Army of Light alike to question whether they are feeling lucky. Naturally, as War begins the game stripped of his true abilities and trusted weapons, he must earn, reclaim and even barter each and every one of them back through battle, exploration and the trade of souls collected from the ensuing carnage. Fortunately, Darksiders promises plenty of opportunity to do so with a generous dose of combat and environmental puzzles for players to test their dexterity and wits against. To assist in the former, War can purchase weapons and upgrade his weapon skills by trading collected souls and rare artifacts with the demon-merchant Vulgrim, and can similarly upgrade his armour and health by collecting armour and health shards. To aid his progress in the latter, there are several indispensable tools (referred to as Gear Items) that War must find in order to navigate and solve the many dungeons and puzzles which stand between him, the Destroyer's five guardians (called The Chosen) and ultimately the Destroyer himself, and certain weapons such as the Crossblade and the Abyssal Chain serve double duty in this regard, providing access to otherwise unreachable areas. Then further stacked upon these abilities and tools are additional passive abilities, offensive and defensive Wrath powers (including the Chaos form, the ultimate manifestation of War's powers), and of course, the eventual ability to ride War's steed, Ruin, to complete Vigil's Games' interpretation of the dreaded harbinger. The result is an embarrassment of gameplay riches that at the very least establishes War as a quadruple threat in the quickly growing pantheon of 2010 anti-heroes.
And what would a great anti-hero be without the right sidekick? Fresh from his acclaimed turn as the Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum, Mark Hamill of provides the acid-tongued voice of The Watcher, a wraithlike overseer charged by War's masters with ensuring the horseman does not stray from his mission of vengeance. Residing in War's forearm, the Watcher can be summoned by the player at any time for a reminder of what War's current objective is, and at key points in the story he will also appear to provide specific instructions on how to proceed. What role the Watcher will ultimately play in the conclusion of War's story is a mystery, but players need not worry about the demon wearing out his welcome, as his appearances are surprisingly understated, given Hamill's talent. Players who need hints or simply love the sound of the actor's voice can have the Watcher on tap simply by pressing the Select button, but more independent players who refuse to call upon him will only see and hear him at obligatory points or cutscenes. Not to be overshadowed by star power, Darksiders boasts a cast over 30 characters and creatures, all perfectly embodied by a stellar cast of voice talent. During several hours of preview time with the game there was not one voice, sound effect or creature utterance that this reviewer found to ring false or detract from the experience. If the finished product should fail in any area, it is highly unlikely to be in the voices, sound or musical score department, as all of these were top notch in the final preview build.
As of this writing, Darksiders is still over two weeks away from release, but based on the preview build alone all signs would appear to point to THQ having another hit on its hands in early 2010. For a quality, action-adventure title, Darksiders easily checks all the boxes: solid gameplay, plenty of action, a large variety of enemies (including bosses and mini-bosses), challenging puzzles, unique and varied environments that encourage exploration and backtracking, and top shelf production values. But it is the inimitable comic book style of Madureira and his creative team that will likely ensure that this game gets noticed and the potential of the source material and story that will keep gamers who are looking for something fresh and new wholly engaged.
Check back in the coming days to find out if Darksiders is indeed the "Dark Horse" in Q1 2010.
