Take A Ride On The Darkside
In January, THQ walked us through a short demonstration of Darksiders II,
introducing us to its new protagonist, Death. In the time since,
details have come forth on the title's release date, its pre-order
incentives, and its Limited and Collector's editions. Then came Monday,
when the developers finally felt comfortable putting the controller in
our hands and letting us have our first taste of the upcoming
action-adventure-with-light-RPG-elements mash-up.
The demo was set near the end of the first act, we were told (the game
takes place over four major areas, each of them purported to be as large
as the entire map for the first game), and the basics of control were
explained to us. Then we were off. It turned out that our journey would
begin just after where the previous demonstration had ended, with Death
striding past a massive hammer on his way deeper into a dungeon.
Exploring the temple led to its center, where the massive, guardian
construct we were tasked with awakening stood dormant, demanding three
"heartstones" before it would come to life and help rid the Makers'
Realm of the Corruption.
Pursuing these stones took us through varied environs, from old hallways
of brick and metal to verdant clearings and chambers coursing with
lava. There were lakes as well, in which Death could swim. The scale of
these areas was incredible, elements often stretching into the distance
so far and so high that I assumed they were only background, until the
game demanded that I proceed to them. The graphics, in general, are
consistent with those of the first game, though most objects seem
somewhat smoother, their textures more intricate.
Eventually, after finding all three stones, the guardian shuddered to
life, but one of the power sources had been corrupted, and soon I was
riding atop Despair, combating a hulking behemoth that would easily have
been at home in Shadow of the Colossus. Once defeated, the demo came to
a somewhat abrupt end, the entire experience leaving me, on the whole,
tentative regarding the game. Before I go into my thoughts, though, a
few housekeeping things: First, I asked whether the game had been sent
in for certification prior to the event, which it had not as they were
still in the process of polishing it; second, the demo was based on
month-old code, and was thus not entirely representative of the game as a
whole.
That said, there's definite promise. The environments are creative and
interesting to explore, the graphics are recognizably Darksiders, but
are both cleaner and more complex than the first entry, and weapon
variety has been improved. In the demo alone, Death had tonfas, axes,
hammers, and claws available as secondary weapons. This was in addition
to his dual skill trees, each of which features multiple abilities to
buy and a series of skills that in some way modifies or powers up the
attached ability. Each of these skills could be upgraded multiple times.
Further, as mentioned before, the boss for the demo was tremendous, as
was the open field in which we fought him. In general, environments were
bigger and more open to exploration than in the first game, which only
occasionally left me feeling overwhelmed and, far more often, provided a
sense of wonder at the scale of the game.
There were a few things that irked me, but they may be fixed by release.
The frame rate was inconsistent, constantly dipping if things were
starting to get a little hectic. There was also prevalent screen
tearing, though turning on V-Sync in the options menu reduced this at
the cost of more frame rate. Platforming occasionally felt a little
wonky, with Death inconsistent about when he would grab a ledge and when
he would just bump into the same and plummet to his demise. The camera
was unwieldy, resistant to being controlled and often too close in or at
the wrong angle to give a proper sense of distance and orientation for
the target of Death's next jump.
Then, there are the elements of the game that just seem like poor design
decisions: Combat is even more button-mashy than in the first game,
since Death is a faster character. I caught myself hitting the attack
buttons in a regular, dull rhythm, only occasionally having to think
about defense. Abilities are still somewhat awkward to use, demanding
that one hold down a button that temporarily disables one's capacity for
normal attacks. As such, abilities are still unable to be worked
naturally into combat, demanding a very specific intent to use them;
often I just forgot I had them.
Most worrisome, though, are the platforming controls and the loot
system. While Death's expanded wall-running capabilities and more
acrobatic climbing are welcome, it seems somewhat unnecessary to—if one
has already used one button to specifically target and launch toward a
peg on the wall for the express purpose of boosting oneself into the
air—demand that a player press the jump button at some ill-defined time
as Death approaches the peg to actually use it correctly. This "press
jump to use the peg" concept shows up when wall-running, too, if one
wants to use one of them to continue their wall-run longer without
dropping too low. It's reminiscent of 2008's Prince of Persia reboot,
which required a ballet of button presses for various platforming feats.
As in that game, there's no feedback here to tell you whether or not
you've succeeded, until Death either uses the object correctly or
doesn't. It's a strange enough choice that I constantly caught myself
forgetting to actually hit the button as I was launching myself toward
my target.
Even this, though, is relatively minor compared to the loot system.
Equipment drops fairly often from downed enemies and springs out of
opened chests en masse. There are half a dozen different slots to equip,
from weapons and armor to accessories. It's great that there's so much
variety in what Death can wear, and that it models so well on him, but
there are seemingly innumerable characteristics that a given piece of
equipment can possess, from the basic "attack" or "defense" stats to
various elemental resistances and bonuses to specific types of damage.
Percents and scores flit around onscreen, and it's all a bit
overwhelming. Further, the number of stats any given weapon has all but
ensures that there will be a lot of red in the comparison screen, and
picking an item that suits your play-style becomes overly
time-consuming. This utterly broke the flow of the demo, which was at
its best when I was either exploring or solving puzzles.
Again, all of these impressions are based on a non-final build of the game, which has yet to be submitted for certification. What I played, though, has left me a little apprehensive about Darksiders II. The first was a hodge-podge of various genres and gameplay elements from prevalent series, but it managed to use those elements well and, as a whole, it just worked. The sequel has certainly expanded its range of inspirations, but seems to have a little trouble distinguishing what works for it from what's best left on the cutting room floor.
Credit : http://www.cheatcc.com/
Again, all of these impressions are based on a non-final build of the game, which has yet to be submitted for certification. What I played, though, has left me a little apprehensive about Darksiders II. The first was a hodge-podge of various genres and gameplay elements from prevalent series, but it managed to use those elements well and, as a whole, it just worked. The sequel has certainly expanded its range of inspirations, but seems to have a little trouble distinguishing what works for it from what's best left on the cutting room floor.
Credit : http://www.cheatcc.com/
 | By Shelby Reiches Contributing Writer  @Shelby_ArrDate: March 22, 2012 |