Darksiders: Wrath of War

Hey there folks, just thought it was worth noting that this week's Pixel Perfect review is not written by me, but by a fellow authority on gaming, and very close friend of mine, Pete Lindmark. The reason Pete offered to bail me out is because I made the foolish boast last week that I would most certainly have a review of Mass Effect 2 for you this week…and now I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Seriously, I deserve to be punished, Krogan-style for even thinking it was a possibility…I blame BioWare for releasing this massive game only a week into the school year. Anyway I'm going to go get back to finishing that game (currently on hour 25+ and nowhere near done if you were curious) and leave you to this excellent review. Keep your eyes peeled next week for Mass Effect 2!

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, Vigil Studio's first major release has flattery down to an art. This adulation came in the form of Darksiders: Wrath of War. In this realm, the four horsemen of the apocalypse (War, Death, Famine, and Pestilence) play the role of justice, keeping the balance of light and dark in check. The game starts with one of these horsemen, War, coincidentally enough, being summoned in the middle of an epic battle between angels and demons.

He is the big, bad-ass entity that one would think of when they think 'Horseman of the Apocalypse' forcing angel and demon alike to take pause before continuing the fight against each other, and eventually against War himself. Sure enough, like a storied game mechanic from the days of lore, all of War's powers and bad-ass persona are pilfered by some unknown entity, and he is struck down by a huge demon that obviously becomes the final boss of the game, or so we are led to believe. Therefore the overarching story of the game, which may not actually matter, is one of betrayal and revenge.

I say the story might not actually matter because this isn't the type of game that one plays to immerse themselves in the story of-at least not any more than one would play Fallout 3 looking for a quick, mindless game. The plot also isn't anything groundbreaking; an all powerful being gets betrayed and then decides to cut a bloody swath through everything with a pulse until he finds his betrayer and kills him in some equally abusive manner.

The weapons are just plain fun though. Sure most of them are 'borrowed' from other games that Darksiders 'pays homage to' but it uses them in such a way that they are all relevant and important in some manner throughout the game. Most of them seem to be based 'loosely' on those found in some of the great action/adventure games of the recent past.

You start with a sword that despite its being 'all-powerful' is more or less broken and you are told to restore its lost power. However you do find out later on that you could have spent hours and hours playing with your two alternate weapons instead. Then, shortly before the game ends, you have to rebuild an even more all-powerful sword in order to decapitate the final boss. Sounds a little like Ninja Gaiden, right? You also pick up random tools as the game progresses that should remind you of any Legend of Zelda game.

Instead of that annoying fairy Navi, you're followed around for the entirety of the game by a much more sadistic fairy voiced by The Joker himself-Mark Hamill! But wait, there's more. Instead of a 'boomerang' you find a Crossblade, War's version of Link's horsey Epona is named Ruin, and remember the hookshot? (my favorite of Link's goodies) Well now its been given a new coat of paint and has become the Abysmal Chain.

Finally, Darksiders flatters God of War by 'borrowing' its quicktime events (QTE) that War can use to slay any baddie who meets the end of his blade. It's fully possible to obliterate any and everything without using these moves, but if you can't kill an angel by punching him in the gut, slicing off his wings, and impaling him, why kill an angel at all? (Editor's note: it is these kinds of questions that keep me up at night) (Copy Editor's note: Also, who doesn't love a good QTE every now and again…and again…and again?)

All that being said, this game is a blast. The only times it slowed down was when I decided to grind for achievements or felt like riding my horsey around the wasteland that War likes to call home. Vigil Studios did an amazing job, considering this game marks their premiere into an already established market. So many companies consistently produce terrible game after terrible game; it's refreshing for the new kid on the block to put out something of quality.

My one big gripe with the game is that everything with a pulse tries to hamstring or stop War, except the other three horsemen. They are nowhere to be found. Maybe the big boss that War and his horsemen friends answer to decided to send them on vacation while they kicked War in the teeth for photocopying his butt or spiking the eggnog at the Horseman LLC company Christmas party.

Sure it takes a lot from other games and tries, not always too successfully, to improve on them, but try to find me a game that doesn't borrow any ideas from previous greats. Go ahead, I dare you. This game is by no means a Buy It title, but it will give any gamer a very pleasurable weekend of gameplay, affording him or her a good 7 to 10 hours of punching, stabbing, and shooting while we wait patiently for the next installment of God of War or Legend of Zelda.

Try it!