Review: Darksiders: Wrath of War (Xbox 360)

Author: Vince | Date: January 17, 2010

Christian theology is a subject matter that is usually left well alone by the mainstream games market, that was until newcomers Vigil Games came along. Lead by the steady hand of former Uncanny X-Men and Battle Chasers artist Joe Madureira, Darksiders: Wrath of War tackles the subject of the ‘end of days’ as foretold in the book of revelation in the bible head on.

The game kicks off with the forces of heaven opening the seven seals in order to kick start the apocalypse prematurely before the third kingdom (the kingdom of man) is ready, this leads to angels and demons raining down on the earth in a storm of fireballs. The group put in place of maintaining the balance until the kingdom of man is ready for the war, The Charred Council, are none too pleased with the seals being broken and decide to send the 4 horsemen to investigate. Of course this was a trap and the end result is the destruction of the human race and War being framed for the crime. The council strip him of his powers and cast him back to the earth 10 years on in a bid to find out who was responsible for the treachery and attempt to restore the balance.

The first thing to grab you once your into the game is the beautiful graphics, heavily influenced by Joe’s comic book background they are bright and vibrant which is a welcome change for a post-apocalyptic game. That is not Darksiders only strength though as both the voice acting and the music fit the bill perfectly, especially Mark Hamill’s voice work for the perpetual thorn in War’s side, The Watcher, the creature assigned to make sure that War carries out his duties in a manner the council deems appropriate and he’s not afraid to make sure War knows it.

Graphics and sound alone cannot sell a game and behind the beautiful face of Darksiders lies a very well told story with plenty of twists and a smattering of humour, usually from The Watcher. Sure it seems a bit cliche in places but that doesn’t make it any less compelling, another parallel between Darksiders and the comic book world that it draws so much influence from, a refreshing change from the usual ‘disposable’ storylines in most games these days.

Despite all my praise so far, sadly it’s gameplay that lets Darksiders down. It has entered the crowded and highly competitive 3D action arena but has brought very little in the way of new features to the genre. Don’t get me wrong, Darksiders is still fun to play but contains nothing that Devil May Cry and Tomb Raider fans won’t have seen many times over, and as you get towards the end of the game constantly retracing your steps to find one of the games many hidden collectibles or chests gets old quickly.

That brings me nicely onto Darksdiers single biggest flaw, the magical replay factor, or a lack there of… As there is no multiplayer element to the game and Vigil have already gone on record to say that there will not be any DLC , so once you have bested Darksiders there is very little to draw you back apart from mopping up the last few remaining achievements.

Despite its problems Vigil have made a great debut with Darksiders. It’s great fun, entertaining for at least a full 15 hour run through of the story which goes on for much longer than you first expect and well worth playing. After that you may well find yourself waiting for the sequel that the ending sets up, possibly with some co-op multiplayer to boot, a mouth watering prospect indeed they can patch up the weaker areas of the game.