Darksiders II

gamedynamo .co m http://www.gamedynamo.com/game/show/1/1574/en/pc/darksiders_ii ..Darksiders II.. A Hell of a Good Time REVIEW | Author: John Arkontaky Moving away f rom the hooded, silent menace we know him f or, Darksiders II stars a stylized version of Death. With ninja mobility, purple skin, a hockey mask, and a wry personality, this might not be the Grim Reaper you're f amiliar with. Still, once you get to know the guy, you'll realize he's not so bad… f or a vicious, unapologetic killer. Darksiders II wastes no time picking up where the f irst game ended. The Charred Council imprisoned War f or bringing the apocalypse to Earth, and Death saddles up to help f ree War f rom bondage. However, War's f reedom is a tall order, even f or Death. Developer Vigil Games craf ts a universe more deep and broad than the river Styx. The scale of the various realms and characters def ines epic. The dungeons are gorgeously craf ted. Friendly cities and ruins beg f or exploration. Simply put, Darksiders II is a sight to behold. This is a universe worth getting lost in. However, if you're not caref ul, you may truly get lost. The story, while intriguing, can be hard to keep up with. Have you ever been in a room where you met ten strangers in 30 seconds? Well, Darksiders II is going to introduce you to a lot of supernatural races and odd terminology that comes with the f antasy-laden storyline, so brace yourself (or f ind a good wiki). Also, those who haven't played the f irst Darksiders may f ind it dif f icult to catch up or swallow the idea that Death has a health meter and can die. Still, if you hold on long enough, the journey proves to be worth a f ew bumps along the way. Darksiders II of f ers plenty of smart, well-designed puzzles that can be solved intuitively. Nevertheless, Death has to occasionally pull over and ask f or directions, which takes away f rom the overall experience. The levels are masterf ully designed, of f ering simple and complex puzzles throughout the campaign. Unless you solve Rubik's cubes in your sleep, get ready f or backtracking now and again. Death's crow, Dust, supposedly helps navigation, but the buzzard gets conf used too of ten to be trusted. Death might not be the f irst person to invite to a corn maze, but he knows his way around a scythe. Combat in Darksiders II is crisp, f ast, technical and satisf ying. Basic combos are easy to pull of f and of f er delights f or high-combo junkies and button mashers alike. Beyond swinging akimbo scythes, Death has access to secondary weapons ranging f rom hammers to hand blades, and mixing scythe and secondary attacks f eels great. When he's really in the groove, Death transf orms into his Reaper f orm, which not only deals bigtime damage, it's undoubtedly badass. These moments will put a smile on your f ace every time. Death can dip into a bloody pool of special attacks thanks to an upgrade tree spanning melee and necromancer abilities. Some upgrades in Darksiders II are more f un than others, but all have balance and purpose, which makes unlocking new abilities a treat throughout the campaign. There are only f our hotkeys f or special abilities, but thankf ully Death can swap in new moves quickly without entering the inventory screen. While I never pictured Death as materialistic, he sure loves a shiny new set of armor. Loot drops f rom enemies and treasure chests are sprinkled shamelessly throughout Darksiders II. Vigil Games never explains what buf f s do or how to best utilize armor to coincide with a player's play style, and I didn't f ind them to make a big dif f erence, but armor buf f s abound f or those willing to dabble with conf igurations. For you pirates out there, Darksiders II of f ers special loot and all the carnage your booty-obsessed brain can handle in The Crucible. This is a game mode separate f rom the campaign where Death f aces of f against goons in a 100-level challenge. Players can opt to take the loot and run, or progress through rounds f or better prizes. This is a nice addition to the game of f ering challenges and f ist-pumping rewards f or those willing to slice their way to the 100th level. For those of you who have simply too many scythes, talismans, and pauldrons, The Serpent Tomes is an in-game mailing system allowing players to gif t loot to f riends. Who said Death doesn't have a heart? Darksiders II might be hard f or some people to swallow. Death doesn't look or act like the traditional Grim Reaper. He sometimes has to f ight giant hermit crabs. Some inaccessible items dangle out of reach teasing you throughout the campaign. Its puzzles and combat don't shatter the mold. However, Vigil Games' take on the Four Hoursemen opens a world of possibilities where gods, like us, are pawns to a larger design. As the second installment in the series, the game gracef ully advances the story of the Horsemen and builds immeasurable depth to the universe. The Grim Reaper may not have been born f or a role like this, but he sure did a hell of a good job convincing me to keep on slicing and dicing. GameDynamo's Score f or Darksiders II (PC) Score Description Graphics 85 Who would've thought Death would look right in a colorf ul world? Though some textures are f lat, the overall artistic style and color palette stand out. Sound 70 There's nothing special about the sound. The score and sound ef f ects are f orgettable. The voice of Death sounds chillingly real, though. Gameplay 87 The pillars of gameplay, combat and puzzles, are buf f ed to a high sheen. Polish all around! Play 85 It won't break the mold f or action / adventure games, but it is f un, f air, and it has a Value good story to boot. Final 85 I never thought I'd say this, but Death is welcome in my house thanks to Darksiders Score II. Posted on 08/14/2012 | Game Played on: Xbox 360 John Arkontaky John loves gaming and loves writing about games. He wants to become a known voice in the gaming community and a game designer one day. The views of GameDynamo's writers are not necessarily the views of the website as a whole. However, we support f reedom of speech and enjoy diverse opinions about video games. Hopef ully you do too!.

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