Underdome Riot is heavy on challenge and light on rewards. Only diehard teams of maxed-out mercs need apply.
The Good
* Two skill points are a juicy reward
* Lots of tough, relentless combat.
The Bad
* Lots of tough, repetitive combat
* No experience or weapon proficiency gains
* Limited number of environments
* Small bug affects loot drop visibility.
Little over a month after the release of its first downloadable content pack (The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned), Borderlands is at it again. The second serving is titled Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot in honor of the vampy ringleader who oversees the coliseum-style combat that dominates this DLC. While it has the same price tag (800 Microsoft points or $10) and follows the same naming convention as its predecessor, the similarities end there. There is no story to explore, only round after round of brutal arena combat. And though there is some good loot, you won't earn experience or increase your weapon proficiencies by killing the hordes of enemies that are thrown at you. This DLC is tailor-made for mercenaries who have hit the level cap, completed some or all of their second playthrough, and are looking to put their combat prowess to the test. Mad Moxxi provides this and only this, so anyone not interested in combat for combat's sake is advised to avoid the Underdome, and even bloodthirsty Borderlanders may find it repetitive. The Underdome is like a big three-ring circus, and Mad Moxxi is the ringleader. The opening sequence provides an amusing intro to this eccentric character, but aside from Mad Moxxi's ringside commentary (occasionally funny, often repetitive), there isn't much of that signature Borderlands humor here. The three rings are three different enclosed combat arenas inspired by different areas of Pandora. Hell-burbia is like a cross between New Haven and Jakob's Cove; Ancient Ruins is an archaeological site similar to those near the end of the main Borderlands campaign; and The Gully is straight out of Rust Commons. Each arena is dotted with structures and varying terrain, providing plenty of room to maneuver and a number of scenic elements to use to your advantage. Though each arena is well-designed, there are only three of them, and after a few hours of combat you will likely yearn for more environmental diversity.
At the outset of Underdome Riot, you pick up a quest that challenges you to survive five rounds in each arena. One round of combat is made up of five themed waves. The first is the starter wave, generally populated by bandits and skags (the only Pandoran creature featured in this DLC). The second is the self-explanatory gun wave. The third is the horde wave, which is populated entirely by psychos. Next up is the badass wave, which features a higher percentage of badass level characters than usual. And the finale is the boss stage, which pits you against such title-card characters as Sledge, Nine Toes, and Baron Flynt, as well as lesser bosses like King Wee Wee, Reaver, and Master McCloud. It behooves you to plan for the different challenges of each round (especially the maniacal horde wave), but though enemy spawns can vary quite a bit within a given wave, the action does get repetitive. You need a hearty appetite for combat to keep the repetition at bay, though there are some factors that help keep things lively.
As you fight through waves and rounds, your enemies get tougher and more numerous. They start off a bit weaker than usual, but each round brings incremental boosts to their health, shields, and damage, up to the point where they are significantly tougher and more deadly. Additionally, later rounds impose new conditions on each wave. Some merely change the circumstances, by decreasing the gravity or improving the damage done by a certain type of weapon, for example. Others increase your enemies' strength even further (for instance, enemies spawn with better guns), while still others directly hamstring you (for example, you have constantly draining health that you can replenish only by killing enemies). When these conditions stack up and combine with the aforementioned enemy attribute bonuses, you get some of the most challenging combat on all of Pandora. Meeting this challenge solo is brutally hard, so you'd better have at least one skilled teammate along for the ride. Having someone to revive you when you can't get a second wind is key, because failure will set you back many rounds or wipe the slate clean, depending on how far you've gotten. If you die while at least one teammate still lives, you are banished to the top of a tower in the middle of the arena. You can shoot, throw grenades, and use your action skill from there, but you can't escape until your team finishes the wave.
The grisly aftermath of the horde wave.
So if you're looking for a tough challenge, then you should consider paying Mad Moxxi a visit. Just don't expect to be handsomely rewarded for it. You gain no experience or weapon proficiency for killing enemies inside the arenas. And unless you have a skill that affects enemy loot drops (like Mordecai's Swipe skill), you won't be getting anything from your vanquished foes (though you can make progress toward and complete Challenges). Frantic end-of-wave resupply drops are your only chance to get ammo or health from external sources, so it's best that you rely on your own inventory or skills. At the end of each round, Mad Moxxi does offer some richer rewards in the form of guns, shields, and class mods, and the longer you survive, the better these rewards will be. Unfortunately, there's an odd bug that occasionally causes some players to be unable to see every item in the loot drop. Communication can help you work around these instances, but it's still a bit troubling. Yet no matter how many sweet weapons or solid shields you may earn, the most precious rewards you'll find are two additional skill points, which is especially tantalizing for those who have reached the level cap.
And that pretty well sums up the target demographic of Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot: those who have reached the level cap. If you and your buddies are looking to get the band of mercenaries back together, Mad Moxxi's relentless combat will fit the bill, and the skill points are a nice reward for your troubles. But the Underdome strips away a lot of the elements that make Borderlands so much fun, so this DLC may not scratch your itchy trigger finger. You don't gain experience or proficiency, the scenery doesn't change, the structure doesn't offer much variety, and there's precious little character or humor. Underdome Riot is a very narrow add-on with very limited appeal, but if you're dying for a heaping helping of pure combat, Mad Moxxi has got your fix.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Borderlands: Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot from the Amazon.com
Friday, February 12
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Review
This satirical shooter is fun, but it never takes advantage of the potential of its parodies.
The Good
* Cooperative play is a good time
* Higher difficulties offer plenty of challenge.
The Bad
* Parodies are uninspired
* Less than two hours long
* $15 is way too expensive
* Co-op play is offline only.
The Matt Hazard series of games is built on the premise that even the most popular franchises are not sacred cows. Considering that the industry frequently takes itself quite seriously, the idea of lampooning all that is dear has a certain charm to it. However, as noble as Matt Hazard's motives may be, the games in which he stars fall far short of their goal. Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond places the wisecracking hero in a 2D shooter reminiscent of Contra, and though the action rarely ventures beyond the scores of games that have come before it, it is challenging and diverse enough to keep things interesting through the two hours it takes to finish your quest. But because Blood Bath fails to take advantage of its parody material, it loses any chance to stand out from the crowd. Matt Hazard has to rescue the person he holds most near to his heart: himself. Specifically, an 8-bit representation of himself, whose death would change history, causing the present-day Hazard to die an untimely death as well. It's a convoluted story that never expects you to accept the ridiculous premise. Blood Bath takes frequent jabs at its own inane logic, poking fun at the ludicrous situation and trying to figure out if time travel really can change the present. In fact, the only humorous moments in Blood Bath are when the game makes fun of either itself or its predecessor, Eat Lead. There are many jokes about the poor sales and chilly critical reception of the first game, and those instances of self-ridicule make the game more endearing and humorous than the by-numbers action and uninspired parodies do.
The eight levels play out in typical shooter fashion. You walk from left to right and spray bullets wildly while trying to avoid the slow-moving attacks from your countless foes. You can freely aim by holding LB and moving the left stick, which works well but feels clunky compared to last year's Shadow Complex, in which you could aim while running by swiveling the right stick. There are moments in which enemies will rush you from the background, and you can aim your sights that way with a tap of the trigger. It's not a particularly new idea, but it adds some depth to the typical shooting action, forcing you to keep your eyes darting across the screen to identify any potential threat. Weapon power-ups give the tried-and-true action a bit of variety. The assortment of machine guns, rocket launchers, and shotguns let you dispose of your enemies in deadly ways, but it's the flamethrower that is the gem of your arsenal. It lights up your attackers like campfire marshmallows, leaving behind a gooey residue that probably shouldn't be eaten.
A giant boss character waits at the end of each level, giving you a worthwhile ending sequence to all this bloody carnage. The bosses are purely pattern based, but they move quickly and have powerful attacks, forcing you to stay focused the whole time or you will meet a fast, and very violent, end. The most ridiculous of these battles is against a giant robotic lighthouse. There is no explanation for why someone would have equipped a lighthouse with legs and missile pods, but it sure is fun avoiding its deadly anchor and shooting its missile right back at it. If you aren't quick on your toes, you will die frequently at these bosses' hands, which makes the game pretty darn hard. On the higher two difficulty settings, your continues are finite, so you will need to start over from the beginning of the level if you fall to these giant monstrosities. The challenge never seems unfair, and it's rewarding to make it through a particularly difficult level unscathed and finally vanquish a boss who tormented you so thoroughly in the past.
Toasty!
The different levels draw inspiration from popular video game franchises, letting you walk through familiar backdrops that will evoke a pang of nostalgia when you think back on your time spent with those vastly superior games. The first level re-creates the undersea utopia from BioShock, another places you in the eerily clean city from Mirror's Edge, and a third level mixes Team Fortress 2 and Super Mario Bros. for some unexplained reason. The parodies are not always clear (the pirate-themed second level could be mimicking anything from Tomb Raider to Pirates of the Burning Sea), but it is neat when you recognize a game you previously enjoyed. The problem is that Blood Bath doesn't do anything with this material. Sure, it's interesting to blast through Rapture, but there aren't any jokes about the Little Sisters or Big Daddies. The art style is the only thing Blood Bath shares with BioShock, which feels like a missed opportunity. If the end boss destroyed itself with a golf club or Matt Hazard made fun of objectivism, the parodies would have been a lot more entertaining. As it is, the parodies are strictly visual and largely forgettable.
Although the adventure can be completed in less than two hours, there is a little bit of replay value for those who enjoy collecting. Every level has three hidden cartridges, and by nabbing them all, you unlock information on unreleased games Matt Hazard starred in from his fictional past. There is an offline-only cooperative mode as well, and though it doesn't change the action at all, it is certainly more fun blasting waves of enemies with a buddy than by your lonesome. The standard shooting in Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond is solid, but there is little in this package to entice those who have already torn through thousands of enemies in dozens of other games. The parodies are the one element that could have been interesting, but they are implemented in such an uninspired way that they serve only as a reminder of how much cooler this game could have been.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond from the Amazon.com
The Good
* Cooperative play is a good time
* Higher difficulties offer plenty of challenge.
The Bad
* Parodies are uninspired
* Less than two hours long
* $15 is way too expensive
* Co-op play is offline only.
The Matt Hazard series of games is built on the premise that even the most popular franchises are not sacred cows. Considering that the industry frequently takes itself quite seriously, the idea of lampooning all that is dear has a certain charm to it. However, as noble as Matt Hazard's motives may be, the games in which he stars fall far short of their goal. Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond places the wisecracking hero in a 2D shooter reminiscent of Contra, and though the action rarely ventures beyond the scores of games that have come before it, it is challenging and diverse enough to keep things interesting through the two hours it takes to finish your quest. But because Blood Bath fails to take advantage of its parody material, it loses any chance to stand out from the crowd. Matt Hazard has to rescue the person he holds most near to his heart: himself. Specifically, an 8-bit representation of himself, whose death would change history, causing the present-day Hazard to die an untimely death as well. It's a convoluted story that never expects you to accept the ridiculous premise. Blood Bath takes frequent jabs at its own inane logic, poking fun at the ludicrous situation and trying to figure out if time travel really can change the present. In fact, the only humorous moments in Blood Bath are when the game makes fun of either itself or its predecessor, Eat Lead. There are many jokes about the poor sales and chilly critical reception of the first game, and those instances of self-ridicule make the game more endearing and humorous than the by-numbers action and uninspired parodies do.
The eight levels play out in typical shooter fashion. You walk from left to right and spray bullets wildly while trying to avoid the slow-moving attacks from your countless foes. You can freely aim by holding LB and moving the left stick, which works well but feels clunky compared to last year's Shadow Complex, in which you could aim while running by swiveling the right stick. There are moments in which enemies will rush you from the background, and you can aim your sights that way with a tap of the trigger. It's not a particularly new idea, but it adds some depth to the typical shooting action, forcing you to keep your eyes darting across the screen to identify any potential threat. Weapon power-ups give the tried-and-true action a bit of variety. The assortment of machine guns, rocket launchers, and shotguns let you dispose of your enemies in deadly ways, but it's the flamethrower that is the gem of your arsenal. It lights up your attackers like campfire marshmallows, leaving behind a gooey residue that probably shouldn't be eaten.
A giant boss character waits at the end of each level, giving you a worthwhile ending sequence to all this bloody carnage. The bosses are purely pattern based, but they move quickly and have powerful attacks, forcing you to stay focused the whole time or you will meet a fast, and very violent, end. The most ridiculous of these battles is against a giant robotic lighthouse. There is no explanation for why someone would have equipped a lighthouse with legs and missile pods, but it sure is fun avoiding its deadly anchor and shooting its missile right back at it. If you aren't quick on your toes, you will die frequently at these bosses' hands, which makes the game pretty darn hard. On the higher two difficulty settings, your continues are finite, so you will need to start over from the beginning of the level if you fall to these giant monstrosities. The challenge never seems unfair, and it's rewarding to make it through a particularly difficult level unscathed and finally vanquish a boss who tormented you so thoroughly in the past.
Toasty!
The different levels draw inspiration from popular video game franchises, letting you walk through familiar backdrops that will evoke a pang of nostalgia when you think back on your time spent with those vastly superior games. The first level re-creates the undersea utopia from BioShock, another places you in the eerily clean city from Mirror's Edge, and a third level mixes Team Fortress 2 and Super Mario Bros. for some unexplained reason. The parodies are not always clear (the pirate-themed second level could be mimicking anything from Tomb Raider to Pirates of the Burning Sea), but it is neat when you recognize a game you previously enjoyed. The problem is that Blood Bath doesn't do anything with this material. Sure, it's interesting to blast through Rapture, but there aren't any jokes about the Little Sisters or Big Daddies. The art style is the only thing Blood Bath shares with BioShock, which feels like a missed opportunity. If the end boss destroyed itself with a golf club or Matt Hazard made fun of objectivism, the parodies would have been a lot more entertaining. As it is, the parodies are strictly visual and largely forgettable.
Although the adventure can be completed in less than two hours, there is a little bit of replay value for those who enjoy collecting. Every level has three hidden cartridges, and by nabbing them all, you unlock information on unreleased games Matt Hazard starred in from his fictional past. There is an offline-only cooperative mode as well, and though it doesn't change the action at all, it is certainly more fun blasting waves of enemies with a buddy than by your lonesome. The standard shooting in Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond is solid, but there is little in this package to entice those who have already torn through thousands of enemies in dozens of other games. The parodies are the one element that could have been interesting, but they are implemented in such an uninspired way that they serve only as a reminder of how much cooler this game could have been.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond from the Amazon.com
King's Bounty: Armored Princess Review
It may be derivative, but King's Bounty: Armored Princess is still an outstanding strategy role-playing game.
The Good
* Brilliantly nails the traditional strategy RPG formula
* Lots of depth with units, spells, magical items, and hero development
* Colorful plot with memorable characters.
The Bad
* Difficulty ramps up too quickly
* Dated visuals and sound.
King's Bounty: Armored Princess does more of the same really well. The stand-alone expansion to 2008's cult hit King's Bounty: The Legend adds virtually nothing to the original's strategy role-playing game formula, but the game does all of the by-the-numbers stuff so perfectly that you can't help but love the deja vu. While developer Katauri Interactive isn't going to win any awards for innovation here, this is still a must-play for anyone who loves this genre. Assaulting cartoonish undead castles with a collection of D&D refugees is just part of the adventure.
Most of the plot of Armored Princess is a straightforward extension of the original King's Bounty. The demons that you fought as the champion of the fantasy realm Endoria are back for round two, and only the armored princess of the title stands in their way. Princess Amelie is the hero you play as here, a maid in mail who winds up being sent to the alternate reality of Teana on a hunt for her mentor, the knight Bill Gilbert, and eight magical stones that can save the world. This basically turns into an tropical getaway because Teana is kind of a Caribbean world divided into a succession of fairly small islands, each with distinct personalities. One is full of pirates, for instance, another loaded with barbarians, and so on. This adds an energetic atmosphere to the new game and breaks up your adventure into easily digestible chunks. This structure also bluntly lets you know how you're doing because you can tell pretty much immediately whether or not you have enough levels under your belt to take on an island. Running into a bunch of invincible barbarians on a new island is a pretty good cue that you should kick your sailboat into reverse. New islands generally have to be accessed with maps that must be taken from tough enemies, too, which also keeps you from getting ahead of yourself for the most part.
Plot and basic structure are identical to that in both its predecessor and tons of other Heroes of Might & Magic-inspired sagas. You guide Amelie across intricate maps of fairly traditional fantasy lands (enemies generally come with claws, swords, and shields, although you do run into the odd robot) with a horde of units in tow that serve as shock troops for battles. Whenever you take on some bad guys, these grunts do the fighting for you, although you give them their marching orders on turn-based hexagonal battlefields. Amelie starts off as a first-level wuss of a paladin, mage, or warrior (your choice) that can recruit only basic bowmen, clerics, and pitchfork-wielding peasants into her army. But with time, levels, and increases in her leadership stat, she will be able to field troops like giant snakes, giant spiders, ancient bears, sneaky buccaneers, creepy vampires, and many other D&D refugees. The goal is, of course, to explore the nooks and crannies of the islands, as well as slay evildoers and monsters. You'll also solve quests; buff Amelie by leveling up and tweaking her many might, mind, or magic abilities via an extensive skill tree; and progress to the final showdown. One significant addition is a pet dragon that levels up and has special abilities that can be used in combat. The beast's role isn't well defined, though, so it seems less like a traveling buddy than a way to cast extra spells during battles.
So there are no stop-the-presses moments here. The only real difference between the first King's Bounty and its follow-up is how quickly the difficulty scales up. Armored Princess assumes that you have played the original, which means that it gets right to the point. Battles turn tough as soon as you reach the second island, forcing you to really learn the ins and outs of the game's hero skill progression tree, as well as how to best recruit and employ troops in battle. You will have a rough time of it here unless you have either played the first game or have some previous experience with strategy RPGs. Still, it's not an unfair progression. The difficulty increases quickly but not suddenly. If you're paying attention at all, you won't get caught by impossible opposition. It's not as if you go directly from whomping spiders and pirates to getting scorched by invincible demons. And even when you're in tough against serious opposition, the incredibly detailed maps provide entertainment all on their own. Exploration is even more of an entertaining diversion than combat because your speed on horseback allows you to gallop away from impossible-to-defeat baddies and even occasionally snipe a big reward or reach a castle where you can recruit powerful units without fighting. Maps have goodies crammed into every nook and cranny, including buried chests full of gold, magical doodads, and the mystic runes that power Amelie's skills. Quests can be found all over the place, and they are typically offered up along with reams of colorful text that develop Amelie's personality and build up Teana as a real place through the collection of oddballs handing out these jobs. You can safely skip all this verbiage, of course, but taking the time to read it all is rewarding if you're seriously into role playing.
Battlegrounds range from sinister underground lairs to sunny tropical beaches.
With all that said, Armored Princess feels dated at times. The graphics engine is really showing its age now but the art style is more cartoony than realistic, so the game can get away with broad caricatures, chunky monster models, and whiz-bang spell effects. These consist of fireworks and cheesy animations like spooky faces indicating units being scared. Islands and battle arenas are stocked with lots of added details as well, including cobwebby corners and overgrown graveyards. But there are also some performance issues here, most notably how you get stuck on scenery when guiding Amelie around the islands. Clicking on inaccessible areas--which is easy to do because the islands are veritable mazes of narrow paths and greenery--causes her to simply stop and wait for a new order. This is both annoying and life threatening because these inopportune pauses can get you caught by pursuing enemies. Audio is also archaic. Unit sound effects in battle are almost nonexistent and never memorable even when you can hear them. Music is also a generic blat of horns that you'll forget moments after shutting down the game.
Even though it may be a slave to its genre, King's Bounty: Armored Princess is still an impressive representation of the modern strategy RPG. Story, exploration, combat, and character development come together in a great, addictive game that will keep you hooked for many, many hours.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of King's Bounty: Armored Princess from the Amazon.com
The Good
* Brilliantly nails the traditional strategy RPG formula
* Lots of depth with units, spells, magical items, and hero development
* Colorful plot with memorable characters.
The Bad
* Difficulty ramps up too quickly
* Dated visuals and sound.
King's Bounty: Armored Princess does more of the same really well. The stand-alone expansion to 2008's cult hit King's Bounty: The Legend adds virtually nothing to the original's strategy role-playing game formula, but the game does all of the by-the-numbers stuff so perfectly that you can't help but love the deja vu. While developer Katauri Interactive isn't going to win any awards for innovation here, this is still a must-play for anyone who loves this genre. Assaulting cartoonish undead castles with a collection of D&D refugees is just part of the adventure.
Most of the plot of Armored Princess is a straightforward extension of the original King's Bounty. The demons that you fought as the champion of the fantasy realm Endoria are back for round two, and only the armored princess of the title stands in their way. Princess Amelie is the hero you play as here, a maid in mail who winds up being sent to the alternate reality of Teana on a hunt for her mentor, the knight Bill Gilbert, and eight magical stones that can save the world. This basically turns into an tropical getaway because Teana is kind of a Caribbean world divided into a succession of fairly small islands, each with distinct personalities. One is full of pirates, for instance, another loaded with barbarians, and so on. This adds an energetic atmosphere to the new game and breaks up your adventure into easily digestible chunks. This structure also bluntly lets you know how you're doing because you can tell pretty much immediately whether or not you have enough levels under your belt to take on an island. Running into a bunch of invincible barbarians on a new island is a pretty good cue that you should kick your sailboat into reverse. New islands generally have to be accessed with maps that must be taken from tough enemies, too, which also keeps you from getting ahead of yourself for the most part.
Plot and basic structure are identical to that in both its predecessor and tons of other Heroes of Might & Magic-inspired sagas. You guide Amelie across intricate maps of fairly traditional fantasy lands (enemies generally come with claws, swords, and shields, although you do run into the odd robot) with a horde of units in tow that serve as shock troops for battles. Whenever you take on some bad guys, these grunts do the fighting for you, although you give them their marching orders on turn-based hexagonal battlefields. Amelie starts off as a first-level wuss of a paladin, mage, or warrior (your choice) that can recruit only basic bowmen, clerics, and pitchfork-wielding peasants into her army. But with time, levels, and increases in her leadership stat, she will be able to field troops like giant snakes, giant spiders, ancient bears, sneaky buccaneers, creepy vampires, and many other D&D refugees. The goal is, of course, to explore the nooks and crannies of the islands, as well as slay evildoers and monsters. You'll also solve quests; buff Amelie by leveling up and tweaking her many might, mind, or magic abilities via an extensive skill tree; and progress to the final showdown. One significant addition is a pet dragon that levels up and has special abilities that can be used in combat. The beast's role isn't well defined, though, so it seems less like a traveling buddy than a way to cast extra spells during battles.
So there are no stop-the-presses moments here. The only real difference between the first King's Bounty and its follow-up is how quickly the difficulty scales up. Armored Princess assumes that you have played the original, which means that it gets right to the point. Battles turn tough as soon as you reach the second island, forcing you to really learn the ins and outs of the game's hero skill progression tree, as well as how to best recruit and employ troops in battle. You will have a rough time of it here unless you have either played the first game or have some previous experience with strategy RPGs. Still, it's not an unfair progression. The difficulty increases quickly but not suddenly. If you're paying attention at all, you won't get caught by impossible opposition. It's not as if you go directly from whomping spiders and pirates to getting scorched by invincible demons. And even when you're in tough against serious opposition, the incredibly detailed maps provide entertainment all on their own. Exploration is even more of an entertaining diversion than combat because your speed on horseback allows you to gallop away from impossible-to-defeat baddies and even occasionally snipe a big reward or reach a castle where you can recruit powerful units without fighting. Maps have goodies crammed into every nook and cranny, including buried chests full of gold, magical doodads, and the mystic runes that power Amelie's skills. Quests can be found all over the place, and they are typically offered up along with reams of colorful text that develop Amelie's personality and build up Teana as a real place through the collection of oddballs handing out these jobs. You can safely skip all this verbiage, of course, but taking the time to read it all is rewarding if you're seriously into role playing.
Battlegrounds range from sinister underground lairs to sunny tropical beaches.
With all that said, Armored Princess feels dated at times. The graphics engine is really showing its age now but the art style is more cartoony than realistic, so the game can get away with broad caricatures, chunky monster models, and whiz-bang spell effects. These consist of fireworks and cheesy animations like spooky faces indicating units being scared. Islands and battle arenas are stocked with lots of added details as well, including cobwebby corners and overgrown graveyards. But there are also some performance issues here, most notably how you get stuck on scenery when guiding Amelie around the islands. Clicking on inaccessible areas--which is easy to do because the islands are veritable mazes of narrow paths and greenery--causes her to simply stop and wait for a new order. This is both annoying and life threatening because these inopportune pauses can get you caught by pursuing enemies. Audio is also archaic. Unit sound effects in battle are almost nonexistent and never memorable even when you can hear them. Music is also a generic blat of horns that you'll forget moments after shutting down the game.
Even though it may be a slave to its genre, King's Bounty: Armored Princess is still an impressive representation of the modern strategy RPG. Story, exploration, combat, and character development come together in a great, addictive game that will keep you hooked for many, many hours.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of King's Bounty: Armored Princess from the Amazon.com
Dante's Inferno Review
Dante's epic quest loses momentum long before you reach the end.
The Good
* Combat is bloody good fun
* Some of the creature designs are gloriously vile.
The Bad
* Final one-third of the game is lousy
* Puzzles are either way too easy or just lame
* Uneven difficulty too often relies on cheap deaths.
While Dante slices through the belly of an undead beast with his razor-sharp scythe, traverses a crumbling bridge with a quick-time event, and overthrows the ruler of a damned land with vicious determination, a burst of familiarity might flash through your mind. From the gothic art style and the vengeance-fueled story to the stationary camera clearly displaying the blood-splattering combat, Dante's Inferno is a wholesale imitation of the superb God of War series. Or, at the very least, it's desperately trying to be. Unfortunately, the impression lasts for only the first few hours. What starts as a fast-paced and epic quest to destroy Lucifer in an underworld populated by grotesque and disfigured beings, devolves into a monotonous and downright predictable hack-and-slash. Dante's Inferno gets close enough to its source material to make for a gory and satisfying few hours in hell, but its many flaws prevent it from rising to paradise. The lesson delivered by Dante's Inferno is one every person should keep in mind: Do not, under any circumstance, make a deal with the devil. You will lose, and you may not be handy enough with a scythe to hack your way out of the mess you create. In this case, Beatrice thought too highly of her husband Dante's moral character. Worried that he would lose his life while liberating heathens during his holy crusade, she comes to an agreement with Lucifer. If he stays faithful, the devil will ensure that he makes it home alive. If he loses control with a seductive slave girl, though, Beatrice will forfeit her own soul forever. The story is told using three distinct styles to chronicle Dante's descent into darkness to rescue the eternal spirit of his betrayed wife. The CGI and in-game cutscenes are expected, but it is the series of sparsely animated cartoons that stand out. These fill in the backstory of Dante's actions during the crusades and go a long way toward developing his character. The story has few surprises, but the manner in which it slowly puts Dante's entire life into perspective makes for an interesting setup for his adventure.
And the adventure does start out on a strong note. The first few hours have an epic scale that makes the descent from the earthly plain into the pits of hell feel like a momentous transition. Pathways crumble underfoot, threatening to spill you into the bubbling lava below; gargantuan creatures loom in the distance, tossing out taunts as you make you way through their defenses; and horrible abominations are introduced every few minutes. The vile enemies you battle are modeled on the circles of hell, and they do an impressive job of embodying these contemptible sins. Lust, for instance, is populated by prostitutes who were all too willing to sell their bodies while they were alive, and they are punished by having their souls sold in the afterlife. The typical anatomy of these women of ill repute is grossly exaggerated, and though you'll certainly want to avoid their disgusting makeshift lassos, their presence makes for a disturbing trip to the land of the damned.
Dante even spills blood while opening doors.
In the early stages, you will battle a number of horrific caricatures. The prostitutes of lust are followed by obese monsters who do a fine (yet gross) job of personifying gluttony, and an army of blade babies who haven't been baptized are sure to get a rise out of even the most jaded individuals. But these disgusting portrayals of the deadly sins are soon forgotten as you get deeper into your quest. After the shocking imagery used in the early going, you have only knights and wizards to look forward to, which lack the appeal of the repulsive enemies that precede them. In fact, the only memorable foes in the entire game are introduced within the first couple of hours, making the rest of the adventure much less interesting and far more predictable. Furthermore, although it makes sense that the circle of gluttony would be populated by grossly obese individuals, the fact that they pop up in heresy, anger, and every other circle doesn't mesh with the rules set in place.
The level design follows a similar descent into banality. What starts as epic and explosive soon becomes repetitive. Too much of Dante's Inferno takes place in confined rooms that don't hint at the huge world you're in, which lowers much of the impact of clawing your way through the netherworld. The puzzles that crop up only serve to artificially slow your progress rather than give you a worthwhile change of pace from the violent combat. Much of the time, endurance is the only tool you will need to complete these tests. Box-dragging or crank-turning puzzles aren't fun or mind-bending challenges. Rather they are just time wasters and only detract from the experience. The few times that they do force you to think only reinforce the poor design of these puzzles. Difficulty only exists because the camera either doesn't show you what you need to see or highlights an area that is not important. The bulk of the game focuses on Dante's expertise in eliminating forsaken souls, and the combat is the element that most closely mimics God of War. Battles are brutally violent. Your powerful scythe slashes through treacherous beasts like a hot knife through butter, and it's great fun to hack away at your enemy while you deftly roll away from its counterattacks. Quick-time events play a large part of the action, letting you take down your foes in elaborate and horrifically violent ways. The over-the-top, merciless portrayal of the combat fits in perfectly with the dark themes presented in the game, which makes it the strongest aspect of your quest. You earn souls for every enemy you kill, and these points go toward upgrading your attacks. There are both holy and unholy meters to fill, which let you personalize your moves a bit. Upgrading Dante gives you a steady stream of new attacks, and though you aren't able to unlock new weapons through the course of the game, there is enough variety to make sure combat doesn't get stale. But the combat is not without a few flaws, which results in more than a few aggravating moments. First of all, once you begin a combo, you must see it through to the end, which is maddening if you're trying to avoid an attack but Dante is stubbornly still swinging away. Second, you have a handy projectile attack, but the auto-aim functionality doesn't work right, so it's nearly impossible to hit a specific enemy in a crowded room. Third, challenge is all over the place. Most fights are fairly easy, but knockback attacks are overpowered. All too often, Dante will be caught in a chain of punishment that is impossible to break out of because enemies can attack you even when you're lying prone on the ground. It's possible to lose half of your life bar or more to these annoying situations, which makes the otherwise fun fights quite frustrating.
The quality of Dante's Inferno fluctuates wildly throughout the course of the game. During the first one-third of this eight-hour adventure, the diverse array of enemies and epic environments make for an enjoyable, hectic quest for vengeance. Things level out in the middle one-third, though. Memorable characters are no longer introduced and the level design is far less adventurous, but the frantic combat is enough to make this stretch fun, if not particularly noteworthy. The final one-third of this game is uninspired and downright bad at times, making for a wholly unsatisfying end to this derivative game. During the buildup to the end boss, level design has been virtually scrapped. Instead of tearing through the depths of hell, you are confined to a series of platforms where you must pass certain objectives before you can move forward. For instance, you will need to eliminate every enemy without summoning magic or by just using air attacks, which is just as lifeless as it sounds. This is a boring way to end the game and leaves a sour taste when the credits roll.
Oh joy, another block puzzle!
It's a shame the entirety of Dante's Inferno couldn't match the frenetic pacing and horrific imagination found in the beginning of your adventure because it could have been a worthwhile alternative to the excellent God of War series. But most of the game falls far short of its impressive beginning, which results in a repetitive and uninspired adventure that loses steam long before you reach the bitter end. Dante's Inferno is certainly fun during those hectic first few hours, but there is little reason to play beyond those parts. It's not worth visiting hell without the promise of heaven on the other side.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Dante's Inferno from the Amazon.com
The Good
* Combat is bloody good fun
* Some of the creature designs are gloriously vile.
The Bad
* Final one-third of the game is lousy
* Puzzles are either way too easy or just lame
* Uneven difficulty too often relies on cheap deaths.
While Dante slices through the belly of an undead beast with his razor-sharp scythe, traverses a crumbling bridge with a quick-time event, and overthrows the ruler of a damned land with vicious determination, a burst of familiarity might flash through your mind. From the gothic art style and the vengeance-fueled story to the stationary camera clearly displaying the blood-splattering combat, Dante's Inferno is a wholesale imitation of the superb God of War series. Or, at the very least, it's desperately trying to be. Unfortunately, the impression lasts for only the first few hours. What starts as a fast-paced and epic quest to destroy Lucifer in an underworld populated by grotesque and disfigured beings, devolves into a monotonous and downright predictable hack-and-slash. Dante's Inferno gets close enough to its source material to make for a gory and satisfying few hours in hell, but its many flaws prevent it from rising to paradise. The lesson delivered by Dante's Inferno is one every person should keep in mind: Do not, under any circumstance, make a deal with the devil. You will lose, and you may not be handy enough with a scythe to hack your way out of the mess you create. In this case, Beatrice thought too highly of her husband Dante's moral character. Worried that he would lose his life while liberating heathens during his holy crusade, she comes to an agreement with Lucifer. If he stays faithful, the devil will ensure that he makes it home alive. If he loses control with a seductive slave girl, though, Beatrice will forfeit her own soul forever. The story is told using three distinct styles to chronicle Dante's descent into darkness to rescue the eternal spirit of his betrayed wife. The CGI and in-game cutscenes are expected, but it is the series of sparsely animated cartoons that stand out. These fill in the backstory of Dante's actions during the crusades and go a long way toward developing his character. The story has few surprises, but the manner in which it slowly puts Dante's entire life into perspective makes for an interesting setup for his adventure.
And the adventure does start out on a strong note. The first few hours have an epic scale that makes the descent from the earthly plain into the pits of hell feel like a momentous transition. Pathways crumble underfoot, threatening to spill you into the bubbling lava below; gargantuan creatures loom in the distance, tossing out taunts as you make you way through their defenses; and horrible abominations are introduced every few minutes. The vile enemies you battle are modeled on the circles of hell, and they do an impressive job of embodying these contemptible sins. Lust, for instance, is populated by prostitutes who were all too willing to sell their bodies while they were alive, and they are punished by having their souls sold in the afterlife. The typical anatomy of these women of ill repute is grossly exaggerated, and though you'll certainly want to avoid their disgusting makeshift lassos, their presence makes for a disturbing trip to the land of the damned.
Dante even spills blood while opening doors.
In the early stages, you will battle a number of horrific caricatures. The prostitutes of lust are followed by obese monsters who do a fine (yet gross) job of personifying gluttony, and an army of blade babies who haven't been baptized are sure to get a rise out of even the most jaded individuals. But these disgusting portrayals of the deadly sins are soon forgotten as you get deeper into your quest. After the shocking imagery used in the early going, you have only knights and wizards to look forward to, which lack the appeal of the repulsive enemies that precede them. In fact, the only memorable foes in the entire game are introduced within the first couple of hours, making the rest of the adventure much less interesting and far more predictable. Furthermore, although it makes sense that the circle of gluttony would be populated by grossly obese individuals, the fact that they pop up in heresy, anger, and every other circle doesn't mesh with the rules set in place.
The level design follows a similar descent into banality. What starts as epic and explosive soon becomes repetitive. Too much of Dante's Inferno takes place in confined rooms that don't hint at the huge world you're in, which lowers much of the impact of clawing your way through the netherworld. The puzzles that crop up only serve to artificially slow your progress rather than give you a worthwhile change of pace from the violent combat. Much of the time, endurance is the only tool you will need to complete these tests. Box-dragging or crank-turning puzzles aren't fun or mind-bending challenges. Rather they are just time wasters and only detract from the experience. The few times that they do force you to think only reinforce the poor design of these puzzles. Difficulty only exists because the camera either doesn't show you what you need to see or highlights an area that is not important. The bulk of the game focuses on Dante's expertise in eliminating forsaken souls, and the combat is the element that most closely mimics God of War. Battles are brutally violent. Your powerful scythe slashes through treacherous beasts like a hot knife through butter, and it's great fun to hack away at your enemy while you deftly roll away from its counterattacks. Quick-time events play a large part of the action, letting you take down your foes in elaborate and horrifically violent ways. The over-the-top, merciless portrayal of the combat fits in perfectly with the dark themes presented in the game, which makes it the strongest aspect of your quest. You earn souls for every enemy you kill, and these points go toward upgrading your attacks. There are both holy and unholy meters to fill, which let you personalize your moves a bit. Upgrading Dante gives you a steady stream of new attacks, and though you aren't able to unlock new weapons through the course of the game, there is enough variety to make sure combat doesn't get stale. But the combat is not without a few flaws, which results in more than a few aggravating moments. First of all, once you begin a combo, you must see it through to the end, which is maddening if you're trying to avoid an attack but Dante is stubbornly still swinging away. Second, you have a handy projectile attack, but the auto-aim functionality doesn't work right, so it's nearly impossible to hit a specific enemy in a crowded room. Third, challenge is all over the place. Most fights are fairly easy, but knockback attacks are overpowered. All too often, Dante will be caught in a chain of punishment that is impossible to break out of because enemies can attack you even when you're lying prone on the ground. It's possible to lose half of your life bar or more to these annoying situations, which makes the otherwise fun fights quite frustrating.
The quality of Dante's Inferno fluctuates wildly throughout the course of the game. During the first one-third of this eight-hour adventure, the diverse array of enemies and epic environments make for an enjoyable, hectic quest for vengeance. Things level out in the middle one-third, though. Memorable characters are no longer introduced and the level design is far less adventurous, but the frantic combat is enough to make this stretch fun, if not particularly noteworthy. The final one-third of this game is uninspired and downright bad at times, making for a wholly unsatisfying end to this derivative game. During the buildup to the end boss, level design has been virtually scrapped. Instead of tearing through the depths of hell, you are confined to a series of platforms where you must pass certain objectives before you can move forward. For instance, you will need to eliminate every enemy without summoning magic or by just using air attacks, which is just as lifeless as it sounds. This is a boring way to end the game and leaves a sour taste when the credits roll.
Oh joy, another block puzzle!
It's a shame the entirety of Dante's Inferno couldn't match the frenetic pacing and horrific imagination found in the beginning of your adventure because it could have been a worthwhile alternative to the excellent God of War series. But most of the game falls far short of its impressive beginning, which results in a repetitive and uninspired adventure that loses steam long before you reach the bitter end. Dante's Inferno is certainly fun during those hectic first few hours, but there is little reason to play beyond those parts. It's not worth visiting hell without the promise of heaven on the other side.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Dante's Inferno from the Amazon.com
Darksiders
An uproariously fun and enjoyable post-Apocalyptic adventure that is a little too familiar at times.
The Good
* Fun, fluid, and brutal combat
* Plenty of satisfying puzzles to solve
* Constant rewards keep you wanting to play
* Large world to explore with a lengthy single-player campaign.
The Bad
* Controls are overly complicated and sometimes unresponsive
* Absurd and meager story.
While plenty of games are set in a postapocalyptic wasteland, not many let you participate in the actual end of the world. In the case of Darksiders, this is precisely where the action begins. Influenced by games like God of War and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (and often dangerously straddling the line between homage and plagiarism), Darksiders offers an expansive world to explore, with satisfying combat and intriguing puzzles to solve peppered throughout. Though it falls prey to a poorly fleshed-out story and overly complex controls that don't always work the way they should, Darksiders is nonetheless a thoroughly fun and visually engaging adventure that manages to take some old ideas and make them feel fresh once again.
As War, the red rider of the Four Horsemen, your job is pretty simple. An enforcer of the Charred Council, a neutral body that maintains the balance between the forces of heaven and hell, you apply pressure to make sure that both sides play fair in their endless bickering. Perhaps the Four Horsemen's most important duty, however, is to heed the call of the Endwar and punish anyone unlucky enough to be found on Earth. When you're somehow prematurely summoned to Earth, which begins a chain of events that ends with the unfortunate extinction of humankind and the victory of the armies of The Destroyer, it's time for vengeance. You are charged with the crime of upsetting the balance and are sent back to Earth to find answers, or die trying. Though it's a grand setup, once the first hour or so of gameplay passes, the plot quickly runs out of steam and devolves into absurdity. None of the characters you're introduced to are fleshed out beyond weak stereotypes and one-dimensional cliches, and the various plot twists and turns are predictable and unsatisfying.
While wandering through the great wasteland that was once civilization, War takes out his boundless rage on both the legions of The Destroyer and the armies of heaven in fun and brutal combat. Slow-paced and methodical, battles typically pit you against large numbers of foes, which the wide, sweeping strikes of War's weapons allow you to hit en masse. Once beaten to within an inch of their lives, enemies can be brutally executed with the press of a single button (indicated by a floating button icon above their heads), though some of the weaker enemies can be similarly dispatched from the get-go. Besides his massive sword, War can have a secondary weapon equipped (such as his brother Death's scythe), and it's simple to switch between the two even during a furious assault. With a quick sliding move that can be activated at almost any time to dodge an attack or break off a combo and switch targets, War is surprisingly nimble for such a bulky guy. This freedom, when coupled with your ability to transition instantly into an execution, makes fights feel extremely fluid, even when their generally slow pace is taken into consideration. But while it's incredibly satisfying to eviscerate an enormous horned devil or cut the wings off an armored angel, battle is, surprisingly enough for a guy named War, only one half of the equation.
Executions are bloody, violent, and fun to perform.
When you're not on the warpath, there's an enormous world waiting to be explored and dozens of intriguing puzzles to solve along the way. Traversing from one area to the next isn't always straightforward, for your progress is often hindered by your gear, or at least by your lack of it. As you proceed through the many dungeons on your journey through Darksiders, you find that each one includes a useful new item, such as a bladed boomerang, a grappling hook, or an armored gauntlet, each of which opens up new paths for you to travel and is used in often creative ways to solve puzzles and defeat bosses from then on out. Puzzle complexity ramps up nicely, and each new variation encountered is a fair step up from the previous one. Though some can initially look overwhelming--such as a series of puzzles near the end of the game in which you must redirect a beam of energy from its source using mirrors, moving platforms, and interdimensional portals--they never feel impossible and are extremely gratifying to complete. At the end of each dungeon is a large-scale boss battle that puts what you've learned solving these puzzles to the test. These impressive, multifaceted fights are sometimes a bit on the easy side, but not so much that it makes them any less fun.
Throughout the game, you are constantly rewarded with new pieces of equipment, weapons, and abilities--every hour of gameplay yields something new, which keeps you wanting to play to see what's next. The unfortunate downside of this is that there are so many different things to keep track of that it can get confusing sometimes. Unfortunately, the complex controls don't do much to curb this confusion. Every single face button on the controller is used (sometimes for more than one thing), and some moves require combinations of buttons to be pressed. Certain actions, such as throwing a charged boomerang at several targets, require a dizzying array of inputs to be made: in this case, you have to tap the right analog stick to enter aiming mode, hold the left trigger down, paint your targets with the cursor, and hold then release the right trigger to finally charge the boomerang and toss it. Because only so many pieces of gear can be instantly accessible through the D pad, in the latter parts of the game you'll find yourself frequenting the cumbersome inventory menu to swap out items for easy access, which can be annoying. Finally, the controls aren't always as responsive as they need to be, which can cause you to flub a jump, miss a dodge, or inexplicably fall while hanging off a wall or ceiling when you meant to do something entirely different. This doesn't happen often, but it's always troubling when it does.
War's a pretty big guy, but many of his opponents tower over him.
Though the world of Darksiders is one of decay and neglect following the premature apocalypse, it is still one of visual splendor. From the lush vegetation of the Drowned Pass to the barren desert of The Ashlands, a refreshingly bright and colorful palette is always on display. Varied and imaginative, the open world and dungeons look great, though there are some unfortunate graphical issues in the Xbox 360 version. Screen tearing is a huge problem that surfaces almost any time the camera is rotated, and it's bad enough to distract you even when you're just exploring. In addition, battles that get too big make the frame rate suffer, causing graphical slowdown. The PlayStation 3 version suffers neither of these issues. Action in Darksiders is punctuated by an appropriately moody and atmospheric soundtrack, and the vocal cast does a good job bringing the characters to life, considering how meagerly they're fleshed out. Mark Hamill in particular seems to relish his role as the Watcher, a sadistic demon tasked with keeping an eye on War (though it's a bit odd to hear him recycle his Joker voice so soon after Batman: Arkham Asylum).
Darksiders unapologetically borrows gameplay ideas and mechanics from all over the spectrum and is constantly cramming new ones in all the way up to the very end. While it's not innovative by any stretch of the imagination, neither is it entirely derivative, as these myriad features not only gel together surprisingly well, but when put together even feel fresh again. Though it's hobbled by a disappointing story and excessively complex controls (as well as some technical issues on the Xbox 360), Darksiders is a fun and entertaining adventure with a host of fair but challenging puzzles, a lengthy single-player campaign, and an engaging combat system.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Darksiders from the Amazon.com for just $54.99
The Good
* Fun, fluid, and brutal combat
* Plenty of satisfying puzzles to solve
* Constant rewards keep you wanting to play
* Large world to explore with a lengthy single-player campaign.
The Bad
* Controls are overly complicated and sometimes unresponsive
* Absurd and meager story.
While plenty of games are set in a postapocalyptic wasteland, not many let you participate in the actual end of the world. In the case of Darksiders, this is precisely where the action begins. Influenced by games like God of War and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (and often dangerously straddling the line between homage and plagiarism), Darksiders offers an expansive world to explore, with satisfying combat and intriguing puzzles to solve peppered throughout. Though it falls prey to a poorly fleshed-out story and overly complex controls that don't always work the way they should, Darksiders is nonetheless a thoroughly fun and visually engaging adventure that manages to take some old ideas and make them feel fresh once again.
As War, the red rider of the Four Horsemen, your job is pretty simple. An enforcer of the Charred Council, a neutral body that maintains the balance between the forces of heaven and hell, you apply pressure to make sure that both sides play fair in their endless bickering. Perhaps the Four Horsemen's most important duty, however, is to heed the call of the Endwar and punish anyone unlucky enough to be found on Earth. When you're somehow prematurely summoned to Earth, which begins a chain of events that ends with the unfortunate extinction of humankind and the victory of the armies of The Destroyer, it's time for vengeance. You are charged with the crime of upsetting the balance and are sent back to Earth to find answers, or die trying. Though it's a grand setup, once the first hour or so of gameplay passes, the plot quickly runs out of steam and devolves into absurdity. None of the characters you're introduced to are fleshed out beyond weak stereotypes and one-dimensional cliches, and the various plot twists and turns are predictable and unsatisfying.
While wandering through the great wasteland that was once civilization, War takes out his boundless rage on both the legions of The Destroyer and the armies of heaven in fun and brutal combat. Slow-paced and methodical, battles typically pit you against large numbers of foes, which the wide, sweeping strikes of War's weapons allow you to hit en masse. Once beaten to within an inch of their lives, enemies can be brutally executed with the press of a single button (indicated by a floating button icon above their heads), though some of the weaker enemies can be similarly dispatched from the get-go. Besides his massive sword, War can have a secondary weapon equipped (such as his brother Death's scythe), and it's simple to switch between the two even during a furious assault. With a quick sliding move that can be activated at almost any time to dodge an attack or break off a combo and switch targets, War is surprisingly nimble for such a bulky guy. This freedom, when coupled with your ability to transition instantly into an execution, makes fights feel extremely fluid, even when their generally slow pace is taken into consideration. But while it's incredibly satisfying to eviscerate an enormous horned devil or cut the wings off an armored angel, battle is, surprisingly enough for a guy named War, only one half of the equation.
Executions are bloody, violent, and fun to perform.
When you're not on the warpath, there's an enormous world waiting to be explored and dozens of intriguing puzzles to solve along the way. Traversing from one area to the next isn't always straightforward, for your progress is often hindered by your gear, or at least by your lack of it. As you proceed through the many dungeons on your journey through Darksiders, you find that each one includes a useful new item, such as a bladed boomerang, a grappling hook, or an armored gauntlet, each of which opens up new paths for you to travel and is used in often creative ways to solve puzzles and defeat bosses from then on out. Puzzle complexity ramps up nicely, and each new variation encountered is a fair step up from the previous one. Though some can initially look overwhelming--such as a series of puzzles near the end of the game in which you must redirect a beam of energy from its source using mirrors, moving platforms, and interdimensional portals--they never feel impossible and are extremely gratifying to complete. At the end of each dungeon is a large-scale boss battle that puts what you've learned solving these puzzles to the test. These impressive, multifaceted fights are sometimes a bit on the easy side, but not so much that it makes them any less fun.
Throughout the game, you are constantly rewarded with new pieces of equipment, weapons, and abilities--every hour of gameplay yields something new, which keeps you wanting to play to see what's next. The unfortunate downside of this is that there are so many different things to keep track of that it can get confusing sometimes. Unfortunately, the complex controls don't do much to curb this confusion. Every single face button on the controller is used (sometimes for more than one thing), and some moves require combinations of buttons to be pressed. Certain actions, such as throwing a charged boomerang at several targets, require a dizzying array of inputs to be made: in this case, you have to tap the right analog stick to enter aiming mode, hold the left trigger down, paint your targets with the cursor, and hold then release the right trigger to finally charge the boomerang and toss it. Because only so many pieces of gear can be instantly accessible through the D pad, in the latter parts of the game you'll find yourself frequenting the cumbersome inventory menu to swap out items for easy access, which can be annoying. Finally, the controls aren't always as responsive as they need to be, which can cause you to flub a jump, miss a dodge, or inexplicably fall while hanging off a wall or ceiling when you meant to do something entirely different. This doesn't happen often, but it's always troubling when it does.
War's a pretty big guy, but many of his opponents tower over him.
Though the world of Darksiders is one of decay and neglect following the premature apocalypse, it is still one of visual splendor. From the lush vegetation of the Drowned Pass to the barren desert of The Ashlands, a refreshingly bright and colorful palette is always on display. Varied and imaginative, the open world and dungeons look great, though there are some unfortunate graphical issues in the Xbox 360 version. Screen tearing is a huge problem that surfaces almost any time the camera is rotated, and it's bad enough to distract you even when you're just exploring. In addition, battles that get too big make the frame rate suffer, causing graphical slowdown. The PlayStation 3 version suffers neither of these issues. Action in Darksiders is punctuated by an appropriately moody and atmospheric soundtrack, and the vocal cast does a good job bringing the characters to life, considering how meagerly they're fleshed out. Mark Hamill in particular seems to relish his role as the Watcher, a sadistic demon tasked with keeping an eye on War (though it's a bit odd to hear him recycle his Joker voice so soon after Batman: Arkham Asylum).
Darksiders unapologetically borrows gameplay ideas and mechanics from all over the spectrum and is constantly cramming new ones in all the way up to the very end. While it's not innovative by any stretch of the imagination, neither is it entirely derivative, as these myriad features not only gel together surprisingly well, but when put together even feel fresh again. Though it's hobbled by a disappointing story and excessively complex controls (as well as some technical issues on the Xbox 360), Darksiders is a fun and entertaining adventure with a host of fair but challenging puzzles, a lengthy single-player campaign, and an engaging combat system.
If like it or you want to try hands on this game go take a copy of Darksiders from the Amazon.com for just $54.99
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