Making a sequel bigger and better often comes at the price of changing the basic gameplay to appeal to a wider audience. Fortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case with Darksiders 2, as the art style and approach to traversal and combat seem to be a logical evolution of the previous game. Thanks to a new look at the game’s actual environments and inventory systems, fans both old and new can see what’s in store when Darksiders 2 is released this summer.
In today’s role-playing genre the emphasis is moving more and more towards player choice and customization. With a story as strong as the developers at Vigil Games have come up with, granting all authority to the player just isn’t feasible, but that doesn’t mean a wide variety of play styles and some jaw-dropping armor isn’t the next best thing.
Art Director Han Randhawa had previously spoken about the versatility of gameplay possible with Death, as opposed to the previous protagonist War. That apparently won’t just be referring to combat choices but more traditional RPG aspects of gameplay, like lighter and more flexible armor and weaponry.
Changing the hero from War to Death doesn’t just mean a different character model or moveset, but new methods of moving through the game’s much larger environments. Grappling is one thing, but Death’s equally as terrifying and grotesque horse Despair will make traveling much more convenient and far faster (even faster with the pre-order speed boost).
VG 24/7 got a chance to speak with Randhawa about keeping the game Darksiders while still providing all new customization and incentives to the player. With insight comes a long look at gameplay, most notably a battle between Death and Despair and one of the game’s colossal bosses. Take a look:
It’s hard not to get excited with how polished the game already looks. The most frequent comparison in regards to the gameplay and puzzles of Darksiders is to The Legend of Zelda, and this gameplay footage certainly shows why. With the Constructs giving players some variability in combat, even players who may have completely missed out on the first game should take notice.
The impressive visuals, fluid and seemingly intuitive traversal (not to mention the incredibly gruesome combat) are all things we’d like to see done better, so hopefully THQ will get their wish of bringing Darksiders 2 to the attention of more gamers than its predecessor.
Darksiders 2 will be released on June 26, 2012 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
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Source: VG 24/7
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I can’t wait to play this on the Wii U. Looking to be a very solid game. I never played the first game but I wish I had now.
It’s not too late to pick it up still…
I’m leaning toward doing so ;D
If you have an Xbox controller and a capable PC… Play it on there. You can buy it on Steam.
Note: You can NOT use a keyboard or mouse with the game. Also, there are no real adjustable options. (The most you can adjust is sensitivity.)
But it still looks damn good and plays well.
If you have no played the first one; I highly recommend it. It’s a damn great game. (Ignore the narrow-minded fools out there who crap all over it just because it reminds them of Zelda.)
For reference… This is exactly what I’m talking about. LOL!
http://goo.gl/BVrwB
Who ever says that there pretty dumb its absolutely nothing like zelda.
Well… Of course it is. The puzzle elements of the dungeon starkly reminded me of dungeons from the Zelda series. Wondering around the overworld kind of reminded me of it, too…how you’re going from zone to zone, etc.
It’s OK if games borrow elements from other games. I mean… You can hardly avoid it anymore given that “it’s all been done before” nowadays. It becomes a matter of doing it well and in good taste and not just simply outright copying them without using a personal, customized touch.
The problem is that if a game reminds anyone of another game…AT ALL… People just start throwing a fit and chastising the developers, etc. They act as though there is NO possibility that it could still be a great game simply because something about it reminded them of another game.
It’s petty and ridiculous.
Ahh, well then i wish i could play Xbox!!
I’m a one-handed gamer though; i only use my right hand, and am limited to da selection of games i can enjoy…
But those still outweigh da ones i can’t, so i don’t b*tch ;b
Thanks for da advice though.
I might be able to play it on my computer, but then i’m hesitant of da attempt, since i’ve never favored a game on pc if it’s on a console.
Wut’s da problem with it on PS3?!
The first Darksiders was a console exclusive at first. They just ported it to PC later.
I also see a heavy influence of PoP and Shadow of the Colossus with that boss battle.
Really wish they hadn’t shown us that.
There are already going to be a ton of people decrying how much of every other game it looks like as it is.
Now they can add Shadow of the Colossus to the pile of reasons to call the game “unoriginal”. :\
I really don’t think that this game is going to do well. Which really sucks because the first one was one of my favorite games to have come out in the last few years.
I think I gel more with War than I will with Death. The character’s play style just doesn’t appeal to me nearly as much.
Character with dark, badass overtones? CHECK
Awesome, scary-lookin’ horse to ride? CHECK
Decent navigational gameplay mechanics? CHECK
Good story line? CHECK
Huge freakin’ sword? NO-GO
Well… Thanks for playing.
I don’t know. I hate to say it but I don’t think that this will be a day one buy for me. The first one was and I never regretted it for even a second. (Even if they had that annoying screen refresh line problem for the first couple of weeks before a patch fixed it.)