We've already had a heady look at Darksiders here at AusGamers, but as one of our most anticipated titles of 2010, and after being offered even more extensive play-time with it, we just can't hold our tongues about its awesomeness any longer. But, instead of giving you a lengthy, meaty chunk of preview text, we've decided to break the game's said awesomeness down into 10 separate parts for you to digest. These are the definitive elements as far as we're concerned here, but if you want to read our initial thoughts on the game, you need only click here. But for a more up-to-date run-down of the game without any spoilers (the other reason we chose this format), please read on for our 10 defining reasons as to why Darksiders needs to be on your must-have list for early 2010.



1. Joe Madureira
For the uninitiated, Darksiders is the mind child of revered comic-book artist/creator, Joe Madureira, whose works include the conception of Weapon X's Deadpool, the highly acclaimed Battle Chasers and more recently working with TV series, Heroes', Executive Producer, Jeph Loeb, on the critically successful The Ultimates 3. No stranger to games, Madureira left the comic industry for a while to start a game development studio called Tri-Lunar which unfortunately went bust. Madureira then moved on to Realm Interactive where he helped conceptualise Trade Wars: Dark Millennium which would eventually be known as Dungeon Runners (and was released by NCsoft when Realm Interactive were acquired by them). He went back into comics for a short stint (on the aforementioned The Ultimates 3), but also branched out once again creating Vigil Games and announcing Darksiders (originally known as Darksiders: Wrath of War). Vigil, of course, were immediately snapped up by THQ and it's looking like Joe's vision for releasing a game of his creative force is finally happening.

Best known for his unique character designs, Madureira loves accentuating his creations with enormous bodies and small heads. He details everything intricately (a feature that saw more than one of his comic works delayed, irking fans into a heated frenzy), and completely fleshes out his universes - a trait found within Darksiders consistently, and a point that acts as a perfect segue to our next reason you need to pay attention to this game.



2. Poetic License
"It all happened kind of quickly once the idea cropped up," explained Joe to AusGamers in an interview talking about Darksiders' inception. "You know, we had formed Vigil Games and there were just a few of us at the time and we were trying to decide on what the game was going to be; we knew we wanted it to be an action/adventure game - we love classic adventure games like Zelda and Metroid, but we wanted it to have a little bit more combat - and we just threw so many ideas out but no nobody really liked them. Then I was driving home in my car from one of those meetings and it just came to me: near future, apocalypse, angels and demons. And then I thought about the Four Horseman, and I actually called the guys from my car and everyone was like "dude that sounds badass"."

It's amazing how easily some things can manifest themselves with the right creative force. Madureira explained to us that he's not necessarily a religious man, but that the story of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse just seemed infinitely appealing to him, while equally pointing out that not much is known about them allowing for a sense of greater mystery and a reason to creatively fill in the gaps.

So we're given the reigns (pun intended) as War as the Apocalypse rains down on humanity. The war has begun early though, meaning something is up and War must now discover how this 'illegal' turn of events happened. What he doesn't realise is he is ultimately a pawn in all of this, and is locked away for some 100 years - himself blamed for breaking the pact between the forces of light and dark (we don't want to spoil *too much for you)*. This setting gives us a few opportunities: humans are no longer around (or at least, not in the sense of being alive - there are zombie-like humanoids pottering about the game-world), 100 years of conflict and the apocalypse has allowed for some great level design and conception and we have plenty of good guys and bad guys to interact with. A premature war has not helped anyone's standing, and so everyone in world of Darksiders has something to gain, and something to lose.



3. Scope
When mentioning the potential for creative art-direction and level-design in the wake of a 100-year war, the mind pretty much chews through possibilities. Thankfully Vigil have delivered in this way carving out a universe of infinite tangibility; where the ethereal rests alongside the once loved and now forgotten. Gutted churches, crashed sewers, massive cities and buildings all believably integrate with lava lakes, demonic fires, deathly flesh-covered walls and dungeons - the prefect residence for inhabitants of heaven and hell. The game's set-pieces are a marvel to behold, and like so many games of this overworld/dungeon underworld nature, Darksiders will have you desperately seeking the next piece of the pacing puzzle; that much-needed item or character to reveal the next part of your quest, be it deep underground or high above the sunburnt skyline - Darksiders' scope is a never-ending fuel for creative fire.

4. Characters
Amidst such creative Scope, a game also needs driving characters, and Darksiders has these in spades. While you could argue that War himself is somewhat wooden, not all the pieces of his collective personality puzzle have yet been revealed, and you have to wonder what being charged with treason and locked up for 100 years might do to someone's psyche, horseman of the apocalypse or not. But beyond our staunch protagonist, Darksiders also harbours many other colourful skull-shaped faces, angels, demons, ghouls and horseman. Along for the journey is the game's guide, and colour commentator, The Watcher (voiced by Mark Hamill) who, among other things, will generally point War in the right direction and help with puzzle-solving or knowing what to do next. Vulgrim is a collector of souls whom War will constantly have dealings with (souls are gathered every time an enemy is slain or certain environmental destruction is caused). He basically acts as something of a shop for upgrading abilities, weapons and so on. He has markers in every area meaning you're never really too far from him. You'll also bring giant gates to life with the sounding of a horn and enlist the help of others War might not have ever had reason to otherwise have a beer with.

On the enemies front, you'll face various sub-bosses and bosses, such as the limping flesh-pile known as The Jailer, or the lord of the cathedral, Tiamat - a giant bat who you watch battle it out with an angelic griffin before yourself coming face to face with her. Of course, there are three other members of War's horseman apocalypse gang, but whether or not his brethren are still friendly is something you'll need to find out for yourself. Suffice to say, adding points two and three together should give you an idea you'll not be disappointed in the quality of baddies (and goodies) on offer throughout the entire experience.



5. Weapons
War's own myriad of weapons and upgrades offer equal character to the overall game, with some default options following you the entire experience (his Chaos Eater Sword chief among them), while others are optional upgrades purchased from Vulgrim . Each of these can be integrated into combat (point six) and are also often used in the case of puzzle-solving (point seven), but go equally hand-in-hand with the idea of points, two, three and four (seeing a pattern here?). Moreover, like so many other great games of this nature, you'll begin the game a very powerful character, only to have your wares taken away, leaving the exploration and conquer of the decimated world at large (and some of its more cunning denizens) the only cure for what [weaponless] ails you. It's a fitting addition to such a large game and stands as a default foundation of pacing - which from what we've played thus far, is spot-on the money.

6. Combat
Combat is probably my only concern throughout the game, and not because it's by any means faulty. There are definitely areas in need of tweaking (such as properly incorporating finishers into overall combat counters, and equally offering up more contextual deathblows), but it's also the most ambitious part of Darksiders - so much so, we've been told Vigil had to trim it back some for fear of simply convoluting the system. The end result is a more-than-satisfactory combat experience that offers much embraced variety (from this player's perspective), with perhaps a few gaps in organic consistency we hope are addressed for the final release (we are playing preview build here). But ultimately expect to be stringing together a lot of different weapons amidst chaotic and fervent battles among hordes of minions, sub-bosses and major bosses. You'll never be disappointed, but at the moment, with a counter in place, you may wind up frustrated.



7. Puzzles
Any proponents of The Legend of Zelda series, Metroid, God of War or even Devil May Cry (mostly the two former though), will be right at home with Darksiders mature, intelligent puzzle design. There are things that don't make a lot of contextual sense (like why do bombs grow right near bombable crystal walls), but what's on offer creates a challenging a deep gameplay experience. Darksiders is also a game for core gamers, meaning Vigil presume you know what you're doing when it comes to crawling through puzzle-laden dungeons. For the most part you're activating switches, turning keys, raising and lowering platforms, defeating bosses and more, but you're never really told how to do any of it, and the further you progress into the game, the more complex they become. Some dungeons even span entire linked puzzles meaning you might be stroking your beard and exercising your cranial abilities for upwards of an hour - just on the one conceptual puzzle design. There are overworld puzzles too, and typical out-of-reach places you know you'll be coming back to with a new skill or weapon/item upgrade later. It elevates the pacing mentioned earlier, and again, factors heavily into elements such as those mentioned in point three and five.



8. Hell In 16x9 and 5.1
The audio for Darksiders is quite literally out-of-this-world, while the visuals offer up a unique gaming experience reminiscent of the games of yesteryear (see point 10). Each swing of the Chaos eater, growl of dying beast or opening of massive locked door resonates wonderfully, while the game's score is decidedly epic with all the action breaks you could hope for. Voice-acting is top-notch (and why wouldn't it be with the brilliant Mark Hamill on board) and the game's scripting also goes a long way to making this work. When you face a boss, you'll know you're facing a boss, and when something major happens, you'll be aurally told to sit up and listen.

The world of Darksiders has opted for a more cartoon/comic book style of visual approach, allowing for a greater level of art-direction. It's not a bubbly, cuddly cute game, by any measure; you'll spill copious amounts of demon blood every time you pick up the controller, but it's look at feel are very much in line with what we've known of the person sitting in point one. This is Joe Madureira's universe, and that has been translated through in spades in the visual department. It also means there's more exaggeration - allowing for a greater emphasis (at least visually) on point two. But the key point here is this is comic book-inspired fun, with plenty of blood and guts and horror thrown into the hectic action mix, and it works brilliantly. A few areas I do feel are lacking though come in no character reflections in water, a bit of lazy backdrop repetition (here and there) and a lack of definitive depiction in finisher animation sequences - hopefully addressed for the final build.



9. Ruin
As Link had Epona, so to does War have his own steed, Ruin (well he is a horseman). What's compelling about the inclusion of Ruin is his place in the grand scheme of the game. He's not just a form of transport, he's a part of War and War's arsenal with even some boss-battles requiring Ruin for defeat. Moreover, level-design has been made to reflect the duo's need for one another, and you'll find yourself utterly lost without him. In saying that, however (and much like the aforementioned Zelda reference), you won't begin the game with him, and it's not until War comes across one of his corrupted brothers he is able to set eyes upon his once trusted steed. You'll have special attacks to perform while on Ruin, but he can also be dismissed at the press of a button, fading stunningly into the earth beneath you, only to rise again at a single call. Awesome.



10. Old-School
It's been mentioned so much already, but deserves another (and its own point), and that is this is a very old-school gaming affair (with current-gen flair). The borrowed gameplay elements and foundations that draw upon such influence as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metroid and the Metroid Prime trilogy, God of War, Devil May Cry and more are reason enough to trust this is going to have the action goods, but the some of all the points mentioned above just craft a single-player experience I haven't had in a long time. If you think a lot of games are running on stale "me too" modern gaming tracks, it could be time to turn back and look at where it all came from, in a current-gen homage that more than carves its own place amidst the aforementioned list. Make no mistake, while the borrowed elements are there, Darksiders goes above and beyond to dish out its own memorable affair with a complete opus not to be missed by action/adventure junkies.

In its current form, it's by no means the benchmark, but as a first round effort from a new developments studio, this is stellar gaming and clearly a glimpse of great things to come from Vigil in the future. But in saying that, we've still barely scratched the surface of what's at hand, and if any of our issues have been addressed in the final game, 2010 will already be kicking the year off to compete with 2009. We can only hope the quality and drive of games like this in the future match what Joe and his team have done here. Old-school equals good school, and they're taking the competition to school with Darksiders. Stay tuned in the new year for our review.