Darksiders Preview

E3 2007 Preview

The apocalypse has come to Earth and the Four Horsemen were there, leading the destruction. It is over, but now the Horsemen have been betrayed, stripped of their most devastating powers and left on the planet. But that alone is not cause for concern. There is still a battle raging, one between the forces of heaven and hell, and the Horsemen are caught in the middle. Neither side likes them, so they are targets.

THQ’s Darksiders: Wrath of War focuses on one of the Horsemen, War, who is trying to find out what happened to the others, trying to find his horse, and trying to fend off the forces that assail him – both demonic and angelic. The title was on display at THQ’s hotel during the E3 Media & Business Summit in Santa Monica. The game is a hack and slash, in some regards, but it has puzzles and role-playing elements as well. War will come into possession of weapons other than his sword, which is upgradeable, and the game features a lot of exploration through a vibrant world that is truly next-generation. The title was shown on the 360, and most of a level was demonstrated.

From that brief look, this is a title that should sparkle the eyes and intrigue gamers looking for a good action-adventure romp.

The RPG elements come into play as War works through the devastated world. He will gain increasingly more devastating attacks and he will collect the souls of the fallen, which can be used as currency for upgrades.

This is not a game that is trying to found itself in a sense of reality; this is a game that is trying to push the limits on the genre, and trying to take it to the next level.

Joe Madueriera, the legendary comic book artist working on the title, said that “we wanted all the good eye-popping detail of the next generation” of systems. That is precisely what the demo delivered. Vibrant effects, rich textures, the game does deliver in terms of eye candy. That action is consistent as well, challenging players to not only navigate a world that has destructible elements, but to avoid or battle the hordes of enemies waiting to take a piece of the title character.

The game is single-player only and is scheduled for release on both the PS3 and 360 later in 2008.

Darksiders was one of those titles that immediately grabbed the eyes and attention of passers-by, and that bodes well for a title that has a talented staff working on a unique story angle.

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