My first experience with Darksiders was at last year's E3, when the dev team showed me a 30 minute guided demo of a church level. What I saw impressed me greatly. The dark, gothic art style, fused with a DMC style gameplay mechanic made me believe that this may be the perfect title to scratch my action gaming itch until God of War III makes its eventual debut. News on the title went dark for a while (no pun intended), but the game was back and playable on the show floor at this year's E3, and it's looking even better than what I saw the last time around.

Darksiders places you in the shoes of War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. War and his fellow riders are summoned to bring about the destruction and ruin of Earth but there's a problem, the Apocalypse wasn't supposed to happen yet. Now there are demons wandering the land and all fingers point at War as the cause of the sudden mayhem. He must therefore venture out to discover the truth behind what's happening, clear his name and do whatever he can to set things right.

The premise of the game is highly intriguing, and it goes a long way to compliment the title's gameplay mechanics. War packs a pretty mean sword, and by combining button presses with directional inputs players can string together all different manner of combos. Later in the game War gets hold of a pistol which he can use for ranged attacks or, after launching enemies in the air with the sword, to juggle them and take out a good chunk of their health while they're defenseless. Finally, once you wear some of the tougher baddies down far enough you can combo into a finishing move that tears them asunder in all sorts of gruesome ways. The fighting is violent and visceral but then again this is the end of the world, so would you have it any other way?



The basic mechanics are ripped pretty directly out of DMC, but the game throws in some additional combat and general gameplay techniques that make it a bit more in-depth. By attacking enemies players can power up two different gauges, one for magic and one for transformation. The magic attack made available for the demo was one in which War slammed his sword into the ground and made a bunch of other blades erupt from the area around him. This power is upgradeable, and further enhancements will grant more damage and a larger attack radius. We saw slots for at least three other powers but didn't find out what they were or how they would affect gameplay. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The other gauge governs transformation, and when it is full, War can temporarily morph into a giant demon who can lay waste to anything in its path. Consider the Balrog from the Lord of the Rings films and you'll have a fair idea of what enemies will be up against. This power takes quite a while to charge though, so don't go thinking you'll be able to plow straight through the game as an unstoppable killing machine.

Another way Darksiders is trying to set itself apart is through fairly deep and complex puzzles, which will offer a bit of a break from the frantic fighting. We saw a very simple puzzle where we had to grab a sword from a pedestal, take it to a statue and then attack it until it matched the color of another statue found in another part of the level. While this was a very simple distraction the team assured us that the puzzles do get much more challenging, and later this very same level there was a segment where players would have to figure out how to align and attack three statues at the same time in order to progress. While things likely won't get as horribly complex as some of the old point-and-click adventure games, it does sound like there may be a solid brain teaser here or there.

A lot of the focus Darksiders has gained has been due to its darker, comic book inspired, art style. Perhaps the best description is that the title looks very much like a Todd MacFarlane comic with its stark lines and heavy borders. The total package is very impressive, managing to make even the weakest of enemies look incredibly nasty while giving War the proper posture and presentation of the sort of being you wouldn't want to meet up with, alone or otherwise. It's clear that a ton of work went into making the game look just right, and that attention to detail really pays off in the end.

I left last year's E3 being tremendously excited about Darksiders, and this year I feel doubly so. Gamers who are desperately clamoring for another DMC style game will be exceptionally pleased, and those just seeking a solid action experience likely won't be let down either. With a solid foundation and attitude to spare, this is the sort of title that may very well fly under the radar right up until release but then debut with a huge splash. Keep an eye out for when THQ tells us the world is going to end, and make sure to do whatever you can not to end up on the wrong end of War's sword.