The original Darksiders was launched in 2010 and was a new IP from THQ. The game had some great things going for it like a refreshing story, puzzle and dungeons thrown into the mix along with some great action.

Long lifespan; Nice mix of combat and puzzles; Great animation; Great music

Lacklustre story; RPG elements may not appeal to all; Some frustrating control mechanics

N'avez-vous jamais rêvé de n'être qu'un simple observateur dans l'univers ? Ni bon ni tourné vers le mal, simplement une paire d'yeux habilitée à régir des lois se devant d'être respectées par trois mondes : le royaume des Cieux, des Enfers, et enfin, celui des Humains.

Un cocktail prenant et dynamique; Son et graphisme au poil; On n'a pas vraiment l'occasion de s'ennuyer

Ne renouvelle pas grand chose; Des finishes répétitifs; Quêtes annexes pas vraiment au rendez-vous

As compelling and charismatic as videogame protagonists have been, Death carries an inescapable gravitas. In Darksiders II , players step into the shoes of a fearsome, arrogant horseman of the Apocalypse. His imposing shadow is matched by a huge world, colossal enemies, and riches fit for a king.

Death meshes perfectly with the Darksiders world; New RPG mechanics are welcome; Vivid art design

Combat can occasionally be repetitive; Some underwhelming boss battles; Tedious camera at times

(continued from previous page) ...five for stronger loot, but if you die, you lose it all. There are 100 waves, so this mode offers an enormous challenge even for the most advanced players. The presentation is fairly good, but not the best we've seen in an action-RPG.

Fun combat and combos; The loot system is highly addicting; The enormous and engaging game world

The camera issues; Some minor visual glitches; Average narrative

Take a story based on the familiar mythology of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the lightning fast combat of combo action games, the item collecting of a dungeon-crawler, then give it the scope of a Zelda title, and you'll have an idea of what to expect from THQ's Darksiders franchise.

The new and improved; in-depth combat system; There is an excellent balance of combat; exploration; and dungeon-crawling; The challenging and rewarding dungeon puzzles

The performance stumbles without a game installation on consoles; Being forced into using the fast travel system; Tutorial pop-ups replace Mark Hamill's "Watcher" companion from the first game

The first Darksiders was an unusual mash-up, embracing the core gameplay values of the Zelda series and infusing that framework with a more mature story and some RPG flavor. Vigil Games found success in that formula, enough to justify going even bigger in Darksiders 2 .

Huge; highly varied world to explore; Traversal and dungeon puzzles make excellent use of your tools; Fun combat links with a deep RPG; Memorable music and art design; Lots of replay value

Occasionally uncooperative camera; Challenging gameplay will occasionally frustrate; Some RPG components and features could use better explanations

First comes War; then comes Death. Appropriately enough, Darksiders II turns its eyes from its predecessor's protagonist to a new one: Death himself, War's brother and one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Fluid; colorful action that evolves over time Clever; progressively more challenging environmental puzzles Allure of new; cool loot pushes you onward Expansive adventure; with lots of dungeons to explore Great audiovisual presentation sets the right apocalyptic tone

Performance issues and execution foibles Disappointing bosses; especially the final boss

Kevin VanOrd takes you through Death's epic journey in Darksiders II.

Fluid; colorful action that evolves over time; Clever; progressively more challenging environmental puzzles; Allure of new; cool loot pushes you onward; Expansive adventure; with lots of dungeons to explore; Great audiovisual presentation sets the right apocalyptic tone

Performance issues and execution foibles; Disappointing bosses; especially the final boss

With all the coverage we at GamingExcellence have given to Darksiders II you just had to know that we were chomping at the bit to play this game. Considering the fact that we absolutely were fans of the first title it's not surprising that we would take such an interest in the sequel.

Beautiful, vibrant world; wide variety of weapons; lots of loot; variety of enemies to battle; intriguing story; consistently good voice acting; tight, responsive controls

Sometimes aggravating boss fights; overly simple platforming; one incredibly frustrating level late in the game; camera can be somewhat problematic

A hallmark of excellence. It may have some flaws, but they are negligible to what is otherwise a supreme title. How we score: The Destructoid Reviews Guide