so with the first pay check i've gotten in 9+ months, i picked up one of the 'must have' games on my list
cause i loved the first one
for the record i have the steam version, not the console version, i am also not done with it ether only about 19-ish hours in (according to steam) with no end in sight.
not gonna talk about the story ether, other then a few bare bones facts.
so with out further faffing about, lets do this
the game takes place, i think, a little bit before the start of Darksiders as Death mentions War is still locked up by the Charred Council, and Death is out to save his brother, by restoring the human race (bask in the irony there) and that's pretty much it far as character motivation goes.
as for Death him self. he as far more maneuverable then War both in terms of getting around and combat, where as War was limited to just climbing Demonic Growths and on grip-able ledges, Death can use most ever every surface, with wall running, both up and across, pillar climbing as well as the methods War was limited to.
combat, Death is fast and nimble. his dodge, for instance is usable mid animation during pretty much any of his combos and the combos them selves use the 'one button with delays' system for the main and sub weapons, and unlike the first game, you can combo between the main and sub weapons, and the combos then selves seem to have uses, like the 'LL pause LL' combo is for crowd control, for instance. there are also more sub weapons then before, with Claws, Arm Blades, Bucklers, Gauntlets, Hammers, Maces, Axes and Glaves being added this time around. each have their own special ability in the form of a 'charge move' (holding down the sub weapon button till it you see a purple thing), Bucklers block, Claws dash into on of Wolverines supers, and so on.
boss battles, designated by the enemy having a life bar, are FAR better then Darksiders 1. gone (so far) the bosses with crippling weaknesses due to the mcguffin found in the dungeon, and are instead a more standard hacky slashy stabby affair, which is a good thing as it prevents the game from being laughably easy like the first one is.
speaking of the 'ability items', i've only found one such mcguffin in an actual dungeon. save Death Grip, ever other 'ability' is gained outside dungeons, after talking to some one important to the plot
leveling up is, done vai the usual ARPG standard of 'kill thing, get exp' and each level up grants a skill point to spend in a 'melee' or 'magic' skill tree, how ever you are not locked into a single tree if you choose one over another, this is due to skills unlocking in the trees due to EXP level and not points spent like how skill trees normally do.
and since The Pale Rider is in an ARPG game, we also have loot drops, both from monsters and chests. drops are tiered, and color coded for ease of picking out 'the better gear' (white, green, blue, purple, with yellow reserved for special one of a kind gear) and while that's all well and good, they added a 'wild card' drop, Possessed Weapons. (not run into any Possessed Armor, so not sure if there is any, feel free to correct me on this) Possessed Weapons start off, kinda shit, but by feeding them other gear they level up and grow stronger, not only that, but each level up lets you and an extra ability of your choice from a list, so by the time its fully leveled its usually the best thing you'll have for a good long time, even against the purple drops, this how ever makes them the rarest item next to the yellow 'legendary' gear.
quick note: monster levels are static, as are the drops from said monster, chests on the other hand always scale loot to your level, no matter where the chest is, so ever chest has a potentially useful drop in it.
the graphics aren't bad, i heard that the textures where 'low quality', this has not been my experience but i don't have HD anything as far as my monitor goes so mileage my very there, BUT, there are some slight graphical issues that pop up now and again, like a board going missing from the detail climbable ledges and the occasional shadow looking funny at distance. which is a shame, as it marrs the hard work put in by the art department, cause the work they put in make it a joy to just wander around and explore, this is aided by a truly epic sound track, each piece feels like it belongs right where it plays and adds to the 'feel' of the given area.
lastly, the controls. this game was made consoles in mind first, and the control scheme reflects this, that said, there are some good points. skills are bound to the number bar so you can skip the radial menu entirely if you wish, not to mention things are bound to better places be default the they where in DS1, the dodge key for example, is bound to the Alt key, next to the Space bar, and the radial skill menu is bound to tab, which is nice and a lot better then before.
also, cause that game was made console first, PC second, it should run just fine with no problems on most systems (and people say console ports are a bad thing
)
there are a few gripes I'd like to hit.
setting an active quest isn't as clear as I'd like it to be, took me till about 10 hours in to figure it out due to font size.
the camra it's always a team player when jumping.
they have the options to change the keys hidden in the inventory menu
Echidna is a fucking spider -.-
Tiamat is a fucking bat -.- (old gripe but still counts cause of a bonus boss)
over all, its a VAST improvement over the first game, and from my stand point fixed the two biggest issues i had (to short and to easy) with the last game. so if you liked the last game, or are in need of a new ARPG to scratch that itch give Darksiders 2 a look
for the record i have the steam version, not the console version, i am also not done with it ether only about 19-ish hours in (according to steam) with no end in sight.
not gonna talk about the story ether, other then a few bare bones facts.
so with out further faffing about, lets do this
the game takes place, i think, a little bit before the start of Darksiders as Death mentions War is still locked up by the Charred Council, and Death is out to save his brother, by restoring the human race (bask in the irony there) and that's pretty much it far as character motivation goes.
as for Death him self. he as far more maneuverable then War both in terms of getting around and combat, where as War was limited to just climbing Demonic Growths and on grip-able ledges, Death can use most ever every surface, with wall running, both up and across, pillar climbing as well as the methods War was limited to.
combat, Death is fast and nimble. his dodge, for instance is usable mid animation during pretty much any of his combos and the combos them selves use the 'one button with delays' system for the main and sub weapons, and unlike the first game, you can combo between the main and sub weapons, and the combos then selves seem to have uses, like the 'LL pause LL' combo is for crowd control, for instance. there are also more sub weapons then before, with Claws, Arm Blades, Bucklers, Gauntlets, Hammers, Maces, Axes and Glaves being added this time around. each have their own special ability in the form of a 'charge move' (holding down the sub weapon button till it you see a purple thing), Bucklers block, Claws dash into on of Wolverines supers, and so on.
boss battles, designated by the enemy having a life bar, are FAR better then Darksiders 1. gone (so far) the bosses with crippling weaknesses due to the mcguffin found in the dungeon, and are instead a more standard hacky slashy stabby affair, which is a good thing as it prevents the game from being laughably easy like the first one is.
speaking of the 'ability items', i've only found one such mcguffin in an actual dungeon. save Death Grip, ever other 'ability' is gained outside dungeons, after talking to some one important to the plot
leveling up is, done vai the usual ARPG standard of 'kill thing, get exp' and each level up grants a skill point to spend in a 'melee' or 'magic' skill tree, how ever you are not locked into a single tree if you choose one over another, this is due to skills unlocking in the trees due to EXP level and not points spent like how skill trees normally do.
and since The Pale Rider is in an ARPG game, we also have loot drops, both from monsters and chests. drops are tiered, and color coded for ease of picking out 'the better gear' (white, green, blue, purple, with yellow reserved for special one of a kind gear) and while that's all well and good, they added a 'wild card' drop, Possessed Weapons. (not run into any Possessed Armor, so not sure if there is any, feel free to correct me on this) Possessed Weapons start off, kinda shit, but by feeding them other gear they level up and grow stronger, not only that, but each level up lets you and an extra ability of your choice from a list, so by the time its fully leveled its usually the best thing you'll have for a good long time, even against the purple drops, this how ever makes them the rarest item next to the yellow 'legendary' gear.
quick note: monster levels are static, as are the drops from said monster, chests on the other hand always scale loot to your level, no matter where the chest is, so ever chest has a potentially useful drop in it.
the graphics aren't bad, i heard that the textures where 'low quality', this has not been my experience but i don't have HD anything as far as my monitor goes so mileage my very there, BUT, there are some slight graphical issues that pop up now and again, like a board going missing from the detail climbable ledges and the occasional shadow looking funny at distance. which is a shame, as it marrs the hard work put in by the art department, cause the work they put in make it a joy to just wander around and explore, this is aided by a truly epic sound track, each piece feels like it belongs right where it plays and adds to the 'feel' of the given area.
lastly, the controls. this game was made consoles in mind first, and the control scheme reflects this, that said, there are some good points. skills are bound to the number bar so you can skip the radial menu entirely if you wish, not to mention things are bound to better places be default the they where in DS1, the dodge key for example, is bound to the Alt key, next to the Space bar, and the radial skill menu is bound to tab, which is nice and a lot better then before.
also, cause that game was made console first, PC second, it should run just fine with no problems on most systems (and people say console ports are a bad thing
)there are a few gripes I'd like to hit.
setting an active quest isn't as clear as I'd like it to be, took me till about 10 hours in to figure it out due to font size.
the camra it's always a team player when jumping.
they have the options to change the keys hidden in the inventory menu
Echidna is a fucking spider -.-
Tiamat is a fucking bat -.- (old gripe but still counts cause of a bonus boss)
over all, its a VAST improvement over the first game, and from my stand point fixed the two biggest issues i had (to short and to easy) with the last game. so if you liked the last game, or are in need of a new ARPG to scratch that itch give Darksiders 2 a look