Posted on 23-Mar-2012

Darksiders 2: New hands-on with the ambitious sequel

The Grim Reaper takes up free running in THQ's open world follow-up...

By Andy Kelly for computerandvideogames.com

Darksiders II doesn't hold your hand; it chops it off and waves it in your face. Dungeons are vast, dangerous, and filled with tough puzzles that you have to really work to solve - reminiscent of earlier Zelda games.

You play as Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As the name suggests, he's pretty good at killing things - but he's also incredibly athletic, leaping around levels like the Prince of Persia. The game is a mix of combo-based combat, light-footed platforming, and thinky bits.

Much of the game takes place in a vast 'overworld'. This open landscape can be freely explored astride Death's horse, Despair, and serves as a hub for key story locations, and those all-important dungeons. Half the time you're galloping around, exploring and talking to NPCs, and the other half you're delving into temples, caverns, and castles.

And as if that wasn't enough, Darksiders also features a compelling loot system inspired by MMOs like World of Warcraft. When you open a chest or kill an enemy, they'll drop gear of varying levels; from common loot (basic armour and weapons), to epic loot, which is often enchanted with magical, stat-boosting properties.

This, combined with a vast skill tree with two distinct paths - Harbinger and Necromancer - makes Death a highly customisable character, both in terms of his stats and powers, and his appearance. As a Harbinger you're able to use skills like Unstoppable to dramatically increase your strength, or Frenzy to slow down enemies. A Necromancer can use Exhume to conjure up zombies to fight alongside them, or Murder to call upon a swarm of angry crows.

DUNGEON CRAWL

In our hands-on, we played an entire dungeon from start to finish called The Foundry. Here, Death is joined by an NPC companion called Karn, a hulking warrior with a dreadful Scottish accent. Occasionally he'll throw you over a gap, or hold a heavy metal door open for you. "I've thrown stones bigger than you!" he'll say, repeatedly, in the style of a Hollywood voice actor trying desperately to sound like they're from the Highlands.

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Comments

23 comments so far...

  1. jdkoke on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Can't wait. Loved the first one but everything about 2 sounds better. Can't wait!!

  2. rhyfel on 23 Mar '12 said:

    i really hope this game sells well, the first game was great and this one is looking even better but sadly i can see it going the same way as other great untouched gems like shadows of the damned, fingers crossed it sells by the bucket load so thay make two more games for the rest of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.

  3. ensabahnur on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Hmm why do they always get someone not Scottish to do a Scots accent? Surely there's a plethora of Scots in the industry or even just aspiring Scot actors looking for a wee bit of work. Christ hows about you fling Bobby Carlise a couple of bob. It really p**ses me off hearing my native tongue being absolutely murdered by some yank who thinks he's got it right, the only one who's ever got it right has been Mike Myers in So i Married an Axe Murderer and various other films.

    Lets never have a repeat of Scoot in Hydrophobia (the original XBLA release), he sounded like an even more effeminate Alan Cumming in The High Life, if that was possible! Thankfully they seemed to change the main characters nationalities around for the PS3 release. Though why they used an Australian to do a camp Scots accent in the first place i'll never know.

    Still thats not gonna put me off getting this, which is looking even better than the first game which was criminally underlooked.

  4. Imaduck on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Absolutely cannot wait for this

    They should get Tommy Flanagan in Ensa, he's the s**t.

  5. jdkoke on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Hmm why do they always get someone not Scottish to do a Scots accent? Surely there's a plethora of Scots in the industry or even just aspiring Scot actors looking for a wee bit of work. Christ hows about you fling Bobby Carlise a couple of bob. It really p**ses me off hearing my native tongue being absolutely murdered by some yank who thinks he's got it right, the only one who's ever got it right has been Mike Myers in So i Married an Axe Murderer and various other films.

    Lets never have a repeat of Scoot in Hydrophobia (the original XBLA release), he sounded like an even more effeminate Alan Cumming in The High Life, if that was possible! Thankfully the seemed to change the main characters nationalities around for the PS3 release. Though why they used an Australian to do a camp Scots accent in the first place i'll never know.

    Still thats not gonna put me off getting this, which is looking even better than the first game which was criminally underlooked.

    Mike Myers can do us cus he ain't a yank!! He's Canadian and sure he's got Scottish relatives, might be wrong like. Oh n speakin o So I married An Axe Murderer I f**kin loved that film as a bairn.

    "Look at the size o tha boys heed, am nae jokin, it's so big it's got it's own f**kin weather system!"
    "Heed, move, now!"

    Or something like that, been a while since I watched it but his da in it is quality.

  6. ensabahnur on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Hmm why do they always get someone not Scottish to do a Scots accent? Surely there's a plethora of Scots in the industry or even just aspiring Scot actors looking for a wee bit of work. Christ hows about you fling Bobby Carlise a couple of bob. It really p**ses me off hearing my native tongue being absolutely murdered by some yank who thinks he's got it right, the only one who's ever got it right has been Mike Myers in So i Married an Axe Murderer and various other films.

    Lets never have a repeat of Scoot in Hydrophobia (the original XBLA release), he sounded like an even more effeminate Alan Cumming in The High Life, if that was possible! Thankfully the seemed to change the main characters nationalities around for the PS3 release. Though why they used an Australian to do a camp Scots accent in the first place i'll never know.

    Still thats not gonna put me off getting this, which is looking even better than the first game which was criminally underlooked.

    Mike Myers can do us cus he ain't a yank!! He's Canadian and sure he's got Scottish relatives, might be wrong like. Oh n speakin o So I married An Axe Murderer I f**kin loved that film as a bairn.

    "Look at the size o tha boys heed, am nae jokin, it's so big it's got it's own f**kin weather system!"
    "Heed, move, now!"

    Or something like that, been a while since I watched it but his da in it is quality.

    True he is a canuck, i did mean he's the only non Scots actor that can do it, but thats cause his parents are from Liverpool and he has Irish and Scots ancestry.

    N aye that film was hilarious back in the day, especially the wedding scene where he sings Rod Stewart wi a bag-pipe solo.

    And aye Tommy Flanagan is a quality actor, to the point where you don't even realise he's a Scot until you hear him talk out of character.

  7. jdkoke on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Groundkeeper Willie nae do it for ya?

  8. ensabahnur on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Groundkeeper Willie nae do it for ya?

    Ok then Dan Castellaneta gets a pass as well, though just cause Willie is brilliant.

    Groundskeeper Willie: It won't last. Brothers and sisters are natural enemies! Like Englishmen and Scots! Or Welshmen and Scots! Or Japanese and Scots! Or Scots and other Scots! Damn Scots! They ruined Scotland!

    Principal Skinner: You Scots sure are a contentious people.

    Willie: You just made an enemy for life!

  9. Rock Strongo on 23 Mar '12 said:

    I really enjoyed the first one, right up until it went all 'Portal' on me. I never actually finished it. One of the few games that I own that I can say that about.

  10. MrPirtniw on 23 Mar '12 said:

    This is looking great- its really cool that Vigil's first game was as good as it was. Ok, so it nicked ideas from many other games but it put them together seamlessly and it had Joe Mads awesome art direction to boot.

    What did you guys think of Mike Myers as Fat B@stard? I know you guys eat haggis all day long, but babies?

  11. jdkoke on 23 Mar '12 said:

    This is looking great- its really cool that Vigil's first game was as good as it was. Ok, so it nicked ideas from many other games but it put them together seamlessly and it had Joe Mads awesome art direction to boot.

    What did you guys think of Mike Myers as Fat B@stard? I know you guys eat haggis all day long, but babies?

    I want those babyback, babyback ribs

  12. ensabahnur on 23 Mar '12 said:

    This is looking great- its really cool that Vigil's first game was as good as it was. Ok, so it nicked ideas from many other games but it put them together seamlessly and it had Joe Mads awesome art direction to boot.

    What did you guys think of Mike Myers as Fat B@stard? I know you guys eat haggis all day long, but babies?

    Dunno about the baby eating but Fat Bastard would be the spitting image of my big brother if he had glasses and short ginger hair. Though going by the size of my brother last time i saw him he may well have been snacking on baby long pig.

  13. El Mag on 23 Mar '12 said:

    While the Scottish lads are being nice enough to answer questions, I've always wondered.....

    Is Rab C. Nesbitt a documentary or what?

  14. jdkoke on 23 Mar '12 said:

    While the Scottish lads are being nice enough to answer questions, I've always wondered.....

    Is Rab C. Nesbitt a documentary or what?

    I s**t you not it could well be! I learned my drinkin habits fae Rab

    http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s1i67383

  15. ensabahnur on 23 Mar '12 said:

    While the Scottish lads are being nice enough to answer questions, I've always wondered.....

    Is Rab C. Nesbitt a documentary or what?

    Pretty much yeah, i don't think i've ever seen anything happen on it that i wouldn't expect to see walking down any street in Govan. In fact i'm sure there's an army of Jamesie Cotters kicking about outside Parkhead come match day, Tony Roper may well be one of them. Jizz stained pants and all.

  16. MANYOO4EVA on 23 Mar '12 said:

    Cannot wait for this.

    Currently I am 13 hours into the first Darksiders coming up to kill the spider boss Silithia, and I have to say the game is fantastic in every department, mainly the combat and the visuals.

    Number 2 looks just as good and even more epic.

    Roll on June.

  17. El Mag on 23 Mar '12 said:

    They should get Kevin Bridges to do the voice work, I'd buy the special edition then.

  18. jdkoke on 23 Mar '12 said:

    They should get Kevin Bridges to do the voice work, I'd buy the special edition then.


    I would hae that mans babies! Well maybe nae but I love him anyway
    The joke he dis about hoose parties in his first big stand up tour still cracks me up and perfectly describes parties I had or went to as a kid/teen


    *Hey Ensab you changed yer avatar in preperation for Kinect Star Wars?! First thing that came in to ma heed fan I saw it

  19. ensabahnur on 23 Mar '12 said:


    *Hey Ensab you changed yer avatar in preperation for Kinect Star Wars?! First thing that came in to ma heed fan I saw it

    Yep, cannae whack some dancing Sith Lord!

  20. Carbon64 on 23 Mar '12 said:

    I'm starting to feel out of place , I must be the only person up here who can't do the accent at all

    On another note I can't wait for this !

  21. Imaduck on 23 Mar '12 said:

    I love your new avatar ensa, it's hypnotising

  22. charliecheswick on 23 Mar '12 said:

    @ El Mag

    Loved the dungeons and boss battles in the first game,if the overworld is huge like the article says,then this is a day one purchase for me. Glad to hear the Wii U version is getting unique features too ( new Vigil interview ).

  23. silent moose on 24 Mar '12 said:

    This is sounding really good it seems I may have to cripple my bank balance further