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DARKSIDERS |OT| More like Zelda than God of War

RamzaIsCool

The Amiga Brotherhood
Wow.... this game really flew under my radar. Saw the title popping up here and there, but never bothered to look further into it. Now having watched a couple of video's, I am really thinking about buying it. It really gives me Soul Reaver vibes when it comes to the general atmosphere. 15 hours is tad too short tho for this type of game, hope it's 10-ish hours longer. Also am surprised that NeoGaf isn't all over this game by now (only 4 pages?).
 

Caspel

Business & Marketing Manager @ GungHo
Domstercool said:
There's a Panzer Dragoon type section too.

The Panzer Dragoon section is the worst of the game. You'll be thankful that it's done and over with after it wastes about 6 minutes of your time.
 
Caspel said:
The Panzer Dragoon section is the worst of the game. You'll be thankful that it's done and over with after it wastes about 6 minutes of your time.

still buying the shit out of it.... just watched the game trailers preview.

so hyped
 
Just finished second play through. Only complaint is that first few bosses are tough, last few are way too easy. It's a total reverse from the norm. :lol
 

KGKK

Banned
Hmm this game looks fun. If the good reviews keep up I will probably get this for PS3 as my January game, fuck Bayonetta
 

TheFallen

Member
Caspel said:
The Panzer Dragoon section is the worst of the game. You'll be thankful that it's done and over with after it wastes about 6 minutes of your time.
What about the mini-gun weapon portions (or whatever that heavy gun is)? Sort of looked clumsy and only in to add variety.
 

Spike

Member
mjc said:
What's all included in that artbook? Is it just a couple pages of art and a full issue's worth of a comic by Joe?

I might reserve at GS if the book is meaty enough.

The comic is not drawn by Joe.
 

Smokey

Member
RamzaIsCool said:
Wow.... this game really flew under my radar. Saw the title popping up here and there, but never bothered to look further into it. Now having watched a couple of video's, I am really thinking about buying it. It really gives me Soul Reaver vibes when it comes to the general atmosphere. 15 hours is tad too short tho for this type of game, hope it's 10-ish hours longer. Also am surprised that NeoGaf isn't all over this game by now (only 4 pages?).

New IP. Title of the game seems somewhat generic. I fully expect word of mouth to help this game though.

I'll be getting this on the PS3. After my 3rd 360 RR on me last week this is the stance I will take. PS3 for SP and 360 for sports games/shooters.
 

Ilias78

Neo Member
Got the PS3 version yesterday - and i call it a friggin Christmas miracle to find it in a small videogames store down in Athens alongside Bayonetta, just sitting on the shelf and staring at me. I couldnt believe my good luck. Anyway some impressions:

Graphics are colorful, shiny and with a smooth framerate, cutscenes looks spectacular and full of life BUT -there seems to be a lot of aliasing in the gameplay sections. I dunno if its just the PS3 version and if the 360 version will have anti-aliasing or not, but its obvious and it kinda ruins the visual presentation. I have the 360 version pre-ordered so when it comes, ill have a comparion side by side. I can confirm though that the PS3 version has zero tearing. Voice acting is solid and Mark Hamill is awesome sounding as The Watcher (your sidekick kinda). And the story looks interesting too.

Gameplay is solid - although i dont have any important special powers or weapons yet, just a horn that blows back enemies with a shockwave and opens doors. But still, War looks, feels and plays in a pretty badass way. You have a couple of basic sword combos to begin with and there is ALWAYS a finishing move to be done with the circle button every time that will either slice your enemy in half, ride the sword down his spine or separate his head from his body. You can also grab smaller enemies and just squeeze the life out of them in your (huge) fists. There are much larger enemies though that are (currently) more difficult bring down and they can actually become a challenge. And this is where this feature comes in: L2 locks on your enemy, the view perspective goes a bit sideways and there you can maneuvere yourself without ever being in a blind spot. It is actually VERY similar to the Z lock targeting found in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time and it works beautifully. I found battles with harder-to-kill enemies to be more enjoyable (as they are difficult) thanks to this feature. Note, that War is pretty vulnerable as he begins his quest but judging from the different equipment menus and what i read in the manual, War has a TON of weapons, relics and equipment to find all of them with different powers - not to mention that there are equally tons of new abilities to be purchased from a vendor that you find in the beginning of the game (and stays there throughout from what it seems). There is definetely a lot to explore in this game as there are secret chests to be found and pathways that unlock after you get new powers.

Note, that the game feels free-roaming like GTA or Infamous - just a bit more restricted. Again it feels like a Zelda setting and even the platforming looks to be kinda simillar. But thats a good thing as it plays as good as a Zelda game too ^^

And thats about it. I havent played much more, because im waiting to see how the 360 version will look as well. I say it again, there is a lot of aliasing in its gameplay sections that kinda ruin the mood for me - but strangely the cutscene sections look crisp and solid. And when you go to a transition from the one to the other, it gives you a weird after taste. The gameplay is there however, its solid, enjoyable and with TONS (geez i repeat that word a lot today) of unlockables and possibilities. Make it your day one purchase for the New Year.
 
Ilias78 said:
Nope. There are also cutscenes in the game that are directly from the in-game engine.

Well, for environmental bits like Tiamat and the angelic mount crashing through Twilight Cathedral yeah. But for cutscenes with dialogue in general, it's pre-rendered.
 

Ilias78

Neo Member
Greenlight711 said:
Well, for environmental bits like Tiamat and the angelic mount crashing through Twilight Cathedral yeah. But for cutscenes with dialogue in general, it's pre-rendered.

And i tell you again - most of the cutscenes i have scene so far are from the ingame engine and NOT pre-rendered. I have the game and i can vouch for that. Any dialogue cutscenes i have seen so far, aint pre-rendered.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Okay, there's three different kinds of cutscenes, guys, let's make sure we're on the same page here.

1.) In-Engine Real-Time
2.) In-Engine Pre-Rendered
3.) Normal Pre-Rendered CG (out of engine).
 
ZealousD said:
Okay, there's three different kinds of cutscenes, guys, let's make sure we're on the same page here.

1.) In-Engine Real-Time
2.) In-Engine Pre-Rendered
3.) Normal Pre-Rendered CG (out of engine).

4.) In-game

too.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
°°ToMmY°° said:
4.) In-game

too.

You're specifically referring to the method of never losing control of your character, ala Half-Life? I guess that's true but I know Darksiders isn't like that.
 

AshMcCool

Member
ZealousD said:
Okay, there's three different kinds of cutscenes, guys, let's make sure we're on the same page here.

1.) In-Engine Real-Time
2.) In-Engine Pre-Rendered
3.) Normal Pre-Rendered CG (out of engine).

Ahh, I hate this. Just stick to one developers, dammit!
 

Feindflug

Member
Ilias78 said:
Got the PS3 version yesterday - and i call it a friggin Christmas miracle to find it in a small videogames store down in Athens alongside Bayonetta, just sitting on the shelf and staring at me. I couldnt believe my good luck. Anyway some impressions:

Graphics are colorful, shiny and with a smooth framerate, cutscenes looks spectacular and full of life BUT -there seems to be a lot of aliasing in the gameplay sections. I dunno if its just the PS3 version and if the 360 version will have anti-aliasing or not, but its obvious and it kinda ruins the visual presentation. I have the 360 version pre-ordered so when it comes, ill have a comparion side by side. I can confirm though that the PS3 version has zero tearing. Voice acting is solid and Mark Hamill is awesome sounding as The Watcher (your sidekick kinda). And the story looks interesting too.

Gameplay is solid - although i dont have any important special powers or weapons yet, just a horn that blows back enemies with a shockwave and opens doors. But still, War looks, feels and plays in a pretty badass way. You have a couple of basic sword combos to begin with and there is ALWAYS a finishing move to be done with the circle button every time that will either slice your enemy in half, ride the sword down his spine or separate his head from his body. You can also grab smaller enemies and just squeeze the life out of them in your (huge) fists. There are much larger enemies though that are (currently) more difficult bring down and they can actually become a challenge. And this is where this feature comes in: L2 locks on your enemy, the view perspective goes a bit sideways and there you can maneuvere yourself without ever being in a blind spot. It is actually VERY similar to the Z lock targeting found in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time and it works beautifully. I found battles with harder-to-kill enemies to be more enjoyable (as they are difficult) thanks to this feature. Note, that War is pretty vulnerable as he begins his quest but judging from the different equipment menus and what i read in the manual, War has a TON of weapons, relics and equipment to find all of them with different powers - not to mention that there are equally tons of new abilities to be purchased from a vendor that you find in the beginning of the game (and stays there throughout from what it seems). There is definetely a lot to explore in this game as there are secret chests to be found and pathways that unlock after you get new powers.

Note, that the game feels free-roaming like GTA or Infamous - just a bit more restricted. Again it feels like a Zelda setting and even the platforming looks to be kinda simillar. But thats a good thing as it plays as good as a Zelda game too ^^

And thats about it. I havent played much more, because im waiting to see how the 360 version will look as well. I say it again, there is a lot of aliasing in its gameplay sections that kinda ruin the mood for me - but strangely the cutscene sections look crisp and solid. And when you go to a transition from the one to the other, it gives you a weird after taste. The gameplay is there however, its solid, enjoyable and with TONS (geez i repeat that word a lot today) of unlockables and possibilities. Make it your day one purchase for the New Year.

Nice impressions...may I ask which was the small vg store you found this and Bayonetta? :p
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
Here's a German Gamepro video showing both the PS3 version and 360 version. Sadly I have no clue what is being said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyrtOHS9Yfo

I can't really see any difference between the two.

edit- haven't watched the whole thing, so no clue if it has spoilers.
 

KevinCow

Banned
So retailers have the game, they just can't sell it yet? That's painful to know. Maybe I'll go bug my local non-Gamestop and see if I can get them to break the street date.
 

Enigma777

Banned
KevinCow said:
So retailers have the game, they just can't sell it yet? That's painful to know. Maybe I'll go bug my local non-Gamestop and see if I can get them to break the street date.
That happens with almost every game actually...
 

KevinCow

Banned
Enigma777 said:
That happens with almost every game actually...

It happens with the BIG HUGE BLOCKBUSTER games like Halo or Call of Duty so they can be sure to get them out on the release date. For nearly every other game out there, though, the "release date" is actually the "ship date," so if the game "releases" on the fifth, you probably won't be able to actually get it until the sixth. And even when games are shipped early, it's usually a week or so early at most.

A new IP with relatively little hype behind it getting shipped out two weeks early is pretty unheard of, as far as I know. I expect the reason both this and Bayonetta shipped out early was to avoid the complications of the holidays.
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
Enigma777 said:
That happens with almost every game actually...

Just the ones that are street dated. Street Dated games are pretty common, but they aren't the majority yet.
 

Ilias78

Neo Member
Feindflug said:
Nice impressions...may I ask which was the small vg store you found this and Bayonetta? :p

Software Center in downtown Athens - Halkokondyli 19 street :D Unfortunately, they dont have a website.
 
Matrix said:
Here's a German Gamepro video showing both the PS3 version and 360 version. Sadly I have no clue what is being said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyrtOHS9Yfo

I can't really see any difference between the two.

edit- haven't watched the whole thing, so no clue if it has spoilers.

They already reviewed the game. The PS3 version got 92%, the 360 version got 91% because of massive screen tearing.
 

Truant

Member
Fortinbras said:
They already reviewed the game. The PS3 version got 92%, the 360 version got 91% because of massive screen tearing.

Tearing vs jaggies?

WHY, VIGIL, WHY DO YOU FORCE ME TO MAKE SUCH CHOICES
 

Ilias78

Neo Member
Truant said:
Tearing vs jaggies?

WHY, VIGIL, WHY DO YOU FORCE ME TO MAKE SUCH CHOICES

I believe there will be a demo in the first week of January so we will be able to compare them :) Thats what im waiting for.
 

Domstercool

Member
Did the first three dungeons yesterday, got the horse Ruin!! Can't believe I was stuck on such a simple part with the drills in the desert... I was looking for ways to turn off the other one... silly me, I blame the alcohol :D
 
ZealousD said:
You're specifically referring to the method of never losing control of your character, ala Half-Life? I guess that's true but I know Darksiders isn't like that.

i thought you were listing cut-scenes in general, sorry.

btw, in-game cutscenes aren't just half life 2 style, with that i meant cut scenes that uses the same engine as in gameplay mode (in-engine cut scenes are those were they keep the assets, but thanks to no streming of enviroments, no enemies Ai and animations, etc all resources can be destined to make that scene look good, upping the lighting and adding more post processing to the game).
 

ZealousD

Makes world leading predictions like "The sun will rise tomorrow"
°°ToMmY°° said:
btw, in-game cutscenes aren't just half life 2 style, with that i meant cut scenes that uses the same engine as in gameplay mode

That's what I meant with "In-Engine Real-Time".
 

Cruzader

Banned
No one willing to help a poor GAFer with Home avatar hook up? Dammit, this thread is so well done I want to buy but cant :( There's gotta be someone preordering from Amazon....

Also where is the code that you can redeem? Someone said it was posted in the OP but I cant find it. I want to make sure I get it so when I get the game late feb, I can use the DLC.
 

bounchfx

Member
really looking forward to this game - it was a lot of fun to play.

I just wish they didn't ruin the boxart. Ugh. Why the piss yellow and grey? was there any explanation of why they changed it from how awesome it looked before?
 

Feindflug

Member
Fortinbras said:
They already reviewed the game. The PS3 version got 92%, the 360 version got 91% because of massive screen tearing.

Wow is tearing on the 360 version really that bad? some dude in the other Darksiders thread posted some pics of his promo copy, hopefully he will post some impressions from the 360 version.
 
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