Darksiders 2: Death moves swiftly.

     Have you ever sat around and wondered what it would be like to be one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse? Well then you're in luck! That's exactly what you get to do in Darksiders 2! In the original Darksiders you got you experience the joys of playing as War. In the latest game to the series you get to see things from the eyes of Death. If you've played the original game you'll feel right at home. However, there are several new additions to this game that make it fresh, and to me, better.

     The story of Darksiders 2 picks up after the events of the first game. Your brother War has been blamed for the chaos and ultimate destruction of mankind. Of course, this doesn't sit well with you. So you decide to fight back and regain your brother's innocence and save mankind. You'll meet a variety of enemies and of course bosses. This is one area that Darksiders 2 does well. The boss battles are always large and keep you on the edge of your seat. If you like both a solid campaign and some branching side stories, then this game has you covered. One new feature to the game is the addition of free roam and side quests.

     Now even though this game does have free roaming elements, it's not quite the same as games like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, etc. Don't let that bother you though. The maps of the different worlds you venture to are fairly large. Each area has different dungeons to explore. My only complaint with the side quests is that they become repetitive. A lot of them consist of collecting a certain number of an item and returning it to the quest giver. However, some quests require you to defeat a certain enemy so there is a bit of variety.

     Another new feature that the developers spent time with is the rpg aspects of the game. As you make your way through the game you will level up Death. As you'd expect, as you level up you will earn skill points that can be used to unlock new abilities. There are two different skill trees to choose from. The necromancer side acts more like a summoning class. You will be able to conjure ghoul like creatures to help you attack your enemies. If you're more of the straight up melee type, then you'll want to go with the harbinger skill side. Both sides have many different attacks and you can also mix points on both sides for more of a hybrid class if you like.

     There's also tons of weapons and customization options to satisfy the loot hoarder in you. You'll always have a primary and secondary weapon equipped. The primary weapon are your scythes and they are for quick attacks. Your secondary weapons include hammers, axes, swords, and claw-like weapons. These tend to be slower but deal a lot of damage. You can also find different pieces of armor. Each piece has a different look and specific stats that you can custom to your play style. Much like other loot finding games, each item will have a different color coded name that let's you know if it's a common or rare item. One thing I really liked is that whenever a piece of loot drops, you can see what stats it will increase or decrease before you even pick it up.

     Graphically the game looks pretty good. There were a few times that then environments looked a little bland when getting in close range but nothing terrible. Also, the color scheme in the environments leave a little do be desired in the color department. You'll see a lot of grays, blacks, and some others thrown about. Just don't expect a ton of different colors. The voice acting is solid as well. I really like the art style on the characters, weapons, and environments. You'll get to see some unique enemies and some pretty sweet looking weapons and armor pieces. Speaking of character designs, Death's mask reminded me a little of Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

     In the end I was pleased with Darksiders 2. The developers took everything that was good about the first game and added some much needed changes. The more free roam environments and rpg elements really add to the overall experience. There's already been dlc released too, so after you complete the main campaign and side quests you have more to look forward to. Anyone who enjoys a good action game with fast combat, rpg elements, puzzles, and boss battles should look into playing Darksiders 2.

Final Verdict: 8/10

Written by: Alter Ego 83