Darksiders II: 5 things you need to know

Darksiders II is undoubtedly one of the biggest games in Q3, and possibly of 2012. Vigil Games’ sequel to 2010’s Wrath of War is looking to be a monumental step-up from the impressive Darksiders debut, and with a host of new features, there’s five things to know before taking on the hordes of the Armageddon single-handedly.

It’s bigger

The original Darksiders was a surprisingly large game. Combing fast-paced action with vast exploration, the game delivered a large world with a number of different lands to traverse across. Darksiders II is said to be four times that, with four different areas each spanning the size of the entire of Darksiders world.

The size also extends to the length, as Darksiders II will look to clock in at around 25 hours long, excluding side-quests.

Bosses and enemies have also been put n steroids, and are bigger and tougher than before, requiring Death to climb many of them in order to take them down.

It’s badder

Playing as Death can only result in one thing: death. Living up to his name, the darkest Horsman of the Apocalypse will deal out some serious damage with his scythes, claws, guns and a number of other weapons. Visceral finishing moves and brutally fast combat is Death’s speciality, and expect it in abundance throughout the game.

There’s also a Nightmare mode, akin to Diablo 3’s Hardcore mode, where players have only one life to complete the game.

Story will play a key role

Darksiders II’s story runs parallel to that of Darksiders I, where War is framed for starting the Apocalypse a little prematurely. Playing from Death’s perspective, we will now see another side to the conspiracies existing between major players in heaven and hell.

What’s some killing without a soundtrack?

Music and sound will play a pivotal role in Darksiders II, with large orchestral scores backing the adventure. During combat, music will tense up and swell according to the action playing out, while also allowing for some more quiet moments where appropriate.

Bringing colour to death

Going against the grain of many of today’s bland visual styles, Darksiders II retains the colourful comic-book inspired art direction from the first game. Things are brighter and more vivid this time around, with some incredibly gorgeous character and level design to keep your eyes happy throughout.

Darksiders II looks to be a promising follow-up to a series packed full of potential. Vigil Games are definitely passionate about their flagship IP, and hopefully will deliver an experience worth the wait.

Check out more of Darksiders II, which launches on 14 August 2012.