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Darksiders II Review

Darksiders II represents the latest offering from developer Vigil Games, a direct follow-up to the 2010 original. Much like its predecessor, Darksiders II provides some solid action, albeit nestled amid a somewhat flawed experience. It’s also possibly the most derivative game ever made - borrowing adventure and puzzle elements from The Legend of Zelda, action from God of War, platforming from Prince of Persia, and tone from some hellfire version of Lord of the Rings. That’s not necessarily a bad thing - an amalgamation of such incredible franchises could have resulted in the game to end all games. The thing is, if you’re going to so blatantly derive material from such well-known properties, you better nail it. While Darksiders II provides a lengthy and entertaining experience for action adventure fans to sink their teeth into, in the end it never comes close to reaching the heights of the various franchises it so freely borrows from. Darksiders II further fleshes out the story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse introduced in the first title - this time with War’s brother, Death, at the helm. Death believes that War has been wrongfully convicted of destroying mankind, and seeks to restore humanity to clear his brother’s name. The narrative is pretty entertaining, if not severely overdramatic. Though it should please anyone solely in the market for ‘epic,’ it lacks any trace of subtlety and often comes off as sophomoric. Given that the end result of any plot advancement is inevitably that Death needs to gather three of something and thrash some skeletons, hearing the characters go on about the old ways and soul judgement just feels a bit silly. However, if a healthy dose of ridiculous doesn’t faze you, the contrived reasons for Death’s various escapades through heaven, hell and everywhere in between do provide an amusing backdrop for his quest. The majority of the adventure comprises rather standard action fare - Death wields both a fast primary weapon and a slow but powerful secondary weapon, and you chain together moves to slash your way through the various enemies. There are also a few special abilities you gain along the way - like the ability to summon demon lords to do your bidding or to split your soul in two to solve dungeon puzzles. The action segments are enjoyable enough - inasmuch as it’s hard to make slicing up undead baddies unenjoyable. Still, it’s disappointing that most of the enemies require next to no strategy to overcome. When you do come across an enemy that requires strategy to best, the joy of slaying it is truly satisfying - but these occurrences are few and far between. Most of the time, the answer is just to wait for the enemy to make their move, dodge, then attack. It’s still fun, because dodging and attacking are fun things to do in an action game, but it does get irritatingly repetitive after several hours of the same old song and dance. One of the touted selling points of Darksiders II is that it’s far bigger than its predecessor - with a map that’s more than twice as big and a campaign that’s about three times longer than the original adventure. Unfortunately, in this case, bigger definitely isn’t better. The freedom Darksiders II offers is something to behold - you’re able to journey around huge areas as you please, slashing enemies and seeking out treasure and loot drops to your heart’s content. But the bloated environments are simply too barren and often devoid of anything interesting to do or see. Since so little is done to vary up the gameplay, the pacing drags and the length of the adventure feels more like a chore than a bonus. The main problem is that the bulk of the adventure is repetitive. While it’s completely possible to reuse game mechanics throughout a campaign and still keep it feeling fresh, Darksiders II doesn’t achieve this. You’ll find yourself climbing wooden ledges and pegs, setting off bombs, and rolling balls over and over again in exactly same way, instilling a gnawing sense of deja vu. If these mechanics were employed in varied and clever ways, that would be one thing - but they’re not. I found myself rarely challenged by any puzzle I came across, and was often astonished that I was once again expected to repeat the same menial task I had just completed in the previous dungeon, or even in the previous room. darksiders-ii-20120302091259534 This is no place for a horse. On the bright side, Darksiders II does offer up some truly epic boss fights to vary up the repetition, ones that will put your skills to the test and are truly exciting to overcome. You’ll fight all kinds of epic demons - ones that can regenerate, ones that are about 100 times your size, and ones that are just plain brutal in their assault patterns. The bosses are one of the highlights of the experience, offering a glimpse of what Darksiders II could have been had the entire quest been as varied and balanced as these memorable battles. As for gamers who don’t like fetch quests - this game is not for you. Seriously, the entire game is a fetch quest. All you do is run from area to area, fetching three of these, then three of these, then two of these, then three more of these with combat in between. As someone who honestly doesn’t mind a healthy dose of fetching in her games, Darksiders II still pushed my limits. You end up fetching so much and for so long that the majority of the game feels pretty pointless by the end. Can’t anyone in these various realms do their own errands, for crying out loud? In truth, the game would have benefitted from being a skosh smaller and a lot more focused. In this way, the original game beats its sequel, as a more linear adventure that keeps the action coming befits this franchise’s intense style of gameplay. After all, there is a limit to how long you can run through similar environments and solve similar puzzles in order to appease your bloodlust for smashing things with cool weapons. One of the game’s stronger elements is its art design and voice direction. It’s incredible that you can grow so fond of a main character who literally never emotes, as he’s wearing a skull mask for the entirety of the adventure. Death’s awesome voicework doesn't hurt either - hearing him growl at the Makers or deliver lines like, “This is no place for a Horse,” or “You find something for a change,” is inexplicably enjoyable. Even though he’s pretty impossible to relate to - being the embodiment of death and all - his design and presentation still do a great job of making him someone you want to see to his journey’s end. While too many of the environments in Darksiders II are shockingly similar, some of them are well thought out and epic to behold, as are many of the characters and enemies found within. Unfortunately, the graphics aren’t quite up to snuff with the current generation of hardware. Some of the textures are so pixilated they look like they belong on a Wii, such as the oft-used skull and bones pattern (which is alarmingly flat, and thereby entirely unconvincing). It’s a shame, as the mediocre graphics undermine the game’s inspired art design. The animations are also quite choppy, as the game suffers from some fairly frequent framerate issues. There’s rarely enough happening onscreen to justify these MMO-like graphics. It looks good enough that it usually won’t distract from the adventure, but compared to similar games like God of War 3, the graphical presentation of Darksiders II is subpar. A frustrating detractor to Darksiders II is the sheer amount of random glitches you’ll encounter along the way - ones that can’t be accounted for and appear and disappear for seemingly no reason at all. Seeing Death floating above the ground or over thin air is not uncommon, nor is pressing B to perform an action command only for nothing to happen until a few button presses later. Other random glitches I encountered include the inability to discard boots, ally AI that just stands in the corner staring at the wall, a Primary Quest icon that leads you in the wrong direction (then shift positions when you check the in-menu map), and an absence of music and sound effects until the game was reset - and that’s just to name a few. Most of these glitches only last for a short while, then disappear never to surface again. Others, like a targeting system that rarely seems to target the closest enemy or a camera that is often pointing in an inopportune direction, are quite persistent. Sadly, they’re things you’ll just have to learn to cope with if you hope to see Death’s journey to its conclusion. The funny thing is, despite its lengthy list of flaws and failures, Darksiders II still manages to offer an enjoyable experience. Despite its lack of variety, the combat is still satisfying to engage in, especially when you run across a behemoth of a boss. And even though there’s not enough to do in them, running around such huge environments is still incredible. Certain abilities you amass along the way - like the Deathgrip or the summoning ability - are terribly fun to play with, and make for some really cool dungeon moments (like dashing across a wall and Deathgripping at the last moment to reach the other side). It’s also worth noting that the game picks up considerably towards the end, finally finding its stride for the last few dungeons. The puzzles get more creative, the enemies and environments more varied - it’s just a shame it takes about 30 or so hours to get to this point. Possibly the best part of the adventure, something that all action RPG games could learn from, is its implementation of RPG elements such as equipment and customization. Weapons found on the field can be instantly equipped or sent to your inventory with a single button press. Furthermore, each piece of equipment’s stats are displayed when you walk near it, as well as how it will raise or lower your own stats should you equip it. This makes fast decision making a breeze, and greatly increases the joy of seeking out the best armor to equip Death with. Every weapon or bit of armor you equip also changes Death’s appearance, which is a cool touch in making character customization feel more personal. The concept of cursed artillery, which you can ‘feed’ other items to, is also a great way to make the underpowered loot you come across feel like less of a waste. The way equipment is handled in Darksiders II is a true revolution in RPG gameplay, and one of the most solid parts of the experience. Tapping the left stick for Death’s bird, Dust, to show you the general direction you should go, and the deeply engrained Fast Travel system (which lets you instantly warp back to certain areas on the fly) are also great innovations for the genre. It’s a true shame the game’s impressive contributions are so severely undermined by its sheer amount of flaws and glitches. Closing Comments Despite its problems, I was compelled onward in my quest with Death because Darksiders II is simply a fun game. The RPG elements and to-the-point action all make for some solid gaming, glitches and all. It’s a shame so many glaring issues hold such an ambitious endeavor back from the greatness its developers were clearly aiming for. Still, if you love action adventure games, it’s certainly worth checking out - but don’t expect it to rival the masterpieces it will inevitably call to mind.

Persona 4 Arena Review

Arc System Works has been making great fighting games since I was a teenager (read: a really long time). Both of its flagship franchises -- Guilty Gear and BlazBlue -- have enjoyed a passionate niche following for years. Yet despite having standout visuals and one-of-a-kind play mechanics, they've never caught on the way Capcom's or even SNK's offerings in the genre have. In fact, even amongst hardcore fighting game aficionados, these games and others like them bear something of a scarlet letter on their heads. We call them “anime fighters”, a term as useless as it is pointless. Maybe it's the technically demanding fighting engines, or perhaps the cross-dressing nuns, but for whatever reason this sub-genre within a sub-genre has always been forced to stand in the corner. Until now. Enter Persona 4 Arena, a fighting game born from the unlikely collaboration between Arc System Works and the Persona 4 development team at Atlus. And what an entrance it makes. Not only does the game bring unprecedented accessibility to bear while keeping all the high level tournament depth intact, but it does so with an assured swagger that makes it impossible to ignore or forget. This one wasn't meant to sulk in the corner, folks. It was meant to strut on the stage. Above all else, Persona 4 Arena puts on a show, a show that begins with its rock-fueled opening video and ends with paparazzi camera flashes as you stand over the battered body of your opponent. Every screen serves up a feast of audio/visual tastiness that gets stuck to the roof of your mouth. Punky pinks and golden yellows dominate the palette with a crisp glow, accenting menus and interfaces that sport better art direction than some entire games I've played. It's a sheen that few games, 2D or otherwise, can match. The soundtrack manages to meet the high standards set by the visuals with a mix of the hard rock Arc System games are known for and selections from Persona 4's excellent OST. I defy you to refrain from singing along with “Reach Out to the Truth” whilst laying down the smack. That same fusion found in the soundtrack is present throughout the game. While it's in every way a fighter in the same vein as Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, it's also a Persona game through and through. Persona 4's original director, Katsura Hashino, worked with his original team to come up with the script for Arena's story mode, which functions as a canonical sequel to the Persona 4 RPG. This mode is aimed squarely at fans of the series who are more interested in learning the fates of their favorite characters than learning complex combos. You start by choosing one of four Persona users, and as you finish their quests, more and more of the cast becomes available, eventually completing the picture for you. Any fan of the Persona series will be happy with the writing, and some of the plot lines really extend the narrative arcs of their respective characters. Just be ready to spend a lot more time watching than playing. For players with no connection to the story or characters, there's both an Arcade and Versus mode. The former gives you the typical series of fights with bits of dialogue interspersed, and the latter lets you simply fight it out with a buddy or a CPU controlled opponent of your choosing without any story involvement. This is how most straight-up fighting fans will spend their hours with the game. Whether you're a new challenger or a grizzled vet, you can get your learn on in either lesson or training mode. Lesson mode gives you an invaluable breakdown of the game's many systems, and the training mode gives players of every level all the tools they need to practice and theory fight to their heart's content. A fully functional online mode rounds out the package, complete with savable match replays to help you breakdown those tough losses or prove to your friends just how much of a nerd-slaying badass you are. All told, it's the kind of comprehensive feature set I've come to expect from Arc System Works. They may ask full retail for the game, but give you every ounce of value for your dime. “ To watch or play a fight in Persona 4 Arena is to behold the impossible. Snazzy visuals drizzled over a heaping pile of bells and whistles is a great start, but at the end of the day you're looking for a good fight, and P4A puts its money where its mouth is in a big way. For all of its flash, it's built strongly on fighting game fundamentals. Unlike many games of its kind, there are a great deal of inputs and attack types that are universal to every character. Air dashes, double jumps, overheads, sweeps, reversals and more are available across the entire cast regardless of their wildly varied play styles. This allows players to have some kind of answer to almost anything their opponent throws at them, even if they only have basic knowledge of their character. You can even do a complete auto-combo for decent damage by pressing the light attack button repeatedly. Sure, it costs you some life and meter to use, but until you learn real combos, it at least gives you a way to get something out of the opportunities you create for yourself. These mechanics make P4A a much more welcoming game for those new to the genre, but seasoned pros still have a mile high skill ceiling to shoot for. Not one of the 13 playable characters are simple or straightforward in their approach. Each of them has a character specific mechanic as well as a unique Persona – a manifestation of their other self that can assist them with a wide array of attacks and abilities. Your Persona is like a second character, one that you can position independently on the battlefield. Using it in concert with your main character is key for claiming victory, but you also have to be wary not to expose them, as they can be hit and even temporarily knocked out, leaving you to fight on at half strength for a while. But properly coordinated offensives are a thing of beauty, shaving off a third of your opponents life or more amidst barrages of arcane energy that would look right at home in any RPG. Closing Comments And that's the real hook, the strange alchemy that transforms a deep, rewarding RPG into an equally deep and rewarding fighting game. To watch or play a fight in Persona 4 Arena is to behold the impossible. It weaves the majesty and imagination of one of the best role playing franchises of all-time into the snarling bravado of a one-on-one brawler so effortlessly, one wonders why it's never been done so well until now. If you count yourself as a fighting game fan, but have always harbored an irrational aversion to “anime fighters”, now is the time to get over it. Persona 4 Arena is the genuine article. Miss it at your own peril.

Sleeping Dogs Review

Playing Sleeping Dogs kept me on the edge of my seat, but not for the reasons you might expect. Sure, Sleeping Dogs’ melee combat and gunplay provide plenty of thrills, the driving is extraordinarily fun in all of its arcadey glory, and there’s a whole lot to do in the version of Hong Kong Canadian developer United Front Games created. But at the end of my nearly 20-hour experience, none of that mattered to me as much as the story did. It’s that story, coupled with rock-solid mechanics and a task-heavy world that sets Sleeping Dogs apart from its competition. See, Sleeping Dogs isn’t your typical Grand Theft Auto clone. Unlike recent titans of the genre -- Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and Saints Row: The Third -- your character, Wei Shen, doesn’t have roguish, violent tendencies just because he’s a criminal looking to make a few bucks. Rather, Shen is a calculated and complicated figure, an undercover cop with plenty of experience in both the United States and Hong Kong who returns to his native land in order to help get the city’s thriving criminal enterprises under control. But as Shen gets sucked further and further into the Triad underworld he initially wants to unravel, his motives – and which side he’ll end up falling in line with – become increasingly blurred. Sleeping Dogs’ blurred lines come to the fore as soon as you’re introduced to the game’s unique leveling system, which allots Shen experience points in three specific areas: Cop, Triad and Face. The experience points are, in turn, used to unlock new, unique abilities. Cop and Triad points often intermingle with one another as you complete the game’s primary missions, rewarding you for how careful you are with innocents and personal and private property (Cop) while simultaneously challenging you to brutalize your enemies with as much reckless abandon and gore as you can muster (Triad). Face, on the other hand, has everything to do with how the citizenry of Hong Kong feel about you, making it not only the most abstract of the experience meters, but perhaps the most interesting as well. Doing all kinds of favors for the anonymous masses net you Face experience, so whether you’re assisting a merchant, chasing down some drunks or otherwise generally helping out the working class folk (and the occasional two-bit criminal) of Hong Kong, expect your Face meter to rise steadily. A unique, multi-faceted experience system like this makes Sleeping Dogs a more deliberate affair than its contemporaries. On most main story missions, for instance, you will be docked police points for ramming into street lights with your car, accidentally striking a civilian or letting stray bullets seep into a storefront. But this is balanced by your brutality with Triad members. Using the game’s array of exceptionally gory kills is a great way to build that Triad meter to its maximum level as quickly as humanly possible. The experience system’s dynamics will keep you on your toes, and because you can replay missions once they’re completed, you could always go back to try things a little differently if you’re unsatisfied with the outcome as it currently stands. Sleeping Dogs’ version of Hong Kong is purportedly influenced by and designed after the real city. Its four districts are distinct, and the map sprawls considerably, although it’s probably not quite as big as Liberty City or Steelport. What makes it stand out, however, is how alive and well-populated it is. The AI in the game is smart, the passing chatter of NPCs well-executed, and the ebbs and flows of the city as it vacillates between day and night make it a believable setting worthy of exhaustive exploration. Stellar voice acting simply adds to this emphasis on realism and believability. The game employs a unique mixture of Chinese and English that doesn’t sound corny or ill-executed. Characters openly change things up depending on the nature and cadence of conversation, and you can follow along, when necessary, via subtitles. This approach is bold and risky, but it's also top notch and worth commending. The graphics, on the other hand, are good, but they certainly won’t blow you away. There are definite draw distance problems to be had with the game and some texture loading issues as well. At its heart, Sleeping Dogs does many of the things its top echelon competition in the genre already does pretty well, but where the game really shines is in the handful of things it does decidedly better. Hand-to-hand combat, for instance, is button-mashy and simple – almost Arkham City-like -- but works really well and makes Grand Theft Auto IV look subpar and archaic by comparison. This is good, as you’ll be relying on hand-to-hand combat with the occasional weapon thrown in – such as a kitchen knife, a pipe or a nightstick – for a majority of the game. Likewise, Sleeping Dog’s driving mechanics are immaculate, outclassing its closest competition as United Front Games invokes some of the spirit that made it so successful with ModNation Racers. In other words, expect to be surprised by how much better Sleeping Dogs does certain things than games you’d, at first glance, think completely outshine it. Then again, the game’s single biggest issue is with its camera. The camera often repositions itself towards center even when you’re using the analog stick to maneuver it while driving. This can significantly complicate navigating tight quarters or getting a look around your vehicle in open spaces. The camera can also be frustrating in some combat situations, though this is far less pronounced. The camera’s real deficit rests almost solely in conjunction with driving around Hong Kong, but this problem shouldn’t be overblown. You won’t always – or even often – encounter situations where this is a problem, and it generally doesn't detract from how fun it is to drive around. But it’s still worth noting. As you’re kept engaged by its fascinating story and the general fun you’ll be having driving, shooting, punching and adventuring, you’ll also be kept busy. That’s because Sleeping Dogs is a pretty long game. There are certainly sandbox titles that have more for you to do, but expect to spend somewhere in between 20 and 25 hours to see and do everything, and more of that if you want to chase a Platinum Trophy or a maxed-out Gamerscore. Apart from the main story, expect to stay busy with finding collectibles, engaging in races, singing karaoke, and taking part in all manner of side quests, even ones that bring out the full cop in Shen. An extra way to get more bang for your buck with Sleeping Dogs – and to keep yourself immersed in the experience – is to also utilize the in-game medals system that keeps track of specific things you do. As your stats buff-out, as you collect more hidden items, and as you do any other number of things, the medal system will give you more bronzes, silvers and golds to add to your collection. In turn, you’ll be compelled to try new and different things that you may not try otherwise, such as breaking bad guys’ bones or completing street races. This could potentially keep you very busy, and I found the system to be an enjoyable distraction, albeit an ancillary one. Sleeping Dogs also comes packing online functionality, but not in terms of multiplayer or co-op. It’s a decidedly single-player game, but you can still post mission scores to online leaderboards to compete with your friends and share a number of other statistics over the Internet as well. This simply contributes even more to keeping you involved with Sleeping Dogs, one of 2012’s biggest – and most pleasant – gaming surprises. Closing Comments I’m not sure why more people aren’t paying attention to Sleeping Dogs, but now that the game’s out, hopefully you won't make the same mistake. Sleeping Dogs did things that wowed me from the moment I started playing, and it never really stopped. A few finicky issues aside, Sleeping Dogs has proven itself worthy of joining the top class of open-world sandbox games revolutionized by the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV and currently topped by more recent additions like Saints Row: The Third. But don’t be confused; Sleeping Dogs does some things better than even the cream of the crop, and its story will be what keeps you focused on playing. The fact that the game happens to play well is simply icing on the cake.