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Monday, March 22, 2010

Darksiders

Started playing it yesterday and it's very very fun. I'm sure you all have heard the comparisons to Zelda and it's true. It feels like a modernized Zelda game in a post-apocalyptic world with combat that is actually challenging. I was very surprised at how fast and intense the combat can be at first because most games in the vein of Zelda or Fable have a little bit slower paced combat that's not too challenging, but here the enemies are fast, plentiful and with practically 0 drop in framerate.

One of the main things I like about combat is something very subtle. If you're mid-animation in a move you can basically hop to another move on the fly without waiting out the animation. Like I said small, but pivotal in a crunch.

I always forget how much I love exploring and so far this game has big areas to run around in!

Graphics are great considering the size of the boards and that there's no loading.

No real concerns at this time. I DO think that while the combat isn't easy that I won't be using many more than a handful of combos.

Considering that this is the first game from newcomer Vigil Games it's incredibly impressive and I can't wait to get back to playing when I get the time! Darksiders borrows from many great games and it shows, but they execute it all so fluidly you won't mind.

Why can't Nintendo do this?

6 comments:

  1. I think Nintendo definitely has it in them to do this. I know they haven't come from in house, but the growth we saw in the Prime series as well as the upcoming Other M are definitely signs of maturity coming within the Metroid framework.

    Without having played Darksiders it's hard to know if we're on the same page, but Twilight Princess (the newest Zelda on the Wii), definitely had some of what you were talking about. A much darker approach to the familiar story, significantly more attention to detail in the graphics department, and to date, still the best blend of traditional control and motion control. I feel like maybe one of the core differences between Darksiders and Zelda is that they both borrow from classic franchise, but Darksiders is blessed by not having any preceding games to set a standard against. If Virgil games copies someone's ideas its an homage, but if Nintendo does it they're uncreative.

    This actually got me thinking about the Wii controls, and how when I played Twilight Princess the first time, I was happy but also worried that the motion control might have been a little too much, and how over time I was certain that game developers would flesh out TP's control scheme and find a much more subtle way to integrate it. Turns out Wii Bowling's success meant more to them than making a better game... Now I'm blown away whenever a game hits the shelves that doesn't require the player to wave their arms around like a madman.

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  2. PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT MORE GREAT GAMES! I CAN'T HANDLE IT! TOO... MANY... GAMES! :P

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  3. I absolutely think Nintendo could do this....but they won't. They have the talent and the history, but a game much bigger than TP is not going to happen for a LONG time.

    Remember that Metroid Prime was handled by the AMAZING Retro Studios and they were overseen by Miyamoto. Other M is being done by Team Ninja (won't go into the legal mess that leaves Team Ninja crippled IMO).

    It's sad that any leap forward for a Nintendo IP is done by a 3rd party developer.

    The old head of Team Ninja (can't remember his name, but he's the brains behind Ninja Gaiden...Itagachi????) said that Japanese game developers are doing what Japan did 400 years ago by shutting out all other cultures and existing in their own bubble. He argued that it hurts not only themselves, but the entire industry. Giving us the JRPG slump of the modern age.

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  4. Amateria: I think that Zelda has been given a LOT of leeway in terms of people deeming it uncreative because the games are generally excellent.

    You yourself have joked with me numerous times about, "I wonder what I'll get first...the boomerang or the longshot?" You made this as a joke, but it's ultimately a very true statement.

    I don't think that Nintendo has to rewrite Zelda at all. I don't think that they have to get rid of many of the elements that have made their games great. They just need to update the series somehow....I'm not the creative powerhouse of Nintendo so I don't have any ideas for them, but I do know that Vigil has done something pretty special with Darksiders.

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  5. And that's all we can ask them to do (Vigil, that is).

    Nintendo didn't have the best time ever the last generation, so having a successful system (in sales anyways) has got to be a big ego boost. I'm honestly shocked though, at the lack of innovation that's coming from what one could call generally innovative technology. It's like the whole Wii development community played Wii Bowling, liked how it controlled, and everything else feels like a clone of it. Lame.

    You've basically sold me on Darksiders (We talked on the phone about it more third-party viewers), so we'll find some time down the road for that one. I owe it to my playstation to get through the Uncharteds though.

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  6. The demo for Darksiders was fun. I just don't have time for another good game, unfortunately. But yeah, fun times and the art/graphics were cool.

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