Darksiders

War and his horse ruin

Darksiders is a slasher game with adventure elements in which the player takes control of the main character - the rider of the Apocalypse named War. With a third-person view, the player engages in battles, solves puzzles and explores the world. Game mechanics evokes direct associations with the Legacy of Kain series (especially with the Legacy of Kain: Defiance ). The game world is divided into separate areas, inaccessible until the War does not recover much of their lost weapons and abilities. In the center of the world is the Crossroads, where the War is given new goals and keys to open up new areas. Each new area contains a series of linear and non-linear quests.

Although the main character, War, initially uses his legendary sword - Chaoseater (Chaos Eater), he gains access to other weapons during the passage of the game. In addition, each weapon has different attack combinations that can be obtained in the game. Along with combo hits , players can also use blocks and quickly dodge enemies. Long-range weapons can also be used in battle and in solving puzzles. Many objects lying around in the environment can also be used as weapons and shells. At a later stage in the game, War gains the ability to summon a fiery horse named Ruin, which provides fast movement and a powerful attack in the open. Along with weapons, War can use Rage spent on various abilities. The War is also able for a short period of time to take a Chaotic form - a true look that allows you to take the guise of a huge fiery demon with a giant sword, making it easier to deal with large clusters of enemies, as well as semi-bosses and bosses (you can not finish enemies in this mode) the scale of Chaotic energy, which can only be obtained by causing damage to the Chaos Eater.

When the enemies are close to death, the player can complete the finishing move, immediately killing the enemy. On some of the big opponents, you can drive a bit and send them to other enemies before you kill them yourself. The war ultimately confronts bosses that are huge and inflict heavy damage, and independently solve puzzles on how to kill them.

After defeat, various enemies give their souls, which give various benefits. There are three types of souls: green souls that fill the strip of health, yellow souls that fill the strip of Rage, and blue souls - a kind of game currency.

From the very creation of the Universe, Angels and Demons have been waging an uncompromising and endless war among themselves.

To preserve the balance between Paradise and Hell, and thereby prevent the thin tissue of the universe from breaking, the Charred Council calls on the Brotherhood of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , a group of the last Nephilim , to intervene and force a truce between the two kingdoms after countless centuries of war. The armies of both sides had to conclude a truce, sealed with seven seals, because otherwise, the punishment of the Council, in the person of the Horsemen, would be quick and brutal. In the heat of chaos appeared the Third Kingdom, the world of people (Earth). The Council predicted that, over time, these weak, but cunning and intelligent creatures will sooner or later also affect balance. And when the Seventh Seal is broken, the last battle will begin, in which people will take part, and the outcome of this battle will determine the fate of all three kingdoms.

Currently, armies of angels and demons are falling to Earth and the final battle begins. Two forces destroy everything in its path. In the midst of chaos, the War (in the Russian version voiced by Denis Bespaly ) is called to Earth to restore order. In his confrontation with Abaddon (voiced by Mikhail Georgiu in the Russian version), the general of the army of God, the War discovers that the other horsemen did not arrive and the Seventh Seal was not destroyed.

Stragha, a powerful demon, emerges from the earth and kills Abaddon . The war fights with the Sentinel and is defeated. He is saved from death and sent to the Council, which accuses him of the fact that it was because of him that the Apocalypse began ahead of time. The Council sentenced him to death, but the War asks to send him to Earth to restore balance. The Council agrees that it will be associated with one of its custodians, the Observer, who has the power to kill the War if he deviates from his mission.

Upon returning to Earth, the War discovers that a hundred years have passed since his last visit. Under the direction of a Destroyer, the forces of hell won, defeating the armies of Heaven, with the exception of the meager resistance of the "Angel Legion" led by the angel Uriel . All humanity is either dead or zombie , and the Earth is in ruins.

From the demon-merchant Vulgrim (voiced by Maxim Pinsker in the Russian version) The war finds out that the Black Tower is the den of the Destroyer. The Vulgrim advises seeking Samael, once a powerful demon, rejected by the Destroyer and imprisoned in prison. Samael explains that there are four Approximate demons defending the Black Tower, and asks the War to kill them and bring their hearts to him. In exchange for help, War will gain access to the tower. The war goes to the Shadow Cathedral to kill the first one close - Tiamat, the lord of bats. On the way to the lair of the second Approximate - Weepers, the hero encounters Ultein (in the Russian version voiced by Andrey Yaroslavtsev), one of the Ancients. A fight ensues between Ultain and War. Soon they are attacked by Uriel and her legion, which is why Ultain offers the War a little competition to kill the angels. After the murder of the second demon, the War goes to the Ash Lands to get the heart of the third One, Stygian - the king of giant ash worms. There he returns his war horse - Ruin, and kills the Stygian. Next, the protagonist goes in search of the last Approximate - Silites - the spider queen. Before the battle, the Horseman learns from her that Samael simply uses it to restore his strength, and that the true mission of the four Approximate demons is to restrain the forces of Samael. The war brings hearts to Samael as evidence of their death. Samael is true to his word and sends the War to the Black Tower, noting that they will meet again.

In the tower, War meets the angel of death Azrael , who was imprisoned there. Azrael was accused of conspiring together with Abaddon, whose goal was the early start of the Apocalypse, since both were afraid of the defeat of Heaven, but the plan fell apart with the death of Abaddon. Upon learning this information, War decides that the Council framed it. The observer decides to restore balance. The war frees Azrael and sets off for the heart of the Black Tower, where he kills Straghu, thus avenging his previous defeats. Azrael rescues the War, as the tower collapses due to the death of Stragi, and leads him to the remains of the once destroyed Eden . There he says that only the Tree of Knowledge can show the War how he can defeat the Destroyer.

In Eden, the Tree of Knowledge gives the War a vision: after Abaddon was killed, he was taken to hell , where an unknown woman invited him to either serve in paradise or rule hell. He chose the latter and became the Destroyer, after which he captured the Seventh Seal. The vision also says that the Destroyer is planning an attack on heaven, Uriel will lead the Angelic Legion against the Destroyer and be defeated. The Council foresaw these events, and came to the conclusion that only riders could stop the conspirators, while realizing that they would kill everyone. Therefore, they allowed the Apocalypse to begin and cause the War, then to blame him, because of this he will do everything to clear his name. The war also sees the Observer teasing him, and then the hero is pierced with a magic sword. Azrael concludes that the sword in the vision of the War is the Armageddon Blade , which once destroyed the seal. Now the War must find the fragments of the blade and take them to Ultein in order to reforge it.

The war once again confronts Uriel, who challenges him to the Nex Sacramentum (sacred duel to death). The war comes out victorious and decides not to kill the angel, despite the insistence of the Observer. The war tells her that her death has not yet come and tells the truth about Abaddon. After this, the hero leaves, and Uriel, burning with fury from this knowledge, prepares the Angelic Legion for battle.

The war collects all fragments of the blade and returns them to Ultein, since only he can reforge it. Meanwhile, Uriel and the Angelic Legion attack the Destroyer. After the battle, the War confronts the Destroyer, and he confronts the War with a choice: either to serve in paradise or to rule hell. To this, the War replied: “I already made a choice that the coward escaped,” and with the help of the armageddon blade, it destroys the demonic shell of the Destroyer, returning to him the appearance of Abaddon. The war clashes with the former archangel, and ultimately kills him by piercing his sword and tearing his wings out before that.

The war receives the seventh seal, but the Observer tortures him and steals it, knowing that the War will oppose the Council. Before the final blow, Uriel pierces the body of War with a blade from the back, as the Tree of Knowledge predicted, thereby taking the oath of allegiance to the Council. Then Uriel destroys the seal that the War takes, and since the Observer is no longer in power over him, the protagonist kills him, crushing his head.

Uriel says that by this act their debts to each other are paid off, but warns him that, if necessary, she will raise the blade against the Horseman. The forces of Heaven will continue to pursue the War, the forces of Hell will try to kill him, Charred advice and, possibly, other forces may come for him. To the angel’s question: “Are you going to wage war alone?”, The hero replies: “No, not one”, showing a fragment of the seventh seal and watching the three meteors approaching, announcing the arrival of the remaining Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which will always be four.

Among the characters in the game are angels , demons and the Ancients who do not belong to Heaven or the Underworld .

• War is one of the last four representatives of the Nephilim race (the rest are its brothers Discord and Death, and Sister Rage are the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse), the last of the Four Horsemen , keepers of the balance between Heaven and Underworld, as well as the youngest of them. He is severe, laconic and strictly adheres to the code of honor. After the failure of the end of the world , which led to the destruction of mankind and upset the balance, all responsibility was assigned to him. Instead of a left forearm, he has a prosthetic mitten (according to the official comic, his brother Death was cut off by the left hand of the War as a punishment)
• Ruin is the warhorse of War.
• Charred Council - Council set by the Creator, to preserve peace between the 3 kingdoms (Paradise, Hell, Earth).
• The Watcher , aka The Watcher, is a symbiotic creature supplied with the War before being released back to Earth. The caretaker is angry, cynical and enjoys when others around him feel bad. His responsibilities include monitoring the war and punishing him in case of disobedience. Sometimes it proves useful, drawing the attention of the War to important objects or giving advice.
• Ultain (Ulthane), also known as the Black Hammer ( Eng. The Black Hammer ) - one of the creators. Ultain is a great blacksmith in whose power to create the perfect weapon. He’s never interested in the endless confrontation between Heaven and Underworld; he looks down on representatives of both armies and kicks and smacks from his territory indiscriminately both demons and angels.
• Abaddon is a powerful archangel . Abaddon commanded the angelic forces sent in the first hours of the end of the world to Earth to fight the hellish hordes. At the very beginning of the game, the demon Straga throws him into the Underworld. After that, the doors to heaven slammed shut, leaving the surviving angels wandering around the Earth captured by demons. He uses a very long sword in battle, masterfully owning it, telekinesis and teleportation , can fly on his angel wings.
• Uriel , she is Uriel (Uriel) - an angel, a companion of Abaddon. After his death, Uriel led the remaining angelic legions on Earth. A hundred years of wandering around the ruined world and constant skirmishes with demons turned it into a real fury on angel wings. The responsibility for the death of his leader Uriel laid on the War and longs for revenge. He owns sword and magic, can throw lightnings , but much weaker than Abaddon or Azrael.
• Destroyer ( Eng. Destroyer ) - a mysterious and powerful creature who led the demons that surged to Earth during the end of the world. After a hundred years, he, occupying the Black Throne, rules the ruined world.
• Samael is an ancient demon. Samael rebelled against the Destroyer, for which he was imprisoned until the end of time, but he also retained part of his former strength there. Wanting to take revenge on the former master, he agreed to help the War.
• Vulgrim (Vulgrim) - a cunning demon merchant, devourer of souls. For the sake of souls, the Vulgrim is ready to do the most dubious deeds. For a fee, the Vulgrim is ready to help the War, selling him equipment, teaching new skills and revealing some secrets.
• Tiamat , The Griever , Silitha , The Stygian, Straga - The Demons, the closest helpers to the Destroyer. Each of them rules in its territory. Tiamat is a winged demoness, the mistress of bats , Silita is a giant spider , Crying woman is a huge insect-like demon slightly resembling a bear , Stygian is a giant ash worm , Straga is a huge demon that lives in the tower and is part of it.
• Azrael - like Abaddon, a powerful archangel, the angel of Death and his old friend. After the Apocalypse, he was captured by the Guard, so that the Destroyer could use the power of the Source of souls. Before that, he closed the gates to Paradise and with the help of witchcraft hid the Garden of Eden . Subsequently, he was liberated by the War and transferred him from the Black Throne to Eden . Later he helped the Horseman to get to the Denominator's lair and, thus, had a hand in the death of Abaddon. Controls the Source of Souls, but could not fulfill his duties in captivity with demons.

Voice Actors

• War - Liam O'Brien (in the Russian version of the game - Denis Bespaly )
• Observer - Mark Hamill (in the Russian version of the game - Valery Storozhik )
• Ultain - JB Blank (in the Russian version of the game - Andrey Yaroslavtsev)
• Uriel - Moon Bloodgood
• Abaddon , Straga , Tormented Gate - Troy Baker
• Tiamat , Silita - Dani Minela - Minella
• Samael - Vernon Wells
• Azrael - Kate Szarabayka
• Vulgrim - Phil Lamarr

The game was mostly expected by a warm welcome from critics.

The largest Russian portal of games Absolute Games put the game 56%. Browsers noted the excellent work of the voice actors, and the original idea. The weak points were the weak plot and graphics. Verdict: “Alas, Vigil Games is not capable of more. From fragments of a dozen successful ideas of the last decade, she created Frankenstein, bulky and unfriendly, and there was not enough talent to breathe life into him. ” ^[sixteen]

Igromania magazine gave the game 8 points out of 10 (7 points in the PC version), making the following conclusion: “In creating games, as in any kind of art, in principle, you can do without original ideas if you cleverly and skillfully combine elements from many other people's projects - but all these projects must be really known and loved, understand how and why they work, imitate not only the appearance, but also the inner essence of each scene. So, Vigil Games - they know and understand. ”. ^[17]

The Country of the Games gave the game 7.5 out of 10 points. The advantages were the gameplay and the developed game world. The disadvantages included a weak variety of opponents, a small number of combo tricks. Verdict: “Darksiders is not exactly a lost game, but it could have been much better. The developers had all the cards, and in some places they really went all out, showed what they were capable of. However, there is a feeling that the employees of Vigil Games did not fully manage to decide which game they are doing. For a full-fledged rough and bloody slasher, there are not enough blows, strokes, weapons and really vivid scenes, for an adventure game there are not enough clever puzzles, sensible script and beautiful landscapes. And with the moment of birth Darksiders was not lucky. To withstand the rivalry with fresh Bayonetta and already the data in the sensations of God of War 3 and Dante's Inferno is not an easy task. And we can say with confidence that Vigil Games did not cope with it: their game is “good”, “not bad”, “busy”, but hardly anyone will prefer it to the products of competitors. ” ^[18]

THQ creative director Luis Higliotti said in an interview with GameAxis that Darksiders will be a franchise and that THQ is considering a sequel to the game. The sequel may turn on multiplayer mode, as the other three riders will join the war. ^[nineteen]

Joystiq suggested that the sequel to the game Darksiders will appear in June 2012. Based on the prophecies, this year the world will end, so the release of the game this year will be very symbolic.

As a result, rumors about a possible sequel to the DarkSiders: Wrath of War action got confirmation - THQ really has nothing against continuing this franchise. The hero of the second part will be one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse, namely Death - the brother of the War from the first part.

During his speech at the IGDA Leadership Forum, THQ Vice President Danny Bilson said the sequel will unfold at the same time as the original.

At the E3 conference in 2011, it was announced that the upcoming sequel, Darksiders II, would also be launched on the upcoming Wii U with the necessary modifications for Nintendo controllers. ^[20]

The creator of the game, Joe Madureira plans to adapt the film to the plot of the game. ^[21] Joe Madureira is currently working on the script ^[22] and will sell the rights to Hollywood Studio. ^[23] Louis Higliotti said that he would like to see Bruce Willis in the role of War, because "he is a terrific man." ^[24]

• - Darksiders official website