Darksiders 2 Review
Some bugs and porting issues don't stop Death's adventure from surpassing War's in both quality and scope
Once you get to one of the dungeons, your time will be spent between platforming, combat and puzzles, with the three elements often being combined in interesting ways. While the first Darksiders had all of these elements, none of them were really all that compelling on their own. Darksiders II improves on this largely thanks to the great agility of Death, who moves quicker and jumps farther than his lumbering brother. The addition of some light role playing elements, which I will get to later, also help spice things up.
Stunning backdrops make up for a lack of visual fidelity
The platforming might seem a bit clunky at first, and you might get frustrated early on when you don't know which surfaces and objects Death can grab on to. Fortunately once you learn the ropes the platforming is fluid and very fun with some very memorable sequences. If you fall in to one of the game's many bottomless pits, you will be reset at the beginning of that platforming segment. This is fortunate, since you might fall not because you mis-timed a jump, but because the camera decided to look in an unhelpful direction, forcing you to make leaps of faith just so you can see where to go next. I also had problems with the camera breaking after cut scenes where it would be locked in place where the cut scene ended while I could still control Death. Fortunately these issues are fairly uncommon and don't do too much to detract from the otherwise very enjoyable platforming segments.
While many of the platforming sequences are highly enjoyable on their own, they are often combined with puzzles. At the start of the game the puzzles are mostly straightforward and involve rolling big stone spheres into slots which activate a bridge or door. As you progress however the puzzles become more and more complicated, with multiple elements being used and some creative thinking required to get through the more tricky ones. Later on, Death gains the ability to split into multiple versions of himself, and you must switch between them to solve puzzles later in the game. Towards the end, you once again will use portals, although the developers must realize they are being a bit obvious with their idea borrowing based on the achievement name when you gain this ability.
Despair will help shuttle you from dungeon to dungeon
Just when you have had enough of puzzles and platforming, the game usually throws a bunch of enemies your way. The combat in Darksiders II is likely the most improved element, as Death is a much faster, more agile character than War. You will make liberal use of your ability to dodge, going in for a few quick slashes before rolling out of the way of the attacks of your enemies. You wield scythes as your primary weapon, and can choose between a variety of secondary weapons. Some of these are slow but deal lots of damage and can knock over groups of enemies, while others allow you to attack with great speed and dodge away to safety. On top of this you will carry a sidearm, although here your choice is limited to a pistol which lets you chip away at enemies from a distance, or a grappling hook that lets you pull small enemies towards you, or you pull yourself onto larger foes.
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