Darksiders (PS3)

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WAR is coming

You might have heard, over the last few months, that WAR is coming. In fact, it's here already. Mythic has today declared WAR on PC MMORPG fans in the form of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, but this is not the only war that the games industry is waging. Developer Vigil Games is also bringing WAR to PS3 and Xbox 360 early next year in Darksiders: Wrath of War.

In this case, WAR refers to the game's main character, and not that thing you rage against others in PvP. He's one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse and, following our check in with the game at Leipzig Games Convention last month, shares more than a few similarities with Nintendo's legendary Zelda rescuer, Link. Allow us to explain.

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War begins the game stripped of his powers and accused of conspiring with the other horsemen in a premature apocalypse that has destroyed the earth. As he battles to unravel the truth behind earth's destruction and gain his revenge he also reclaims many of those powers, and weapons, that made him such a bad ass in the first place. Is this starting to ring any bells Nintendo fans?

For Hyrule Field, see Darksiders' over world - the blasted remains of a city that acts as the hub from which the game's four overground dungeons and assorted underground levels are accessed. For Link's Horse, Epona, see Ruin, WAR's flame-hoofed steed that can be summoned at will and even incorporated into combos. For Legend of Zelda's gear item reward structure, see Darksiders' gear item reward structure, a strikingly similar affair that sees WAR reclaim lost weapons, boomerang included, that must be obtained before new dungeons can be accessed. Is our point clear?

The Legend of Zelda has clearly been an influence

We're not dumping on Darksiders when we say it's very Zelda-esque. In fact, we think the graphics are lovely, the combat looks fun and the story is unique. But it's clear for all to see that Wrath at War may well be the 'next-gen' Zelda game Nintendo refuses to make.

The Legend of Zelda isn't the only clear as day influence. Capcom's Devil May Cry has also had a heavy hand in Darksiders' development. Its look is one full of Gothic cathedrals and demonic overtones, a DMC hallmark. It's a realistic yet stylised look, and very comic book in tone. Imagine Spawn lending Link a hand as he sorts out Ganon. Something like that.

The combat is where DMC's presence is felt most. WAR's got plenty of demon-destroying abilities, with which he'll be chewing up countless skeletons, angels and the zombie-esque remnants of the human race, called the Wicked. Sword slices are his primary attack, his Gauntlet his secondary attack. He can also fire guns Dante-style from a distance. In order to mix things up a bit, Vigil has implemented a rudimentary counter system which should add depth and no little amount of skill to the combat. Enemies will attempt a desperation move when their health is low. When this happens a symbol will appear in the HUD - that's your cue to press the B button (on the Xbox 360 version, the one shown) to reverse it and trigger a devastating finishing move. When you combine all of this with the bog-standard action game lock-on and strafe/dodge and dash mechanic, Darksiders starts to become even more familiar to the genre's fans.

One mini-boss fight, in the Catacombs area of the Church dungeon, is with a wonderfully designed demonic jailer who has a little green goblin-esque guy buried in his cage-like chest. When WAR has drained its health to within an inch of the bitter end, the jailer attempts a desperation move which he reverses - he tears the cage from its body and uses it to as a weapon against spawning skeletons. Lovely.

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