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" Also available on: Xbox 360 Developer: Vigil Games Publisher: THQ Genre: Action/Adventure The religious ideas of heaven and hell have long proved subjects of fascination for artists. Acting as accentuated figureheads of good and evil, these afterlife concepts have stirred some incredible and influential imaginations, not least Dante Aligieri&amp;#039;s The Divine Comedy which recently inspired EA&amp;#039;s Dante&amp;#039;s Inferno. Now THQ steps into the fray with new action IP Darksiders, which delivers a post-apocalyptic battle for the Earth between the armies of heaven and hell, with the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse thrown in for good measure. Even though the title borrows heavily from more illustrious gaming franchises, it still provides an action-packed and enjoyable adventure that is a joy to play through. Players take on the role of War, one of the famed Horsemen, who is stirred into action after the Seven Sacred Seals are supposedly broken, indicating the start of the apocalypse. War arrives on Earth - known as the third realm - without his three brethren to find the armies of heaven and hell already having a right old ding dong. After he is beaten by a massive demon known as the Destroyer, War is sent back to the ethereal realm to tell The Charred Council why he was even there in the first place. It seems that corruption is afoot and War offers to supplant his punishment by taking down who is responsible, or expire trying. After being sent back to Earth, War realises that it is 100 years later and the victorious armies of hell have turned the world into a ruin, with all humans transformed to zombies and plenty of other evils lying in wait. War is then tasked with travelling to the Black Tower to discover the plot behind the fall of man. However, he is kept in check by the Council&amp;#039;s representative, known as the Watcher - voiced by Mark Hamill in rather too similar style to his recent turn as the Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum - who hides in a claw on War&amp;#039;s arm. The Watcher aggressively guides War through the adventure, but will also play an important role in the story arc.  In reality, the plot doesn&amp;#039;t have a great deal of depth and rather runs out of ideas after the first few hours. Likewise, most characters remain distinctively surface level stereotypes rather than being filled out in any way. However, the narrative shortcomings do not diminish the game&amp;#039;s quality, which lies in the sheer scale of its world and the lengthy single-player campaign that always retains the interest. In gameplay terms, Darksiders feels much more akin to the slow-moving yet brutal action of the God Of War series rather than the faster, more fluid combos of Devil May Cry. War has a massive sword known as the Chaoseater which he uses for heavy attacks on the ground and air, along with finishing moves. The combat feels very familiar, but also enjoyable, with the range of enemies making it fun to advance through the sections.  The right shoulder button performs a neat dash, which is essential for evading attacks from the bigger foes, while War also gets a scythe from Death as a secondary weapon. Players can largely just mash the action button to get through most combat sequences, but there are more tactical options, such as holding down the attack button so that War scoops the enemy into the air before doling out some punishment. However, anyone wanting a more testing challenge should head straight to the Apocalyptic difficulty mode, which features sterner enemy AI requiring attacks to be planned with greater strategy.  Vanquishing enemies brings souls to the player to be used as the game&amp;#039;s currency. After War encounters the demon Vulgrim, he gets access to a marketplace for upgrades to skills and weapons. Souls are also used to recharge War&amp;#039;s health and boost his wrath meter to perform a range of special powers. For example, War can activate his fiery Chaos demon form which makes his pretty much unstoppable for a time. However, it&amp;#039;s quite easy to max the chaos meter and so this power does seem a rather easy solution to fall back on in difficult situations.  Alongside the combat, the game has plenty of well designed platforming sections which are thoroughly enjoyable, particularly after War secures a set of inky wings to traverse long distances. There are also a variety of puzzles hidden inside the dungeons sections - rightly likened to the Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - which increase in difficult nicely and always bring a sense of gratification upon completion. Inside the dungeons, War must tackle a number of different challenges to find an item and then to defeat a boss. The bosses are typically large-scale fights which are fairly straightforward but always satisfying to experience. Once completed, each dungeon brings a new item to War&amp;#039;s arsenal - such as a boomerang, demonic revolver, a grappling hook, or armoured gauntlet - enabling him to traverse further towards his goal. However, some of the items feel a little underused, such as War&amp;#039;s demonic horse Ruin, who only factors in a few boss battles and long journeys. As the steed is so beautifully animated and drawn, he&amp;#039;s certainly missed when gone. Other items are a touch overcomplicated to control, particularly the bladed boomerang. These frustrations, though, are never so pressing that that the game becomes an irritation.  Graphically, Darksiders is at first a rather mixed bag. The character models are detailed and well animated, but the recreation of post-apocalypse Earth is strangely washed out. However, the game really gets going deeper into the campaign, with the bleak urban sprawl mixed with a greater range of environments and fantastical demonic flourishes. Add to this an atmospheric soundtrack and the package becomes extremely polished and very easy to recommend. Despite the lack of multiplayer elements, Darksiders has a lengthy campaign packed with content, most of which never feels like filler. The world is huge and there is so much to do beyond just button mashing, meaning that the game never outstays its welcome. The narrative is pretty forgettable, but one of Darksiders&amp;#039; real triumphs is that it always varies things up so that the slightly repetitive combat and familiar features never become tiresome. This means that the player always wants to advance through the episodes and discover what&amp;#039;s next. Overall, Darksiders may be derivative, but it&amp;#039;s also a hugely enjoyable hack-and-slash adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world. The massed battle between the legions of heaven and hell is an interesting concept, as is the position of War as a fallen horseman with a need to restore his power and integrity against the Destroyer. Even though the game has its faults, they never actually add up to ruin the experience. THQ has already hinted at a potential sequel, so with a touch more originality Darksiders could be propelled to a whole new realm of its very own.   &amp;gt; What do you think of the game? Share your views "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/review/a197402/darksiders-ps3/>