Darksiders II - Living Death

[Shuma]

Welp, finished the game. Pretty much rushed through it and didn't do many side quests, didn't touch the Crucible either, but as for the story... If you were disappointed on the story by the time you get to the third world and were hoping it would get better, Well, i got bad news for you...

Graphics definitively look worse than Darksiders I, this becomes pretty obvious when you meet a certain demon. Combat and gameplay in general is better. The world is definitively bigger and has more content than the first one, but it doesn't feel as polished imo, story is crap and boring and the final boss is a huge disappointment in every way imaginable, characters are boring, surprisingly even the characters that return from the first game are boring in this one(example 1: Vulgrim).

In short, i'm unimpressed. With how much they hyped this game as being bigger and better in every way imaginable than the first one, it sure as hell doesn't feel like it was better overall. I wouldn't say it was worse than the first one, but i wouldn't say it was better either.

By the time i realized the game had ended, it felt like it was missing a second half, it doesn't even feel like it ended, more like it just "stopped"

ending

When you get to the well of souls, you fight a boss, the boss is boring with pretty much 0 backstory, it's pretty much just a random monster, then Death resurrects humanity... Somehow, we don't see humanity resurrecting or anything, the game just tells us that Death did it and then the game ends, and we get a cutscene of the end from the first game narrated by the crowfather and that's it, credits roll, if you wait until after the credits, you hear Lucifer scolding Lilith.

On the plus side, Death>War and by a mile. Death at least has a personality.

Edit:

And yeah, the music is pretty good, especially the one that plays on

Mysterious spoiler do not click(unless you got the "collect 3 pieces of a staff" quest)

Earth

[Sinogrim]

May I ask how long it took you to finish the game?

Also, you say the last boss was dissapointing, but couldn't you say the same for Darksiders 1? The last boss there was probably one of the easiest bosses in the entire game and didn't really do anything special.

[Hirmetrium]

The last boss there was probably one of the easiest bosses in the entire game and didn't really do anything special.

Darksiders 1 suffered from terrible power creep. By the time I was at the last boss, I had abyssal armour, all my weapons at max and all the legendary enhancements. The Destroyer didn't stand a chance. I had wrath spells on pretty much permanently.

Apparently, THQ shop keys won't go out until the morning of release here in the UK. Sadness. Oh well, I will need the sleep to ensure I can power through the game.

[Shuma]

@Sinogrim:

True, but the last boss in the first game was fun to fight(at least imo), and then again all the bosses in the first game were really easy, with the exception of maybe Tiamat. This one... Not so much, at least not in my opinion, if i were to describe the final fight without spoiling anything. I'd say it felt like just fighting a big random enemy. That said, the boss you fight before the final boss is really fun.

Game took me 20 hours to complete according to Steam. But like i said, i didn't do many sidequests or touch the crucible. I enjoyed the game, but i'm disappointed.

Edit:

Tried the Crucible as soon as i got to the maker world in New game+, got my ass destroyed by beetles at wave 61, got the abyssal boots at wave 50.

[Zallis]

I agree with Shuma in regards to the scope of the game. The world is bigger, but it's really empty. Darksiders 1 was fairly empty too, but it seemed to have higher concentrations of enemies.

Also, the crucible guy reminds me of monster truck rally announcers. He's too damn excited about it...

[Sinogrim]

Isn't the point of having a large world to find secrets through platforming and exploring instead of getting random monsters thrown in your face every 5 seconds?

I haven't played the game, but everytime someone says "the world is empty", isn't it just cause you're not looking around for stuff? Perhaps I'm just a weird guy in that way, but I like to explore levels to the fullest in these kind of games. Find all the hidden stuff and climb everything there is to climb, stuff like that.

[Shuma]

When i said empty, i wasn't referring just to enemies, i was referring to platforming, exploring, items and the like. In fact, if there's something the empty spaces in this game does is throw random monsters at you. That's not to say that there's nothing at all in the open spaces in this game, but for example, the very first open area you get to in the game, it's gigantic, just open plains and there's exactly 2 "hidden" items in that area, no enemies either, the next open areas you see are better and those are actually full of "secrets".

But that's just the first world, the second world is pretty much completely empty of anything but dungeon entrances and random monsters, as for the third and fourth world... Well, i don't even want to tell you.

[Zallis]

Haven't gotten to the 4th world yet, but the 3rd had literally 3 or 4 hidden items in it. The rest were in dungeons, of which there were 2.

And aside from the first few enemies (that don't respawn when you leave the world) there's literally nothing to fight either. So, basically, if it weren't for fast travel, I'd be really pissed all the time because it's one winding canyon. One of the dungeons is pretty cool, but makes up for it by throwing endless waves of bullshit at you until you find a certain thing, making exploring almost impossible.

[konfeta]

Wooooow. Is it me, or is Stick and Stones quest the biggest dick move?

So, there is supposed to be a Resistance stone in the foundry level where you first get tossed by Karn (the room with the big hammer). It's on one of the moving thingies you have to latch on to.
1. You cannot hear the stone there because of all the environmental noises.
2. It looks like you only get one chance to shoot it.
3. The door then locks and you can never come back to that room again.
4. Hey, this game switched to autosaves only, so there is literally no way to do this quest without restarting the game once you miss this hilariously easy to miss stone.


*Ah, I just suck at spatial awareness. Got completely the wrong room.

[Zallis]

It's still a pretty dickish quest. A lot of them are hidden in dungeons, and are in unusual places (usually on the roof, where you never look!). Going back into the dungeon afterwards is a bitch because without the progression of locked doors and gates, you have no damn clue which way to go, short of playing the game so much that you remember everything like the back of your hand.

Also, yes, the order in which you give them to Blackroot matters. 1 arcne + 2 power stones gives you arcane crit, while 2 power stones + 1 arcane gives you regular crit. What the hell is arcane anyways?

[konfeta]

Arcane is spells and reaper attack damage IIRC.

[Maktaka]

According to a quote someone posted elsewhere on the internets from the Prima guide, arcane doesn't even cover spells, it's just reaper damage. Same for arcane crit chance and arcane crit damage. I rather hope that's an errata in the guide, because if that's true arcane royally blows. I suppose it would be feasible to test out if I truly cared about anything other than whacking dudes with my reaper blades and downing sidequest bosses six levels above me like a baws .

[konfeta]

Well the Scythe does have a lot of reaper attacks built in.. That said I remember someone posting labs that it increases ability damage.

[Shuma]

I'm just going to leave this here:

http://community.darksiders.com/go/t..._today_DAMAGED

[Langy]

Isn't that more the postage delivery service's fault, not the distributor's?

[Sinogrim]

Yea, the distributor can't help it that the postage delivery service are ran by idiots.

Poor guy though. I'd be extremely pissed if that happened to me.

[Gorb]

It isn't that PC gamers thing its a right or that they deserve to be special, its that the platform itself should allow the developers to have greater control over their product than the consoles. The PC platform has always generally been about customising your experience to best suit your needs, for instance if your trying to play a game on your PC and its shuttering that crazy, you generally adjust the graphical settings in an attempt to get your optimal frames per second at a consistent rate. Resolution is also a big factor when it comes to PC gaming, because you are significantly closer to the image, a lower resolution game could be detrimental to your game play experience. Resolution can also be further complicated with screen aspect ratios which can vary far greater than those on the consoles.

PC gamers will generally complain about the lack of features more than their console counterparts because they are generally more connected to the web/forums, as their on the PC during their playtime so its easy for them to jump onto a forum, throw down a post and wait for a response.

Different things will annoy different people, for instance I can't stand games with a Field of View around the 70 mark (which is most console games) because it actually begins to make me feel physically sick, this was one of my biggest issues with playing games that were ported from the console (due to the limited FOV and the close screen). However, in recent years developers are allow me to access the command console or through options menus to change that Field of view to my preferred liking, this is good move as it allows the customer to not have a negative experience with the game and provide a more positive response back to the developers.

Just wanted to reply to say thanks for replying and that I have read this. I agree that resolution (and the resulting FPS) is important (though not so applicable here as Darksiders II has resolution options, I think?) and I am definitely agreed on the FoV options for a PC release.

I was more arguing against the demand for a complete graphical overhaul and other such not-needed features (FoV is needed due to discomfort caused to a small portion of the potential playerbase, resolution for obvious reasons).

@konfeta and others: does anybody have any idea with regards to the graphical detail? Why is it so evidently pixellated? The world objects don't (/didn't) seem to be for me; it was more noticeable on Death, his enemies and the NPC character models (which is why I'm refraining from assuming they simply focused in on low-detail assets). I'm pretty sure the polycount on the models isn't that low (though the developers did state that normal mapping reduced a lot of potential modelling detail).

[DeafMute]

Think im alittle under leveled, Get my ass handed to me 1 shot style by the Skelly King.
A major issue Im finding with the game which is probably just me being the "special" flower I am is how youve to revisit areas to collect things you couldnt of gotten the first time around, I spend more time back tracking and rechecking areas then I do advancing.

[Maktaka]

The Skeleton King is a curious bump of difficulty, being a level 20 enemy in a dungeon filled with ~level 12s, but I was able to beat him at level 14 with a LOT of dodging (and cursing, and retrying, and a stubborn refusal to back down). His freezing mace attack is the one to watch out for as it does tons of cold damage that requires a high resistance to survive without assistance. If you can break out in time you might be able to pop a health potion and just barely edge out the DOT effect, depending on your health and resistance levels. If you have a life leech ability from either tree that can also get you through the DOT if you can use it enough before the cold takes you.

[Shuma]

@Gorb:

The only explanation is low res textures, and it's really evident when you meet a certain character that was also in the first game. I don't want to spoil anything, but you'll know it when you know it.

Vigil already apologized and are working on patching the PC version though, so there's hope.

[konfeta]

So, er, what exactly does the advanced weapon training from Draven do? My charged attacks still do the most damage if I hold them out until the end.

On top of it, some of Draven moves except the Flipsaw don't actually look like they do anything. Riftbreaker/Widowmaker (Heavy melee specials) - I have never seen them activate.

[Maktaka]

To get the Riftbreaker/Widowmaker, make sure you have the heavy power attack purchased for your weapon type, then hold attack until right as the glow around death is absorbed in his body and release. Instead of the whirl-smash, you'll do a whirl-uplift. As you do the uplift hit attack to do the Riftbreaker, a powerful smash into the ground. If you can time your next attack in the tiny window right before this attack hits the ground (it is a VERY small timing window), you'll do the Widowmaker followup smash. If you pull off the timed power attack, you can also button mash to try to hit the timing windows on the two followup attacks, but it's not very effective when trying to hit the window for Widowmaker; it is truly a tiny, tiny timing window.

I'm not sure if you can get the charged power attacks to work with some unique weaponry though. I couldn't seem to get this chain started while wielding Goremaul even though I had all the weapon-specific heavy power attacks purchased.

I'm not even sure it's worth it though. Thanks to the difficulty of getting Widowmaker to work I find it's just easier to do Razor Kick, Hellraiser, Flipsaw.

Edit: Oh, it's just that the hammers (of which Goremaul is one) don't seem to work, or are too finicky about timing for me to pull them off anyway. Axes are much easier to get Riftbreaker with.

[Shuma]

So i just beat the Crucible yesterday, last 10 waves are actually ridiculously easy and the prize you get for finishing the Crucible is the Abyssal shoulder pads.

[DeafMute]

Shuma, what level would you suggest tackling it? Also seeking tips on the best weps to use against which enemy types?

[Shuma]

Well, to begin with you don't have all the Crucible open from the start, more stages open as you progress through the game, and the final 25 waves don't unlock until new game+. I did it at level 29 but i don't think level matters that much, the enemies on the crucible are always some levels above you iirc.

As for weapons, best weapons you'll ever get are Possessed scythes with frost/ice damage, high crit chance and high crit damage. Mine hit criticals with pretty much every single hit and they slow enemies down.

[Maktaka]

The last run I did on the Crucible I got to wave 20, jumped out to get my loot, and got....nothing. Absolutely nothing. The chest was completely empty. Hooray bugs!

[Shuma]

You should've waited until wave 25, your progress saves every 25 waves.

[konfeta]

Glaives are my favorite heavy weapon, I think. The ability to charge it up and go in from out of enemy range gives hilarious burst damage for free.

Also, it seems that the only heavy attack I can get the Riftbreaker/Widowmaker off are the Dodge-Rightclick ones. Oh wells.

[Zallis]

I'm not even sure it's worth it though. Thanks to the difficulty of getting Widowmaker to work I find it's just easier to do Razor Kick, Hellraiser, Flipsaw.

You and your fancy schmancy fighting. I just mash the mouse buttons. I did used to try and use the primary attack combo that hit everything around you ( delay between 2nd and third attack), but then just realized that the heavy melee weapons do the same thing for less effort (and more damage). Even then I only bother with that because those scarabs are fucking annoying.

[konfeta]

Your recipient does not have any saved data on Darksiders II, and cannot receive your mail.

So, eh, what? Tried sending a friend a weapon, got this error message. He tried sending me something back, got the same error message. What the fuck? Gonna go whine on the official forums, but has anyone here encountered it?

[Shuma]

I don't have friends, so no. Also the game is full of bugs and glitches and optimization problems and crap, apparently i'm really lucky that i haven't encountered a single one, but apparently everyone else has.

And i just found out that apparently there's no New Game++, so i guess i've been wasting my time collecting relics, pages of the book of the dead and all that crap to complete the Abyssal armor in New Game+.

[Sinogrim]

So the game's finally out in the EU. Played around an hour and I must say, I am enjoying myself quite a bit.

However, the explanation about Wrath powers is really not clear at all, and I have no clue how to use them (I'm using an Xbox controller), anyone mind telling me where and how you select wrath powers?

Also, it seems I didn't get my Darksiders 1 veteran reward, which isn't a big deal cause I don't intend on using any of the pre-order weapons, but it's still annoying.

[Langy]

You get the Darksiders 1 reward by talking with the shaman in the Maker's Realm; you don't start out with them. Still not sure when/where you get the Maker's Armor, though.

[Sinogrim]

Strange, cause I talked to her. Might've missed the conversation option to get them or something. Thanks Langy .

[Gorb]

So the game's finally out in the EU. Played around an hour and I must say, I am enjoying myself quite a bit.

However, the explanation about Wrath powers is really not clear at all, and I have no clue how to use them (I'm using an Xbox controller), anyone mind telling me where and how you select wrath powers?

Hold down whichever one the blue button is, I think (X?) and assign using the directional pad. Could be horribly wrong, but I remember adding Wrath powers as shortcuts was a bit unintuitive/awkward.

[FriendlyFire]

I've not decided whether I'll be buying this or at what price, but I did check out TotalBiscuit's WTF video (in large part out of curiosity on all the hammering the game gets for graphics) and I was just wondering... Is the criticism really, truly warranted?

What I've seen looked like the textures were blurry when you were close to them and looking at them, but that you weren't doing so all that often. I know that TB in particular is very picky about it (and sometimes gets fooled for it, like with Inversion), so I took it with a grain of salt. Are they that bad when actually playing the game as opposed to looking for things to criticize? I've even heard people saying it looks worse or on par to WoW... Surely that's ridiculous? What I've seen of the game was particularly pretty, certainly prettier than WoW.

[Whiskey144]

@Sinogrim-

Since I use an Xbox controller with my PC for playing Darksiders II, I'll clarify what Gorb is trying to say- Press down on the D-pad, at which point you rotate the arrow to be on one of your Wrath powers. Now you can assign up to four Wrath powers to an "action button", a combination of Left Button+[A/B/X/Y]. It's worth noting that you can also assign gear items to action buttons, but IMO that's rather a waste.

You can also activate Wrath powers from the radial menu by pressing down on D-pad, and then selecting a Wrath power and pressing "A". IMO, the self-buff powers Unstoppable and Aegis Guard can be left on the radial wheel, as the others are all more usefully activated rapidly- especially doubling down on Exhume and Murder.

[Rook]

@FriendlyFire RE: graphics. I'm playing on the pc and im not that far into it yet. From what i the quality of the graphics varies wildly depending on where you are. For the most part i'd say they are fairly average to good (i like the art style) There are a few things that have let them visuals down, the ugliest thing ive seen is the representation of Death in the character screen which looks very low res. I may have missed some stuff but the gameplay is fun enough for me not to have noticed them.

[Sinogrim]

Thanks for the info about the Wrath powers guys. I kept trying to assign powers through the Wrath Power menu. Better not skip through all the tutorials soo quickly next time =).

Also, is there a stash int his game where you can drop some of your "unique" loot? I'd be a shame to sell all those DLC weapons since I'm sort of a collector when it comes to these kind of games.

@FriendlyFire
I'm around 3 hours into the game right now and I can say that the graphics aren't quite up to par with most PC titles (especially the facial animation, wtf is up with that?), but I quickly stopped noticing and caring about it since the game just pulled me in with the gorgeous art-style and fun gameplay. Unless you're a real graphic-junky, I don't think you should let the lack of higher resolution textures and lack of AA really keep you from buying the game. Especially not if you're into these sort of games like me.

[Gorb]

I've not decided whether I'll be buying this or at what price, but I did check out TotalBiscuit's WTF video (in large part out of curiosity on all the hammering the game gets for graphics) and I was just wondering... Is the criticism really, truly warranted?

What I've seen looked like the textures were blurry when you were close to them and looking at them, but that you weren't doing so all that often. I know that TB in particular is very picky about it (and sometimes gets fooled for it, like with Inversion), so I took it with a grain of salt. Are they that bad when actually playing the game as opposed to looking for things to criticize? I've even heard people saying it looks worse or on par to WoW... Surely that's ridiculous? What I've seen of the game was particularly pretty, certainly prettier than WoW.

People who equate graphics to WoW generally have little idea about graphics themselves. This is in no way a put-down, simply a statement backed up by years of pointless stubborn arguments online

The pixellation is noticeable, especially if you are fortunate to play on a huge screen (pre-release spoiled me, yes it did), however it doesn't detract from the amazing style and the landscape (which seemed to be less pixellated, IIRC).

[Langy]

Hold down whichever one the blue button is, I think (X?) and assign using the directional pad. Could be horribly wrong, but I remember adding Wrath powers as shortcuts was a bit unintuitive/awkward.

I wish you could do something similar on the PC:/ Not being able to is one reason I don't use wrath powers at all.

[Whiskey144]

Supposedly the 1-8 (1-0?) keys on the keyboard are the Wrath power shortcuts. I don't really know, however, as I literally bought an Xbox controller *just* for Darksiders II.

[Langy]

Yeah, they're there, but you can't configure them easily during game-time. You've got to memorize the shortcuts and throw your hand all over the keyboard in order to hit them. It sucks.

[Shuma]

I think you can change the keybinds. As for the graphics, the game looks worse than the first one but i'd say the style saves it.

[Langy]

Yes, you can change the keybinds, but not quickly while actually playing the game like you apparently can when using a gamepad. You have to go into the inventory menu, scroll all the way down to those specific keybinds, change them, and pop out. You can't just pop open the radial menu and change them from there. You also can't tell what's bound to what without scrolling through that big list of keybinds.

[DeafMute]

Langy, seeing as this game is so movement, action focused its unwise to be playing it with a keyboard. IM using a 360 controller and it plays perfectly, was designed for the consoles afterall =P
Wrath powers are so easy to use on the controller. LB + anyone of the colour buttons.

Speaking of wrath powers, what specs are you all using? Ive put 1 point in the reaper swing. 3 in the defence shield 300+def-res 8sec and the rest in the strength skill with crit and flame over time. only lvl 15 atm though, still in world 2.
Fav weapon type for me atm is easily the fist weapons.

[Langy]

Yeah, well, I don't have a controller and I'm not going to go out and purchase one for a game like this.

[Shuma]

Just confirming that there's no New Game++. Anyway, first run through the game in which i just rushed through the main quest took me 20 hours, in my second run i did everything, even completed the abyssal armor, that took 23 hours.

Edit:

WELP, i couldn't help myself. I've started a third game.

[0rph3u5]

So I finished yesterday ...

Gotta say there is some nice and good gameplay developments on the first Darksiders that made the game enjoyable...

However as a sequel to the first Darksiders is left a lot to be desires IMO

Spoiler

1) the whole "Death has guilt issues for destroying the Nephilim" is under developed IMO ... I mean it is what leads him to say that War is innocent while no one else believes it

2) the introduction of Corruption has new apocalyptic threat to the universe is needless and bad story telling in my eyes... I can understand bringing Absalon back as avatar for the worst in the Nephilim esspecially once it is introduced that Death has to choose between mankind and the Nephilim at the end

3) None of mysteries from Darksiders 1 are tackled ...
How is the voice that speaks to Abbadon after he has fallen? How could the armies of Hell been prepared for war on Earth (apart from being the Armies of Hell) while Heaven could only muster the Hellguard? Who revolted against Samael and dethroned him?

In a nutshell, nice game - maybe worth the €50 I spent but still not great or anything

@Shuma:
I'm not a great fan of watching credits (I bought the game/DVD/payed for the showing in the cinema so I don't have sit around and read every name to indulge every ego involved) so I didn't see the Lucifer and Lilith scene in the end ... do mind telling what it was about?

[Obtuse]

The Relicnews interview with the Vigil guys is finally finished, some interesting stuff in there around the thought processes used during the making of the game, some cut content etc: http://www.relicnews.com/articles/re...-games-1-of-5/

/whoring

>_>