The_Darkest_Red
Member
As always thanks for the show guys, I really enjoyed this week's episode as usual. Keep up the great work!
As a pretty big fan of Darksiders II I was sad to hear about Jonny and James' feelings on the game. Most of what they said I can chalk up to personal preference but I do think the game deserves at least a slight defense in some instances. First off, Jonny mentioned that Death was slower than War when in actuality the opposite is true. Death's relative quickness and agility was actually one of the big selling points for DSII, and the effect this has on the gameplay is shown pretty heavily by DSII's exclusion of the block button from DS (in DSII you can only roll). Everything is much quicker in DSII compared to the original, from the combat to movement to the platforming.
While a little less based on fact, I also found James' comment about the platforming to be kind of odd, as I found Death to be very quick and agile when it comes to traversal. Compared to something like a Prince of Persia game James is probably right, but compared to just about anything else with that style of platforming (Assassin's Creed, Uncharted series, God of War series, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, etc.) Death gets around very quickly.
I was also surprised to hear James quick dismissal of the combat, as this was actually one of my favorite aspects of the game. Jonny is right in that the game gets better as you go though, so maybe the combat just starts off a little on the easy side. It never gets diabolically difficult or anything but compared to other character action games I thought the combat held up exceptionally well, primarily due to the great variety in weapons as well as enemy types. If nothing else maybe James could try switching to a harder difficulty to get that nice challenging feeling going.
As far as the dungeons go I think the important thing to think about is that they aren't always supposed to be as large and monumental as dungeons in a game like Zelda. In fact, some of the smaller dungeons are completely optional. As the game goes they become larger and more complex though, so don't let the small ones at the beginning give you the wrong impression.
I disagree with most of the other complaints personally but they are more understandable. I love the art-style and direction of DSII but I get that the world isn't as grounded as what's in DS, and overall the story is pretty lacking and uninteresting. I came away from DSII loving it because of the fantastic combat, fun puzzle solving and exploration, well designed dungeons, and incredible environments, but I know I'm in the minority with some of those opinions.
Anyway, sorry for the defense force rant but I just thought I'd throw that out there since obviously no one on the podcast thinks very highly of DSII. I do hope James comes around on the game if he sticks with it though, I think there's a lot to love if you give the game a chance to really get going.
As a pretty big fan of Darksiders II I was sad to hear about Jonny and James' feelings on the game. Most of what they said I can chalk up to personal preference but I do think the game deserves at least a slight defense in some instances. First off, Jonny mentioned that Death was slower than War when in actuality the opposite is true. Death's relative quickness and agility was actually one of the big selling points for DSII, and the effect this has on the gameplay is shown pretty heavily by DSII's exclusion of the block button from DS (in DSII you can only roll). Everything is much quicker in DSII compared to the original, from the combat to movement to the platforming.
While a little less based on fact, I also found James' comment about the platforming to be kind of odd, as I found Death to be very quick and agile when it comes to traversal. Compared to something like a Prince of Persia game James is probably right, but compared to just about anything else with that style of platforming (Assassin's Creed, Uncharted series, God of War series, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, etc.) Death gets around very quickly.
I was also surprised to hear James quick dismissal of the combat, as this was actually one of my favorite aspects of the game. Jonny is right in that the game gets better as you go though, so maybe the combat just starts off a little on the easy side. It never gets diabolically difficult or anything but compared to other character action games I thought the combat held up exceptionally well, primarily due to the great variety in weapons as well as enemy types. If nothing else maybe James could try switching to a harder difficulty to get that nice challenging feeling going.
As far as the dungeons go I think the important thing to think about is that they aren't always supposed to be as large and monumental as dungeons in a game like Zelda. In fact, some of the smaller dungeons are completely optional. As the game goes they become larger and more complex though, so don't let the small ones at the beginning give you the wrong impression.
I disagree with most of the other complaints personally but they are more understandable. I love the art-style and direction of DSII but I get that the world isn't as grounded as what's in DS, and overall the story is pretty lacking and uninteresting. I came away from DSII loving it because of the fantastic combat, fun puzzle solving and exploration, well designed dungeons, and incredible environments, but I know I'm in the minority with some of those opinions.
Anyway, sorry for the defense force rant but I just thought I'd throw that out there since obviously no one on the podcast thinks very highly of DSII. I do hope James comes around on the game if he sticks with it though, I think there's a lot to love if you give the game a chance to really get going.
