THQ's 'Zelda meets God of War' third person chopper sees players as War - one of the four horsemen - stripped of his powers for breaking a pact between heaven, hell and Earth. The victim of an unholy set-up, War makes a deal to clear his name or die trying.
If you're a fan of third person hack n' slash, Darksiders delivers in spades. Even without his powers War is a serious opponent, chopping his way through decimated cities a century after the last humans have died.
Combat is extreme, with masses of enemies to dismember and a host of bosses and angry monsters that require more than just the swing of his giant sword to take down.
The control system is tight and effective, with War's abilities gradually improving as you progress through the game.
Puzzles throughout the game don't break any new ground, but are delivered well and are usually followed with more gory fights.
Graphically it's lush - but with legendary comic artist Joe Madureira on board that's almost a given.
Some critics have bleated that too much of Darksiders has been drawn from other titles - but it makes no apologies for this, and revels in it. The usual third person camera issues crop up from time to time - just don't let demons, especially heavily armed ones spitting fire, back you into a corner.
The character voicings get very 'death metal' which can grate after too long on the couch.
Verdict: Chop-chop goodness, great gory graphics and very addictive sword-swinging gameplay. Apocalypse can be a lot of fun.
4/5
Reviewed on PS3
