Darksiders II is possibly one of the more underrated games of the past few years. Playing as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the game provides quality hack-and-slash gameplay set in a demon-ridden universe, has some mighty boss battles, testing puzzles and still manages to lace thenarrative with a smattering of humour.
The story takes place during War's 100-year imprisonment for his part in the premature End of Days.
After War is captured and charged for his crimes, the Charred Council informs the other three horsemen of his fate. The horseman, Death, knowing that his brother War is the most honourable and incorruptible of the four and would never have started the apocalypse early, flies into a rage. Believing his brother is victim of a conspiracy, Death defies the council's orders and sets out on a mission to find proof of his brother's innocence.
Controlling Death, you must travel to the Nether Realms, a place between Heaven and Hell, to call in favours from powerful beings who rule the realm. The entire playable world is about double the size of the world in the original Darksiders game.
Darksiders II has more of an RPG slant than its predecessor. Death must earn and learn new skills and powers that will need to be mastered and combined later in the game to solve puzzles and therefore progress through the beautifully designed Nether Realms.
Darksiders II is a feast for the eyes and, despite some minor annoyances, the game takes everything that succeeded in the original and seamlessly combines some new features to produce a worthy sequel.
