Darksiders 2
Where Darksiders' focus was on the woes of War – after the Horseman inadvertently caused holy war to envelop Earth – Darksiders 2 concentrates on Death. The fourth Horseman and last guy you want turning up at your party.
Like a good number of the Wii U’s launch titles, Darksiders 2 is a mere port. A faithful port as it turns out, and one that comes complete with the extras that PS3 and Xbox 360 owners had to wait for.
That means you’ll get the Argul’s Tomb expansion, as well as the Death Rides, Angel of Death, Shadow of Death and Deadly Despair packs, which add extra side quests, weapons, armour and more. Weighing in at five hours of extra gameplay, that’s not a bad deal.
As veterans of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will tell you, Darksiders 2 wasn’t without its share of problems, and the Wii U version inherits pretty much every one.
The repetitive level design is inescapably present – this is the same game, after all – but technical issues like frame rate juddering, particularly during epic clashes, recurs. The supposed extra processing power of the Wii is either not what we thought, or else it's simply bypassed by a developer cutting a few corners to meet deadlines.
Yet playing a true action game like Darksiders 2 proves to be a fine way to compare the GamePad versus the Pro Controller. Having already played the Xbox 360 version I was already well versed in the moves and the Pro Controller deals with Death's feints, attacks and combos identically.
Alas, you will still have to contend with that same laborious inventory that made outfitting Death with his plundered items a chore. Not so on the GamePad though. Here, assuming you’re using the Pad in conjunction with the TV, the touchscreen comes into its own as you equip death with a few taps of the screen without navigating the clunky menu.
It's a predictably faithful, no thrills port. Given that Darksiders 2 on the Wii U’s rivals is currently retailing for £20, it might just be worth waiting for this version to join them in the bargain bin before taking the plunge.
Reg Rating 75%
Next page: New Super Mario Bros. U
COMMENTS
re: sound ..
Well, since the sound that comes from the pad is the police radio chatter, a tinny little speaker is just about right.
(Worth noting: neither of us actually knows how good the speakers in the pad are, although I doubt very much that they are a match for your main gear.)
Gotta hand it to developers
They bring old games over to a new system to test the water, and when those old games don't sell well as the majority of the people who wanted it already have it on the original systems over a year ago have it already, they will say there is no market on the new Wii U, and screw it over for games.
I've seen this on the Wii, and other other systems they bring a old, and terrible edition of a game from japan over it bombs they cancel the good release in the US as there is no market.
As for people judging a system on the 1st round of games... seriously when has a game system even been remotely pushed at all when they 1st came out. I don't think I can recall a launch game really push any system or show what they can do.
" i didnt want it to use my £2000 B&W speakers or anything. 7.1? nah, can i just use some tinny little speaker on the pad...."
You won't need your 80" 4K TV either - just use the low-res screen on the Gamepad.
Damm
"If these are the best games on the Wii U right now I'm glad I haven't bought one. Mario Bros and ZombiU I'd be interested in. But the rest either don't interest me (nintendo land) or I can grab on a console I already own (batman arkham city / Darksiders 2.)"
If only Nintendo had asked you first. Then they wouldn't have had to go to the expense of designing, manufacturing and selling a new console.
I do hope you've written to Sony and Microsoft to prevent them from making the same mistake with *their* next consoles. I'd hate for them to go to the effort of releasing the PS4 & neXBox if they don't interest you.
Given that the previous Wii console also put some sounds through a "tinny" speaker on the game controller, I'd guess you were equally disappointed with that too, so you wouldn't really be the target market (and I don't know of anyone who complains about the noise through the controllers, to be honest - that's there for secondary sounds related to that particular player usually, not the main game action).
And the number of people with a £2000 7.1 amplifier setup AND who like playing Wii are probably lost in the intersection of the Venn diagram rather than a huge portion of the market.
Similarly, when I buy a laptop, the sound quality on it is pretty much irrelevant so long as it's loud enough. There aren't many people who hook up their laptops to the hifi either because that tends to be the audiophiles only anyway. And my TV has speakers on the back that are good enough that I don't even *OWN* a hifi or amplified speaker any more.
Never forget: Most people are happy with laptop speakers, iPod headphones, integrated TV speakers, and the little cheap plug-in iPod "speakers" that run on AA's. You are in the minority here, seriously.
