Darksiders II

Darksiders two is unique in the fact that it takes the elements from many genres and works them into a cohesive and fun game. It combines the visceral combat of a hack and slash with the weapon, gear, and skill customization of a full blown RPG. It also ads some platforming and puzzle solving to keep things fresh.

The art style of the game is fantastic, there is plenty of variance in the art style throughout the game to keep things fresh. Graphically the game is on par with consoles, textures do become muddy as you get close to them but it is not noticeable since the game is in third person.

Its important to note for the PC version that graphics customization was almost non-existent.

Voice acting and writing are pretty good, the plot is pretty straightforward and doesn't require major knowledge from the first game.

The game-play is where this game really stands out. There is the standard hack-n-slash combo system but you have two equipped weapons. The primary weapon will always be your fast hitting scythes. Your secondary weapon can range in speed from really fast light hits to really slow heavy hits. Every secondary weapon also has its own set of combos on its own and in tandem with your primary scythes. This allows for a decent variance in combat.

There is also a leveling system. As you level you unlock better stats and are able to use more powerful weapons. Skill-points are used to unlock active skills and improve on them. There are only two skill trees so there aren't too many skills to choose from, but they can lend two two distinct styles of play. There is a questing system, with plenty of side-quests that allow faster leveling and better equipment.

The combat is broken up by puzzle and platform segments. As you progress through the game you unlock new gadgets to use in both combat and puzzles which will keep these segments fresh albeit the difficulty of the platforming does not ramp up significantly.

Overall a great, refreshing, and unique game.