yes, yes I know there are already a handful of threads about Darksiders impressions, and I was going to reply in one of them, but sicne I tend to rant in my posts, I thought I'd make a new one. And this game deserves more threads anyway :P
 
So, I got my Darksiders this morning (pleasant surprise since I wasn't expecting it until tomorow) and played about 2 hours of it (1 hour and 24minutes in the save file, not counting the deaths and whatnot) which got me roughly to where Jeff was in the quicklook. Before I start my first impressions, let me warn you that I have been one of the biggest defenders of this game the last few months around here, so I might be biased and whatnot. then again I wanted it so much (my second most wanted game this year in fact, mini-plug for my 2010 games list heh) that I also could have been terribly disapointed. Was I? Lets see (spoilers: hell no :P)
 
Graphics:
 
I'm playing the PS3 version so there is no screen tearing. There is on the other hand frame rate drops, enough of them to be quite noticiable. It doesnt affect the gameplay, but they are there so I wont lie. Thats the only negative. This game looks awesome in every way. I love the art design (big joe mad fan since his x-men days), I love the detail in the characters, monsters and game world (if it sometimes feels a little empty), the animations are very fluid, and the color range is amazing, while maintaining a gothic / dark mood. I'm sorry, but I like color in my games. Also of note is the details in everything, ust look at War and how much is going on in his model.
 
Sound:  
 
The various slash and pounding sounds all sound heavy and like they hurt. the voice acting is good, not excelent, but not terrible, it certainly does its job (War doesnt say much since he is all business, but The Watcher (mark hamill) and volgrum the trade demon both sound great.) The music is the typical orchestral moody music these games usualyl have, and does its job.
 
Gameplay:
 
Right, this isnt God Of War. Or Bayonetta. Or Devil May Cry. Stop comparing it to those games. Its like saying Fallout 3 is like Modern Warfare. To me this game mostly resembles Soul Reaver if you remember it. War controls great (some people have complained about the jumps but I havent had any problems with it, but I am still early on), and the combat can be as repetitive or as varied as you chose it to be. I bought the Scythe early on (forgot i could use that code, oh well, thats 1000 souls ill never see again heh) and I mix it with sword attacks quite regulary (basically instead of a weak and strong attack, you get different weapons, so you can do 2 slashes with sword and finish with the scythe for example). there are lots of moves to unlock from the store too. It is nowhere near as deep as devil may cry or bayonetta (i wont include god of war because even tho i love those games, to me deep they are not) but its not supposed to be, that is not the point of the game. 
 
The point is the adventure. Getting new items from bosses to solve puzzles or use in combat. Finding hidden zones and collectables. Much like Soul Reaver or Zelda, the combat is just something you do while getting from point a to point b, its not the focus of the game. Im not saying its bad, Im quite enjoying the combat, but if you go in expecting a pure action game, you will be disapointed. Oh and speaking of the Zelda-style items you get, all of the can be used in combat and to solve puzzles, which I love. Ive been using the horn to knock enemies back quite a lot (its main use it to open giant stone gates), I love that they thought of that. 
 
Overall:
 
This game is everything I hoped it would be, and it will only get better from now on when I get to actual dungeons and stuff. I'm playing in apocaliptic and its quite hard sometimes, because you really NEED to block and dash (and counter eventually), and sometimes I forget. Its more rewarding as long as you are patient, since enemies do have a lot more health, and you take a pounding compared to normal. But I dont regret (so far) playing in apocaliptic (although im "dreading" the challenge rooms hehe. If you have any question feel free to ask, I'm going back in :D

It really, really does get better the longer you play. It starts out good enough and ends up just fantastically epic fun. I had a huge smile on my face in the end. A HUGE SMILE.
 
Enjoy the good times with Darksiders.

fuck me, just finished the first proper dungeon and jesus, this game is awesome. I loved the design, the puzzles, the fights... that mid-boss in it (wont spoil) could have been a boss in any other game. Apocaliptic is annoying me a bit tbh, but I got over it (lost count of the times I had to try Tiamat). amazing game in my opinion :D i just hope I didnt miss any hidden chest or anything, im obcessed! I tried my best hehe.

damn, the part before you to to the second dungeon was awesome :D put a huge smile on my face. The second set of chellenges werent too bad, i have 3 life containers now and more wrath and shit. Plus chaos form is yummy. Not regretting playing in apocaliptic, even if i died twice in the...part before the second dungeons (i dont want to spoil it). 6 hours in, bring on the second dungeon then!
 
ps: is it at least as good as twilight cathedral was? :D

ack i was hoping you weren't gonna jump on the Zelda boat but you did

One word.  Samael.

"

One word.  Samael.

"

If you only put 2 hours in, you need to play a little more before you get a really good feel for how the game plays.  Keep chugging away at it, it's get better.  But, at the same time, it gets a little stale at time.  The pacing is good, but not as good as it could have been.  Overall though, it's a great game barring some small issues.

" @Seppli: "I could suck the marrow from your bones if I wanted to, but I have a code to how I do business." "

Heaven hunts you. Hell hates you.
 
You'll find that, when you complete the game and go back through the second time, you'll be purposely passing a lot of chests simply because you don't have the mechanics to get to them. The game does a good job of getting you to play through all the levels a second time around just for the collectables.

Can someone answer a quick question without going into spoilers? If the Black throne, or whatever its called, a proper dungeon? I ask because the third "main one" wasnt a dungeon at all as you know, and I heard there was 4 dungeons... im on the spider place now and right from the start i can tell its going to be a proper dungeon... so is the last one also a proper one? cheers for the replies

My firsts impression of the game is that it looks like a PS2 game.  That is a big blow for me.  So unless the storyline is damn near perfect the game will be a let down.  I did not know anything about the game before playing aside from Jeff's review that I read.  Then watching the opening cut scene made it feel very epic and then the actual game comes up and I'm like WTF is this?  I just started so my opinion could change, but as of right now I feel like the concept of the game is excellent just poorly executed.  It reminds me of inFAMOUS.  The game itself is good, but the graphics really detract from the experience and this game's graphics are a lot worse.

" Can someone answer a quick question without going into spoilers? If the Black throne, or whatever its called, a proper dungeon? I ask because the third "main one" wasnt a dungeon at all as you know, and I heard there was 4 dungeons... im on the spider place now and right from the start i can tell its going to be a proper dungeon... so is the last one also a proper one? cheers for the replies "