Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition
Overview -
The 'Darksiders' series was originally developed by Vigil Games, a Texas-based THQ subsidiary. When THQ capsized in 2012 and their IPs exploded like a piñata at auction, Swedish company Nordic Games acquired the rights to 'Darksiders', as well as several other franchises and the THQ trademark itself. One of the founders of Vigil, David Adams, was hired by Crytek and led their Crytek USA office, although that shut down after scarcely a year. Adams again took his old Vigil team and created Gunfire Games, which was hired by Nordic to refurbish 'Darksiders II', and so now we have the dubiously named 'Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition'.
Video Review
Nordic advertised graphical upgrades for the 'Deathinitive Edition', even above the strong showing of the original PC game. The resolution has been increased, new lighting effects have been added, and many textures have been completely reskinned. These improvements appear to have come with a cost, however. The framerate tends to hang around 45-50 during fights even on a strong machine, although it does stay firmly at 60 when exploring. The lighting was not implemented perfectly, and it has a blocky appearance when lighting certain textures. Joe Madureira's character design is still very distinctive, such as Death’s mask and the heavily stylized character models.
Audio Review
Jesper Kyd, composer for 'Assassin’s Creed', 'Borderlands', 'State of Decay', and many other works, provided a beautiful score for 'Darksiders II'. It is heavy on the strings, providing a darker and more grim view of Death. The voice acting is very well done, especially Michael Wincott, who perfectly captures the ancient, sardonic Death.
Final Thoughts
'Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition' sits firmly in the camp of "probably didn’t need a remake, but here it is and it’s actually not bad". It takes care of some video issues from the original release while adding a few of its own, has no new content, and premieres at a relatively high price point fo a returning title. What it does offer is a very competent action adventure game from 2012. It has little to entice the diehard 'Darksiders' fans but if you’re new to the series, this is a worthwhile outing.
