The Darksiders 2® Catch-All

Aaron D. wrote:

Schwing!

IMAGE(http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7772p6K0Z1qdq433.jpg)

Hehe guess it is a good thing I decided to replay it as a refresher to the story.

Rykin wrote:

Hehe guess it is a good thing I decided to replay it as a refresher to the story.

Story recap: When I/he/you get to him/her/it/there again, I'm/he's/you're going to punch through his/her/its face!

Spoiler:

Shamelessly stolen from hbi2k in one of the Batman threads.

Just pre-ordered though THQ's site.

The free Season Pass (1st 3 DLC updates) was too good to pass up on.

Now I'm only left wondering how the free standard shipping will pan out. I'm cool waiting a bit if need be.

While I'm usually an Amazon guy who mostly waits for $30-range price reductions, it does feel nice to support a struggling co. like THQ directly through their own channels at full retail price.

Now I'm only left wondering how the free standard shipping will pan out. I'm cool waiting a bit if need be.

Did you not just get the PC Download version right there on their site?

Stele wrote:
Now I'm only left wondering how the free standard shipping will pan out. I'm cool waiting a bit if need be.

Did you not just get the PC Download version right there on their site? :?

There are platforms other than the PC? Wha?

Aaron D. wrote:

Just pre-ordered though THQ's site.

The free Season Pass (1st 3 DLC updates) was too good to pass up on.

Now I'm only left wondering how the free standard shipping will pan out. I'm cool waiting a bit if need be.

While I'm usually an Amazon guy who mostly waits for $30-range price reductions, it does feel nice to support a struggling co. like THQ directly through their own channels at full retail price.

Now if we could have just bought it from Vigil directly without THQ in the way that would have been nice. Oh well at least GameStop isn't getting a cut this time

What's this PC Gaming that you speak of?

So I see that the big 'zon has the game for $44.99 PC Download

http://amzn.com/B007FGUFX4

What I can't find out is if it comes with the Season pass? Or how much the season pass is?

Place your pre-order for "Darksiders II" and receive the "Arguls Tomb" expansion pack, featuring extra gameplay content, including a whole new dungeon to explore. Ride into battle with increased speed thanks to the "Deadly Despair" pack, available only to Amazon pre-order customers. This unique pre-order offer adds an additional speed boost for Death’s trusty steed Despair, allowing players to travel across the vast world even faster than before. This perk is a permanent increase that will last throughout the game. PC Exclusive: When you pre-order your copy today, you will receive two weapons only available in the PC edition. You will be able to remove skin from the bone with the skeletal Axes of Rending and tear your foes to shreds with the Dark Talons. These items are best suited for 5th - 10th level characters. Please note these items are NOT included in Season Pass which ONLY includes the Maker Armor Set, The Abyssal Forge, and The Demon Lord Belial.

Pretty sure THQ is keeping the free season passes all to themselves, and all other retailers get the first one. All that other stuff is just fluff items, which never seem to matter much.

The pass will likely cost $20, 3 DLC packs which individually would likely cost $10 each. So, you could save $5 up front with Amazon, but if you know you want the DLC (like myself), the THQ deal is better.

Unless you want that sweet, sweet Amazon-exclusive speed boost for your pony.

muttonchop wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

Apocalypse of Two, with War and Death bro-ing it up. Fist bumps abound!

With customizable weapons and horses!

LobsterMobster wrote:

Unless you want that sweet, sweet Amazon-exclusive speed boost for your pony.

I sense a Secret of the Magic Crystal crossover.

Wow anyone else get an email like this?

Dear Rykin,

Thank you for ordering on THQ World. The release date for the preorder product has changed. The product listed below will now be available on August 2, 2012.

Not sure what it means because I just checked the order status page and it still show August 14th.

Maybe they meant to write 20-something, and forgot the second digit? If you truly get this today, I hate you. Also, let us know how cool it is!!!

kexx wrote:

Maybe they meant to write 20-something, and forgot the second digit? If you truly get this today, I hate you. Also, let us know how cool it is!!!

They still haven't charged me for it so I doubt I will be getting it today

I got the same. Likely means they just shipped. I suspect they'll arrive and stay at your local mail place until the 14th. The whole preorder process has hinted that THQ Shop doesn't have a formalized preorder process and they're just wedging it into their standard practice.

In other news, there's apparently going to be a Diablo-esque Hardcore mode, where the saves associated with the playthrough are deleted if you die in combat (not from falling).

Huh. I knew the game was going to be looty but I didn't think it was THAT looty. Isn't it still, at its core, kind of like Zelda?

LobsterMobster wrote:

Huh. I knew the game was going to be looty but I didn't think it was THAT looty. Isn't it still, at its core, kind of like Zelda?

You don't wanna open that can o' worms again, but yes...except better. *flame suit on*

Never understood why people get pissed off about that. I mean, it is. It's a fact. That's not a bad thing. It's like getting angry for comparing an FPS to HALO or CoD.

Supposedly they toned down the Zelda elements and cranked up some loot drop elements. We'll see when the game arrives, but if they did that, the game is less interesting, not more.

Got the THQ email too. Did they charge your cc's?

LobsterMobster, I've always thought of Darksiders as 1 part Zelda, 1 part God of War, with a sprinkling of other influences.

This time out it looks like it will still be 1 part Zelda...I'd say the increased speed & complexity of the combat changes the God of War to DMC-lite, and I'd now add in a nice heaping of Diablo/WoW loot-grinding/upgrading/online gifting/trading.

It's funny 'cause I often hear games of riff mechanics off of established IPs referred to negatively as copy-cats. But I've never heard this leveled at Darksiders. It does seem like a patch-work of proven, successful formulas found in the likes of Zelda, etc., but it also has enough of it's own identity where it never feels like it's trying to be the next Zelda, God of War, etc. It's fully confident in being it's own thing in spite of the inspirations propping it up.

Kind of cool and a rare thing, imo.

Aaron D. wrote:

Got the THQ email too. Did they charge your cc's?

LobsterMobster, I've always thought of Darksiders as 1 part Zelda, 1 part God of War, with a sprinkling of other influences.

This time out it looks like it will still be 1 part Zelda...I'd say the increased speed & complexity of the combat changes the God of War to DMC-lite, and I'd now add in a nice heaping of Diablo/WoW loot-grinding/upgrading/online gifting/trading.

It's funny 'cause I often hear games of riff mechanics off of established IPs referred to negatively as copy-cats. But I've never heard this leveled at Darksiders. It does seem like a patch-work of proven, successful formulas found in the likes of Zelda, etc., but it also has enough of it's own identity where it never feels like it's trying to be the next Zelda, God of War, etc. It's fully confident in being it's own thing in spite of the inspirations propping it up.

Kind of cool and a rare thing, imo.

I agree, except the portals near the end. That one was just in your face. But I still loved the game. I hope they crank the story up a notch because while it was interestingly put, they kinda dropped the ball afterwards...they have really cool characters and immense potential for this to be huge.

The whole "Like Zelda" thing is one of the things I loved the most about the first game. As a huge Zelda fan who hasn't been able to stand Nintendo's products for a couple of generations now it was great to find such a Zelda like game on another platform. Only it was better because the combat wasn't pure sh*t and Joe Mad is awesome

Rykin wrote:

The whole "Like Zelda" thing is one of the things I loved the most about the first game. As a huge Zelda fan who hasn't been able to stand Nintendo's products for a couple of generations now it was great to find such a Zelda like game on another platform. Only it was better because the combat wasn't pure sh*t and Joe Mad is awesome ;)

Right you are, sir! Two things alone make it infinitely better; 1) Watcher > Navi, and b) our protagonist talks. F*ck mutes!! Except Gordon Freeman. He rocks...for some reason.

Yea the whole stupid mute thing is one of the things that kills Bethesda's games for me. I love exploring the worlds but in a post Mass Effect world it just feels lazy to me to play a game with a character as empty as The Dragonborn or Link. Even a very linear character and story like in Darksiders is somewhat preferable to that IMHO.

I can see where a silent protagonist could be seen as a lazy choice, but in those two cases I can't agree. The amount of work put into Zelda and TES games is staggering. Zelda games in particular make up for it by making Link so expressive in other ways. It's an artistic choice and I see positives and negatives come from it, just like any other design decision. I connected better with Link in Skyward Sword than Hawke in Dragon Age 2 for example, but I loved both games.

Darksiders is neither worse nor better than Zelda. While it takes a lot of the core elements that make Zelda awesome, it also transforms it with other influences. That makes it great for building off of what we already know is good and fun design, but allows it to stand out. It's not like Shadow Complex, where you're just playing a Metroid game with a slightly different coat of paint.

That said, I agree with Clocky in that the Diablo style elements could make Darksiders 2 less interesting if it interferes with the Zelda elements, or some of the other excellent ones.

As for silent protagonists, I don't mind Link being silent, but then again, I don't mind having to read text at this point either. So take that as you will.

Well, text protagonists really do talk, u're just imagining their voices in your head as best as you think they would sound. Which I think helps with the immersion actually. Older Final Fantasies did this and it worked really well. Now that they can talk, we get laughing scenes and horrible melodrama. Or at least, its more apparent.

Being completely silent, like Chrono, or Link, or even Gordon Freeman. I don't get it. I'd rather read text than have them not communicate at all.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Supposedly they toned down the Zelda elements

Do you remember where you'd heard that? I've been following pretty closely and hadn't a whiff of it.

Blind_Evil wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

Supposedly they toned down the Zelda elements

Do you remember where you'd heard that? I've been following pretty closely and hadn't a whiff of it.

I don't remember hearing it specifically, but in game play videos with dev commentary during E3, they were focusing on the action RPG mechanics (loot and combat), and didn't mention anything that seemed like Zelda. That could just be because it is the new stuff though.