Darksiders

[Tron Bonne]

How do you know?
That was the rumor anyway, and when a lot of people jumped board after Jeff Gerstmann (with Ryan Davis and Brad Shoemaker went to create Giantbomb, and Alex Navarro went to work for Harmonix), something went down.

I know because I remember it. He said they took down a bad review, and they didn't do anything to it until later. The controversy was all about how the reviewer was released supposedly because of the score he gave.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Unless you work at GameSpot, then you know as much as any of us. I never cared much for them before that happened, but the rumor was enough to turn me off for good.

 

[Tron Bonne]

They didn't take down the review, which is what you said. Later on they updated it because of the DLC the game got, but both the review and score is still the same one by Gerstmann. I didn't say anything about what happened behind the scenes, but the review itself was not taken down. Unless they took it down, but then put it back up for some reason before the retail release of the game, which is pretty unlikely, and was never part of the controversy surrounding the situation.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Whatever. I find GameSpot to be a crappy site nonetheless.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I never paid them much mind myself, and wasn't defending them, but a review being taken down really wasn't part of what happened with the Kane & Lynch thing. Unless you are referencing something else, in which case, I wouldn't know. I only knew and remembered that because it was heavily reported on basically everywhere when it happened

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Hmm after looking at some of his past scores I would take his reveiw with a large gain of salt. For context I will list some of his past scores that I was able to find.

Shadow Complex 7.5
X-Blades 7.5
Bullet Witch 8.5
Bionic Command 9.5
Prince of Persia 10
Brutal Legend 10+

Even so, it´s Joe Madureira, and Joe Mad can do no wrong

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I never paid them much mind myself, and wasn't defending them, but a review being taken down really wasn't part of what happened with the Kane & Lynch thing. Unless you are referencing something else, in which case, I wouldn't know. I only knew and remembered that because it was heavily reported on basically everywhere when it happened

I thought they had taken it down. I didn't bother to check again. Ironically, Gertsmann was one of the reasons I didn't like GameSpot. Some of his complaints were just stupid, like how it didn't evolve from past games. Yeah, because Halo 3 sure did




GameStop is advertising the Harvester as a pre-order bonus. Rest assured though, it won't be. Someone found this on Neo GAF and posted it on CAG.

Spoiler

The Harvester | Code to unlock exclusive in-game weapon. This powerful weapon belongs to the rider of the pale horse. Its enormous, fearsome blade can cleave through flesh, bone, and even the ethereal demons of Hell. Though its jagged blade is deadly, the power locked within makes its master like unto a god. It can also cut through an aluminum can, and never needs sharpening. Note: The code for unlocking The Harvester is universal. Once you obtain the game, go into the in-game options and choose "Enter Code". Type in the code "The Hollow Lord". This code is space and case-sensitive. After that, the weapon will be available for sale from Vulgrim.

I'm still going to order from GameStop for the extras since I have a $50 gift card to use there.


EDIT: GameStop's website is no longer offering the extras with Darksiders. May have been taken down b/c pre-orders exceeded their quantity (happened with Scribblenauts). So if you want it, try your luck in store. I'll pre-order it in store but if they don't have it, I'm going to wait for a sale. I have enough games to play right now.

 

[Flash Facts]

IGN AU seems to like it. Review

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I went to GameStop and the guy gave me the comic when I pre-ordered. It's just a book with the comic and concept art. Still cool though. I went with the PS3 version since the cover looks better with the PS3 case.

 

[zenith16]

hmmm my list of review shows is longer I have game trailers then theres "reviews on the run"
http://www.reviewsontherun.com/
other wise known as Judgment Day (aside from the occasional YouTube clip)!

from victor lucas of ep and where geoff worked for a while. then now it's gaint bomb. of late they've been dead on next to the other two.

then may be ign and game spot. the latter two I take with a grain of salt though. on occasion with gametrailers. depends on how jaded the reviewer sounds though.

I usually wait for that entire list then get the game on my own and make my own chose though.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

I've played about 4 hours of it... It's definitely alot deeper than God of War or any other action game. Loads of fun, and exploring is the bomb. I was really surprised at the quality too! Game stills or videos really don't do it justice!

 

[Spidey-Bat]

My opinion of GameTrailers went down. They picked Modern Warfare 2 as the GOTY for 360, PS3, and overall.

 

[Drz]

Gameinformer rates it 8.5/10!

They talk alot about how the game is a tribute/rip off (how you wanna see it really) to Zelda and God of War games pretty much. Pretty solid score, definatly getting this next week. =D

 

[Wolvieboy17]

I'd see it as tribute. Rip off implies that it has no creative vision of its own, and its been quite highly praised for its creative comic-style design and varied implementation of the different gameplay styles.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Toys R Us is offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of this. You get a $40 gift card if you're a Reward Zone Member (free to join) and buy Bayonetta, too.

 

[Drz]

IGN AU - 9/10
"Darksiders has been a long time coming, but the wait has been worth it – this is a great action RPG. Solid, ever-evolving combat meets solid, ever-evolving puzzles in some really evocative environments."
IGN UK - 8.9/10
"Darksiders is so expertly designed, it somehow never feels derivative and the result is a game that's vast, relentlessly imaginative and, above all else, hugely enjoyable."
Console Monster - 96/100
"Darksiders feels like a breath of fresh air, a step in the right direction and a reinvention of formulas that are sorely missed when used at this level of quality."
TotallyGN - 9/10
"Darksiders is a pretty big game and one of the most impressive aspects of this title is that there always seems to be something new around the proverbial corner."
PAL GN - 9/10
"... [A]fter a thorough swim in the deep and mysterious pools of the debut game from Vigil Games, the water is indeed refreshing and dare we say it, a fantastic experience."

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Can't wait. Picking my copy up tomorrow. My game reviewer mate already has his, bastard!

 

[Drz]

I'm picking this up on Friday. Gonna take a big bag of old DvDs and trade them in to get some cash off lol.

 

[The Guardian]

I just picked up my reserved copy for my PS3, along with the comic and the guide, mostly for Joe Mad's art work, Battle Chasers FTW!!!

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Man, the US Ign review is so bad... its like they deliberately tried to criticise it. They ignore and contradict essentially every plus from other reviews, and then at the end say "Well, it isn't BAD, but its not the best game ever, so there."... So sick of crappy, narrow minded reviews.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I thought his comments on how the post-apocalyptic world is were kinda dumb.

And as for boss fights, most games I play they are easy. Ocarina of Time's bosses were really easy for me when I replayed it this summer. Maybe it was because I've played it so many times, but even Majora's Mask (which I never beat before) were easy. Maybe more time consuming, but nothing very difficult. Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were all easy too. Though the armored dragon in TP may have been an exception b/c you had a lot to do in it. It seems like boss fights are only hard in shooters these days. And since that is mostly what people play, it's no surprise they find a game like Darksiders easy and knock it for its easy bosses.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Man, the US Ign review is so bad... its like they deliberately tried to criticise it. They ignore and contradict essentially every plus from other reviews, and then at the end say "Well, it isn't BAD, but its not the best game ever, so there."... So sick of crappy, narrow minded reviews.

I watched the video review and I was somewhat surprised at the 7.8 score, he seemed more positive on the game throughout the video review.

I thought his comments on how the post-apocalyptic world is were kinda dumb.

And as for boss fights, most games I play they are easy. Ocarina of Time's bosses were really easy for me when I replayed it this summer. Maybe it was because I've played it so many times, but even Majora's Mask (which I never beat before) were easy. Maybe more time consuming, but nothing very difficult. Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were all easy too. Though the armored dragon in TP may have been an exception b/c you had a lot to do in it. It seems like boss fights are only hard in shooters these days. And since that is mostly what people play, it's no surprise they find a game like Darksiders easy and knock it for its easy bosses.

In shooters? I thought boss battles had mostly died off in shooters? And the boss battles in a lot of action titles like DMC and Bayonetta are pretty tough at times.

 

[Drz]

Yeah the video revie was really positive but then he gives below 8 score. @_@

I've seen a comple of nitpicks regarding the end of the Un iverse just being taken place in this "manhattan" sized island or so. I don't know what they we're really excepting since it's not like Hyrule is a huge world either.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I kind of saw what he was saying with the whole idea that would be more interesting to see what the world would be like during the apocalypse as opposed to seeing it afterward and just wondering around empty places. Still, that's not what the game was about, and was never really marketed as such as far as I'm aware. Seemed too much like a 'This is how I would've done it..." complaint.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

In shooters? I thought boss battles had mostly died off in shooters? And the boss battles in a lot of action titles like DMC and Bayonetta are pretty tough at times.

There were boss fights in Gears, RE4, and RE5. I've not played RE5 and haven't touched Gears in a while but the bosses in RE4 were more challenging than anything I've played in recent Zelda games.

DMC is one of those games that they design to be hard. It is a Capcom game and they tend to make their games a lot harder than most. I still can't beat any Mega Man game

I don't know much about Bayonetta but it seems like one of those games where they try to make as different as possible from everything out there. Difficulty being one of those areas.


With the IGN review, I think it's one of those reviews where the reviewer didn't think it'd deserve more so he found reasons to give it the rating he did. And while I find IGN to pad their ratings, they sometimes do the opposite as they gave KH2 a 7.5. If you want to hear bad reviews, watch that video.