The controversial PC version of Darksiders II reviewed

primesuspect

The controversial PC version of Darksiders II reviewed

Random Internet Person

Calling PC users "entitled twats" for demanding the game they paid over 50$ for to work on their chosen platform?

Did you even try to play with keyboard/mouse? Not only is the key rebind system "unintuitive", it outright does not work. Some keys are not remappable, some keys insist on conflicting with other keys even after you rebind them. Camera control is horrible. Mouse keys getting stuck after working with menus.

It might be a fun game and i believe it is, but so far i dont want to torture myself with it. Good working games adapt to different user setups, bad games force you to adapt to theirs and i dont have the will to do it.

primesuspect

Yes, I did play it with keyboard and mouse. It was unwieldy, but it worked. I had no issues with the camera or bindings.

Random Internet Person

OK, as a ESDF user, try to bind your horse move forward to E, even after rebinding interact/*something* to endless number of test keys. If you manage to, i ll admit its on my end and i try to reinstall the game and never whine again. And that is just the most obvious conflict i found (inventory key, dodge key rebinds produce some interesting effects aswell). I dont care about GFX options, but something as simple as binding keys not being broken is pretty much a necessity for considering the game "working".

Ilriyas

I, just as personal experience played it at a friends today and it runs really well, even with the graphics being incapable of being changed thus far the game looks REALLY good, and while as @primesuspect cited the keyboard and mouse controls are unwieldly I found no issues with the controls prebound the way they were and even got used to them after a little while of playing.

Sure maybe one or two of the keys would be better moved around but I've played games with far worse binding mechanics (Despite my love I'm going to cite Thief: The Dark Project, some of the bindings were just awful and changing them always proved to be a pain) but they work and, again you get used to them.

Without sounding rude, why do you play with ESDF? The standard is WASD, as most games come out of the gate and AKAIK they've never been unsuited to being the standard bindings for any first or third person game.

This is a game that I would definitely buy, regardless of the 'shaky launch' if not for the fact that I've already bought Sleeping Dogs and CSGO.

primesuspect

Random Internet Person said:

OK, as a ESDF user, try to bind your horse move forward to E, even after rebinding interact/*something* to endless number of test keys. If you manage to, i ll admit its on my end and i try to reinstall the game and never whine again. And that is just the most obvious conflict i found (inventory key, dodge key rebinds produce some interesting effects aswell). I dont care about GFX options, but something as simple as binding keys not being broken is pretty much a necessity for considering the game "working".

I use WASD, and I see now that the game assumes WASD. I've never tried ESDF, and you're right; you can bind walk on foot to E, but not horse forward to E; it just keeps saying it's already bound to drop down, even though it's not.

The keybinding is buggy as hell. Agreed. Definitely broken.

Random Internet Person

Cause ESDF gives you an extra row of easily accessible keys. And its the way i have been playing since duke nukem forever and quake 1. Like i said, sure i could force my self to get used to standard keys, but its not worth the time, frustration or effort. I have been playing games with my setup for well over 15 years now and i am sure not gonna force myself to change it now. Its 2012, should i really defend myself for using a non standard setup and expecting the game released for PC in 2012 to offer a fully working key bind system.

Dave

Very unprofessional review with the name calling of PC gamers who are upset (which they have every right to) over Vigil/THQ not delivering what they promised. Yes, we should pat Vigil/THQ on the back for being upfront that there won't be a config file to tweak... after the game is out and not before, which they should have done.

xer

Reviewer comes off as an angry fanboy. The developers clearly did not "work their asses off" for this game - five minutes of playing and anyone will see some glaring flaws that could have been addressed with a minimum of effort from the team.

It's too bad this game fell flat - it could have been great.

justln

The PC version is total crap and you gave it a Silver?
I guess people just have low standards.

requisite0

In his defense, the game itself is decent, it's just the quality of the port and the PR double-speak that is appalling.

Jin

I haven't bought Darksiders 2 yet so the glaring issues is rather worrying. I enjoyed the first Darksiders's PC controls. Third person action games are perfect for the mouse since it's easier to select important enemies. I don't know why but people seem to avoid talking about that little feature. They all talk about atrocious camera controls in console games but all those problems are gone when the mouse comes to play.

So, what happened? How could a nicely done PC controls in the first game became such a horrid mess in this sequel?

Wizard

Bought Darksiders II yesterday, and I got xbox 360 controllers, played for 5 hours, still no issues yet. Greatest game ever, thanks THQ, Vigil and all.

Avi

I am bookmarking this site

Koreish

Rather than bookmark it, you should join.

Tushon

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

Oyich

Anyone had problems with fast travel/accessing the world map in a dungeon in order to do so? Just wanting to see if its an easy fix. I am on PC

primesuspect

If you're using a controller, the button to get the overworld map is actually LS, not A as the map incorrectly shows.

primesuspect

@sledgehammer70 has posted the first official response to some of the issues we experienced at the Darksiders community forums. It's post #35 (linking directly to posts is broken on their forums):

During the Community Summit both Jay Fitzloff and I (Mathew Everett) were under the impression that full .config files and final keyboard/mouse and controller hookups were going to work as promised when the PC version of the game launched. That was the plan at the time from a specifications perspective.

Unfortunately, especially at the end of the development cycle, sometimes things change at the last minute, and this was one of them. This puts us in an uncomfortable spot as we were acting on the best information we had at the time, and it has turned out not to be in the final game (at this point).

Since it was always the intention to implement these features, as I type this, the development team is checking to see what items can get added into the game. While I can’t promise what can be done, I can promise we are working with the proper teams and have expressed the importance of including them in a patch.

For attendees of the community event who reported the information that everyone thought was true at the time: our apologies. We did not mean to put you in a position of putting facts out there that would prove to be inaccurate: you are our partners (and our friends). Please link this post to your sites so that your fans know the error was not intentional on anyone’s part and we are doing everything we can to address it. We will circle back when we have more information. And, once again, our sincerest apologies to both attendees to the Community Summit, and their fanbase for the mistake on our part.

Thrax

Well-handled by THQ. Respect.

PC

THQ has a history of releasing shoddy ported games , remeber Saints Row 3 graphics issues ? Developing a game and releasing its beta version to the public expecting the users to pay for it and test it and then fixing the game with patches is not what a developer should be doing , yes , I consider Darksiders 2 as a beta version and not the final product , I care about the graphics settings and would like to play the game with all the visual eye candy, thats why I play them on a PC and not a console , if a game released in August 2012 is giving me graphics quality of the year 2006 even on a high end system , that is not acceptable , this just means the game was not optimized properly and was neither tested thoroughly , yeah the game runs but I thats not all that matters , try playing crysis on ultra settings and on low settings and tell me your experience is not different , thats the whole point people invest in graphic cards , to play the game on their highest quality. Bottomline, stop defending THQ or Vigil and accept the fact that they released a broken game which doesnt deserve's any medals

primesuspect

I really don't think anybody is disputing the fact that they released a broken game. The award was granted because despite the bugs (and if you take steps to avoid them, i.e. primarily by using a controller), it's a tremendously entertaining game. I granted the award based on the big picture. I only get to review the game once, not every time they patch it.

RahnalH102

I can't say much since I haven't played this one, or the first, but what I do know is this: Aside from the lacking UI and a certain was-true-but-was-changed-to-not-true features, it would appear to be mostly down to preference (as most things are). While someone like PC above feel gypped that they cannot use their expensive equipment to the fullest extent and therefore not get their monies' worth; and others will enjoy the game regardless with the annoyances it bears. Both are entitled to their wants and opinions even if they may seem trivial or stupid to others. (Aye. Beware, here be bias.)

Personally, I believe I would enjoy this game despite the flaws, cause that is what I do. I persevere and make the most out of it. 99% of the time I enjoy the game. If I can thoroughly enjoy a "bug ridden" game like Skyrim was at first, (I think I got lucky on that. I had very few bugs and I mod the !@#$ out of it so it's even extra buggy. Not to mention how all the resolutions were drug down on that even with the official texture pack.) Then an arguably broken UI and some minor graphic issues won't be a problem to me.

You might also argue that luck plays a part in it since some people just don't' get the bugs that everyone else has.

In the end, I just hope you feel content and confident in that you have correctly chosen your path of what a "game" is. In the end you will find the games you like. If this isn't one, then it isn't one. Move on and let those who are happy be happy.

Filthy Pazuzu

4 hours in and I'm loving this game. The combat is really fun. Jumps, evades, parries, special moves, and power attacks all flow together so well I get excited when I come across another enemy.

The platforming is also fun, if fairly standard in these post-Prince Of Persia days.

I agree with the reviewer on this point: This game should be played with a controller. I've had no problems at all controlling Death.

My biggest gripe about this game is the UI. Here the controls are annoying, but that's inconsequential in the long run.

Finally, I've had no problem increasing the graphics quality using my Nvidia control panel. It's slightly annoying to have to do this outside of the game, whatever.

What I care about most is gameplay, and this game delivers.

primesuspect

I agree with all of your points, Pazuzu

primesuspect

Patch has been issued, addressing the keybinding issues.

More patch notes at Darksiders community forums.

midga

Question that wasn't addressed in the review: how would the game play for someone who has never played the first? Would the story be just as enjoyable, would I just not gaf about it because the gameplay is that awesome? Would I just find myself longing to have a naked chick under an outfit of hair again?

And to those adding to the negative energy, I do understand where you're coming from, but even the best game ever made is going to have things that could have been done better. A game that is ported from console will always suffer from some critical design issues, and either you deal with them or you play it on the console. Just like if you build an SUV off the same frame and innards of a car, it's going to gain some of the utility, but even if it was the best car in the world it will still never quite be a Jeep.

And for the record, Prime never called anyone an entitled twat.

This PC rage is the kind of stuff that makes PC gamers in general look like entitled twats, and [game developers] hate that shit.

Constructive criticism is one thing, but the sort of stuff he's talking about isn't constructive. If you don't think the game deserves an award, that's perfectly fair. Reviewers are people, not mechanical quantitative quality adding machines. This game obviously moved Prime enough to warrant it. I couldn't give a fair opinion without playing it, so I won't give one at all.

Finally, mad props to THQ for addressing the concerns. Even if things don't get fixed 100% like the PC gaming community would like, it shows some integrity they're admitting the problems and at least trying to solve them. Anyone who doesn't understand how that could be difficult (and how these difficulties could arise) has likely never worked in a large, bureaucratic, corporate environment.

Good quality review. I'm more interested now in checking this one out than before I read it.

BHHammy

The news that config file won't be released for the PC version means that I won't have a choice BUT to buy it on console.

If it's on PC, I -have- to be able to turn certain things off. A lack of a config file, no matter how good the game is, pretty much sinks the whole ship for me. I don't care about having MORE eye-candy, I care more about being able to actually play the game.

I probably should just start expecting this from THQ with the PC stuff, really. Saints Row 3 just won't stay stable for me, but at least Darksiders 2 ain't a shooter, so I can actually play -that- on a console.

I know folks are complaining about not being able to have their extra-flashy stuff on PC, but what about the opposite end of the spectrum? Folks who have average machines and just want to play with a decent framerate? Most folks don't talk about that end of it since most PC gamers just turn up their noses and say "get a better machine, noob". I don't think that should -ever- be an excuse for cutting folks out of options, or (in the case or SR3) excuse shoddy optimization issues.

Still, if they want to make a decent case for me getting it on console, I've got the option. So I'll be taking advantage of it. The Darksiders series, both 1 and 2, deserve some real love for what they are.

Besides, I was going to play it with a 360 controller, anyway.

mertesn

BHHammy said:

The news that config file won't be released for the PC version means that I won't have a choice BUT to buy it on console.

If it's on PC, I -have- to be able to turn certain things off. A lack of a config file, no matter how good the game is, pretty much sinks the whole ship for me. I don't care about having MORE eye-candy, I care more about being able to actually play the game.

What stuff do you need to turn off and why is that? Since this is a DX9 title, I'd imagine the requirements are pretty low. The first Darksiders works flawlessly on my laptop's GeForce 560M and I'd expect about the same for the second game.

Thrax

Folks who have average machines and just want to play with a decent framerate

The industry moves on. It can't wait around forever.

midga

Thrax said:

BUY MY SHIT!