The Crucible: 100-Wave Enemy Gauntlet

[Mases]

Some information on The Crucible. It is an enemy gauntlet that lasts 100 floors. Not just regular enemies but mini-bosses and in some cases multiple mini-bosses at one time.

The Crucible - Darksiders Wiki

[video=youtube_share;FZw3KTiBFKQ]http://youtu.be/FZw3KTiBFKQ[/video]

 

[A Link In Time]

Despite what Vigil Games maintains time and time again the Crucible serves to draw all too obvious parallels to the Zelda franchise. It's a spin on the Savage Labyrinth, Cave of Ordeals, Take 'Em All On Challenge, etc. That said, I see it more as a survival mode in a fighting game than a true strategy counterpart to similar dungeons in Zelda due to the God of War button mashing scheme Darksiders embraces.

The original Darksiders was a great game but nothing more. Every aspect of previous Action-Adventure franchises it attempted to ape had already been done better previously. While killing animations are incredibly fluid, the same can't be said for combat. War and Death are heavier characters and this makes executing parkour elements and platforming more difficult than a series with a more agile protagonist like Assassin's Creed.

I'm still excited for this sequel but it doesn't appear to separate itself from the pack. In fact I'd compare it to the New Super Mario Bros. subseries which claims to be an ambitious reboot but in fact plays on nostalgia with few noteworthy contributions of its own.

 

[JuicieJ]

I hope this isn't any indication of Darksiders II being just another copy/paste of other successful franchises, as this is a clear copy of the gauntlet trials in Zelda. Despite the fact that Darksiders was a pretty good game, it wasn't very original at all in its gameplay, and if its successor fails to deliver any sort of unique spin on the obvious influences it has, it's going to be hard for me to take Vigil Games seriously as developers. Using the same ideas over and over again in your own series is one thing. Using the same ideas over and over again from multiple other series is another. I don't think I need to spell out which one is the bad path to follow.

All that aside, I have to say that the targeting system in this game looks a sight better than it was in the first game. The camera angle of the targeting system in Darksiders was just atrocious, so much to the point that it was often distracting and unnecessarily complicated the combat. War's slow movements didn't help with that. Since Death is much more agile and the camera looks to be much better, it at least looks like the combat will be improved, even if it winds up being copy/paste of God of War again.

 

[Kuddlesnot]

Yeah well I can say for sure it is definitely borrowing gameplay elements from other series, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't do it well. As for combat, I can say from experience that it is much better in Darksiders II. Not perfect, but pretty damn good. While lack of originality is disappointing, it doesn't mean it isn't worth playing.

 

[JuicieJ]

Yeah well I can say for sure it is definitely borrowing gameplay elements from other series, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't do it well. As for combat, I can say from experience that it is much better in Darksiders II. Not perfect, but pretty damn good. While lack of originality is disappointing, it doesn't mean it isn't worth playing.

I'm not saying games need to be 100% original to be good, but when pretty much everything is copy/paste from other series, it really shows a lack of creativity from the developers.

 

[Kuddlesnot]

I'm not saying games need to be 100% original to be good, but when pretty much everything is copy/paste from other series, it really shows a lack of creativity from the developers.

But isn't melding those elements together into a cohesive experience take creativity? Not to mention the story, characters, art design.... again, not necessarily disagreeing with you or disagreeing with my previous statement, but I still think it should be given a fair shot.

 

[JuicieJ]

But isn't melding those elements together into a cohesive experience take creativity? Not to mention the story, characters, art design.... again, not necessarily disagreeing with you or disagreeing with my previous statement, but I still think it should be given a fair shot.

I'm sure it's worth playing, but there's not much of a reason to not put a personal spin on the gameplay. Again, take Skyward Sword's influences from Metroid. They're clearly there, but they have the Zelda touch to them. Darksiders doesn't have a Darksiders touch to it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you want your game to be elite, you have to have some originality, otherwise the game's potential will be held back severely. The original Darksiders may be a good game, but it's definitely not great by any means. II may change that, but it doesn't look like it'll be a top tier game worthy of being called Game of the Year, which is sad because the formula has the proper setup to accomplish that feat.

 

[LegendofLex]

It's not about "copying from other series" so much as it is about refining elements of the GENRE. Just because most sci-fi that takes place in space involves a hyperdrive doesn't mean that every piece of sci-fi that uses the concept is stealing from other stories; those have become part of a wider "metatext." What makes games great within those genres is either 1) finding a way to stand out; 2) simply offering a better overall experience.

 

[JuicieJ]

It's not about "copying from other series" so much as it is about refining elements of the GENRE. Just because most sci-fi that takes place in space involves a hyperdrive doesn't mean that every piece of sci-fi that uses the concept is stealing from other stories; those have become part of a wider "metatext." What makes games great within those genres is either 1) finding a way to stand out; 2) simply offering a better overall experience.

There's a difference between being in the same genre and clearly ripping ideas from the outside. Metroid and Zelda are both in the Action/Adventure genre. They have very similar traits, but they don't explicitly copy each other. They both do their own things in the end, even when they take influences from other series. That's what makes the difference between a good/great game and an elite/superior game. If you don't innovate and create your own ideas, as well as put a personal touch on outside influences, your series will never reach its full potential. Okami is a prime example of this, as it's obviously a Zelda clone. Thing is, it took what Zelda had to offer and mixed it up. And what was the result? An elite game. What is Darksiders' result? A mashup of two series that doesn't feel separated from its influences. Darksiders has to bring original ideas to the table and mix up the core aspects of its influences if it ever wants to be a top dog in gaming.

 

[Ventus]

^ That's not true, but don't care really. Darksiders II will be a game that people look back on and think "wow, such a good time", and that's all that matters ;P

To claim that Darksiders II is copying Zelda's gauntlet things, wow. Zelda didn't have gauntlets first; several games WAAAY before Zelda had gauntlet-esque modes. I'm just happy we can have a crucible at all, I hope to have a bunch of fun with this thing regardless of it is 'original' or not.

 

[JuicieJ]

^ That's not true, but don't care really. Darksiders II will be a game that people look back on and think "wow, such a good time", and that's all that matters ;P

To claim that Darksiders II is copying Zelda's gauntlet things, wow. Zelda didn't have gauntlets first; several games WAAAY before Zelda had gauntlet-esque modes. I'm just happy we can have a crucible at all, I hope to have a bunch of fun with this thing regardless of it is 'original' or not.

I'm not criticizing the Crucible. I was just mentioning that I hope it's not a sign that Darksiders II didn't learn from its bad habits in Darksiders.

 

[A Link In Time]

It's not about "copying from other series" so much as it is about refining elements of the GENRE. Just because most sci-fi that takes place in space involves a hyperdrive doesn't mean that every piece of sci-fi that uses the concept is stealing from other stories; those have become part of a wider "metatext." What makes games great within those genres is either 1) finding a way to stand out; 2) simply offering a better overall experience.

I understand what you're arguing but Darksiders II does nothing to make it stand out form the majority of games out there. I refrained from using the language in my original post but it is a blatant rip-off of the items permeating the Zelda franchise as well as the parkour elements characterizing Assassin's Creed.

If that's not a copy of the clawshot/longshot then I don't know what is.

Look familiar?

I'm not sure I understand what Vanitas is getting at either. The original Darksiders was average and I don't see any groundbreaking aspects that will make this sequel blow away the competition.

 

[Ventus]

'm not sure I understand what Vanitas is getting at either. The original Darksiders was average and I don't see any groundbreaking aspects that will make this sequel blow away the competition.

What I'm getting at is that Darksiders doesn't need to make itself stand apart from the crowd. Take a good look at Guild Wars 2, an upcoming MMORPG by ArenaNet. GW2 is anything BUT revolutionary; all it really does is grab pre-existing concepts and mesh them together. Like Darksiders, it blatantly "rips off" ideas from giants such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft, but it does so in a way that makes GW2 absolutely engrossing and overall an addicting game. To outsider looking in, it is nothing but 'another MMO'. But once you get into the world, you'll see that through grabbing a bunch of pre existing concepts, Guild Wars 2 manages to provide awesomeness in its purest form (speaking here as a beta tester -- the game literally had me up for hours and hours on end).

The same could be done with Darksiders II. It need not make itself stand apart from Zelda, AC, God of War, Pokemon, whatever. All it needs to do to become that next big thing is to blend the topics together in a sense that makes it an amazing, must pick up title. Oh, and some PR campaigns could work too.

 

[JuicieJ]

What I'm getting at is that Darksiders doesn't need to make itself stand apart from the crowd. Take a good look at Guild Wars 2, an upcoming MMORPG by ArenaNet. GW2 is anything BUT revolutionary; all it really does is grab pre-existing concepts and mesh them together. Like Darksiders, it blatantly "rips off" ideas from giants such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft, but it does so in a way that makes GW2 absolutely engrossing and overall an addicting game. To outsider looking in, it is nothing but 'another MMO'. But once you get into the world, you'll see that through grabbing a bunch of pre existing concepts, Guild Wars 2 manages to provide awesomeness in its purest form (speaking here as a beta tester -- the game literally had me up for hours and hours on end).

The same could be done with Darksiders II. It need not make itself stand apart from Zelda, AC, God of War, Pokemon, whatever. All it needs to do to become that next big thing is to blend the topics together in a sense that makes it an amazing, must pick up title. Oh, and some PR campaigns could work too.

Again, if the Darksiders franchise wants to achieve elite status, it has to set itself apart, even if only a little bit. It can't be a masterpiece if all it does is directly rip off other franchises.

 

[Ventus]

Again, if the Darksiders franchise wants to achieve elite status, it has to set itself apart, even if only a little bit. It can't be a masterpiece if all it does is directly rip off other franchises.

Guild Wars says otherwise. Aside from a different locale and of course a stellar OST, Guild Wars is very comparable to other MMOs on the market. But hey, both GW1 (Proph, Factions, NF, EotN) and GW2 have a huge fanbase, and GW2 isn't even released yet. Why? Because both are extremely fun, which is all Darksiders needs to do! If it is fun, if it attracts a lot of people initially, if it has replayability...it will achieve quoteunquote elite status. How else do you think MMORPGs do it? What about puzzle games? Those flash games? Angry Birds isn't notorious due to it setting itself apart from other likeminded flash games. Tetris isn't revered because it is like...heck, I don't know any other puzzle games haha. WoW doesn't have a billion and two subscribers to this day because it's different. Nope, all of those games and more are simple fun, and they keep the player coming back for more!