There's certainly a lot to be said for a game that carries through with a singular artistic vision, especially in a production climate where brown is the new black. BioShock comes to mind as a strong example of title that managed to maintain its unique aesthetic throughout the entire experience, and now Darksiders, where Joe Madureira (or Jo Mad as he's known in certain circles) displays his signature comic book art style in every character, weapon, demon and location. That the game is the product of one man's vision is never in doubt and it is a particularly strong title because of this.

It's also a game that is very much a product of what has gone before. The influence of the past twenty years of gaming is palpable in Darksiders, to the point where it almost borders on homage. The God of War influences are easily apparent, but there are so many other games nestled in there: The Metroid series is brought to light in the constantly upgraded abilities of main protagonist, War; Zelda comparisons will come to mind when you stumble upon the game's massive dungeons – complete with key hunts and environmental puzzles; the Ratchet & Clank series has influence when it comes to War's weapon upgrades, as each levels up the more you use it; then there are the similarities to Devil May Cry, right down to blocked off rooms with magical barriers that only disappear once you've smashed every enemy in the room to pieces; and lastly, to my mind, there is an overarching design approach that mimics Half Life 2, inasmuch as the game has a fantastic sense of forward momentum (despite some backtracking to discover missed chests) – you're always discovering the next area and apart from the introduction (which lasts all of ten minutes or so) there are no self-contained levels in Darksiders, it's all one big game.

There's not too much to say about the story, except that it manages to create a believable fiction out of existing religious legend. In much the same way that God of War plays with Greek mythology, Darksiders has a lot of fun with the biblical story of the apocalypse and of the Four Horsemen's role in it.

Gameplay is, as mentioned above, a combination of God of War-esque fighting and dungeon exploration. War is always inundated with enemies, but you are given such power in your move-set that you'll always feel powerful enough to take on even the meanest looking demons. New moves are unlocked by visiting a storekeeper named Vulgrim and spending the souls you've collected from combat (and environmental destruction). Vulgrim will sell you new moves, weapon upgrades, health crystals and extra inventory slots. He also grants you access to the game's fast travel system.

The combo system in Darksiders can be as deep as you want it to be. At a basic level, you can pass the game using only one or two moves, but if you want to mix things up somewhat a quick study of your available moves can have you swiping demons up into the air, punching them off ledges to their doom, spinning about like a buzz saw, turning your skin to stone and much more. The art direction really shines during combat, with each weapon given its own graphical bling. My only gripe is that some of the necessary moves in combat feel a little cumbersome. It always seems that you're battling with a required combination of buttons in order to perform something that should flow much smoother, and consequently the game screen is filled with button combination prompts throughout the experience. The same thing happens when it comes to optional special moves, as you need to hold in LB in order to bring up a modifier menu and then press the appropriate face button to activate the one you want. It's a clunky system in an otherwise streamlined game.

Something else that tarnishes the experience is the explicit hand holding. Copied straight out of God of War is the ability to quick kill enemies with B once you've hacked into them enough (although you won't have to suffer any QTEs here – just the one button). These moves are generally quite spectacular but the absolutely massive B prompt that appears above enemies' heads seems, to me at least, a little bit condescending. By the middle of the game you're more than able to tell when demons are ready to be cut in two. You start to feel like a gaming infant as the design constantly insists on showing you how to do things, where you need to go and when things are ready to kill (it even gives you a little musical ditty to pat you on the back when you solve a puzzle).

What I most like about Darksiders is that it starts with a bang and just keeps going. You're always discovering some new ability or weapon (usually used to defeat the next boss). There's also an awesome sense of War as a powerful character. At various times in the game you can choose to turn into Chaos Form, a massive flaming demon that can one-hit-kill most enemies. And when you get to ride Ruin your sword attacks carve through demons with ease. Boss Battles, with the exception of one or two, are incredibly easy and as a result are a heap of fun. There's no need to succumb to Boss Anxiety here (Metroid players will know what I mean) – you'll be tearing the heart out of each boss without even breaking a sweat.