The whole thing would quickly switch from loving homage to grating rip-off if not for two important factors. There's a horse you can boost a limited number of times before it's exhausted. There are bomb plants that replenish themselves after you pluck their explosive nectar. You'll find pieces of a life bar, four of which will a new container to your meter. The similarities go even deeper than what I've alluded to. If you haven't figured it out yet, Darksiders is basically a demonic take on the story of Link. %Gallery-33091%Stripped of your powers, you find an unlikely ally in the demon Samael who offers to help you in exchange for bringing him the hearts of four bosses demons, which you'll do as you reclaim your weapons like a boomerang and hookshot. Now, all the people on Earth are dead and you've been given one chance to travel to the post-apocalyptic planet and take your vengeance on the party responsible, whoever that may be.

You're War, the angriest of the Four Horsemen, and you've just been tricked into starting Armageddon. It's a gutsy move by newcomer Vigil Games, considering it's inviting comparisons to some of the gaming's heaviest hitters, but it's one that - for the most part - pays off. Though it's not technically a copy cat, this is a game that wears its inspirations on its bone-armored sleeve. It's impossible to review Darksiders without the conversation beginning and ending with its influences.

Darksiders hookshot