A game that tries to accomplish too much.
While finding the first game in the franchise rather enjoyable, this sequel disappoints.
Yes, there are RPG-elements, yes there are plenty of puzzles. What isn't there, is a satisfying amount of enemies to smash into pieces, after solving the 100th puzzle involving a stone guardian, some levers and flooding a room with water.
The few enemies you encounter offer some occasion for nice and fluid combat, yet the level of difficulty on normal does not really offer a challenge, except for the occasional boss-fight whose attack pattern you yet need to figure out.
The scenery in which Death's quest to redeem his brother War, protagonist of Darkisders takes place in a beautiful scenery of impossibly architectured rooms, canyons, forests and dungeons, yet the graphics begin to feel chunky, and on the PS3 the screen-tearing is much worse than in the prequel.
Upgrading your weapons and powers offers some distraction from the monotony of pushing levers and climbing walls and completing hack 'n slash sections you can count on one hand, yet the leveling and upgrading system is very simple and feels like a shallow RPG-token.
Abysmal targeting mechanics, uncomfortable camera angles and an overall feeling of climbing and moving and fighting along a very linear path, reduce my lukewarm feeling towards this game further.
Darksiders 2 is good for a quick fix, when you have to fill those 30 minutes between coming home and your buddies arriving.