darksiders
Latest
Crytek declares intent to acquire Darksiders IP in April's THQ auction
Crytek USA Corp. CEO David Adams revealed his company will bid on the Darksiders IP when it's auctioned next month. Posting on Twitter, Adams said the property "belongs at home with its creators," referring to himself and the other 35 ex-Vigil employees at the recently-formed Crytek USA studio. Darksiders creator Vigil was shuttered by now defunct publisher THQ.Ryan Stefanelli, Crytek USA principal designer and Vigil co-founder, furthered Adams' comments. Talking to Destructoid, Stefanelli said, "When the Darksiders IP goes up for auction, Crytek will be bidding for it. Not much more to say since the rest is left up to courts and legal shenanigans, but we're all excited at the prospect."The IP, which comprises the two Darksiders games, goes up for sale on April 1 in THQ's back catalog auction, with bidding ending on April 15. Other properties in the impending auction include Homeworld and Red Faction.
Humble Weekly Bundle serves up Darksiders 2, also Android bundle
Darksiders 1 & 2 and Red Faction: Guerrilla & Armageddon comprise the second batch of weekly offerings from Humble Indie Bundle, with all four PC games currently on offer at ridicucheap prices. Pay up $1 and you'll pick up Darksiders and RF: Armageddon, with the soundtracks to both included along with the 'Path to War' DLC for Armageddon.However, if you're willing to pony up more than the average paying price, you'll also get Darksiders 2 (plus soundtrack) and RF: Guerrilla. At the time of writing, the pair can be yours for around the very, very silly $7.50 mark.Meanwhile on Android, there's another Humble Bundle for the platform called the Mobile Bundle. Featuring in the latest charitable collection are Contre Jour, Anomaly Korea, Plants vs. Zombies, and Bladeslinger. As ever you can pay what you want, but an average-cough up (around $5.50 at the mo) lets you unlock the secrets of The Room, and generally shoot up stuff in Metal Slug 3. The soundtracks to all, except Contre Jour, are also included.
Darksiders, Homeworld, Red Faction and other IPs next on THQ auction
THQ has announced that it will be auctioning off the intellectual property rights for a large portion of its back catalogue, including Darksiders, Red Faction and Homeworld. The full list of properties up for sale, broken into six lots and posted in full after the break, also includes games like Destroy All Humans! and numerous licensed products.Once interested bidders have gone through the proper channels, initial bids must be submitted by April 1, 2013, with final bids due on April 15. Once all bids have been submitted, THQ will talk the situation over with the various entities it owes money to and will then designate a primary and back-up bid for each lot. Once all that has been completed, the sales will be presented to the court for final approval, expected to take place in May.
Vigil Games Lead Combat Designer stands up, says goodbye
Vigil Games Lead Combat Designer Ben Cureton and the rest of the Vigil staff cleaned out the office today, after Vigil was left untouched at THQ's auction. Vigil was shuttered, and as per THQ's letter to employees, everyone working there was laid off. In a post on NeoGAF, Cureton compared the scene in the office to a silent warzone."The walls look bare," he wrote. "It's quiet. The seats are empty."Vigil Games, the studio behind Darksiders 2, was working on something called Crawler, a project we first heard about in THQ's December bankruptcy filing. After two months working on Crawler, Cureton was convinced that it would blow people's minds."I knew, without a shadow of the doubt, that the project we were working on (Codenamed: Crawler) was going to blow people away. In fact, it did blow people away. We did, in two months, what many companies haven't done in a year. The pride of knowing that no one was doing anything like us was so satisfying, it kept us coming to work and giving 100 percent every single day, even through the dark times."Today was one of those dark times. Cureton was taken aback when he didn't find Vigil's name on the list of purchased properties."Maybe you can imagine what it feels like when you read the list of who bought what only to discover your name is not on the list," he said. "Why? Did we do something wrong? Were we not good enough? Were we not worth 'anything?' Imagine that."In the end, Cureton thanked fans of the Darksiders series and promised to continue making games, having already worked in the industry 20 years."In closing, I can only say thank you to the fans of Vigil games," Cureton said. "Your support means more than you can imagine. Your feedback (both positive and negative) gave us long-lasting insight that we will all take with us, wherever we may go. You are the reason we made Darksiders 1 and 2... and you are the reason we will continue to make games."And with that... my seat is empty."
Darksiders giving free flaming pony rides on PS Plus
Darksiders will be gratis for PlayStation Plus members following tomorrow's PSN update. Star Drone will also shave $2 for members, 50 percent off the regular price.While we're talking about PS Plus goodies, now's a good time to remind that Mega Man 9 and 10 were made available last week. If you're a PlayStation Plus member, it's probably worth checking out the Instant Game Collection for other pieces of candy.
Darksiders, Saints Row, Alice PC download bundles cheap on Amazon
If you've been meaning to check out the Darksiders franchise, you couldn't pick a better time. For one thing, THQ could use the money. For another, it's really not that much money today. For the next two days, the PC download version of the "Franchise Pack" containing both Darksiders games, a Season Pass, and a ton of DLC, is just $13.19 on Amazon. The Saints Row: The Third "Full Package" with the game and DLC is just $12.49.In non-THQ download deals, the Alice: Madness Returns Complete Collection, with both Alice games, is $11.99. In all three cases, these bundles are cheaper than buying the individual games! So even if you only want one Darksiders game, you should go ahead and buy the full set.
Steam Holiday Sale continues with Dishonored, Future Soldier, Darksiders franchise and more
Valve's unceasing quest for the bottom of your bank account continues today with six new daily deals, as part of its ongoing annual Steam Holiday Sale promotion.Today's stable of temptations include Dishonored for $30, Darksiders and Darksiders 2 (plus a wealth of DLC) for $13.59, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for $15 (or as part of a massive $68 Tom Clancy's franchise pack), all three FEAR games (plus DLC) for $13.71, as well as SimCity 4 and Psychonauts for less than five bucks each.As always, various Flash Sales will come and go throughout the day, so remember to check the store periodically. Alternatively, add games you're interested in to your wishlist, and Valve will email you if they happen to go on sale.
Everything Darksiders for $13.19 on Amazon
No, "Everything Darksiders" isn't the name of a new apocalypse-themed cookbook from THQ, although that would be pretty sweet. What we're saying, if you'd listen for five minutes, is that Darksiders, Darksiders 2 and 11 pieces of Darksiders 2 DLC can all be purchased from Amazon as a Darksiders Franchise Pack for $13.19.There is a catch of course, which is that the pack is A) download only and 2) PC only, so anyone without Windows and some phat pipes is in for a struggle. For everyone else though, this sale could at least facilitate an ironic way to ride out Friday's end of the world.
Humble Bundle teams with THQ for Darksiders, Metro 2033, Saints Row: The Third on the cheap
THQ may not be an "indie" or tied to Android, but the ailing game publisher is teaming with the much beloved Humble Bundle folks to offer a flexibly priced batch of great THQ games. Zelda-alike Darksiders, spooky shooter Metro 2033, destruction sandbox Red Faction: Armageddon, and the entire Company of Heroes pack highlight the bundle's standards, while 2011's greatest Kanye simulator, Saints Row: The Third, comes with the rest should you choose to spend over the average payment price (currently around $5). You'll have to drop at least $1 for Steam keys to the main titles, but that'll also net you soundtracks to those main titles as well -- sadly, the offer is only available on PC. You've got two weeks to make your decision, though we'd call this a no brainer.
Darksiders 2 creative director Joe Madureira leaves Vigil Games
Vigil Games founder and creative director Joe Madureira has left the company. The news comes via a tweet, in which Madureira bids farewell to Vigil, thanks publisher THQ and refers to the Darksiders franchise as a "career highlight." In a message on his Facebook fan page, Madureira notes, "I could not be more proud of what we achieved, or the awesome people who helped build up this studio." He adds that Vigil is "in very good hands, so expect only awesomeness down the road."Madureira plans to reveal "the Next Big Thing" soon. In the meantime, the well-known artist is focusing on his other job, namely "banging out a bunch of comics."Vigil's most recent game, Darksiders 2, topped the NPD sales chart for August, selling 247,000 copies. Only time will tell what Madureira's departure means for Vigil – and possibly for publisher THQ, which has a lot riding on the success of Darksiders 2.
Amazon is your cheap THQ download headquarters next week
Starting this Sunday, you'll be able to download a startlingly large number of THQ games from Amazon for prices that are equally startling in their affordability. The Deal of the Week will offer Saints Row 3 for $25, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II Retribution Complete Pack for $20, and an assortment of $5 games including Darksiders, STALKER, and Company of Heroes. In addition, tons of DLC is discounted. Find the full list after the break.This could be a good time to see what Warhammer 40K games are all about before the eventual arrival of the formerly MMO Dark Millennium.
PSN Tuesday: NFL Blitz, TNT Racers and Darksiders
As we inch closer to the biggest commercial showcase NFL game of the year, fans of pigskin ovals can whet their appetites for the big day with NFL Blitz, which brings nostalgic arcade goodness to PSN. Last year's cartoonish, over-the-top XBLA racer TNT Racers also makes its PlayStation debut today, just 11 months after the port was originally announced for the first quarter of 2011. Speaking of games from a long time ago, Darksiders is now available as well, as are DLC packs for Resistance 3 and Apples to Apples. If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, this month's free swag includes the complete Back to the Future series as well as the first three Syphon Filter games. Hit the source link for a complete list of everything happening this week.
$5 Metro 2033 kicks off THQ week on Steam
As part of THQ Week, Steam has thrown a very hefty discount on one of 2010's hidden gems, Metro 2033. The post-apocalyptic Russian shooter is currently on sale for $5, as in five bucks, as in less than a greasy, unhealthy combo meal. Steam is also offering the THQ Hit Collection for $50, half the usual price. The Hit Collection includes favorites like Darksiders, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Saints Row 2 and ... others like Homefront and Red Faction: Armageddon. Finally, the whole THQ catalog (minus Saints Row: The Third and Space Marine) is 33 percent off this week, with more discounts coming in the days ahead. Finally, in other Steam news, Ninjabee's Ancients of Ooga is today's daily deal, available for $5.
Study: Positive correlation between piracy and game review scores
Pirates may be dirty, pillaging fiends, but they have high standards, according to a study from Copenhagen Business School and University of Waterloo. The study tracked 173 new games on BitTorrent over a three-month release period, finding 127 of these were downloaded by 12.7 million unique peers, and that a torrent's popularity was directly correlated to its review scores. The 10 most-downloaded games comprised over 5.3 million downloads, or 42 percent of the 127 pirated games. Fallout: New Vegas had the most downloads (962,793) and an average review score of 83.7, followed by Darksiders (656,296) with a review score of 82.7. Tron: Evolution had the lowest score of the top 10 at 59.5, yet came in fifth place (496,349). StarCraft 2 had the highest review score at 89.5 and landed in seventh place (420,138). Review scores can't trump a title's notoriety, reputation or core fanbase, but researchers found "Metacritic Scores explain 10% of the variance in the unique peers per game on BitTorrent." In other words, the only vessel that these pirates are sailing on is a statistically positive relationship.
SOTA's new Darksiders, Darkstalkers and Okamiden toys go to Comic-Con
Toymaker SOTA has announced that it's prepping a trio of exclusive, licensed video game-based items for this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, which runs July 21-24. The biggie (and by that we mean nearly a foot tall) is a statue ($160) of Morrigan and Lilith from the gothic fighter Darkstalkers, which depicts the two as they "fall, together, in a loose embrace, unaware of how much longer they have together" and "freezes in time a moment that Morrigan and Lilith wish to last forever." SOTA's words, not ours. Smaller and fluffier, a keychain-sized Okamiden plush will be included as part of a "San Diego Comic-Con Impulse Pak" ($40) that features three of SOTA's non-game-related Bobble Budds. Finally, there's our favorite of the bunch: Darksiders' War astride his horse, Ruin, in an LED-lit statue (above, $250) that looks as hot as the flames erupting from the Apocalypse rider's steed. All three items will be available at the show and through SOTA's online store. You can view more pictures and details at the source link.
OnLive celebrates Indie-pendence Day with an explosive sale
OnLive is celebrating "Indie-pendence" Day with a massive sale on -- you guessed it -- a random selection of mainstream blockbusters and popular underground games. The sale includes Batman: Arkham Asylum, Darksiders, Just Cause 2, a pre-order deal on Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and of course an inundation of hit indie titles such as Braid, The Maw, Osmos and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. OnLive's "Indie-pendence" Day Sale runs through the completely unrelated day of July 4, so hurry and check out your options after the jump before this thing vanishes like smoke after a firework. Update: OnLive is sending all PlayPack subscribers a free game of their choice this Tuesday, and as long as you sign up for the monthly unlimited-gaming service before midnight Pacific on July 4, you can snag a free game too. Thanks, Silent Killer01!
Bone up on Darksiders 2 with this trailer
War -- what is he good for? Absolutely nothing in Darksiders 2, because Death is the one handling all the fighting. Game Informer got hold of the first trailer, featuring the new, bony protagonist jumping, swinging his scythe around, and delivering vague threats. And, in case you needed further confirmation of this unbelievable fact after yesterday's reveal, the video clearly shows that ... his pants are made of bone.
Become a space wolf with Warhammer 40K: Space Marine's pre-order bonuses
Though it's possible you've been offered the opportunity to dress like a space wolf at some other point today, we were quite excited to be extended such a chance by the newly announced pre-order bonuses for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. Folks pre-ordering the forthcoming third-person space shooter at GameStop will get the hilariously named armor, as well as the "black templar chapter armor." A variety of other bonuses are available from several other retailers, detailed below the break. Additionally, a "limited run" of the collector's edition seen above will be offered at retailers, going for $79.99 on PC and $89.99 on 360/PS3. Beyond the faux "Purity Seal" and artbook, Space Marine's collector's edition comes bundled in a box (shaped like an old book!) with the soundtrack, a pack of "character information cards" and the game itself. Additionally, among the other ways you can currently get Darksiders for free, PC pre-orders at most retailers -- except THQ's own store, it seems -- will snag a copy of that alongside Space Marine.
OnLive's Space Marine pre-order includes free MicroConsole and Darksiders
Yet again, OnLive and THQ have hooked up to give you a free MicroConsole. And, as avowed free stuff enthusiasts, we greet the mental image of a mighty mountain of MicroConsoles approvingly. The latest offer is for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. If you pre-order the "Full PlayPass" of the streaming game between now and August 22, you'll get a free MicroConsole -- or, if (as is becoming ever more likely) you already have one, you can choose a free game instead (by pre-ordering by May 31). You'll also get $5 off the regular $50 price, and a free copy of Darksiders. We're sure any OnLive execs you meet would also personally hug you, though that bonus isn't explicitly documented.
Darksiders is 75% off on Steam this weekend
Got $10.00 and a few hours to kill? We can hardly think of a better thing to do than picking up Darksiders on Steam, which is on sale for the aforementioned 10 bucks until 10am PT on Monday, March 21. Seriously, think about it. Is there anything else that will give you so much bang for little? Yeah, thought so -- though if you know how good a time Darksiders is, you may have already played it (or read this site, we guess), in which case we'd suggest you tell a friend. What kind of monster would keep that kind of knowledge to themself?
