The fantasy-themed third-person sub-genre is gradually growing into something of a defined niche in it's own right, stalwarts like set off by more 'out there' offerings like Shadow of the Colossus, creating an act that many are trying to follow. Step up with Dante's Inferno, and now THQ, with Vigil's Darksiders: Wrath of War.

We find ourselves in a stuffy central London hotel basement, with creative director Joe Madureira on hand to help explain what the design team are hoping to deliver through the brash Darksiders; one of troubled THQ's big hopes for the year ahead.

The premise behind this new game is rather 'dark', and while God of War was hardly Care Bears, the story looks likely to take things in somewhat unusual directions. Assuming the role of 'War', one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, players will be returning to a post-apocalpytic Earth in search of revenge. Anti-hero War has been framed for the death of humanity, you see, and our red-eyed alter ego wants to find out who really lay waste to the planet in his name.

The game begins, then, comfortably after the 'end' of all things, the Earth a ravaged hell-hole, plagued by minions from god knows where - the last remnants of mankind wandering the landscape, mindless, soulless.

If all this sounds a little too much like Oxford Street shopping on a Saturday afternoon, never fear, for the visuals are a veritable celebration of the Vigil's vision of a petrified world. Crumbled buildings, burnt out cars, cracked roads; destruction is everywhere, the cityscape pocked with jutting rocky spikes that certainly weren't original features of the metropolis. Couple this with burning boulders through the sky - and an appropriately cinematic orchestral soundtrack - and you have quite an arresting world in which to explore.

You won't just be exploring of course. Nicely shot, and well-acted cut-scenes explain the nuances of the plot as you progress, and there are a few puzzles to solve along the way as well - although nothing too taxing, at least during the segments of the game we played. Combat however, as in the inspirational God of War, is clearly where the real meat of the game is to be found - and this looks to be your classic, third-person affair. War has two forms of attack, his main affront being the sword, while secondary ranged attacks are also possible. These will be strung together with various acrobatics to create slick and frenzied combat sequences, and it was surprising how satisfyingly fast, nice-looking tussles could be mustered.

Clearly, Vigil have been working hard on the game's controls, and you'll be able to mix things up appropriately using the environment (cars are particularly useful tools of death for less challenging foes) to your advantage. War has super-human strength off the bat, but his powers will grow as you harvest 'Souls' (the game's currency) and collect items; our sardonic friend getting new abilities. As Madureira explains, later in the game we'll be tearing down whole walls, and even growing wings and taking to the skies.

While visually comparisons with God of War are most apparent, the developers seem keen to play up the role and have played in their inspiration - and certainly from an environmental puzzles perspective these comparisons seem valid. During the game, Death will also land an Episcopal Chain, which will help him manouvre around the city as well acting as a sort of evil lasso for snaring and pulling objects in the world (including foes).

If all this combat variety wasn't enough, players will also have the option of using manual and auto-aiming, creating even more seamless flows of combat. Dramatic foes are the order of the day, and some of them are mighty tough too - every one of them appearing appropriately hellish and unforgiving. Moral ambiguity seems to be one of the game's main themes (but then, isn't it always these days? - Ed), the player having to do unsavoury deals with bad characters in the game in order to further plot progression. Volgrin, the blue demon with "a thing" for souls is one such character, while your path through the game will be guided by The Watcher, a skeptical overseer sent to follow War by the shady 'Council'; a body that exists somewhere between heaven and hell, I'm reliably informed.

The Watcher is voiced by the chap who played the Joker in the animated series, and this unsettling dialogue sets the game's mood well - fitting in with the "no good guys" motif. During one tussle with a Destroyer, we witness War enter another mode - in which he basically becomes a terrifyingly destructive red monster; unleashed via the accumulation of 'Chaos'.

These big battles are really what seems to be about, the team at Vigil having seemingly gone all out to create a compelling and rich world in order to keep the exploration, puzzling and fighting fresh. The depths of the game are certainly more than cursory, as can be seen by the character development choices at the player's disposal, while the plot seems unremittingly dark. There's no co-op or sadly, but will be hoping that this striking new action game has enough soul to seperate it from the crowd. We should find out for sure this winter.

Darksiders: Wrath of War will be released on the and before the year is through.

By Luke Guttridge