Battle Chasing At The End Of The World (Sort Of...)

PLANET GRIFFIN returns to broadcasting depth in the days before Christmas to bring you the last days of the world as the question of "Whatever happened to Joe Maduriera?" is finally answered (at least to the gaming community) with the emergence of DARKSIDERS, a destructive platformer from THQ that takes NO prisoners! Now, the comic world is very familiar with the young upstart who was once hailed as '... single-handedly ushering japanese anime into the mainstream conscience' during his brief stint in the Marvel bullpen; crafting the AGE OF APOCALYPSE multi-string storyline (and that was only AFTER he found his niche during his ghost pencilling for Jim Lee and X-MEN). Every young comic head, at that time, remembers the moment when 'Joe Mad' left Marvel for Image, and the creation of his blowout fantasy, BATTLE CHASERS... And then, at the top of his game (a multi-millionaire by the age of 22), Joe walked away from it all, turning to his first love- Video Games!

Well, fast forward... Joe DID return to Marvel to do a short run on THE ULTIMATES before disappearing again, busy working on a secret project under the watchful eye of game developer, THQ... Now, the secret's out--- and I'll be the first to admit, it's amazing what a little redemption can do. Here's the story so far:

The timeline is Apocalypse Now. Right now. Boiling seas, massive upheaval, and the demons and the angels slay. The Day of the Horsemen are due, and it seems that only WAR has arrived ahead of all the others. It quickly becomes apparent that the Horseman has been set up as the one who prematurely triggered The Biblical End and is now hunted by the titans of Heaven and Hell both. So runs the world away.

Viewing the in-play designs myself, the game looks incredible, with monstrous bosses so big, you may have to upgrade the size of your flatscreen just to take them all in! The raw brutality of the game is just that--- imagine catching a flying demon's head in your gauntlet-clad hand and simply squeezing, or pulling out a massive sword and hacking your foes into a sinewy paste--- let's just say that it never gets old! The overall visual of the game remain highly faithful to Joe Mad's storyboards and sketchwork; easily drawing comparisons to Joe's Battle Chasers series. Come January 5, the public at large will get a front row seat to the end of the world in style!