The Darkness was one of my favorite games of 2007, and it became a cult hit with an appeal that after five long years inspired a sequel. The original game was gritty and super violent, highlighting the feel of the comic book it was based on. The anti-hero, Jackie Estacado, was a crazy mo-fo mobster with an evil within that literally transforms him into a killing beast right out of Hell. Starbreeze Studios developed the original game, but this time Publisher 2K handed the keys to Digital Extremes, who also did the BioShock games. Was the five years too long, or will The Darkness 2 overtake you once again?
gameplay
The Darkness 2 takes place two years after the bloodbath of the first game, and once again you play as mob kingpin Jackie Estacado, a guy with a gun in each hand and a pair of extra Hell-ish limbs that make him the most vicious killing machine on the streets. The game, like the first, is played in first person shooter mode with the left and right trigger controlling Jackie’s gun hands and the right and left shoulder buttons causing chaos with his demonic limbs.
The story is more or less on the same line as the original game, with Jackie attempting to control his mob empire, while at the same time trying to keep the evil within him from fully taking over the man he is. It’s a Jekyll & Hyde or a Bruce Banner/Hulk battle that Jackie unleashes when the situation calls for a nature of vengeance that a mortal man can’t do. Jackie is also in a constant tug-of-war with his emotions, especially when is comes to his pain of the loss of his murdered girlfriend, Jenny, who he constantly has visions of, which are used to motivate him as well as enrage him to cause destruction.
Whereas the first game was more story driven, The Darkness 2 gets to the point and just focuses on action. This game is all about killing your enemies in the most brutal and grotesque ways as you possibly can unleash. Yeah, pumping fifty bullets into a guy as he rocks violently is satisfying, but using your demon limbs to slice his torso from his lower body, then ripping open his chest to pull out his heart and showing it to him is the icing on the cake. Gamers who love the deadly fatalities in the Mortal Kombat games will be orgasmic over what mayhem Jackie can let loose.
The controls are much more smooth in this game over Jackie’s first adventure, so whenever situations occur when you need to use a tentacle limbs to travel through a narrow corridor to open a door or take an enemy in the distance by surprise will be more fluid to keep you immersed. Digital Extremes who is no stranger to first person action seems like they took the original code and pumped it with steroids, because there are some very satisfying killing sequences that will raise your adrenaline.
Though the action is fast and furious, the game does suffer from polish in many places, because most of the enemy goons just look like clones who just seem to wait for their turn to be killed, and there’s a lot of buggy activity with objects stuck in walls, characters floating above the ground; and at certain times the games freezes momentarily and then plays catch up to get back to the action. These things are in no way a deal breaker because the game has so many excited moments; it’s just that a few more weeks of QA would have rolled out these kinks.
As far as game sequels go, The Darkness 2 is very satisfying and goes for the over the top action you desire from a game of this kind. The story is not as thought out as the original, but Jackie Estacado’s world is linear and simple. He’s a man of vengeance, and when he’s pissed off, heads wills roll…literally. The five years in between games was too long, and most may have forgotten about the first one. But if you’re a fan of the first, or if you pick up a used copy (I’ve seen it for as low as $5.99) it is definitely worth playing the games in order to get the full experience of the demonic rage called The Darkness.
graphics
The game keeps the graphic novel cell shading style of the original, making it look like a motion comic. The graphics are not ground breaking, but they fit the mood of the world, with creepy dark characters and scenery. It’s not as visually appealing as BioShock, but the manner in which the dark and light elements are used are well done. Most of the detail went into the kills, and watching the gory fatalities of bodies torn to pieces will lock you in. AI is pretty straight forward, and it doesn’t take much of a strategy to take down enemies, because here it’s about style over substance. There are glitches that will pop up, but overall it stays true to the original.
sound
There is so much screaming in this game that you’ll think your watching a horror flick. Jackie brings the pain with guns and explosions that echo all around. When the limbs go the work, sounds like a torso being ripped open, and a fresh heart that has been removed and is still pumping, adds to the experience. Voice work is well done; with Jackie telling his mob tales and characters he interacts with throwing in their two cents about this and that. It stays along the same quality as the first game, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
replay value
The campaign is short, but sweet and satisfying and can be knocked out in a weekend at normal difficulty. You can replay the campaign to earn better experience skills that make your kills more insane, which is needed when playing the game at a higher difficulty. There is also a four-player co-op mode that uses side elements within the main storyline. You take on the role of one of Jackie’s henchmen, equipped with badass Darkness abilities, as you take on mini missions. This mode can be fun and add to the replay value, but just don’t expect any new bells and whistles.
bottom line
The Darkness 2 is late on arrival and should have not been released five years later. Come on, what too so long? But for fans of the game it’s good to see Jackie and demon inside him back for the fight. This sequel is stronger on action and lacks the driven story that the first one had, but it’s still a satisfying experience. Digital Extremes did a good job picking up where Starbreeze Studios left off, but more time to polish the bugs that pop-up throughout gameplay would have sweetened the deal. Will we ever see Jackie Estacado in a third adventure? Only The Darkness knows the answer to that.
Review by: Johnny McNair
Posted: 05/14/2012
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Gameplay:
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8.0 |
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Graphics:
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7.5 |
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Sound:
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8.0 |
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Replay Value:
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7.0 |
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Bottom Line:
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7.5 |
