The Darkness Review

Written by: Tracy Bosworth Posted: 8th January 2008

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Step into The Darkness if you dare!!!

The Darkness Details:

	Action
	PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
	Starbreeze
	2K Games

18+

Out Now

N/A

The gangster thing has been done to death in console gaming from the likes of San Andreas to the more traditional mafia style plots. It was about time someone put a twist on the genre to make things interesting and what better way to do this then to include a little bit of demonic possession? Sounds unlikely, but it works!

At first, the storyline seems like your average New York gangster tale which centres on a hit man named Jackie Estacado. When Jackie’s Uncle Paulie, a lead figure in the mobster family suspects him of wrongdoing, he attempts to kill him. Not a great day for a man celebrating his 21st birthday. Naturally, Jackie takes offence and a war is waged between his and Paulie’s gang. Jackie soon learns that he has become possessed with “The Darkness”, a supernatural being that tries to take him over. It doesn’t sound too good for Jackie but the Darkness actually brings with it a selection of powers that become invaluable to him as he tries to defeat Paulie.

Essentially, The Darkness is a FPS with a twist. You start the game after a car crash leaves you and a friend dazed and confused, in what seems to be an old warehouse. Unfortunately for you, your friend is unable to follow, as you get up to leave, he hands you his weapons and wishes you luck. This is where you take over.

You start off with just your dual pistols as you shoot your way past a number of mob members and crooked police officers until you acquire your darkness powers. The normal shooting aspect of the game is good, the basic weapons are accurate enough and naturally you have the option of hiding behind large objects or even sneaking around in the dark. Enemies do have a fairly limited A.I but you still have to be careful when wandering through areas the game places you in , after thinking I had killed all the bad guys in an area I begin to move on smugly before being showered with an array of bullets from enemies that were still hiding.

As you would expect bullets for all weapons are limited and can be picked up from dead bodies or sometimes found lying around. One thing I did notice was that the dual pistols deplete ammo individually. This meant that I was able to reload the empty gun whilst still protecting myself with the other.

The shooting is all well and good but the real fun starts when Jackie is able to use his darkness powers. The physical form of the being is shown by two rather nasty looking serpent heads that look over each shoulder when you summon them. Despite being an unwanted guest for Jackie, the powers they give you are what makes this game as addictive as it is, from the black hole power which sucks up everything around it (including the bad guys) to the serpent power which enables you to morph into a serpent and slither around areas you couldn’t reach in your human form. This power is great for gaining access to small openings, climbing walls and creeping up on enemies.

The Darkness can also summon creatures known as “Darklings” which all come with different abilities. One will run off and shoot anything that moves which is invaluable when it comes to getting through enemy infested areas, another plays around with electrics which is useful for those mechanical obstacles, one blasts holes in walls and the other attacks like a rabid dog, clawing at its victims in fury.

As you might expect, the darkness feeds off, well, darkness so it’s essential that you stay in the shadows! You can of course shootout lights or simply turn them off in buildings, you can also feed the darkness by having your serpent creatures rip out and eat the hearts of any dead human.

Sometimes it’s hard to forget that The Darkness is not your friend, its useful yes but it is nowhere near a “good guy”. It often whispers to you telling you how much you need it and on one occasion I was stupid enough to believe it when it told me I was going the wrong way. I actually turned back and went in a different direction before realising that it lies to stop you getting too far!

Most of the game takes place on the streets of New York but the playing environment is pretty small and restricted. Various areas are connected by two subway stations and you can get from one to another by following the signs in the stations or, if you need to be in another part of town completely, simply hopping on the train which instantly takes you there. Each area is quiet and unpopulated with deserted streets and silent roads which in itself is fairly unrealistic but considering a vast majority of the game takes place at night, it is forgivable. The subway stations are much livelier with a selection of characters from the harmonica player to the little old woman that keeps losing stuff. A lot of these characters will give you side missions to do most are so easy it seems almost pointless (like when the harmonica player complains that someone won’t let him play, all you have to do is threaten the guy and he instantly has a change of heart).

The graphics in this game are amazing. Each area looks realistic from the graffiti and brickwork on the buildings to the subway. The game runs smoothly and whilst the enemies all look pretty similar, the important characters are realistic and unique. Like Jackie with his long black hair.

Then there’s the darkness itself, the serpent heads which snap and snarl at each other before joining forces to devour someone’s heart. There are even a few ghostly experiences which have been done very well graphically.

Even better than the graphics is the audio which is probably some of the most realistic I have ever heard in a game. Voice acting is especially excellent, Jackie sounds so realistic with his deep and gritty New York accent. Even the non-important characters, such as the people hanging around on the street speak with personality in their voices.

Everything about this game is good, graphics and audio are amazing, and gameplay is addictive. The only let down is that the story doesn’t really make much sense in some parts. The gangster war is pretty straight forward but unless I missed it, you don’t seem to find out WHY Jackie got stuck with the Darkness in the first place. Also, the game seemed a ittle short to me. Maybe this is just a sign of how addictive it is and when it does end, you’re disappointed that there’s no more.