Developer:Digital Extremes
Publisher: THQ
Release Date: 10 February
The game takes place two years after the original and Jackie is living large. Unfortunately he’s never been able to shake the memories of his dead girlfriend Jenny Powell who met an untimely end in The Darkness1. Jackie has suppressed his supernatural powers with the help of occultist Johnny Powell, but apparently The Darkness now wants a way out.
Right off the bat, the first thing that you notice is the vastly different art style. Whereas The Darkness 1 was dark, dank and just plain creepy, The Darkness 2 wields cell shaded graphics giving it a real comic book feel. Which a game like this should definitely possess, given the fact it’s based on the comic book with the same name, but don’t be fooled by the graphics this is one violent game and definitely not one to show off to grandma.
 |
| This is the reason I'm afraid to walk down as street at night. |
The game opens with Jackie casually sitting in a restaurant with a pair of pretty twins. His joy is short lived however as a shot rings out and one of them falls dead to the floor. A few seconds later her sibling meets a similar fate by way of a large van crashing through the wall. What started out as lunch with two beautiful women soon escalates into a full scale gang war. This opens a window for The Darkness to reemerge stronger than ever. Jackie proceeds to fight his way out of the restaurant and through narrow streets to a carnival where he encounters Victor Valente, leader of The Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood was formed ages ago to keep the word safe from The Darkness, but soon became corrupt; their mission now lies with capturing The Darkness for their own nefarious purposes.
The gameplay has seen a lot of improvements with the iconic serpent heads seeing a lot of new ways to maim. Among these are the abilities to quad wield guns and pick up objects from the environment (such as lampposts and dustbins) to throw at your enemies.
With each kill Jackie accumulates a heart which adds “Dark Essence” a substance that clings to people that have come into contact with The Darkness. Dark Essence can in turn be traded for new and improved abilities. Among them is an ability that channels The Darkness into Jackie’s guns providing them with unlimited amounts of ammo and makes them deal supernatural damage for a while. Also present is the ability to see and attack through walls which opens a whole world of possible nasty surprises.
But with all the new power also comes an increased sensitivity to light. If the player steps into the light Jackie’s vision blurs and a high pitched ringing fills your ears. Don’t threat as symptoms can be avoided by destroying the sources of light with either your guns or serpent heads. Unlike the previous game the Darkness is present in public areas and will only vanish when in light or for story purposes.
| HE'S BACK! |
Also present is a four player coop mode called Vendettas where you and three buddies team up each with a unique version of the Darkness to complete a story running parallel to the main game. Your selection includes: A mentally unstable assassin, a highly trained Mossad agent, A drunken Scotsman and a Voodoo wielding doctor. (All Pictured below)
 |
| A strange alliance wouldn't you say? |
The game is slick and handles well with the weapons mapped to the triggers and the serpent heads to the bumpers, you can dish out a lot of mayhem easily and fast.
The game improves everything of the original and adds a lot of new innovation, critics have praised the demos and its clear: If you liked the original you'll love this.
No comments:
Post a Comment