Just like The Crow... with tentacles!
Typically games made based on licensed material fail to capture whatever it was that made the original content so compelling. Although I’ll admit that the only exposure I’ve had to The Darkness comic book is from the handful of pages I unlocked while playing the videogame, it would be hard to imagine the people over at Top Cow Productions being disappointed with game developer Starbreeze’s adaptation of their material. Although Starbreeze made some concessions in order to bring the comic book to life in video game form, the end result is a rich, immersive experience that is as gripping as any single player game I’ve played in recent memory.
You play as Jackie Estacado, a talented mafia hit man living in New York who finds himself being hunted by his former employer and care taker, Paulie Franchetti. The story begins on Jackie’s 21st birthday, which also happens to be the day that an old family curse decides to rear its ugly head(s). As it turns out, Jackie is the pawn of an ancient sentient evil called The Darkness, which imbues its host with supernatural abilities. These powers will only work in the absence of light, and Jackie discovers early on, he is required to shoot, stab, and otherwise deactivate many of the games destructible light sources in order to survive the games numerous encounters with gangsters and other unsavory types.
Players will have to develop their dark talents by eating lots of NPC hearts before they will be powerful enough to pull this off.
While The Darkness is activated, it serves as a shield of sorts that will absorb damage as long as Jackie stands is in an unlit area. In addition, Jackie can summon and issue basic movement commands to Darklings, who are evil little imps that come in four varieties; the melee attacking Berserker, the darkness-inducing Light Killer, the explosive Kamikaze, and the gung-ho Gunner. Much like Jackie, the Darklings won’t survive long when illuminated, and players will have to constantly avoid or destroy light sources in order to capitalize on their talents. This means that unlike typical FPS games, players will be just as concerned with the light in a given area as they are with the enemies populating it. Despite the games Halo-esque health restoration system, Jackie can’t survive the frequent hails of gunfire for very long without relying on his dark gifts, and players will typically begin a fight by targeting light bulbs instead of lining up head shots. And once the environment is adequately shaded, the real fun begins.
While in the inky blackness of the shadows, Jackie can combine his prowess with firearms with his Darkness abilities. Jackie starts out the game with only one evil power: Creeping Dark, which allows him to send out a tentacle for a limited amount of time that can unlock doors and kill assailants while he kneels in the safety of shadows. As players level up their darkness abilities by eating the hearts of slain enemies (yum!) they will add new powers to the lineup. Demon Arm, which can impale enemies, throw heavy objects, and smash out lights, is granted to players about a third of the way through the story. Later on, players will recover some ancient guns with unlimited ammo that allow Jackie to maintain continuous fire as long as he stays out of the light. And finally, about two thirds of the way in, players will be able to conjure black holes which make anything not nailed down gravitate towards their damaging centers.
Your Darklings provide comical relief and some backup, but their wonky AI often makes controlling them a chore.
The Darkness boasts some extremely impressive visuals, placing it near the top of the 360 heap in the graphics department. Shadows obviously play a large part in The Darkness’ game play, and lighting is appropriately dynamic and moody. Characters look extremely realistic and animate beautifully, and although they do tend to wind up in the uncanny valley from time to time, their occasional eeriness is a testament to the graphical fidelity with which they are rendered. Textures look great, even upon greater inspection, and the games physics are well implemented, giving the world a credible feel.
Sound is equally impressive in the Darkness, which features some of the best voice acting I’ve ever heard in a video game. Although the entire cast does a great job, Mike Patton, who voiced the Darkness itself is the real standout here… his guttural intonations are hauntingly effective at expressing the evil that has possessed Jackie. Gunfire and ambient sounds all sound appropriately lifelike, and the black metal soundtrack, while a tad repetitive, fits the tone of the game nicely.
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