Five years after the release of The Darkness on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, Jackie Estacado is back and spilling more blood than ever. It’s been two years since the events of the first game and Jackie has done everything he can to suppress the Darkness inside him. A series of unfortunate events at a restaurant force him to unleash the beast he’s tried so hard to keep in, well, the dark. Returning to the status of a deity, Jackie goes on a hunt for a mysterious group while, at the same time, trying to deal with another part of him that he has also had a hard time keeping locked inside.
Starbreeze Studios is no longer the team behind the title. Digital Extremes has taken over and provided The Darkness II with several changes in hopes of improving upon its predecessor. From the art style to the combat, every aspect of this sequel has seen an overhaul from the new developers.
Can The Darkness II provide an authentic comic book experience? Or this game filled with problems of demonic proportions?
HOT
Quad-wielding
Dual-wielding is so last year. Now, it’s all about quad-wielding. Thanks to the Darkness, Jackie has more functional limbs than the average man. His human arms are capable of holding two small weapons (ex: handguns and sub machine guns) or one large weapon (ex: shotguns and assault rifles). Then, there are his demon arms. These toothed-tentacles have the ability to rip off car doors, slice things in half and even invade every orifice of a person. When you combine the human and demon arms, the result is one of the most satisfying and brutal FPS experiences on the market. On PS3, R1 and L1 shoot any firearm Jackie is currently holding. L2 and R2 control the demonic tentacles. L2 is used to pick up and throw items or people. It can also be used to initiate insane executions.
These executions range from the timid “Torso Slam” to the nightmare producing “Assecution”. I’m sure there are many of you wondering about the latter one. I’ll explain… even though I really shouldn’t. Assecution begins with an enemy being held by the leg upside down by a single demon arm. What does the other tentacle do? It plunges straight down the extremely unfortunate enemy’s rear end and rips said person’s spine and skull through the same hole. It can make the strongest of stomachs queasy. Ass-based kills aside, the combat is fast paced and addicting. One second you’re tossing the Darkling companion on someone’s face and the next second you’re pinning that face to a nearby wall with a lengthy pole thrown javelin-style. Or maybe you feel like taking full advantage of the quad-wielding. So, you tear off a car door and hold it in place with the demon arms as you shoot through the window with two custom M1911s before deciding to chuck this makeshift shield down-range and slice a poor fool in half. For these reasons, quad-wielding is truly a great addition to the FPS genre.
Darkness 2.0
While Jackie eliminates bad guys with his various limbs, Dark Essence is amassed. The accumulated essence can be spent at Talent Shrines. Here is where the skill tree resides. From here players can upgrade several of Jackie’s abilities. It all starts at the center of the circular upgrade tree with the ability to devour hearts, which provides essence as well as restores health. After that, players are free to customize the way in which they will perform countless slaughterings. Weapons can be upgraded to carry more ammo or channel the power of the Darkness to cause immense damage. The demon arms can eventually suspend people in the air for easy target practice or learn new cringe-worthy executions, of which there are four types (ammo, health, power, shield). The skill tree is expansive and will take some time to gather enough essence to max everything out.
More Than Just Eye Candy
The various displays of gore on-screen may be enough to satisfy some, but the visual experience isn’t the only enjoyable one. The voice acting is superb. Jackie and Jenny both have some emotional exchanges of dialogue, but there are two other characters that stand even further above them in voice acting quality. First, there’s Johnny Powell. I could listen to this nut-job go on about irrelevant things all day. The anxiety-filled ramblings of a mad man have never been more entertaining. Then, there’s the Darkness itself. Every time it speaks to Jackie in its strained voice it’s chilling. The idea of a demonic beast only contained by mortal flesh has been fully captured in each piece of the Darkness’ dialogue.
Story Quality
You may have heard others claiming that the story present in The Darkness II is on par with other great entries in this genre such as BioShock. They aren’t lying. The story may take a little while to build up, but once it does you’re in for a real treat. The game mixes intense bloodbaths with mellow scenes filled with emotion, mainly once Jackie’s girlfriend Jenny – the one he watched die – enters the stage. For example, one level had Jackie searching for a man named Swifty. After slicing and shooting through countless thugs, the hectic pace dropped significantly when suddenly Jenny appeared and the two began dancing in a diner. This combination of blood-filled firefights and touching reunions makes The Darkness II’s narrative stand out. Not to mention that once the game wraps everything up you will be sure to remember this title for months to come.
Cooperative Play
Once you’ve finished tearing necks out in the single player, it’s time to go do the same thing with three friends online. Here you can choose to either play one of two modes: Vendettas or Hit List. Vendettas provides a cooperative campaign that jumps in and out of the single player story to add extra depth. During the campaign, Jackie asks for a man to be brought to his home. One mission later and this man has appeared in Jackie’s mansion. How did he get there? You carry out that very duty in Vendettas. It’s a nice touch being able to see certain aspects of the story from a different perspective. Then there’s Hit List. This one is pretty basic in comparison to the alternative mode. Between one and four players can fight their way through loads of baddies until they make their way to the marked target. Off the specified character and you’re done.
Probably the best part about the co-op is selecting one of the four crazy characters with their own unique weapons. Since none of them possess demon arms, they must use their Darkness-infused weaponry. Inugami wields a katana, Jimmy Wilson can toss a hand axe, J.P. Dumond has mastered the use of the Midnight Stick (witch doctor magic) and Shoshanna hunts with a special sawed off shotgun. With all four characters being varied and having their own skill trees to upgrade, cooperative play can become very addicting as people advance in their roles and playstyles.
NOT
Story Quantity
While The Darkness II boasts an impressive narrative, the entire experience ends not too long after being drawn into the compelling story. The single player campaign lasts between six and eight hours assuming you’re playing on the normal (or higher) difficulty as long as you spend some time hunting relics and talking with characters between missions. It’s unfortunate when games come to an end quickly, but its even more crushing when it’s an amazing game that rolls credits too soon.
Verdict
The Darkness II is an impressive game. From the new stylized graphics to the attention-grabbing adventure to the enhanced gunplay the sequel outdoes its predecessor in nearly every aspect. And that’s before even diving into the cooperative portion of the game. The only area this title falls short in is the length of the campaign as it can be completed in a few sittings. Overall, The Darkness II will satisfy anyone’s bloodlust and/or longing for a great story. It will undoubtedly be a very memorable 2012 release.
[Editor’s Note: The Darkness II was reviewed on the Playstation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
