Reviewed: July 19, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
2K Games

Developer
Starbreeze AB

Released: June 25, 2007
Genre: FPS
Players: 1-8

9
9
9
8
9.1

Supported Features:

There are no superheroes in this game, no bright colors, no fancy superpowers (at least traditional ones), no cheesy acting or one-liners. This is a tale of evil vs. evil, a tale of Jackie Estacado, a hitman for the mob, born with a demonic curse that reveals itself on Jackie’s 21st birthday. Guess when this game starts. Yep, Jackie has just turned 21 and his uncle Paulie is trying to kill you. Obviously, the attempt fails so it’s now you against the mob in this dark supernatural thriller.

Weapons alone aren’t enough for one man to take on the entire mob, so thankfully, quite early in the game “The Darkness” manifests itself as a pair of serpents that protrude from over your shoulders, effectively giving your character some serious…ahem…bite while allowing you to unleash your own style of revenge with a variety of weapons. Of course the mob is only half your problem. Your new unholy powers are a bit sensitive when it comes to light, so much of the game will require you to keep to the shadows, and in some cases make your own shadows or at best, remove various light sources.

This balance of conflict between light and human enemies is surprisingly original. The Splinter Cell franchise touches on the concept in their stealth titles, but not to the degree, as you’ll see in The Darkness. In fact, it actually gets a bit annoying about halfway through the game as you slip into the repetitive rut of entering a new area, identifying all sources of light, avoid human contact as you eliminate those lights, then clean up the mob with your serpent-like appendages. As long as Jackie remains in the dark he will be able to use his Dark Vision and Dark Shield powers.

As for weapons, you’ll get a small standard selection of firearms like pistols and shotguns, as well as the Ancient Weapons. For as much power as these guns drain, their overall effectiveness is extremely disappointed and it is best to stick to convention weapons mixed with other Darkness powers.

So how about those powers? You have four starting with Creeping Dark, a serpent-like creature you can send out as a scout, creeping along the ground or even climbing walls. Controls are a bit wonky; especially when you view suddenly changes orientation going up a wall. It’s easy to lose your bearings, but you’ll figure it out eventually and your Creeping Dark is a great tool for smashing lights and munching on the unsuspecting mobster using special stealth and heart-devouring attacks. Since you are in direct control of the Creeping Dark, Jackie will be left alone and vulnerable. If he falls under attack you’ll need to recall your serpent.

Demon Arm is also good for knocking out lights and impaling enemies, but at a much shorter range. Ancient Weapons are the third power, which, as mentioned above in the weapons section, are fairly worthless. And then we come to the Black Hole, the ultimate Darkness power that will suck in anything and everything within its area of effect, which is determined by the amount of Darkness power you have when you unleash it. This power almost makes the game too easy by the end, although the power requirements for using it will help balance the temptation for overuse.

Another fantastic tool is Jackie’s ability to summon Darklings, gremlin-like creatures that come in four flavors. Whenever you manifest the Darkness portals may appear in that area. Simply approach the pit and press any of the face buttons to summon the creature of your choosing. You may only have one Darkling from each portal and the portal has to be in relative darkness before the Darkling will appear.

The Berserker is the first type of Darkling. This creature is the thug of the group and will use any piece of his surroundings to destroy your enemy. Light Killer is a useful variation of the Darkling. It will seek out and destroy any nearby light sources making your job a lot easier. Kamikaze is probably the most useful Darkling, especially if you are being attacked by a large group. He will run into the nearest group of enemies and blow himself up. And finally we come to the Gunner, a female Darkling with a big gatling gun that will unleash a hail of bullets from a safe distance. The only problem with her is that her aim isn’t always the best and there is friendly fire, so stay behind this Darkling once summoned.

The Darklings provide a humorous element in an otherwise dark and disturbing game. Not only do they look like Gremlins, they act and chatter like them. You can even dress the Berserker class up in various costumes and themed weapons like a fireman (with axe) or a lumberjack (with saw) for even more fun.

There are a few elements of sheer brilliance included in the game. One is a lengthy list of phone numbers scattered about the environments on signs, posters, and billboards. You can call these numbers on any pay phone for humorous results and there is also an underlying subplot that unfolds through these phone calls. Also scattered about the city are TV’s that you can watch. Starbreeze has included several full-length feature movies and vintage TV shows. Just zoom in on the TV and set your controller down for a few hours of extra entertainment. There’s even an Achievement point for watching TV with your girlfriend.

Ultimately, you’ll need to complete your quest and that means a lot of violence and the devouring of hearts. It can be quite gruesome to watch your fanged serpentine appendages ripping a heart from a corpse then fighting over it as blood drips and splashes across the ground, but you’ll need these hearts to keep your Darkness meter fueled.

The Darkness manages a nice pace for the story but there is no real progression of difficulty. If anything the game gets easier by the end since enemies don’t get any smarter or more powerful but your abilities continue to enhance until you become a one-man wrecking crew. By the time you get the Black Hole power there is little to threaten you other than hasty or sloppy gameplay. You can quite literally tear through the last few hours of the game with no worries.

Starbreeze tossed in (or rather tacked on) a multiplayer component that was neither needed nor that much fun. Apparently we haven’t shaken the mentality that all games don’t require online play, so we get some lame 8-player matches with modes like Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, CTF, and Survival. There are almost a dozen maps based on environments from the story but original to the multiplayer experience. They are a bit small, especially for full 8-player matches, and you’ll find yourself tripping over each other in some very tight environments.

New York is one of the largest cities in America, but you’d never tell from the small sampling you’ll be exploring in this game. But by keeping the overall area small the designers were able to put loads of detail into the design and textures and keep the framerate rock solid. But the Big Apple is only part of the adventure. On a few occasions you will get to visit a horrific version of Hell, a truly twisted and original view of a torturous afterlife where World War I continues to rage on and the souls of American soldiers are tortured in all sorts of cruel ways.

To say this game is violent would be an understatement of epic proportions, but most of the violence is supernatural, either inflicted by the Darklings or your serpent-like appendages. While the Darkling violence is twisted and humorous there is nothing funny about when the Creeping Dark rips a heart from its victim, plays with it for a bit, then chomps it down like a jalapeno popper.

Sound effects are just as good and equally as creepy with all sorts of supernatural sounds you’ll only hear in horror movies and your nightmares. There is some great 3D separation thanks to a fantastic Dolby Digital mix that puts you right in the middle of the action.

The music is mostly thematic score, nothing that really rises to the surface. You might even forget about it, but there is always some haunting or disturbing theme playing in the background, even if it’s purely environmental, that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand at full attention.

Xbox 360 gamers will find 50 Achievements ranging from collection to killing. Sadly, several Achievements have been assigned to multiplayer objectives so if you want the full 1000 points you’ll have to tolerate the below-average multiplayer experience.

With it’s mix of stealth and supernatural tactics combined with the occasional gunplay, The Darkness is a great addition to the library of any mature gamer looking for a frightfully good time. You might play this game in the dark but you’ll be sleeping with the lights on.