Over the weekend, I rented The Darkness from my local Video Ezy to try out this FPS blood-and-gore game that had received a generous 8.5 from Gamespot. After having played the game nearly to completion I felt it was time to give my personal opinion to the good people here at The Escapist. So strap yourself in as I take you on a short journey through this interesting little shooter from 2k and Starbreeze Studios.
Anyone who actually reads the Top Cow comic book should know the story. For everyone else: you are Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman with some of the worst looking hair in the history of humanity. On Jackie's 21st birthday the don Uncle Paulie, who has long since abandoned the mafia codes of honour and respect to make huge piles of cash and drugs, announces that he has had it up to here with Jackie and that his doom is nigh. Unfortunately for him Jackie is imbued with The Darkness, a malevolent, demonic entity who aids Jackie by vengefully slaughtering those who get in his way. While the dark powers given to Jackie certainly become useful for preventing the mafia from killing him, The Darkness intends to use the poor guy as a vessel for its terrible evil. It's wonderfully well fleshed out, and makes a nice change from the normal alien invasion plot that's included in so many shooters. The script is also pretty good; while there is enough profanity to get the game banned in Korea, it doesn't feel out of place, certainly not to anyone who has seen "Goodfellas" or "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane" [Editor: What?].
Before I start on the gameplay, I just want you all to know that this game has a button that will make a Darkness minion rip a heart out of the nearest corpse and gulp it down with obvious relish. If that doesn't warrant at least a cursory inspection, I don't know what does.
I feel that Starbreeze has yet to fully grasp how to design an FPS, which doesn't surprise me since this is the first one they've ever made. Signs of this include Jackie's top speed which, compared to Half-Life, feels like a slow dawdle. Additionaly, while there are several different weapons available in-game, there's no point in using them, as your dual-wielded handguns can handle pretty much any encounter. You also get the dark powers, which can be pretty fun later in the game. They run the gamut from a tentacle that can stab your enemies and do heavy lifting to a whirling black void that sucks loosely fastened objects (people included) to its dark centre.
You'll also be able to summon the darklings, little demon creatures that do your bidding. They're pretty cool, but they don't always seem to do the job they're meant to. The Lightkiller darkling, for instance, is meant to run ahead of you and destroy light sources. And it does this...for a while. Then, it just seems to hang around behind you while you do the work for yourself. Lazy git...
Which brings me neatly onto the subject of light. Ask yourself, how much do you like shooting lightbubs? I hope you do, because by the time you finish the game you will have shot more bulbs than you could possibly care to remember. You don't have much say in this, as your dark powers get sapped away when in light and darklings will melt away if so much as one photon touches their skin.
There are some sandbox elements in the game, as you are allowed to explore a large area of New York's seedy underbelly, which includes using the subway to travel long distances. It's a welcome bit of variety in an otherwise linear game. As well as the travel, there are various sidequests which will unlock additional content from the menu screen.
For me, it took a long time before I was consistently having fun. While it's entertaining blowing the hell out of mafia hitmen, crooked cops and street lamps I often got lost, as the game tells you where to go but doesn't give you the slightest clue as to how to get there. Then I realised: you have to look at the maps on the street. How on earth was I meant to know that? The game could have at least told me that the maps on the street are genuinely readable, but no, it expects you to work that one out yourself.
The Darkness also suffers from some minor pacing problems. For the first part of the game, you learn next to nothing in terms of new powers, then you seem to suddenly get everything all at once. However, that's a fairly minor fault and can easily be ignored.
The game has horror themes, as the rating clearly states, but is never truly scary. In horror games, fear comes from the anticipation of that which lurks in the shadows. In The Darkness, you are the thing lurking in the shadows, cutting a bloody swathe through the (somewhat) innocent. However, it can be a little disturbing at times. I can't tell you what happens without some major spoilers, so all I'm gonna say is that, at one point, a powerdrill is involved.
I was wondering who this game might appeal to, and it occurred to me that this shooter is perfect for MMORPG players. The action can get pretty repetitive, and another gamer might have some huge problems with this, but I genuinely like that sort of thing for reasons beyond me. You'll eat tonnes of hearts and shoot thousands of lightbulbs, and if you like MMO's you're probably gonna be okay with this.
In the end, The Darkness is alright. While it's nowhere near as fantastic as the Orange Box, it's not terrible either. You should probably rent this game out like I did instead of buying it outright, as I've long since decided that the quality of my life will not be reduced in any way without this game.
Try jumping Jackie infront of a Train, you get pretty funny results. Also, try finding all the hidden phone numbers: Go to CheatCC to find them all ;). The gentlemen you call is pretty cool, especially after he stops answering and you eventually get another voice. Creeped the hell out of me.
Also, please, PLEASE do not compare The Darkness to The Orange Box, they came out at insanely seperate times. To my knowledge The Darkness hit during the summer.
Copter400: I feel that Starbreeze has yet to fully grasp how to design an FPS, which doesn't surprise me since this is the first one they've ever made. Signs of this include Jackie's top speed which, compared to Half-Life, feels like a slow dawdle.
The guy from Condemned could lose to him in a race. Ethan is a huge fan of the snail pace dwindle (holy shit! Awesome song name!)
Anyway, I liked this review; you got most of the point head on. i would of made a mention to the imp thingy that busts the lights for you that you get later in the game to save bullets on shooting light bulbs. Maybe some of the comedy as well. The phone calls are great and so are your little imp people that do all your work. Also mentioning the real time tv would have been great but then I guess it would have made your review go on for a bit too long.
I actually thought the story was pretty compelling and I still don't mind playing it all the way through. The voice of the Darkness is pretty awesome and I enjoyed the acting as well. I agree with your gameplay review though.
TheNecroswanson: Try jumping Jackie infront of a Train, you get pretty funny results.
I know. Remember the spastic old lady who makes jump onto the train tracks to scavenge for quarters?I heard her scream, "Lookout!" and looked up in time to see the train headlight.
I own the darkness and it was ok except for some obvious flaws. The main thing that drove me completely insane was having to watch the guy use the subway every damn time. You get in and you ALWAYS see the same black chick standing next to you ( she actually walks around aimlessly untill she finds you and starts to stand right next to you ). I hated this chick so much after a while, since it doesn't matter what subway you take, she's always there. Yes this is the first game where I felt I was being stalked by a chick in the subway. Then of course you have the "cool walking out of the subway" part you have to watch before you can advance again. In a game where you pretty much have to use the subway every 20 minutes seeing the same sequence about 200 times is terrible. Please, a simple loading screen to the next level will do next time. Then you had the "memory talk" of him remembering how he first ate spaghetti or whatever. Nice idea in theory, but incredibly annoying after the first 2 times because I think it was shown after EVERY load. Yes after a while you will hear the same stories, over and over and over. A simple sentence in bold like cod uses warquotes is sufficient enough for this, please no more stories about how his uncle never got him a teddybear when he was young! To add on the sp portion, were you guys disappointed with the ending? For a climax scene the game itself seemed to take over and it ended up with you barely having to do anything at all before meeting your ( disappointing ) nemesis. I felt cheated, could have been done alot better. As a last note, there are parts where you enter the "darkness world" which is basically a very strangelooking boxed in blocky ww1 warfield. For a game featuring hearts being teared out, it felt like some strange zombie world instead of the world of carnage you'd expect. No explanation is given to the strange stuff you'll encounter in this world. Gore itself on enemies is barely visible as well, except for a bloody hole where the heart used to be. It's all very cookie cutter. Nice ideas, but I hope they'll give more freedom and options in the next one. The game is indeed average like the first post is stating. Anybody play the mp? I didn't and it's missing from the OP as well.
Well if the ending was more climactic it would seem too, (no pun intended) comical. You're a mafia collections agent going after your uncle for killing your girlfriend, giant explosions and shizzle wouldn't have fit. The point of the game was for those who enjoyed the comic to get to play Jackie's life up through him being posessed by the darkness and the events of his life up to him killing uncle Paulie. The WW1 field you enter is the Subconcious of the Darkness, as it technically made it's first appearence during the era, that is it's memory, and how it is projected. WW1 was ugly, chemical warfare and the like, it's supposed to give you an idea of what The darkness itself has come to represent. It's not really a game for you if you have no idea what The Darkness is about, and/or are looking for a wild twitchy foaming at the mouth FPS. It's a game based around a story, you take what you want from it. But as far as other FPS of last year go, don't look to it if you're looking for a cut above the rest game.
I genuinely love this game. It has a few niggly points, but the story is so compelling and the characters so interesting, which you don't see enough of nowadays.
PS: This game has one of the greatest opening cutscenes I've seen in a while.
I often got lost, as the game tells you where to go but doesn't give you the slightest clue as to how to get there. Then I realised: you have to look at the maps on the street. How on earth was I meant to know that? The game could have at least told me that the maps on the street are genuinely readable, but no, it expects you to work that one out yourself.
Well, that's more of a preferance then a real flaw. After all, there are people (myself included) who find it adds more realism to the game. At least, as much realism as you can get from a game where your main wepons are slimy worm-things coming out of your back...
Anyways, great reveiw, and I agree with (most) of what you said. Good game. leaves you happy at the end, but ready to move on to the next Halo/CoD4/Half-life/Insert awsome game of your choice here.
I have to agree with the use of street maps rather than an arrow. Really, when you're in the the city they tell you what part you need to be in (IE: which train to take) and the maps are all over the place, almost oppresively. That made it feel more like New York and that I was workin' shizzle out on ym own.
TheNecroswanson: Well if the ending was more climactic it would seem too, (no pun intended) comical. You're a mafia collections agent going after your uncle for killing your girlfriend, giant explosions and shizzle wouldn't have fit. The point of the game was for those who enjoyed the comic to get to play Jackie's life up through him being posessed by the darkness and the events of his life up to him killing uncle Paulie. The WW1 field you enter is the Subconcious of the Darkness, as it technically made it's first appearence during the era, that is it's memory, and how it is projected. WW1 was ugly, chemical warfare and the like, it's supposed to give you an idea of what The darkness itself has come to represent. It's not really a game for you if you have no idea what The Darkness is about, and/or are looking for a wild twitchy foaming at the mouth FPS. It's a game based around a story, you take what you want from it. But as far as other FPS of last year go, don't look to it if you're looking for a cut above the rest game.
Don't get me wrong I liked the story, but it's good for an fps to create that: pffew, that was hard that last level, I'm satisfied now feeling. There was an eclipse so I thought yes finally I can rampage without shooting lightbulbs constantly yet the game took over and before I knew it the game ended. I understand what the ww1 area was, but it was put together quite ugly with strange canyons everywhere, very liniear leveldesign, ugly redish textures everywhere and no explanation for the strange statues given. It could have been fleshed out alot better, that's all.
I actually liked how it ended. Paulie's a guy. You shoot him. I loved how they put him at your mercy, gave the feeling of power and a bit of horror too.
Anyway, I will shut up before I say too much more.
Actually, this is Starbreeze's second FPS game. They made the absolutely brilliant Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.
Honestly, I'm a huge fan of The Darkness, Butcher Bay, and Starbreeze in general, because they try so many new things with the FPS genre. They switch subgenres (action to adventure to stealth, etc), they go to great lengths to tell a more interesting story in a more interesting way than the vast majority of shooters (and games in general) out there.
Take for example the part at Jackie's girlfriend's apartment. There's no action, yet the scene is interesting and makes certain later events infinitely more powerful than they would normally be. Also, the idea of being able to sit on the couch with her and literally watch the entirety of To Kill A Mockingbird is pretty amazing. You would never see that kind of thing in Halo or even Half-Life.
goestoeleven: Take for example the part at Jackie's girlfriend's apartment. There's no action, yet the scene is interesting and makes certain later events infinitely more powerful than they would normally be. Also, the idea of being able to sit on the couch with her and literally watch the entirety of To Kill A Mockingbird is pretty amazing. You would never see that kind of thing in Halo or even Half-Life.
That was one of the best parts in the whole game; taking a break from the killing to sit on the couch with Jenny, watching To Kill A Mockingbird and letting the world pass on by. The Darkness is an average FPS, but if you include the storytelling, the atmosphere, the little extras that add to the experience as a whole, it's something a lot more interesting. If you focus on the gameplay mechanics alone, many games will falter. But the package as a whole is another kettle of fish completely.
goestoeleven: Actually, this is Starbreeze's second FPS game. They made the absolutely brilliant Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.
Honestly, I'm a huge fan of The Darkness, Butcher Bay, and Starbreeze in general, because they try so many new things with the FPS genre. They switch subgenres (action to adventure to stealth, etc), they go to great lengths to tell a more interesting story in a more interesting way than the vast majority of shooters (and games in general) out there.
Take for example the part at Jackie's girlfriend's apartment. There's no action, yet the scene is interesting and makes certain later events infinitely more powerful than they would normally be. Also, the idea of being able to sit on the couch with her and literally watch the entirety of To Kill A Mockingbird is pretty amazing. You would never see that kind of thing in Halo or even Half-Life.
Yaaaaa, I always stay to make sure she falls asleep before I wander off feeling like a scumbag for ditching her. Games don't usually make me feel guilty for wanting to go kick ass. It adds a wonderful bit of immersion to the story, made me care. Also, my fiancee' is named Jenny and I have long hair.
I understand what the ww1 area was, but it was put together quite ugly with strange canyons everywhere, very liniear leveldesign, ugly redish textures everywhere and no explanation for the strange statues given. It could have been fleshed out alot better, that's all.
The strange statues, do you mean the one like that guy bird thing? They were supposed to be the horseman of the apocolypse. Like when you encoutner the first one and the darkness says, "Pestilence, one of the four" and the horse in the creepy town that's starving and it says, "And this, Famine".
I also liked the hanging out with Jackie's girlfriend, especially thought it was humurous getting the "Real men stick around for their girls acheivment.
First off, great review. Although I may not agree with it all, I can completely understand where you are coming from in all your points with exception to one. For me the storyline and script was immense. It was a game I literally couldn't stop playing, purely because I wanted to see what was going to happen next to Jackie. Due to that I didn't really notice the gameplay as such, which in itself I believe is a huge compliment. This felt more like I was playing a movie, and it going from a hellish World War 1 phase, back to New York was a breath of fresh air. It kept the game interesting, and not once was I bored. The atmosphere and voice acting in this game for me are right up there with the best. The voice of the Darkness genuinely scared me, and I'm a horror-film-freak! I guess it all depends on what excites you, and what you look for in a game. I completely agree that the fighting got repeatative...quickly, but I believe the sheer storyline makes this game fantastic.
TerribleTerryTate: The voice of the Darkness genuinely scared me, and I'm a horror-film-freak!
The Darkness was my favourite character. Right from the beginning it was apparent that it wasn't on your side, especially when you meet Jenny ("She reeks of innocence.") Even as it helps you fight your enemies, it taunts you and commands you to give in.
I understand what the ww1 area was, but it was put together quite ugly with strange canyons everywhere, very liniear leveldesign, ugly redish textures everywhere and no explanation for the strange statues given. It could have been fleshed out alot better, that's all.
The strange statues, do you mean the one like that guy bird thing? They were supposed to be the horseman of the apocolypse. Like when you encoutner the first one and the darkness says, "Pestilence, one of the four" and the horse in the creepy town that's starving and it says, "And this, Famine".
I also liked the hanging out with Jackie's girlfriend, especially thought it was humurous getting the "Real men stick around for their girls acheivment.
I remember that much yeh, but what's their connection to the darkness? The darkness represents death and decay, so in it's world it has random birdlike corpses for some reason? It's a cool idea, I just wish they'd actually use it for something. For instance having to interact with those statues, finding items there or having to fight them. If you were to see a horror movie, wouldn't you think it's strange if somebody's pointing to a strange statue yet nothing happens with it? Perhaps it's in the comics, can somebody explain their relation with the darkness?
I think it's supposed to be that Bible passage thingy where after the Apocolypse those who were left behind would be left with only darkness. Or something weird. I have to admit I was a little confused myself. Maybe they were just easter eggs?
TheNecroswanson: I think it's supposed to be that Bible passage thingy where after the Apocolypse those who were left behind would be left with only darkness. Or something weird. I have to admit I was a little confused myself. Maybe they were just easter eggs?
I doubt they were easter eggs, since they were so obvious to see and usually you had to do something in the area of those things in order to progress. Nobody here that knows the comic?
BTW am I really alone with the hatred towards those subway station rides and the repeating spaghetti lines with every loading?
It was a little odd that they didn't go anywhere with the horsemen of the apocalypse. Maybe they had more significance in the comics, and were added in as an afterthought. Also, Necro? I'm fairly sure Famine was actually a cow. That's how starved it was.
Oh, there's another reason why the Darkness was good. The entire comic is availiable for the unlocking. That's one of the most compelling reasons to find all the collectables that I've ever seen. A hell of a lot better than a new costume, or more bloody gamerpoints.
Break: It was a little odd that they didn't go anywhere with the horsemen of the apocalypse. Maybe they had more significance in the comics, and were added in as an afterthought. Also, Necro? I'm fairly sure Famine was actually a cow. That's how starved it was.
Oh, there's another reason why the Darkness was good. The entire comic is availiable for the unlocking. That's one of the most compelling reasons to find all the collectables that I've ever seen. A hell of a lot better than a new costume, or more bloody gamerpoints.
Really? Holy shit, I never thought to look at extras becuase 9 time out of 10 its something like concept art but actually making the entire comic series available pretty damn sweet.
The Darkness truly is a great game, the gameplay mechanics can be weird sometimes but the overall package really is great, the couch scene with Jenny was a stroke of genius and the acheivement you get for got a lol from me.
Huh, general praise for this game. It bored the hell out of me, it just felt like I was playing Escape from Butcher Bay again, but with a worse gimmick, not to mention that it was, generally, painfully linear. Worth a rent maybe, but I'd never buy this game.
Eagle Est1986: Huh, general praise for this game. It bored the hell out of me, it just felt like I was playing Escape from Butcher Bay again, but with a worse gimmick, not to mention that it was, generally, painfully linear. Worth a rent maybe, but I'd never buy this game.
Funny. When I think of playing Butcher Bay again, I get a little jolt of excitement. I love that game.
Also, I wouldn't buy The Darkness either, but that's only because it's extraordinarily short. But what's wrong with linearity? Certain games lend themselves to a tightly-controlled story and environment. Half-life 2, anyone? Not every game can be or needs to be Morrowind.
I'm quite surprised by the criticism of The Darkness, but then again, everyone likes different things I guess. Personally, it was all I could do not to squeal like a schoolgirl every time I heard Mike Patton gurgle another VO of The Darkness, stifle a whimper as Jesse (COUGH-COUGH-COUGH) at the hands of (COUGH-COUGH), and cackle with glee as I skewered the homeless with my spiked phallus of evil.
As a reader of the comics, I'm actually quite pleased that Starbreeze made Jackie more accessible and much more human, it made me appreciate the story that much more and get really drawn into it.
Here's hoping the sequel build upon this breakthrough in storytelling.
TheNecroswanson: Try jumping Jackie infront of a Train, you get pretty funny results. Also, try finding all the hidden phone numbers: Go to CheatCC to find them all ;). The gentlemen you call is pretty cool, especially after he stops answering and you eventually get another voice. Creeped the hell out of me.
Also, please, PLEASE do not compare The Darkness to The Orange Box, they came out at insanely seperate times. To my knowledge The Darkness hit during the summer.
Wait, why can't you compare games that are spread out in release times?
TheNecroswanson: Try jumping Jackie infront of a Train, you get pretty funny results. Also, try finding all the hidden phone numbers: Go to CheatCC to find them all ;). The gentlemen you call is pretty cool, especially after he stops answering and you eventually get another voice. Creeped the hell out of me.
Also, please, PLEASE do not compare The Darkness to The Orange Box, they came out at insanely seperate times. To my knowledge The Darkness hit during the summer.
Wait, why can't you compare games that are spread out in release times?
Because Portal is a WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY different game. In every aspect, saving it beign an FPS, or FPA, or FPP. As well, comparing it to Portal seems too much like they came out relatively close together, or that Portal came out first. It'd be like Comparing Ha
Over the weekend, I rented The Darkness from my local Video Ezy to try out this FPS blood-and-gore game that had received a generous 8.5 from Gamespot. After having played the game nearly to completion I felt it was time to give my personal opinion to the good people here at The Escapist. So strap yourself in as I take you on a short journey through this interesting little shooter from 2k and Starbreeze Studios.
Anyone who actually reads the Top Cow comic book should know the story. For everyone else: you are Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman with some of the worst looking hair in the history of humanity. On Jackie's 21st birthday the don Uncle Paulie, who has long since abandoned the mafia codes of honour and respect to make huge piles of cash and drugs, announces that he has had it up to here with Jackie and that his doom is nigh. Unfortunately for him Jackie is imbued with The Darkness, a malevolent, demonic entity who aids Jackie by vengefully slaughtering those who get in his way. While the dark powers given to Jackie certainly become useful for preventing the mafia from killing him, The Darkness intends to use the poor guy as a vessel for its terrible evil. It's wonderfully well fleshed out, and makes a nice change from the normal alien invasion plot that's included in so many shooters. The script is also pretty good; while there is enough profanity to get the game banned in Korea, it doesn't feel out of place, certainly not to anyone who has seen "Goodfellas" or "The Adventures of Ford Fairlane" [Editor: What?].
Before I start on the gameplay, I just want you all to know that this game has a button that will make a Darkness minion rip a heart out of the nearest corpse and gulp it down with obvious relish. If that doesn't warrant at least a cursory inspection, I don't know what does.
I feel that Starbreeze has yet to fully grasp how to design an FPS, which doesn't surprise me since this is the first one they've ever made. Signs of this include Jackie's top speed which, compared to Half-Life, feels like a slow dawdle. Additionaly, while there are several different weapons available in-game, there's no point in using them, as your dual-wielded handguns can handle pretty much any encounter. You also get the dark powers, which can be pretty fun later in the game. They run the gamut from a tentacle that can stab your enemies and do heavy lifting to a whirling black void that sucks loosely fastened objects (people included) to its dark centre.
You'll also be able to summon the darklings, little demon creatures that do your bidding. They're pretty cool, but they don't always seem to do the job they're meant to. The Lightkiller darkling, for instance, is meant to run ahead of you and destroy light sources. And it does this...for a while. Then, it just seems to hang around behind you while you do the work for yourself. Lazy git...
Which brings me neatly onto the subject of light. Ask yourself, how much do you like shooting lightbubs? I hope you do, because by the time you finish the game you will have shot more bulbs than you could possibly care to remember. You don't have much say in this, as your dark powers get sapped away when in light and darklings will melt away if so much as one photon touches their skin.
There are some sandbox elements in the game, as you are allowed to explore a large area of New York's seedy underbelly, which includes using the subway to travel long distances. It's a welcome bit of variety in an otherwise linear game. As well as the travel, there are various sidequests which will unlock additional content from the menu screen.
For me, it took a long time before I was consistently having fun. While it's entertaining blowing the hell out of mafia hitmen, crooked cops and street lamps I often got lost, as the game tells you where to go but doesn't give you the slightest clue as to how to get there. Then I realised: you have to look at the maps on the street. How on earth was I meant to know that? The game could have at least told me that the maps on the street are genuinely readable, but no, it expects you to work that one out yourself.
The Darkness also suffers from some minor pacing problems. For the first part of the game, you learn next to nothing in terms of new powers, then you seem to suddenly get everything all at once. However, that's a fairly minor fault and can easily be ignored.
The game has horror themes, as the rating clearly states, but is never truly scary. In horror games, fear comes from the anticipation of that which lurks in the shadows. In The Darkness, you are the thing lurking in the shadows, cutting a bloody swathe through the (somewhat) innocent. However, it can be a little disturbing at times. I can't tell you what happens without some major spoilers, so all I'm gonna say is that, at one point, a powerdrill is involved.
I was wondering who this game might appeal to, and it occurred to me that this shooter is perfect for MMORPG players. The action can get pretty repetitive, and another gamer might have some huge problems with this, but I genuinely like that sort of thing for reasons beyond me. You'll eat tonnes of hearts and shoot thousands of lightbulbs, and if you like MMO's you're probably gonna be okay with this.
In the end, The Darkness is alright. While it's nowhere near as fantastic as the Orange Box, it's not terrible either. You should probably rent this game out like I did instead of buying it outright, as I've long since decided that the quality of my life will not be reduced in any way without this game.