1.7.2007

Based on a comic called THE DARKNESS (and, no, it's nothing to do with that Spandex-wearing rock band from the early 2000s!), you play Jackie Estacado, a contract killer who was 'adopted' by Paulie Franchetti following the death of his parents at a young age and a spell in a tough orphanage. Now, on his 21st birthday, and with only his beloved Jenny as his guiding light 'so beautiful and pure', suddenly he is on the run from his adopted 'Uncle' Paulie and his minions.Trouble is, Jackie is no ordinary contract killer. He is cursed with some kind of demonic possession known as The Darkness, which manifests itself on-screen as what looks like a pair of snakes with lots of sharp teeth and a bunch of tentacles.The Darkness, as you gathered from its name, thrives on darkness, and you have what's called Darkness Power that constantly tops itself up while you remain in shadows (sometimes you might have to shoot out lights to gain some darkness). Also, The Darkness will sometimes blurt out some dialogue in a creepy, demonic voice.As well as various guns with which to dispose of foes (you can also get various close-range attacks with the guns, which differ depending on the weapon and where Jackie is standing), you can also use The Darkness' unique powers; you start off with just the one called Creeping Dark (but you can amass others later on in the game), which allows one of the snake-like heads to creep along, even up, walls etc, and you can also use it to kill guards while Jackie himself stays out of harm's way, or even on occasions get it to pick up objects that Jackie cannot get to, or even unlock a door from the other side so Jackie can progress further.Using Darkness powers uses up Darkness energy, but this can be increased not only by staying in the shadows, but also by using the snake-heads to devour the hearts of any foe you kill. If your snake-heads eat enough hearts then your Darkness powers increase.While The Darkness is activated (you can turn it on and off using the Left Bumper), you can also see Gateways littered around the place; these contain Darklings, which are a group of minions that are at the beck and call of The Darkness, and you can summon one such Darkling to help you, either in battle or perhaps to remove an obstacle blocking your path.As in other FPS, if you take damage, it's one of those games where you can regain health if you simply stay out of the line of fire for a while. You'll know if you're taking too much damage because the screen goes red, so if this happens you need to hide somewhere and wait for the screen to lose its red colour before going back into the fray.It's not all shooting. Sometimes you have to perform certain tasks, such as finding someone or something (these are logged in a Journal as you uncover them, and this Journal -- which also includes a Map and a list of all the Darkness powers at your disposal, together with a brief description -- can be accessed with the Back button), and occasionally you might have to talk to other people (you simply go up to someone and press A), and occasionally you get a list of choices as to what you want Jackie to say.This game is great. It's better than I could have ever envisaged. I was afraid that it was just going to be another first-person shooter with little new to add, but it is actually different enough to warrant checking out, and largely thanks to The Darkness, which adds a whole new dimension to the game. The best bit about it is that it has a really interesting story that draws you in, and this is helped by some superb voice acting (Kirk Acevedo voices Jackie, while other cast members include Lauren Ambrose [Claire Fisher in TV's SIX FEET UNDER] as Jenny, Dwight Schultz [Howlin' Mad Murdock in THE A-TEAM, Lt. Barclay in some episodes of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and the film STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT] as Paulie, and Mike Starr [SUMMER OF SAM] as Butcher Joyce). Oh, and it's really easy to get to grips with the controls, as you are guided one by one at key points where you might first use certain powers etc.Other distractions include picking up little notes that contain phone numbers that you can dial when you find a phone (they don't affect the game as such, but unlock some bonus features), or you can even change the channel of every TV that you come across; these contain things like music videos, an episode of Flash Gordon or even the classic Japanese 1970s martial arts flick THE STREET FIGHTER starring KILL BILL'S Sonny Chiba(admittedly badly-dubbed English version of it)! This little extra bit raised a bit of a smirk!Graphics are excellent, with some moody and foreboding scenery and amazing animation on the moving things. Sound is equally excellent, and suitably gooey for the icky bits such as using The Darkness to devour a heart from a dead body. Gameplay, as I mentioned above, is great, and the whole thing is done well enough to keep you going and getting absorbed in the story.Yes, I did say 'icky bits'! This is one to be kept away from the kids, as it's bloody and violent, and also contains frequent strong language in the dialogue. Because of the violence the BBFC have classified it with an 18 certificate.One to consider adding to your XBox 360 collection, or at least consider renting. I think you'll be impressed.

5.2.2008

Hi everyone this is my review of one of my favirate games on the 360 The Darkness. As usual ill go throgh, GAMEPLAY , GRAPHICS , and OVERALL verdict (No multi player this time :( (as i never played this online) so lets get down to it.STORY:The Darkness has you assume the role of Mafia hitman Jackie Estacado who was adopted by his mafia don uncle Paulie, The curse of the darkness (an ancient evil passed down the gene pool) dwells inside Jackie and all males in Jackies family (until the host is 21). So on the night of his 21st birthday Jackie and 2 mafia friends are sent on a hit for paulie which ends up being a set up after finding out his uncle paulie wants him dead Jackie turns on his formerboss and sets out for revenge little does he know that the darkness is awakening inside him with its own evil intentions.GAMEPLAY:The Darkness is 2K games new horror themed FPS, at first Jackie is just a normal guy with normal abilities yawn boring right? NO Jackie does have some really good up close killing moves that can be satisfying to watch and easy to pull off simply stand close to an enemy and press RT.Like most FPS games when Jackie takes damage all it takes is a little cover and he respawns his health(same as gears of war when the red circle appears). Not long into the game Jackie finds himself with some pretty nasty powers (at first you get to use the creeping dark and summon a demon known as a Darkling from hell)as you progress new abilities will be learnt and improved this is done by feeding the Darkness with the hearts of fallen enemies.Jackie has the power to summon little demons called Darklings they come in 4 tyes each with their own personality and uses e.g. Gunner will assist Jackie with a huge mini gun if he is in a fire fight as you progress through the game more darklings are availible.Fans of the comic are going to be in ecstacy here everything in the game is based on the comics and follows it very closely.The Darkness is similar to the chronicles of riddick game in which Jackie can explore the new york subway and talk to people for side quests, this is'nt as great or successful as it could of been but its still a nice feature. The auto aim is great but abit annoying for shooting lights... yes lights the darkness takes damage if exposed to light but by feeding it shadows itll be fully recharged again.GRAPHICS:Everything in the Darkness is incredibly detailed from characters to surroundings, this game is deffinitly not for the faint hearted if you shoot somone in the head you'll see a huge hole in their face and gore spewing out and the heart eating animation is grusome but incredibly detailed. every actor/tress is motion captured for the extra realistic feel and no one looks the same(in some cases the mafia hitmen cant look the same) but some of the actors look like they were mo capped by a manequin but thats not a bad thing this game has soooo many good points.Even loading screens are detailed with Jackie sat in the middle of a room explaining whats going on and telling us breif memories about places and his past thses can be boring when repeated but the loading times are so quick you can skip them with the B button.OVERALL:The Darkness is a great well put together game with plenty of action and plot twists to keep you entertained the atmosphere is great and acting is solid. The games difficulty varies depending on preference i reccomend normal defficulty if you like a challenge, The games missions are well structured and sensible objectives the story line is absolutly brilliant.For those who love fast run and gun games you probably wont be completely satisfied here considerin Jackies top speed seems to be more of a speed walking pace but the action in the gun fights should excuse this.The Darkness is deffinitly worth buying as it has such a great story line and good gameplay , if your not really into games of this type then consider renting it it really is worth it unfortunatly i never got to play on live with this but ive been told the multi player is great playing as darkilngs and humans, this game will keep you entertained for hours on end.Thanks for reading hope you find this helpfulby Jay *Sniper Wolf 1989*

13.7.2012

This game truly is one of those gems you might not have bothered with at first, I didn't at first but boy, am I glad I picked it up!STORY: The protagonist, Jackie Estacado, is a mafia hitman working for the family business. On the night of his 21st birthday, he is possessed by an entity simply known as The Darkness. Using this mysterious power, Jackie sets out to exact revenge on his uncle Paulie who wants him dead and is hellbent on destroying everything he holds dear.The game's story really surprised me; it's not all about the shooting and the gore. This is a deep, immersing and dark tale of revenge, love and personal struggle. The Darkness (brilliantyl voiced by Faith No More's Mike Patton)literaly puts Jackie through hell, taunting and persuading him to give in to its dark power and lust for killing. Jackie may be a tough-as-nails killer yet you come to sympathise with the guy. The only sunshine in his life is his girlfriend Jennie, unware of her boyfriend's job. There are some shocking (sometimes moving) moments in the story that will make you want to see it through to the end and see Jackie exact revenge in the most brutal fashion possible. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say the story sees you travelling to another sort of hellish dimension on around two occcasions.GAMEPLAY: "That's all very good but is it actually fun to play?" In a word, absolutely. The game is non-linear for one thing. You'll be given missions in the games several subways and then you get to choose which ones you want to carry out first. There are plenty of side missions if you wish to extend playtime. Combat here is brutal. You can dual-wield (a must for me in shooters) handguns, submachine guns and revolvers. You also get you share of machineguns and shotguns. Get in close enough to an enemy and you can perform an exection move (often involving shooting them in the face). If you've played the Chronicles of Riddick game, you'll notice the similiarities between each game's gunplay seen that both were made by the same company. However, a few minutes into the game you're possessed by The Darkness and sprout two demonic snake-like creatures from your back; these bad boys can impale, slash and rip your enemies apart in gruesome and satisfying ways, making the gameplay varied and a lot of fun. You also get special darkness abilities later on such as sending one of the creatures through vents and over walls for a sneak attack, and creating a black hole that sucks in nearby enemies. To regenerate you darkness powers, you get to...wait for it...eat your foe's hearts, which in my honest opinion is totally awesome (and quite sick).The Darkness powers are great to use but are ineffective if you stay in the light for too long. The Darkness needs...well darkness in order for your powers to be enabled. This means shooting and poking out lightbulbs with your demonic tentacle which some may find a bit tedious. I personally didn't mind but some will see it as a chore. But in the end, it's all worth it.SOUND: A great mixture of atmospheric music for whenever you're in a subway and some crushing guitar riffs for when you're in a gunfight. Ripping enemies apart and devouring hearts sounds particularly gross and the guns sound great also. The voice acting is also very good, especially Mike Patton's performance as The Darkness. No problems here.GRAPHICS: The game looks really nice, seen its age. The developers went for a realistic, grim look with this one and it looks really good. A few hicks here and then (Jackie's hair and lips for example during phone cutscenes don't look great) but overall the graphics are fine.I love this game. It has a unique gritty and moody feel to it, something I haven't come across in other games, has a great and compelling story, and brutal and satisfying combat. It took me around 12 hours to complete and I've already played through it twice and am planing on playing through a third time very soon. It may not be for everyone (especially the faint of heart) but if you're a first-person-shooter lover and are looking for something different with a great story, then you can't go wrong with The Darkness. Great fun! 9/10

2.7.2007

First off I shall apologise I have never read the comic that this game is based on, but have played a good 4 hours of the Darkness and can give you an idea what to expect from the Darkness!You play Jackie a young mafia Hitman who along with two other wise guys has managed to bocth a simple collection job given to him by the Don uncle Paulie. Now uncle Paulie is less than pleased and thinks Jackie boy has pocketed said dollar, and when you decide to carry on with your 2nd assignment taking out a forman on a building site, Paulie takes his revenge, and you suddenly have the cast of soprano's on your ass.This would normally mean the end of Jackies short but eventfull life,he's only 21 and today happens to be his birthday. What does Jackie get for his 21st? a new car? No a new puppy No? not even a new shotgun! He gets possessed by the Darkness! which not only speaks to him with a very cool demonic voice but also manifests it's self as two snake like creatures that come out of his shoulder blades and sit each size of the screen. These don't only look freeking sweet but they move, snap, snarl and hiss making them look really alive. The Darkness also allows you to see better (erm..in the darkness) and when you kill some sumbag it is very rewarding to stand over a body tap A button and watch the snake thing rip out his heart, the other head even trys to grap it from him and tug the heart till it rips in half!!!! You can even control the arms independantly by the RB button. Stab them through someones chest, run one thru an air vent and kill an unreachable thug or create a black hole and suck them into oblivion plus loags more cool stuff. yes I do love this game.The game plays very well and is very fun, the graphics are great, the story is very well written and really drags you in to it and you actually care about the charcters. It's a fairy lengthy game too which makes a refreshing change nowadays (cough GOW, GRAW2). BUT there is always a but isn't there! the game does let its self down a bit, when I read the box I thought cool turn into demonic beast and send hardened criminals running scared! erm no. Not one enemy seems the slightest but bothered you have huge snake like demons coming out for ur back or glowing eyes! In fact i din't think they could even see them till one shouted "Ur demon s**t don't scare us??? Even the main charcter Jackie doesn't seem to notice them, he doesn't even wonder whats happened to him! he seems more bothered about his uncle being cross with him than being possessed by this darkness he doen't even mention it in a cut scene for the first 4 hours!These are minor gripes that just bother me probable not any one else, this game is still the best FPS i have played in a long time and would def reccomend it especially to anyone who is bored of your run of the mill shooters this is definatly different!Not sure what Marlon Brando would make of it?

5.7.2007

Unlike the other review currently listed, I've actually just finished playing and completing The Darkness. Let me first make one very important point - I've never, ever, felt compelled after purchasing any product to go online and write a review. I always wondered why people bothered. Maybe if it's really good or really bad and you want to warn the public sure, but never if it's mediocre. But this game, The Darkness, makes me want to sit every single person I know down, give them a controller, and MAKE them play it because it's one of those things that you just feel is SO good that everyone should have the joy of experiencing it.I watched the gametrailers review before I bought it and whilst they were positive,they weren't sure about the controls. Let me set the record straight, they are numerous ways of customising the speed, precision, acceleration and accuracy of the control system. Get the sensitivity right, turn off auto-aim and lower the 'free look' option and you can get it just perfect - so much so that even when I had the bigger guns later in the game, I always favoured the pistols because if you get a headshot, they go down, accurate, satisfying. The graphics are simply the BEST I have ever seen in a first person shooter with NO EXCEPTIONS. Gears of War looked amazing, this is in a different realm of realism - you'll be blown away. The voice acting and motion captured movement of the characters is faultless. But if there's one thing that makes this game stand out as one of the best games I have ever played, it's the story and the way it evolves with you. From the intro to the credits, you move with the story, enveloped in its twists, highs and lows. It really makes you feel like you're controlling the anger and emotion of the main character - experience it for yourself.Can't comment on the multiplayer - that's not why I bought it. There are so many multiplayer deathmatch games out there, none of them as good as the Halo experience and few with a solid single player, so it's great to have a brilliant single player game on the market.My only criticism is that sometimes it can be annoying travelling between destinations for those impatient amongst us, but in the grand scheme of things, if you plan what you're doing at each location, it doesn't effect your enjoyment of the game one bit.In sum - BUY THIS NOW. I'm a videogame enthusiast, I have good taste, I don't buy rubbish and I don't get excited about a game unless it's really good 'cause normally I don't have the time to sit and play. So a game has to be good to get me to sacrifice everything else - The Darkness was it. Became obsessed, completed it, now want a sequel. I only hope Starbreeze Studios read this review and get on with Part 2!

22.7.2010

Having looked through some of the negative reviews of The Darkness, I'm inclined to offer a few words of caution. If your idea of a good FPS is based on "fragging" the hell out of things while some NPC grunt shouts cheesy lines out of a Vietnam B-movie, then avoid this game entirely.I played the first few levels of The Darkness, saw what was essentially just a gangster-themed FPS, and then put it away for a couple of months and forgot about it. When I finally came back to it and got a little way into the story, I realized just how awesome it was and what I'd been missing out on. The game looks beautifully dark. If you're familiar with Starbreeze's Riddick games; well, it's more of the same in that department.

6.4.2007

Luckily, I've managed to get a sneak peek at some gamneplay footage and all I can say is 'wow'From the same studio as 'chronicles of riddick - escape from butcher bay' is almost a seal f approval in itself. The story sounds very engrosing - its an adapted story of the comic book's which goes a little something like this:The universe was created, with 3 seperate entities, one being the darkness. it was attracted to humans possibly for their dark nature. anyway your father was killed at the moment of your conception (as the darkness passes on) and you were left in an orphanage, picked up by your new mob father who brings you up to be a mafia hitman. However on your 21st birthday,

1.7.2007

The Darkness is an excellent game on several fronts - the graphics are top notch, the sound is superb (both the sound effects and the great voice acting) and the combat is fast and brutal. But most of all, it is emotional and compelling stuff - something a lot of other reviews of the game haven't really mentioned.From the lead character Jackie's monologues that take place when the game is loading (a great touch), to the feeling of really interacting with other characters, The Darkness does a great job of sucking you in and making you empathise with Jackie, making you feel that you really are playing as him.This is most apparent in the sections between all the combat, action and violence.

8.7.2007

This is one of the best FPS shooters I have ever played! That and it's crossed with horror makes it even greater! I got this the first day it came out also.The story begins with Jackie Estacado, who on 21st Birthday gets an contract taken out on him by his 'Uncle' Paulie. Now wanting revenge, Jackie gets ready to take on Paulie. While at the same time, a mysterious, and dangerous force known as 'The Darkness' awakens inside his body, granting him unimaginable power..The question is, will it take over? or will Jackie be the one to control this new found power?To start with, The Graphics are outstanding. The skin textures, and the surroundings look so realistic (then again, this is 360 we're talking about)

2.8.2007

This game is excellent. I was expecting it to be an alright game but not one that I would go back and replay. But NO! I was wrong - I want to go back and play this game again having played it through 3 times already! Seriously, if you like First-Person-Shooters you will love this game.I'm sure you are fed up of reading what the story is about so I'll get straight to the gameplay. The actual shooting in the game is excellent and feels very......I can't think of a word......free. Some shooters are clunky and you feel like the game is doing the aiming for you but in this, you ARE doing the aiming. Or at least it feels like it. You can jump over certain objects(you don't really have to jump much though......),

25.7.2007

I thought I'd wait until I've played the game for a few hours (12 so far), before I wrote a review to make sure it was based on fact rather than hearsay.I won't repeat the synopsis as most of the other reviews give you the basics of the story.I'll start by saying if you're after a Doom kind of game, this isn't it, nor should it be. F you're after a blastathon buy one of the COD games, if you're after something a little more involving this is the game for youRight form the offset the story and characters are interesting and compelling, unfolding and twisting in unexpected ways as you journey through the game. I found the atmosphere and storey of the game just kept you wanting to `see what's round the next corner',

14.7.2007

Now, to be honest I had wanted to get my hands on The Darkness for months. Where can you go wrong with a game set in a classic Comic universe that encompasses both Tomb Raider, Witchblade and The Darkness itself, with a cross-over from Batman?Well, you can't really. The controls are quite easy to pick up, and whilst they could use a little work (there did not seem to be much benefit from crouching, nor using the very limited zoom functions), they were easy to adjust to. The game itself centers on a young hit-man naked Jackie, on his twenty-first birthday, who finds that rather than a host of presents, he instead has become the heir to a universal power of chaos.Whether shooting people with a variety of guns,

31.8.2007

The Darkness: a videogame adaption of a graphic novel written by Garth Ennis. This is something that I was not aware of when I purchased this game; I was only aware of the fact that I was getting a 360 and had to buy two games to complete the bundle.My response when I saw this game in motion when I jammed it into my console was simple: this is the greatest shooter of all time!The story is surprisingly engaging and, although I won't spoil it's great twists and turns, I'll just say that it revolves around Jackie Estacado, a hitman who inherits the violent, twisted force known as The Darkness on the night of his 21st birthday.

2.7.2007

From the opening you know this is going to be special. You play an American Gangster (think an emo Al Paccino) who on his 21st birthday is betrayed by his uncle and mob boss. He unsuccessful tries to kill you and so you head off on the old revenage path. As in every other video game ever made.But here's the twist. Your taken over by an evil deamon type thing known as the darkness. This thing is just plain cool. It manifests itself as two heads ever side of you and when call upon can impale you foes, slither though small holes to access locked areas and eat you dead enemy's hearts! Using it's power's as well as a wide range of guns you must kill everything in site to extract revenge.

30.6.2007

I recently purchased The Darkness and I have to say that it is actually one ofthe most enjoyable video games I have played to date. It blends two of myfavourite genres in video games, First Person Shooter & Horror.I have played many different FPS over the years going from old school shooterslike Doom upto games like Halo 3 (beta), but I have to say that this game doesstand out as being unique. This is due to its incredible take on "The Darkness"and "Darklings". Rather than just being your average joe FPS where you havebullets flying endlessly from A to B you gain dark powers which can be usedinstead of/at the same time as blowing everyone away.On Halo 3 and Gears Of War you have to avoid battles

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