THE DARKNESS II (PS3)
Jackie Estacado had a rough time of it in The Darkness. Gifted a power that teetered between a powerful asset and a dangerous curse, he was granted near-invulnerability, only to have the Darkness wrest his will, control his actions, and rob him of those he held dearest. Its demonic lust for human hearts is near-on unquenchable, and a moment of weakness from the host leaves them at the mercy of its unsavoury whims.
Fast-forward a few years and Jackie, now appearing much as you would expect Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen to look if you put him in charge of a mafia family, has managed to keep the Darkness under wraps. But as the adage goes; he didn’t come looking for trouble, trouble came looking for him. After his body is half-obliterated when a car inconsiderately smashes straight through his restaurant table and he and his allies are ambushed by gun-toting loons, Jackie reluctantly reacquaints himself with the dark power he’s kept benign. Haunted by visions of the past and fearing his family will be targeted, Jackie resolves to find out more about the sinister Brotherhood, and its partially cross- dressing leader, Victor.
TDII is more of a straightforward action-FPS than its innovative predecessor. If anything, the gunplay is a little more assured, a little bit meatier than before, though the trade-off is a culture of design that’s less expansive, more linear and lacking the strong atmosphere that permeated the dingy subways and gloomy city streets of the original.
Darkness power remains a neat double-edged sword. Jackie’s strong and resilient in the shade, replete with gory execution abilities and regenerative health. Your foes have done their homework this time around though, and often come armed with flares that blind and disorientate, as well as vehicles with dazzling, protected lamps that are impossible to disable through direct force alone. Destroying lights and immobilising power sources isn’t quite as fresh this time around though; perhaps lacking the surgical strategy needed to retain the upper hand in part one, and as result, clearing bright spots feels a bit incidental, a bit of a chore.
Nevertheless, there are a couple of cool new facets. Gun Channelling grants a brief but glorious burst of aim-assisted hyper-fire, ideal for making light work of groups. Then there’s Swarm, which renders foes defenceless, leaving Jackie to move in for some easy execution kills, which have their own perks such as retrieving additional ammo or health. The Black Hole ability, a personal favourite of mine from the first game, makes a slightly muted return, but though it’s not as gut-wrenchingly brilliant as before, it gets the job done.
Visually it’s not as sharp or eye-catching as its predecessor, but perhaps more attractive than it appears at first glance. The Darkness II opted for a pleasantly subtle cel-shaded effect, nothing too overt, but the characters and harsh shadowing effects capture the spirit of the comics that inspired it. Jackie’s mansion, with its glittering chandeliers, lavish bedrooms, plush billiard tables and postcard garden views, makes for a marvellously extravagant base of operations, whilst the action is particularly fluid and the presentation as a whole pleasantly accomplished, bar the odd little quirk during conversations.
Nevertheless, there are a couple of cool new facets. Gun Channelling grants a brief but glorious burst of aim-assisted hyper-fire, ideal for making light work of groups. Then there’s Swarm, which renders foes defenceless, leaving Jackie to move in for some easy execution kills, which have their own perks such as retrieving additional ammo or health. The Black Hole ability, a personal favourite of mine from the first game, makes a slightly muted return, but though it’s not as gut-wrenchingly brilliant as before, it gets the job done.
Visually it’s not as sharp or eye-catching as its predecessor, but perhaps more attractive than it appears at first glance. The Darkness II opted for a pleasantly subtle cel-shaded effect, nothing too overt, but the characters and harsh shadowing effects capture the spirit of the comics that inspired it. Jackie’s mansion, with its glittering chandeliers, lavish bedrooms, plush billiard tables and postcard garden views, makes for a marvellously extravagant base of operations, whilst the action is particularly fluid and the presentation as a whole pleasantly accomplished, bar the odd little quirk during conversations.
Environments miss the underlying menace that bubbled along in the first game, and though you get to control the likeably-crass cockney Darkling for brief, predetermined sections, there’s no freedom to explore vents and nooks in an ancillary manner. Peculiar sections in a Mental Home add a dash of intrigue, whilst escaping from a suitably seed, burning brothel and exploring a blustery abandoned amusement park come close to the tone Digital Extremes were after. Despite the resurfacing of a glut of memorable protagonists, including Jackie’s right-hand men Vinnie and Jimmy the Grape, as well as encyclopaedic head-case Johnny, silly over-the-top violence masks a story that meanders without any great significance, as largely contrived dialogues are rescued by some strong voicing.
Credit where it’s due though, as when incidental niggles are put to one side, the core shooting is plenty of fun. Movement and aiming is sprightly, and the concurrent use of tentacles and dual-wielding weapons makes for a surprisingly intuitive experience that’s packed with energetic skirmishes. What prevents The Darkness II from becoming a more heavyweight contender is its lack of challenge. You’ll breeze through the majority of it in a day, and by a second playthrough, your character will be strong enough to carve through the story in no time at all. Even on Don difficulty (the toughest of four), I died only a small handful of times, and there’s really very little to halt Jackie’s progress for long.
Softening the blow somewhat is an admirably broad selection of additional online/co-op missions provided for in the Hitlist and Vendettas modes, which either see you clearing arenas of enemies, or working through a side-story complete with settings and bosses that weren’t a part of the main campaign. They offer good, brain-on-hold fun, playing handsomely to the game’s strong shooting mechanics and work well co-operatively too, especially as there’s a pool of characters to choose from each with their own darkness weapon/ability. It’s unlikely The Darkness II will sate the hardcore fraternity’s lust for a challenge whilst fans will equally be left frustrated by what feels a lightweight follow-up to a distinguished adventure. However, if it’s an uncomplicated weekend’s worth of blasting you're after, then you could do worse than this sturdy shooter.
Credit where it’s due though, as when incidental niggles are put to one side, the core shooting is plenty of fun. Movement and aiming is sprightly, and the concurrent use of tentacles and dual-wielding weapons makes for a surprisingly intuitive experience that’s packed with energetic skirmishes. What prevents The Darkness II from becoming a more heavyweight contender is its lack of challenge. You’ll breeze through the majority of it in a day, and by a second playthrough, your character will be strong enough to carve through the story in no time at all. Even on Don difficulty (the toughest of four), I died only a small handful of times, and there’s really very little to halt Jackie’s progress for long.
Softening the blow somewhat is an admirably broad selection of additional online/co-op missions provided for in the Hitlist and Vendettas modes, which either see you clearing arenas of enemies, or working through a side-story complete with settings and bosses that weren’t a part of the main campaign. They offer good, brain-on-hold fun, playing handsomely to the game’s strong shooting mechanics and work well co-operatively too, especially as there’s a pool of characters to choose from each with their own darkness weapon/ability. It’s unlikely The Darkness II will sate the hardcore fraternity’s lust for a challenge whilst fans will equally be left frustrated by what feels a lightweight follow-up to a distinguished adventure. However, if it’s an uncomplicated weekend’s worth of blasting you're after, then you could do worse than this sturdy shooter.
VERDICT
Visual: 7/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 6/10 Longevity: 5/10 OVERALL: 6/10 |
PIXEL SECONDS: THE DARKNESS II (X360)
The Darkness II should be a winner like its predecessor. Unfortunately, Digital Extremes have tweaked elements of the game that diminish the successes of the first game. The story is still top here though, as Jackie becomes consumed by The Darkness once again despite having had it under control. Characters are interesting, and mostly have interesting things to say. The gameplay, on the other hand, has been simplified into a series of shooting galleries. Any challenge from exploration is gone as gamers are shunned down linear, tight corridors. And while the powers are still awesome, the game manages to be even easier than its predecessor, even on the hardest difficulty. It’s also half the length, meaning you can see everything it has to offer within a weekend. Some interesting aspects come into play, such as a Skill Tree system which can be transferred into multiple playthroughs through New Game+, as well as a co-op mode as you take the role of hitmen whom come equipped with Darkness weaponry. The story is strong enough to make it solid, especially if you loved the original, but Digital Extremes seem to have diluted so much of what made the first game truly special and instead merely produced a good shooter. [7] – Shane Battams © 2013
The Darkness II should be a winner like its predecessor. Unfortunately, Digital Extremes have tweaked elements of the game that diminish the successes of the first game. The story is still top here though, as Jackie becomes consumed by The Darkness once again despite having had it under control. Characters are interesting, and mostly have interesting things to say. The gameplay, on the other hand, has been simplified into a series of shooting galleries. Any challenge from exploration is gone as gamers are shunned down linear, tight corridors. And while the powers are still awesome, the game manages to be even easier than its predecessor, even on the hardest difficulty. It’s also half the length, meaning you can see everything it has to offer within a weekend. Some interesting aspects come into play, such as a Skill Tree system which can be transferred into multiple playthroughs through New Game+, as well as a co-op mode as you take the role of hitmen whom come equipped with Darkness weaponry. The story is strong enough to make it solid, especially if you loved the original, but Digital Extremes seem to have diluted so much of what made the first game truly special and instead merely produced a good shooter. [7] – Shane Battams © 2013