It really blows you hard when one of your affectionates conspires against you. The Darkness; a gruesome title from Starbreeze tries to define the utter deception by means of taking the comic-bound characters to the animation world and placing the protagonist in drugs infected world. In the game, you are at your best when you are in the dark; hence, the title is true to its name.
The Darkness dishes up a blend of crime, action, and horror in the contemporary world bonded with intense FPS gameplay on PS3 and Xbox360. Featuring a dynamic FPS in urban environment, the game allow players to defy the forces of convicted gangland. Armed with an arsenal of guns, players battle demonic creatures and supernatural powers.
Game Plot:
You play as a mafia hitman ‘Jackie Estacado’ - an orphan adopted by Uncle Paulie and turned into a hitman for the Franchetti family. After money deal gone wrong, Jackie finds his uncle accusing him for smoldering big deal, and sending gangsters to execute him on his 21st birthday. Jackie’s heart is filled with great infuriation; hence, vows to take revenge from Uncle Paulie for intruding his personal life.
During the whole hurly-burly, Jackie’s body is possessed by an evil being called ‘The Darkness,’ which asks him to kill people and feed him (evil). It is Jackie’s grandfather ‘Anthony,’ who has brought The Darkness into the family, and passed on to coming generation by successors; so, Jackie is forced to carry on the legacy. Anthony tells Jackie that the only way to get control of The Darkness is to destroy it at its castle, but that it would require one to blow up the castle with a quaking cannon attack.
Gameplay:
As the story continues, the player learns to utilize traditional weapons and the extraordinary powers of The Darkness. On the way to vengeance, Jackie brings in use the normal weapons found in almost all FPS like duel pistols, MGs, shotguns, rifles, etc. Expect, glitchy auto aiming, the whole shooting scheme works extraordinarily.
However, it is dark powers not pistols and rifles, that enhances power of Jackie. Creeping Dark is another creature consisting of big eyes with a color changing ability and opening jaws filled with long teeth wide open, capable of extracting flesh off bones with as ease.
The game gets more complex and compelling as it progresses to end. The Darkness appears as a pair of dragon-like heads on either side of you, but they get vanished away as soon as a beam of light falls on them, hence to fight their existence, there is a lot of light-bulb shootout so as to create darkness, all around.
Overall, the game contains high shooting spree, in which extensive mayhem i.e. violence and death, run parallel. The game plays excellent on both the platforms.
Price: $59.99
ESRB Rating: M (17+)
Pros:
• Matchless story, innovative gameplay
• Superb graphics and suited audio work
• Excellent tilt control
Cons:
• A.I doesn’t work well
• Conventional weapons look useless sometimes
• Generally, enemy reactions is too inactive
Bottom-line:
‘The Darkness’ appeal comes from various elements coming together in a single way. The game can be defined as a perfect blend of horror and shooting (FPS). Although, the game doesn’t come with a lasting appeal - still it’s one of FPSs that you were dying to play. Isn’t it? As the M-rating brings some treaties with it, still it is poised to do exceptional on both the consoles with HD graphics.
