The Darkness II Preview
It’s been four years since we’ve had a chance to step once again into the shoes of Jackie Estacado, mafia hitman, and wielder of the terrifying super-natural force the Darkness. Despite the intervening years and a change in developers, the game is as viciously violent and breathtakingly bloody as ever.
The Darkness II immediately goes out of its way to make you feel like a supernatural killing machine. In the first Darkness game, despite having some pretty nifty supernatural powers (such as a pair of infinite ammo pistols or detachable tentacle arms that could sneak up on foes and rip their hearts’ out) you never were particularly tough. It always felt like the best way to tackle an encounter with the enemy was to shoot out the lights and then slowly creep up on them. In the Darkness II, by virtue of the new “quad-wielding” mechanic (which lets you use both hands to shoot and an independent pair of Darkness tentacles) you immediately feel like a one man wrecking-crew. You can shoot one target whilst throwing a car door at another, or grab a hapless enemy to use as a human shield with your Darkness arms whilst unloading a hail of lead into his companions. In short, the new Darkness makes you feel like a comic-book anti-hero, an unstoppable force of nature.
Taking place a few years after the events of the first game, which saw Jackie rise to the top of the New York-based Franchetti family to become the new Don. Unsurprisingly the road to the top was paved in blood, a notable casualty being Jackie’s girlfriend Jenny. A penitent Jackie initially refuses to use the Darkness anymore, however an escalating gang war quickly puts paid to his desire to give-up his supernatural killing-powers. It’s not long before a group called the Brotherhood takes advantage of a Goodfellas-style shootout in a packed restaurant to try to steal the Darkness from Jackie, starting a new conflict between the wielder of the Darkness and those who would take it from him.
With battle now joined, Jackie can use the Darkness in ingeniously inventive new ways. Mauling, slashing and shooting enemies all provides experience for a skill tree that upgrades Jackie’s powers (though, as in the first game, you have to consume your fallen foes’ hearts if you want to grow stronger). The combat gains an additional layer of complexity with enemies that are actually intelligent enough to use light against you, causing the Darkness to hide within you. At times this means you’ll rely only have your aim to rely on. This forces a number of tactical shootouts in which occupying enemies’ attention for long enough to turn off the lights and unleash the full power of the Darkness becomes a serious concern. Fortunately the ability to summon demonic helpers and use the environment against your foes also returns to amusing effect.
The new visual style deserves mention as well. Though not quite cell-shading, it’s heavily influenced by comic-book drawings, giving the characters bold black outlines and animated appearances that excellently captures the feeling of playing a comic-book character. The environments are also beguiling; with a new focus on exploration further encouraging you to go out of your way to examine your surroundings.
The Darkness II seems to be shaping up into one of next year’s more exciting releases, with an exceedingly violent new combat system and an intriguing story. As a big Top Cow comics fan I was unable to get any hints from the friendly but tight-lipped PR demoing the game as to whether we might see other staples of the Darkness’ world such as the Angelus or the Witchblade. With the story once again in the hands of veteran comic-book scribe Paul Jenkins and a plethora of excellent dialogue, tense confrontations and chilling appearances of Jackie’s departed girlfriend Jenny it looks like the Darkness II is one to look out for next year.
