Video Game Saga *

Title: The Darkness II
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Digital Extremes
Release Date: 02/07/2012
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Intro: There is something about a man dressed in black and sporting jet black hair that screams bad ass; I mean just take a look at Eric Draven from the Crow or music legend Johnny Cash. Our hero in the Darkness series, Jackie Estacado, can be added to that list! Based off the hit comic book, The Darkness II is a sequel to 2007’s The Darkness. Released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, the Darkness II is developed by Digital Extremes and published by 2K Games.

Story: Story time! Many will know comic book author Paul Jenkins for his work on The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and the first Darkness game, well he is back with a dark and twisted new story. The Darkness II ties directly back to the first game where Jackie’s girlfriend is murdered and he uses the ancient force known as the Darkness to avenge her death. Now two years later, Jackie is the Don of the Franchetti crime family.  He holds the memory of Jenny close and can’t shake the feeling that there is still more to do.

This unsettling feeling in Jackie and an encounter with the Brotherhood triggers the Darkness within him to awake. Now while encountering visions of Jenny, he is on a personal journey to delve deeper into her murder and uncover the intentions of the ancient Darkness. Standing in his way is, Victor Valente, a mysterious character with super natural abilities who is hell bent on retrieving the Darkness from Jackie for his own powers and for that of his clan, the Brotherhood. To make matters worse Victor has kidnapped Jackie’s Aunt Sara. Now things are personal and nothing will stop Jackie.

Gameplay: Like the first game, the Darkness II is a first person shooter. Back to assist Jackie is Johnny Powell, an expert in mystical powers and magic; he is reluctant to help Jackie again. Also making a return is the Darkness itself once again voiced by Mike Patton, the lead singer of the metal band Faith No More. Mike Patton was also the voice of Nathan Spencer in Capcom’s Bionic Commando. You’ll find the Darkness will taunt Jackie to kill his enemies in the most graphic of ways. The Darkness also feels a sense of ownership of Jackie and throughout the game will try and take over his body. Kirk Acevedo who voiced Jackie Estacado in the first game has been replaced with actor Brian Bloom for The Darkness II.

Johnny Powell                                                                 Mike Patton

Gone from the first game is the ability to summon multiple Darklings; this time around Jackie has just one Darkling to aid him. His new found Darkling who has a British accent and sports a dead cat on his head makes him very distinguishable. He will retrieve weapons and items for Jackie, attack enemies, help Jackie through levels by reaching unattainable areas and more. Since this Darkling is shrouded in the Dark Essence, you must be in dark environments for him to assist you.

There is a new feature added to the game called “quad wielding” which not only allows Jackie to use his demon arms to kill enemies in the most graphic of ways but he also uses two weapons simultaneously with his demon arms for the kill. Weapons include: Jackie’s specialized handguns, shotguns, submachine guns and assault rifles. In addition, you can tear away car doors and otherobjects in the game to throw at your enemies. You can deliver devastating and lethal finishing moves with your demon arms which is where the gore in the game truly shines. There are several finishing moves so be sure to experiment with them all! Even your Darkling has special attacks of his own such as peeing acid on the enemy, ripping their throats out and more.

Remember it’s important to be in the dark to use the Darkness powers so take out the lights and be aware of enemies who will use light as there weapon to try and stop you. This adds an element of strategy to the game similar to how you had to use shadows and darker areas in the game Splinter Cell to take out your enemies. For those times when you’re in the light, Jackie must rely on his mob skills to kill enemies with his guns, but once those light goes out… well let the Darkness begin. To add to the discomfort of being in the light, you experience blurred vision and a ringing noise.

Jackie can acquire hidden relics sprinkled throughout the game which contain Dark Essence, the same substance that gives Jackie his powerful abilities.  Relics include: Crescent of the Sun, The Trinity, The Deceiver’s Grasp and more. These relics are connected to bad people and tragedies of the past. Since Jackie needs Dark Essence to fuel his powers, in addition to the relics, killing enemies will give Jackie more of the Dark Essence he needs. If you consume your enemies’ hearts you’ll be rewarded with even more Dark Essence.

Once you have enough Dark Essence collected, you can find Talent Shrines that will let you exchange Dark Essence for new abilities and to increase the strength of existing powers. Some of these unlockable abilities include: Swarm which will disable enemies so they can’t attack you, Gun Channeling which gives you unlimited ammo while increasing gun damage and Black Hole will seal your enemies’ fate when using their own heart.

More abilities await for you to unlock and not only can you increase the strength of his demon arms but you can add new attacks to use when slaying with your deadly arms. You can manage Jackie’s powers and abilities through the Talent Tree which connects your abilities on branches allowing for an in-depth combat system that can be customized for your own unique gameplay experience.

As you play the Darkness II, you can’t help being captivated by the graphic novel art style. Using Cel-Shading technology, artists hand drew a large majority of the animation in the game. This style not only captures the feeling of the film noir genre but also the essence of the comic book created by Top Crow. If you have played games like Killer 7 then you know how engaging this art style is.    

Multi-Player: There is a Co-op mode for up to 4-players called Vendettas. This mode ties directly in with the single player story and allows players to encounter new story elements and characters. There are four playable characters in this mode: Inugami, Shoshanna, Jimmy Wilson and JP Dumond all of which who have unique abilities.

Conclusion: The Darkness II combines stylized graphics with first person gameplay and some intense gore that I haven’t seen since the new Mortal Kombat. There is an interesting dynamic in the game, as you play you’ll find yourself striving for the darkness and you are more comfortable when the lights are off, which is ironic since most people feel safer in the light. This is one of many charming elements in The Darkness II; it makes for a different gameplay experience.

For those who love films like the Godfather and Scarface with a dark twist, you’ll enjoy playing as the Don Jackie Estacado and everything the story has to offer. Whether you are a fan of the original game back for more or a new comer to the series, The Darkness II will no doubt have you hooked. Until next time this is Jim Combs saying, say hello to my little friend… the Darkling. See you next time on Video Game Saga’s Spotlight segment be there or be square.