The Darkness (Xbox 360)

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!

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 former boss 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 helpful

by Jay *Sniper Wolf 1989*

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. Betrayed by his Uncle Paulie he sets out to wreck havok and mayhem - as well as getting revenge on Paulie along the way.

The graphic of the game are superb; first-class FPS shooter graphics and literally no glitches within the gameplay.

The music is also both chilling and beautiful, with a combination of metal beats during the violent shoot-outs with the enemies of Estacado's family and melodic melodys whilst you are travelling about the city and the train station.

Also, it's important to note that this game is HUGE! The main story lasts approx. 10 or so hours, however there are so many sidequests that you can undergo to help out your 'family' that it takes you well into 20+ hours to finish the game 100%.

After playing this I then purchased The Darkness: Ultimate Collection, which - it turns out - shows just how true the game stays to the original issues.

The voice acting - as important as it is for a FPS - is solid and believable, with The Darkness sounding more menacing and demented each time it talks to you.

The violence is also very high in gore and blood. With upgradeable Darkness abilities and finishing gunshots at close-range (which look incredible) you can find so many ways to punish those who are unfortunate enough to get in your way.

This is still my favourite game on 360 - even aboe Bioshock, Dead Rising and Gears of War - and I recommend it to all FPS-lovers.

10/10 OVERALL