The Darkness

1. DavisP.

   Jun 27, 2007

   10

   Amazing game! The best game to come out this year so far. The storyline is engaging, the atmosphere is wounderful, the voiceacting flawless Amazing game! The best game to come out this year so far. The storyline is engaging, the atmosphere is wounderful, the voiceacting flawless and the graphics stunning. Starbreeze has done it again, The Darkness is a masterpice, so get ready to embrace the darkness!… Expand

   • 3 of 4 users found this helpful
2. nerrstyBthirsty

   Feb 15, 2014

   10

   LONG REVIEW
   
   The Darkness is quite possibly the best example of immersion in video games ever seen. Once you're sucked in, it won't pull itsLONG REVIEW
   
   The Darkness is quite possibly the best example of immersion in video games ever seen. Once you're sucked in, it won't pull its tendrils out of you, and I wouldn't want it any other way. From exploring the beautifully rendered New York, to taking the subways, to just watching entire movies on televisions simply because that's your prerogative, The Darkness does a lot to bring you into its world with astounding success.
   
   Outstanding immersion isn't all that's here, though. The Darkness is a video game, after all, and it's a damn good one. You take the role of Jackie Estacado; a tough guy mobster, with a sense of humor, and by the game's end, some serious issues. On the night of his 21st birthday, his mob boss uncle Paulie decides the world would be a better place without him in it, and attempts to assassinate Jackie. Things don't go according to plan, however, and that's where this game's narrative picks up. After an ancient being awakens to possess him and give him powers, of course.
   
   Enter The titular Darkness. A being as old as time that takes hold of Jackie and refuses to let go. It's initially unknown to Jackie why this being has decided to use him as its host, but spending time through the lengthy campaign will reveal the truth to Jackie, parallel to his attempts at exacting his justifiable revenge.
   
   The character of The Darkness is a wonderfully eerie one, and a sight to behold. I've never seen anything quite like it achieved in an FPS game, and the mechanics working around it are implemented wonderfully. With The Darkness as your possessor, you gain powers to aid you in battle and exploration, along with the interesting gun-play. Jackie moves slowly across the screen in comparison to other action games, but this was done for the sake of realism. He doesn't sprint across the screen at 200mph, ala Doom or Vice City, and for what the game is trying to achieve, it works out well, though it can sometimes make exploration feel as if it's dragging on a tad bit too long. The gun-play is also heavily aim assisted, to the point where headshots are more commonplace than anything else you'll achieve by shooting the relatively small arsenal of weapons, but Call of Duty this game is not, and it never aimed to be. The Darkness isn't about its shooting mechanics. It's about its narrative and the adventure you partake in.
   
   The Darkness powers lend themselves well to different strategies you can implement throughout the 12 to 16 hour campaign. You can creep around as Darkness manifested tendrils from a third person view to get the element of surprise on your enemies to achieve stealth kills, or to solve intelligently designed puzzles. After any kill you achieve, it's strongly advised that you (brace yourself for this one) press a button to eat your enemy's hearts. This. Is. Awesome. It also has a couple of useful benefits, such as increasing how long you can use certain Darkness powers, or even gaining new ones.
   
   You also have the ability to rip through space/time to summon black holes, that swallow enemies at the cost of a lot of the Darkness' power. It's a great dynamic, as it's strongly advised to always keep your Darkness tendrils out during combat, as they not only give you the ability to use these powers, but act as a shield, effectively giving you the ability to sustain much more damage than you normally would.
   
   Along with these black holes, creeping around, and other Darkness powers come amazing visual effects for the time. From screen distortion, to an almost cel-shaded lighting effect when you're enveloped in Darkness (something that's also strongly advised, so be prepared to obsessively shoot out every last light you see in the game) the game is certainly no visual slouch. The motion captured actors and rag-doll physics certainly don't hurt either. This is one of the single best looking games that came from the mighty 2007 gaming year, and the atmosphere shines through these visuals.
   
   The game constantly feels dark and cold. Quite appropriate, given the subject matter. Cold color tones were used to great effect, people move realistically with convincing weight distribution and animation, their faces can appear worn and worrisome. It's a dreary game, and this tone never lets up. Rather than questioning this design choice, it absolutely ended up immersing me even more into this game's world.
   
   The sound design isn't lacking either. You'll hear everything from a range of hardcore metal tracks to melodic, mood setting, ambient tracks. The sound effects are appropriately gruesome, and the voice acting is top-notch. In fact, the voice work in this game, at least for its time, was probably the best around, as the actors used play their parts perfectly.
   
   The Darkness is a dreary FPS adventure, with a strong focus on narrative and atmosphere. It succeeds in most everything it tries to do, and I would recommend this title to anyone. It's a shame it's as overlooked as it is. I consider it perfect.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. Allyptic

   Dec 21, 2020

   9

   This game is really atmospheric and dark, it make for a nice first person shooter experience. The textures could use a bit of an upgrade and IThis game is really atmospheric and dark, it make for a nice first person shooter experience. The textures could use a bit of an upgrade and I don't think it plays in 1080p but the gameplay is fun. Also there is very little lag due to dedicated servers which the 360 doesn't have, contrary to a previous review.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. GameDoc

   Jul 11, 2007

   7

   Online play is bad. Too many cut scenes take away from the game play. However, it is an enjoyable game with flaws.

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
6. Inryoku

   Jan 8, 2014

   6

   I have no idea what to think about this game; the story and the characters are the only things that will make you go on. Both are pretty niceI have no idea what to think about this game; the story and the characters are the only things that will make you go on. Both are pretty nice and immersing, you`re going to find yourself keep going on only to find out how everything will play out. And that would be all the pros I can think of: the gameplay is slow as hell, the level design is confusing and stretched at times and the usage of the Darkness is very limited and disappointing. The graphics aged terribly and are on par with Killzone 1 at best. Even though I enjoyed the experience overall I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone who can't appreciate a good story and is unable to ignore the terrible gameplay.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
7. Za_Uvek

   Oct 18, 2021

   6

   It was nice to revisit The Darkness as it comes from an age of FPS that were experimenting with the formula. But geez, the cracks sure do showIt was nice to revisit The Darkness as it comes from an age of FPS that were experimenting with the formula. But geez, the cracks sure do show and not because of it's age.
   
   The visuals are pretty standard, but still well below what the PS3 is capable of. In saying that, there were no frame rate issues and ran pretty smooth. As for the sound, from the music and ambient noise to the guns and voice acting, all of it comes together nicely.
   
   In regards to the game-play, it's what you would expect from this era of shooters. There are some nice little gimmicks centred around The Darkness abilities, but ultimately don't add too much. The semi-open world is a nice touch though, along with intractable characters and environment.
   
   Lastly, the story. Yes, this title sure stands out for it's original concept drawn straight from the comic books. Unfortunately, it is told in a very disjointed way in which a lot of the critical events happen so abruptly. Because of this, I found it hard to get immersed in the world as the flow of the narrative didn't really make sense.
   
   I do love what the developers where trying to achieve here. A supernatural FPS that contains adventure game elements that encourages the player to explore and experiment. It's hard to recommend though. Unless you are a fan of the source material, you can skip this one as there are many games released around this era that do it better.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. RayW.

   Jul 22, 2007

   0

   Once you have seen the opening sequence you may as well trade the game if you bought it or return it if you rented it. There is nothing Once you have seen the opening sequence you may as well trade the game if you bought it or return it if you rented it. There is nothing compelling beyond this point. The game is plain boring and Jackie shoots the way he walks, slowly and awkwardly. The Darkness tries to do too much and does nothing right. Bargain bin at best.… Expand

   • 1 of 5 users found this helpful

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