Good evening everyone and happy Halloween to everyone and welcome to a very dark day on Camseyeview…this time I decided to go off my beaten path of action plat-forming games and pick up a different game to review. Now since this is the Halloween season you would think about games like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Splatterhouse, and Devil May Cry. I decided to pick a dark gritty game and this game is called The Darkness. So is it as spooky as the Halloween spirit? Or is it full of shiny light? Well lets find out.
The story takes place in dark gritty New York where you take the role of Mafia hitman Jackie Estacado, which on his 21st birthday was targeted by the don of the New York Mafia leader “Uncle” Paulie as while running from the assassins hired by Paulie Jackie finds out that the darkness has taken over his body and Jackie must kill Paulie and find out why the darkness took over his body. It’s a dark and twisted story filled with plot twists and heart turning moments that make this one of the better stories in this kind of game. The Darkness was made by Starbreeze Studios, which is known for another game that fans will recognize, The Chronicles of Riddick and its somewhat remake.
The game play is in the form of a first person shooter with some interesting, but small ideas. The main weapon Jackie has is a small arsenal of guns and of course the Darkness that hides within him. You basically go around shooting hitmen sent by Paulie and other opponents who want you dead like policemen, zombie nazis, and etc. you get only a few powers with the Darkness. The first power is the ability to become a shadow like eel and sneak around small areas and surprise unaware opponents. The second power comes in the form of a tentacle that can take down certain barriers and enemies. The final power comes in the form of a black hole that can basically kill multiple enemies. You can also summon a little minion to help you do certain tasks like stop a train or take down a barrier. I wont say how many kinds you will get, but you will have to find out yourself. You also have a small arsenal of guns. They’re nothing special it’s just the basic double pistol, mini machine gun, and a shotgun like rifle. There is some backtracking involved within the game so you will need to get to know your surroundings.
The graphics are very impressive and are pretty good eye candy. All the characters look gritty and disturbing looking and you get a sense of realism since everyone who voice acts in the game was motioned captured which gives the in game characters more realistic. This game also has a very good voice cast including Kirk Acevedo from OZ voicing Jackie, lead singer of Faith No More and Mike Patton doing the voice of the Darkness itself. The music is also very good to listen to and fits the certain areas that you are in. I think the story is very interesting and is pretty unique. I say if you like Spawn and The Godfather then I say this is the perfect story for you.
However, there is some light in the darkness. First off the game itself doesn’t have much to offer besides a great single player mode since the multiplayer isn’t that great and have been recommended to dodge by multiple reviewers. The weapons are cool, but I think there could have been more of them. Boss fights are scarce to none. It’s boring as heck just fighting the same enemies over and over. I wish they put in a hub map or something since anyone could easily get lost since you have to pay attention to street signs and such.
Over all I think The Darkness is an enjoyable game, but it doesn’t have a lot going for it besides the great single player mode. I would recommend it to people who play shooters, but personally I cant see myself playing this game again. Hopefully if you can find it for a good price then I say buy it and enjoy a dark story of love and betrayal. Just don’t expect to play it twice in a row.
This game gets a solid 8 out of 10.
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