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Embrace the Darkness

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 63 / 67
Date: July 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Don't believe the negative hype surrounding this title, it is a spectacular Xbox 360 Next Generation release.
I'm not sure how close the game resembles the comic created by Top Cow, but there are many treats to be experienced both visually and game play wise in The Darkness.
Lets start with some of the positive aspects of this game:

Graphically, this game is absolutely stunning in its graphical beauty.
The dark gritty New York City streets really give off that "real-city" vibe.
Garbage litters the streets and the subway systems, graffiti covers practically every wall (and this graffiti looks like actually graffiti that you would see in real life).
So much detail has been put into the floors, ceilings, walls and in you general surroundings that it is very easy to get deeply immersed in The Darkness.
Following in true Next Gen graphic style, all the wood surfaces in the game look like real wood, metal resembles real metal, concrete looks amazingly realistic. You can see chips in paint, cracks and chips in the concrete - its literally stunning.
The Darkness relies on the use of shadows, and the lighting engine is superb. Light shines off of virtually every surface that would reflect light (including leather!). Every object casts a proper shadow.
Since you are in a city, there are lights everywhere and in order for your Darkness power to work or re-charge you need to be in the shadows.
Basically this mean taking out every light you come into contact with.

Character models look really good. Not as good as Gears of War models, but the characters look believable, most of the time body parts move like they should, clothes look somewhat realistic. Cloth looks amazing. The bodies still look a little clunky, but nothing major.
Face models are wonderfully detailed, you can see wrinkles and imperfections in the characters faces. Sometimes you can see facial expressions however not too often. The faces are probably the most detailed aspect on each character. The eyes in this game look full of life.

The darkness powers look awesome. Your character acquires two demonic serpent heads on either shoulder and they look amazing. Each darkness power is represented very well graphically.
Weapons look realistic, some of the most realistic depictions I have ever seen in a game.
On a side note, you get to learn where the darkness comes from.

The physics are downright cool. Everything seems to move as it should. With one of your darkness powers you can pick up objects and people and fling them around. This looks very cool and makes you feel like a real "force-to-be-reckoned-with".

Some claim that the story line in The Darkness is clichéd and boring, but I beg to differ. While it is true that the storyline is steeped in New York Mob Scene and carries along with it the good ol' revenge angle and other Mafia generic-ness, the story is told really well and keeps you nevertheless engaged throughout. There are also some twists to the sotry line, and lets just say that New York City is not the only place you will visit in The Darkness. There is some twisted stuff here!

Another great aspect is how the some of the main characters history is told. Instead of loading scenes, you are treated to monologues given by the main character. In these monologues he is either telling a story from his childhood, re-telling or elucidating on current plot elements, or just sitting there gazing at his guns.
This adds much more to the whole "cinematic" element of The Darkness and gives you something to look at while the game is loading. Much better than staring at a flashing loading screen.
More unique things include televisions that you can interact with. These TV's show five or six channels of real material. Some have Cartoons, others music videos and there are two movie channels. They show real movies and I believe you can watch them all the way through.

The musical score fits each scene perfectly and ranges from Death metal(fight scenes), to orchestrated music(during talking scenes and in the subway). Also there are other areas where music being either played or listened to by NPC's can be heard (there are people who play the harmonica and Break dancers who will dance for you).

Character development has been well done, you actually do care about the characters close to you and you grow to hate your arch enemy. You will grow especially close to your girlfriend Jenny. I grew really attached to her over the course of the game. By the way her face model is one of the best I have ever seen in a video game.

Okay, lets talk about unique aspects:

Summoning Darklings: In The Darkness you gain the ability to summon Darklings (look like little goblins) to do your bidding. Each Darkling has its own special ability and funtion.
The darkling models look really cool, and they each have an attitude that could only be attributed to a darkling. They urinate on dead corpses and make rude comments.

Control is done really well, despite what some reviewers may say. I find the controls easy to use. From summoning darkness powers to calling up darklings to using the regular weapons and moving: I found this all easy to understand and control.

This is a FPS but with some role playing elements.
Your darkness powers level up after a certain amount of hearts have been eaten (that's right, your darkness serpents eat the hearts of fallen corpses, only the evil characters though). With each level up you will gain a new darkness power.
The powers really make you feel super-human.
They range from being able to open up a black hole portal to suck everything in and kill all enemies around it, gaining control of an arm that can grab objects and impale enemies, to duel wielding guns that harness the darkness power into bullet projectiles.
Each power has its use and is very fun to use, never getting stale or boring.

Another RPG aspect is the side missions and some somewhat free roaming nature of this game. The game is basically broken down into streets and certain landmarks, with the subway system acting as a central hub. In the subway system you cannot use your weapons (this area acts as the "safe-village" that can commonly be found in most RPG's). The subway is where you get all of the side missions from NPC's.
They range from simple to time consuming, but nevertheless add to the overall fun.
The game is free roaming to an extent. You can roam the streets but they are visibly cut off at a certain point. You cannot walk into just any building either. But these constraints don't mean much, since The Darkness is meant to be more of a story rather than an open ended experience.
Overall, the areas to explore of decent. There are even collectible items to collect throughout. You have to do some searching to find them, but its worth it. If your into that sort of thing.

The developers incorporated a neat system for unlocking these collectibles too (which I think unlocks game videos and comic books, I think).
The collectibles you pick up are actually phone numbers which you can call at any pay phone in the subway system (most of the pay phones out on the street are broken. Go figure!) When you call them you usually reach someones answering machine. And most of the time the message is a funny one.

There are also secret numbers scrawled on walls and such, and when called will prompt another side mission involving you finding about 16 secret phone numbers to unlock a secret achievement.
Speaking of achievements, there are plenty to be had. And they are fun ones too. I won't tell you what they are, but I will say that you can track your achievements via a pause menu.

There is so much scripted dialog in The Darkness, the cinematic and realistic qualities of this game are further enhanced. Passer-by NPC (non-playable characters) that are not key to the plot or side missions don't really say much. But those that ask you to do side missions, key plot characters and enemies during battle all have plenty to say.
I love it when the enemies that I am fighting talk trash to me or cower in fear when I am fighting them. It really adds to the game play.

If you have ever Played Condemned : Criminal Origins, you will really like this game. The Darkness seems to be closely related to Condemned in spirit. However, The Darkness is much more fast paced in terms of action and fighting.

I have yet to try the multiplayer Xbox Live deathmatch gaming.

Overall, I recommend The Darkness. It is a true experience of Next-Gen gaming, you will not be disappointed. There are so many little nuances thrown into this game that just give it a realistic feel and liven up the game in so many ways. This is a real treat to wat

Step into the Darkness.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: June 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Star Breeze studios has created a good game. Using the acclaimed chronicles of Riddick engine they took a swing at the Top Cow comics Anti-hero the Darkness. I'm happy to report that they nailed it, as a fan of the comics I can tell you the mood and atmosphere is perfect and gritty. The Darkness its self is awesome, and fits well with the games action. Which is fast and furious the gunplay has some nice features like the execution moves which are scripted gun-kata beat downs that add to the over the top comic book style action. The MAJOR drawback is the games total playing time 10 to 12 hours with most side quest included. I can only hope that Top Cow will work with Star Breeze and produce some more level content for the single player.

Ok I know you want to know about the powers. The First you get is the darkness it's self which acts as a shield to keep you a live in combat. As you continue you gain the hilarious and morbidly chatty Darklings each with tools and useful attacks. You can also explore and perform stealth kills with the tendrils that sprout out your back. You gain a demonic arm/spike, guns that use the darkness as ammo, and finally the ability to create a black hole.

The story is a retelling the resurrection story line that brought the character back from the dead. Some reviews are saying the game is too easy because once you get all your powers there are not a lot of people who can stand against the power of the darkness. Well I for one like this because in every other comic action game there is a point were you feel that the character is not strong as they should be but darkness lets you have a long run with the power as apposed to just saving it for the end of the game. Overall it is a good game and has an interesting take on the shooter formula. If you like a violent shooters this is a great choice.

Also the multiplayer as a great throw back to Alien VS Preditor.

If you ever wanted to play the monster for the game instead of being the chased victim, give the Darkness a shot. I was swept into the game and disipointed by how short it was, if you just want to pick up a new shooter I would say rent it.

Bravo! The Darkness is a truly fun and engrossing game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: July 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was so very pleasantly surprised by The Darkness.

It seems that games that rise to the level of being engrossing and compelling are few and far between. In fact, not since Deus Ex have I played a game that really drew me in, and had me playing around WITH the game, like it was a toy. On the XBOX 360, there are really only a couple of must-own games at this point. Gears of War is one of them, sure, and, in my opinion, so is Oblivion.

Now you can add The Darkness to that list.

I had a lot of fun playing The Darkness, and, at times, it came close to the kind of experience I had with Deus Ex (which, for better or worse, I hold up as the gold standard in this genre). Besides being fun to play with, this game continually wows you with its attention to detail and the level of thought that went into its design.

Here are just a few of the elements and details that make this game so impressive:

-The VOICE ACTING in The Darkness is simply the best I have seen in a video game, bar none. So good is the voice acting, that you find your self marveling at it. Everyone from the hero Jackie to Jimmy the Grape (oh man I loved Jimmy the Grape) is superbly performed.

-One of the first things you notice is the little vignettes you watch during the LEVEL LOADING. The designers utilize what would otherwise be "dead time" to actually add to the atmosphere of the game.

-LEVEL DESIGN is fantastic. You spend a good deal of time in NYC subways in this game, and they really look like the real deal (admittedly simplified). I found myself more than once admiring the rendering of the stairs and signs down in the subways. Just one of many great touches is the subway information kiosks (not authentic!) which are a clever way of quickly orienting to where you need to go. The NYC street levels are equally great, and very detailed. You will find yourself just walking around and looking. Then when you get the Demon Arm, and discover you can move cars and dumpsters...

-NO ARTIFICIAL HUDs. Information in this game is, for the most part, presented in a "realistic" manner. One example already given is the info kiosks in the subways (you get an authentic NYC voice giving you directions). Another example is the level of your Darkness Powers, which are indicated by visual cues in the power manifestation.

-COLLECTIBLES AND BONUS MATERIAL. Adding the collectibles to this game was a great move. Basically, this is analogous to the Cog Tags in Gears of War, giving you an incentive to completely explore all the environment spaces. The new twist here is that such collecting not only scores achievements, but also unlocks bonus materials such as comics, videos, and production art. Very slick. One of the two types of collectible items is phone numbers, and you unlock the bonus materials by finding a telephone and calling the number. When you do, you get a unique and superbly acted answering machine message, many of which are comical or disturbing. I loved every one.

-DARKNESS POWERS. The Darkness Powers are the main game play "gimmick" of The Darkness, sort of like Bullet Time in Max Payne. You quickly figure out that the powers are pretty much what you use all the time, instead of, say, guns. There are a good number of conventional weapons available, but you end up not caring about them much. The two coolest Darkness Powers are 1) Creeping Dark and 2) Demon Arm. The Creeping Dark allows you to "remotely" explore your surroundings with a great deal of freedom, including climbing walls and getting into small spaces. This expanded freedom almost compels you to see what you can do with it, and you find yourself experimenting to see exactly where you can go. You can, of course, attack with the Creeping Dark, and in the beginning you do that a lot. The Demon Arm is great because you can pick up almost anything and throw it. Pretty far if you want. So, you realize that you can stack cars up on top of each other, or throw dumpsters at people, so you spend a great deal of time just screwing around like that. Oh yeah, you can also attack people and knock out lights with The Demon Arm. (But it's really for making a really big pile of cars.)

There are a number of surprises in the game, which I will not go into for obvious reasons. Suffice it to say that there is even more to recommend this game that what has been mentioned, and, like the rest, it is very well done.

Complaints? Quibbles? Only a few, really. NO game is perfect. Maybe my biggest gripe is that the final level & ending was very unsatisfying. In fact, I was sure that there was a better ending I could achieve. It turns out that's just how it ends. On the upside, the ending makes it clear that this is just a first chapter in what should be a truly great series of games. Other than that, the quibbles become truly minor. I thought the Darklings didn't really contribute much to game play, but maybe that was just me. Even so, they do add some entertainment.

All in all, The Darkness is GREAT. If you own a 360, you should own this game.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game which has fantastic graphics. BTW, the PS3 version does NOT have better graphics, don't let some sony fanboy tell you different. If you are looking for a great storyline and a well-executed game overall, don't look any further. The only downside is that you are not able to save whenever you want, the game has predetermined save points. You will not regret purchasing this game.

its fun, it keeps you on your feet, and it looks good

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

overall i think this is a pretty good game, i have always liked games like this. probably the closest comparison i could make is if you took the suffering, and chronicles of riddick game and put them together. its a lot of fun, its a little creepy and extreemly violent, so overall i think its really good.

Mafia/Sci-Fi ... what?!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Interesting description of Mafia/Sci-fi, but its so true! This game is so awesome! Use your weapons to kill people, one of your four darkness powers to kill people, or summon one of your four darklings to do the dirty work for you! And eating the dead guy's heart to gain a higher darkness level is the best! You have your main mission plus other side missions that you can complete in the meantime.
Only negative is that the online play is very glitchy which can ruin your planned execution moves!
But bottom line:
Great graphics, great storyline, a must play period.

cheaper please!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 5
Date: July 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Seriously amazon should really make this game cheaper to buy. It should not be so much. It is a short game. Please sellers lower the price!

BUY THIS GAME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The BEST GRAPHICS for the XBOX 360 available!

This game has it all. Im a huge fan of Condemned and this is pretty close besides all the demonic mess. This game will rock your sox off. The online multiplayer is fun but very laggy no matter connection speed. Great storyline hitman for the mob..etc.. Buy it! DOOO IT..DOOO IT..

Even Mike Jones shut up when he played this game !

Join "The Darkness"

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

"The Darkness," from the studio that brought Xbox fans "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay," is a first-person shooter based on the dark comic book series of the same name. And like the aforementioned "Riddick," it further proves that these guys know what makes a cool video game adaptation.

You assume the role of Jackie Estacado, adopted nephew of Mafia boss Paulie Franchetti, as he reaches his 21st birthday and stumbles blindly into the dark destiny of his family line. The opening sequence is a knockout, and thrusts you headlong into the gritty world of organized crime in this fictional version of New York City. The ensuing police chase, car crash, and demise of your companions, a couple of Mafia thugs, is by itself worth the price of admission.

Jackie soon finds himself on the receiving end of his Uncle Paulie's wrath, which brings him into contact with an evil entity known as The Darkness. This demonic parasite latches itself to Jackie, and simultaneously aids and defies him in his quest for revenge -- a quest with many shocking twists and turns that I dare not spoil in this review.

The first-person gunplay of "The Darkness" is itself quite extraordinary. Shooting people is rarely this satisfying, thanks to copious amounts of gore, better-than-average rag doll physics, and a satisfying real world arsenal that never grows stale. But Jackie's Darkness powers certainly add the icing to this already tasty cake, allowing him to sprout serpentine tentacles that devour the hearts of his foes (for the purpose of leveling up Darkness powers)... and that's just the beginning. Other Darkness abilities allow you to impale your foes and swing them wildly around at the end of a glistening appendage, creep across the floor as a serpent and put a hole through an unsuspecting victim, and open up black holes that devour several enemies at once. It's all extremely gratifying, and provides ample means to destroy the opposition.

Some Darkness abilities are less compelling than others, however. The Darkness Guns, for instance, rarely serve a useful purpose, while the aforementioned black holes act as overpowered grenades, and can sometimes shift the balance too far in the player's favor. Nonetheless, in a game where just shooting guys would be great, these alternatives do their part in further distinguishing the gameplay and making you feel like a real, bona fide bad@$$ with a sick, sadistic evil streak.

Of course, the game isn't complete without the ability to summon Darklings -- funny gremlin-like beasties that will back you up in a pinch. With multiple varities, such as Gunners (equipped with massive chain guns), Berserkers (who ambush opponents and cut them down to size), and Kamikazes (they go BOOM!), things don't ever seem to get old.

Production values are great across the board, from the near-flawless sound effects to the strength of the visuals, which depict a grimy New York City connected by subway tunnels and desolate streets under a sky of seemingly endless night. Maybe the streets are too desolate, point of fact, given that the City That Never Sleeps seems to be very asleep indeed, but it all adds to chilling atmosphere.

The game takes a stab at the slightly open-ended nature of "Butcher Bay," but doesn't quite nail it. This also results in lots and lots of walking between key action setpieces, and backtracking is never all that fun in any game. This game's attempts at non-linearity come across as tacked on, if anything, and will only do it for those who desperately want to drag out the experience.

Despite a strong, compelling storyline, the Mafia element of "The Darkness" never met a cliche it didn't like. The Godfather meets Goodfellas dialog can be groan-inducing at times, especially all references to "respect." There was a better way to handle this material, but this is a mere nitpick at worst.

"The Darkness" is one of the best games available on the Xbox 360, bottom line. Do yourselves a favor and join the dark side.

The Darkness is FRESH!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I just wanted to say that the Darkness is an extremely well produced, well written, and fun to play game. The pacing and story keep you at the edge of your seat.

Violent, Bloody, and all the stuff I love. It reminded me of a First Person Max Payne, and thats a good thing.

I was not familiar with the Darkness comic, but I must say this game is one of my favorite games of the year so far. Hats off to the team that made it.

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