The Darkness II

The game was pretty awesome. It would be nice to have a third. the best that can be said about it is that it is, unlike most forms of torture, mercifully short. The story is contrived, illogical, and inconsistent. The characters are melodramatic stereotypes without depth, sympathy, or reason. Gameplay itself is clumsy and repetitive; the darkness is but a half-hearted chest burster ripoff and every boss is identical to the last, boasting the same special powers and tired dialogue.

The fact that this game is different from the next meant it wasn't boring in the slightest. Only complaint was that it was too froggin short.

I really enjoyed this game for the most part. I had heard mainly negative things upon its initial release that made me stay away from it until I could snag it for a low price so I got this game for a very small sum. As I was playing through it, I did not understand why there was so much negativity for this one as I was having a blast and really getting into the story. Then it ended and I was a bit stunned as I was thinking there would be more for sure. However, the game simply ended and then I get some credits and a scene that implies there will be a sequel. Though looking at amazon I saw no trace of a The Darkness III game so if I do have a complaint it is the fact that this game did end abruptly and it ended in a fashion that if a sequel is never made there will be no closure on the story. The first one ended in a way that was satisfactory. One where a sequel could be introduced, but did not have to materialize. This one leaves the gamer hanging and from what I have seen no sequel to bring a close to a grand story this game was setting up.

The story picks up a couple of years after Jackie's epic assault on Paulie. He is now head of the family and things are going about as well as can be expected considering he has lost the love of his life. He has also managed to keep the Darkness at bay and repressed it. Unfortunately, he becomes the target of a hit at a restaurant and the only thing that can save him is that dark voice that pleads with him to unleash its powers. Soon Jackie is off trying to find the identity of his attackers as he must go into a rival's territory, a brothel and other places as a strange cult tied to the Darkness is found to want to reclaim its powers. Jackie, though, still thinks about the love of his life constantly and there are times he begins to question his own sanity.

The game play is pretty standard first person with the addition of Jackie's dark powers. This one does not rely on stealth as much as the first game did as it is mainly go through a level and take out the bad guys in the most gruesome ways possible. So no snake sneaks and kills, but lots of tentacle kills and gun play. The darklings are not used as much this time, instead, you only have one darkling that seems to have a bit more personality of his own. This part worked as I enjoyed this little fella's commentary as we went from area to area killing all those who came in our path.

So, I would probably say I enjoyed this one about the same as the first game. Make it a bit longer and give me a more complete story and I would have probably said it was better than its predecessor. Still, while it may not have encompassed a lot of time, it was still a nice thrill ride while it lasted. I do hope a sequel does materialize though as I would hate to never find out how the writers were planning on continuing this particular story.

I am at conflict with this game on one hand the gameplay is really fun and solid and I think it is really enjoyable but the story leads me hanging.

And it's not really this games fault. In a void I think it's good and fun it has the right comic book tone to it and is just exaggerated enough to be really fun, but my mind keep going back to the first game tone, the more simple more tone down world, the train station talking with normal people. It's just a totally different vibe than this and I prefer other one so much that when I see characters from the first game in this one it just feels weird.

And italianness is certainly gotten more extreme. I mean it's almost like I can feel the pastta that coming out of their mouth and I begin to talk in Italian slang to myself because it's so hard not to do it. It's just so exaggerated that it's fun.

And it does help that the ending is really unsatisfying and gonna stay unsatisfying sadly.

It's fun. It's fun to tear people apart to see things explode to feel like the darkest monster destroying everything and it has a length of 3 to 4 hours, so it doesn't get tedious I can recommend this game so much on the gameplay. It is so fun, but my mind keeps going back to the one I prefer, which is the saddest part of it.

The Darkness 2 made some major changes, some good some bad. Among these, Brian Bloom replacing Kirk Acevedo for Jackie, a new shading for the visuals which made it more sharp and with a comic-book vibe that its predecessor lacked, alterations to the demon powers which were more smooth but felt downgraded and a villain that sadly didn't live up to the rest of the game. The most interesting feature was the collectibles, which act as occult artifacts you can collect and display, each having its own unique history, encouraging you to explore every nook and cranny for these interesting objects. The side quests are done away with and everything feels more linear, which is a bit disappointing. Jackie's mansion which also serve as the hub of the game is a nice touch and shows how much has changed though. Oddly, Darkness 2 feels shorter in length than the first game and is less imaginative, but it remains a solid sequel worth a look, despite its shortcomings.