Starbreeze’s dark shooter shines sublimely in the shadows...
Powerfully presented, uncompromisingly cinematic and not for the faint of heart, The Darkness is a fitting tribute to the talents of Starbreeze Studios. Indeed, with The Darkness, the team behind underrated Xbox classic The Chronicles of Riddick have taken Top Cow's cult comic and upped the ante on next-gen consoles, producing a darkly fantastic first-person shooter that's amongst 2007's most immersive game experiences.
The Darkness stars gangster Jackie Estacado, a moral kinda guy who duly gets almost blown up by his crime boss uncle Paulie, on, of all days, his 21st Birthday. Unforeseen by Paulie, however, is Jackie's timely possession by the titular Darkness, which gives our anti-hero the impetus to go on a freewheeling fight for revenge across New York's dark streets.
Evocative dystopian fiction
Starbreeze's New York is a small, but painstakingly detailed environment. Two subway stations make up The Darkness' central hub, from where the more action-based city sections develop. It's a run-down, dystopian fiction packed with interesting characters, and remains evocative throughout The Darkness' 10-12 hour duration.
Thankfully, The Darkness' unique twist on the FPS will keep you hooked the entire ride. Gunplay is slick and challenging, full of dual-wielding firefights and up-close combo moves, but it's the eponymous Darkness powers which ironically take the spotlight.
From the silent-but-deadly recon snakehead Creeping Dark to the car-throwing Dark Tentacle, four different Darkling demons to summon, novel Darkness Guns and the terrible Black Hole ability, the Darkness powers lend players a number of different ways to progress. These Darkness powers need replenishing often, and so your tentacles will be eating your victim's hearts for energy, which in itself should highlight how graphic The Darkness can be.
stunningly well produced first-person shooter with bucketloads of gore, a genuinely interesting plot and through-the-roof production values.
Of course, darkness doesn't much like the light, which leads to one of the game's fundamental drawbacks - you'll send as much time in The Darkness letting your dark powers prosper by shooting out lights as you will actually dealing gruesome tentacle-chomping death. It's not a huge problem in the grand scheme of FPS flaws, but it can frustratingly interfere with the game's pacing.
The Darkness' other big change of pace comes in the form of a rather dramatic shift into the Otherworld - a nightmare twist on World War II which, while atmospheric in it's own hellish way, proffers far weaker level design, and simply isn't as entertaining as the more immersive New York environment - though American soil does thankfully make up the majority of the adventure.
Gore by the bucketload
The Darkness, then, is a stunningly well produced first-person shooter with bucketloads of gore, a genuinely interesting plot and through-the-roof production values, but which also boasts a couple of minor character flaws. Multiplayer mode too follows this pattern, presenting competetive FPS gunplay (no co-op mode, sadly) and the intriguing option to use human, Darkling or shapeshifting characters, but only half delivers on that promise with a rather basic selection of modes and an 8 player limit. It's fun, but will draw few fans away from the likes of Gears of War or September's imminent life-eating Halo 3.
It is, however, the quality of The Darkness' story direction which proves exceptional. Starbreeze have produced a visual and aural tour-de-force that's thrilling, unnerving and inventive in equal measure, combining the best in first-person storytelling, gunplay, HD visuals, epic sound, exploration and RPG-lite abilities which reminds us in no small way of...whisper it now...Eidos' seminal Deus Ex.
That's a ringing endorsement indeed, and should spur next-gen gamers on to experience this exceptional horror shooter. The Darkness is already the most accomplished FPS of the year, and even with the likes of Halo 3, Bioshock and Crysis on the horizon, will remain amongst the genre's most memorable examples for some time to come.
GAME's Verdict
- A violently compelling and above-all evocative adult fiction.
- Production values, from visuals to sound and screenplay, are top notch.
- Darkness powers are intuitive.
- Odd changes of pace feel out of place at times.
- Multiplayer is 8-player only, and online co-op play is sadly absent.
- Too graphic and gory for younger gamers to enjoy its brilliance.
Review by: Mark Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 28.06.07