The Darkness - Final Thoughts

Well, where should I begin with this. I don't want to spoil too much, so I will be careful with the plot summary.

The story follows Jackie Estacado, and starts off on his 21st birthday. His Uncle Paulie ends up giving him a "present", by trying to kill him. Jackie escapes his trap, and decides to get back at his uncle. Along the way, a couple of people from the family help him out. All the while, a being that lives within Jackie awakens which calls itself "The Darkness", and prevents Jackie from being killed before his time. After dying a couple of times, Jackie learns how to conquer the darkness and kills Paulie at his mansion.

I have to say that the story is really good. Its up there with the stories from role playing games like Mass Effect and Oblivion. That was one driving force for me was to see where the story would lead (other than Jackie killing his uncle.)

The combat in the game isn't TOO bad. For being someone who kills for a living, Jackie sure can't aim without you turning auto-aim up a lot. The weapon selection is fairly small, but that should be overshadowed by the use of the Darkness.

There are 5 main Darkness powers (2 at the beginning, and 3 gained through the main story.)

• The "Creeping Dark" is basically like a tentacle that you can control. It will crawl through vents and attack lights and people. Using the creeping dark, you can gather items from remote places, and also consume hearts
• Summoning "Darklings" is basically summoning minions to fight for you. You start with 1 darkling type (berserker), but eating certain hearts will unlock 3 more (gunner, lightkiller, and kamikaze.) They are summoned through portals that can be seen in Darkness mode, and can be controlled loosely with a "go to" command.
• The "Demon Arm" is like the creeping dark, except less control and more power. It will strike lights, impale enemies, and even move objects. It is really fun to pick up a car, and throw it at a group of people using the demon arm.
• The "Darkness Guns" function like 2 pistols, but are far more powerful. They use up darkness energy as their ammo (so don't use them in heavy firefights), but one acts like a shotgun while the other acts like a machine pistol. Very effective at close range.
• The final power is a black hole. And it does exactly what you think it would. It pulls objects into it, and can trap people too. The only major downside is that you lose Darkness mode for a minute.

The AI for the game is really good. On normal, I found myself swearing a few times. People cower if they see you in Darkness mode. Enemies will try to flood the area with light, or will try to survive any way they can. 2K did a really good job with that part.

There were a couple glitches that took away from the game (and cost me a couple of achievements.) One happens with Jimmy the Grape regarding someone you are supposed to kill for him. I know a couple of times I was hit in a way that I didn't think was possible in firefights.

All in all, it is a really good game. It helps prove why the 2007 went to the 360. I would say that this is at least worth a rent. If you don't try to collect everything and help everyone, then it will take probably 4-5 hours to get through the story. But, that story is really good.