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The Darkness
By: Starbreeze      
More Information

Surprisingly Good     On: 2008-11-19


I was pleasantly surprised at how good this game really was for such a low price; got it for $10 + SH. Great story, great powers, and some parts are really creepy. Recommending to anyone I know with a 360.
Good for a playthough and some achievements     On: 2008-11-16

Although I have nothing against this game really I dont see myself playing it throuhg more than once. For the purchase price of $4.98 I couldnt pass it up. As far as gameplay, design, graphics, etc...all that is fine. Im just not into the plot or storyline. The Darkness powers do add a cool element to the game. This game is a good rental or purchase if you can get it for cheap like I did.
Pretty good     On: 2008-10-12

This game was good but I cant take it into the great category. I enjoyed using The Darkness powers. My biggest issues happen in certain levels when you go into an alternate universe and your fighting Nazis. These levels sometimes got really dark and confusing. It was hard to tell where you were supposed to go sometimes and frustrating because you couldnt see who was shooting at you half the time either. A lot of this seems to fade away when you start gaining abilities like impaling unsuspecting mobsters with your darkness tentacles or picking up a parked car and throwing it at a group of scumbags across the street. Still, something was just lacking from this game. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it and felt it was worth my time.
Better on PS3     On: 2008-09-17

Not a bad game, but looks alot better on the PS3. Buy it if you only have a 360 and you dont get a multi choice.
Very, very dark     On: 2008-09-05

First off, this is a game for adults only.
And I mean that in no uncertain terms. (This is a game that visits the worst human tragedy in known history - World War I) Violence, language and general depravity considered, even an adult might want to rethink her/his steps when purchasing this item. Some of the actions and environments were so intense, they literally made me feel weird and bad. I truly felt anger at the end and actually cried during the final sequence.

If you can shrug off these warnings, you are in for arguably the most substantial experience on the 360 so far.

Even in its earlier releases, Starbreeze prided itself in challenging the player to think outside the bounds of what was possible within a game, and The Darkness continues that legacy. From a first person perspective, the player inhabits young hitman Jackies persona as he unravels the mystery of his (unexpectedly granted) powers. The plot thickens as Jackies battle with his own (Mike Patton voiced) demons escalates as does his confrontation with a previously patriarchal uncle-turned-nemesis. With just enough twists and unexpected surreal moments, the ride is a perfect, if taxing one. For a superb shooting mechanic, sick & constant sense of humor, and moments of shock that truly shock, you cant do better than the Darkness.

On the minus side, there are long wait times between Entrance/Exit points and the map is virtually useless. Glitchy controls with regards to the (Primarily most useful tool of) Creeping Dark slow down the otherwise frenetic pace of confrontations. Achievement Hounds should also be warned: some of the achievements in this game are ambivalent, to say the least. Im a fan, and have yet to unlock many of them.

Such qualms aside, this is the game people who loved "Riddick" should be ready to expect: A rock solid shooter that feels more like an RPG or sandbox game.
Insane attention to detail, impeccable visuals, and a nasty sense of reality.
The most profound and simultaneously profane experience the 360 can offer.
You have been warned.


Excellent single player game     On: 2008-08-29

The story in this game is one of the best Ive seen in recent FPSes, the Darkness powers are awesome, the level design is clever and never repetitive, and the light/dark system is interesting and fun.

This game can be beated in a good 12-16 hours (less if you skip the side quests), and there is a multiplayer mode too (though I havent played it). Though this game is over somewhat quickly, its a great ride while it lasts, and you cant beat the bargain bin price.
A lot of talk for an average game     On: 2008-08-17

For all of the hype and potential this game had, I was left a little disappointed.

The Darkness is an action FPS in which you take the role of Jackie Estacado - a mob enforcer in present day NYC, with a being called The Darkness living inside of him. The Darkness gives him an array of powers and the ability to spawn controllable subordinates called Darklings, in addition the guns he has at his disposal. The game follows Jackies plot to whack his former employer, mob boss Paulie, who wants him dead.

The Darkness powers are inarguingably the defining trait of this game. You can spawn controllable, snakelike drones that can kill enemies from afar, scout around, and slip through narrow spaces that Jackie cant reach. Another one is a sharp tentacle that can impale enemies or lift heavy objects like dumpsters. There are other powers, but I dont want to spoil all of them for you. One involves a liberal use of physics, however. You can also command small demons called Darklings, which are specialized to provide firing support, kill any lights, and other tasks. These abilities need power, which is recharged by (naturally) staying in the dark. Because of this, youll need to balance out your powers in unison with the firearms.

The conventional weapons are (for lack of a better description) very conventional. Akimbo pistols/revolvers, akimbo machine pistols, two shotguns and three rifles round out the guns in this game. I found myself using the akimbo pistols until very late in the game, which is a testament to the lack of distinguishable characteristics between each weapon. The shotguns felt underpowered, unless you stood close enough that the tentacles one hit kill would be in range, and the pistols, machine pistols, and rifles more or less operated the same way.

Adding insult to injury is the choppy aiming and the above average difficulty. There is an auto aim feature that kicks in when your crosshairs are close enough to an enemy, but is less effective than the aim assist that games like Halo have. Im a hardcore FPS player, but I still had my share of deaths on the normal difficulty. This led to a very deliberate pace to fighting.

The game has a wealth of unlockable extra content that you can discover in the game world and by completing sidequests - in a nod to Starbreezes previous outing, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. More than the standard concept art, development videos and the like; you also have access to a few comic book issues that this game is derived from. Its a nice way to fill in the backstory that the game seemingly didnt have time to cultivate.

The game was lacking a little polish and it showed in the story and the occasional bugs that showed up. Its a shame that the story wasnt fleshed out more. There are a couple key elements to the narrative that felt rushed, which compounds itself when major plot points are unceremoniously revealed. Even the games ending feels unsatisfying. There were times when either Jackie or the snake drone (called the Creeping Dark) would get stuck on something, objects would suddenly disappear when they clip against surfaces while being carried by the tentacle, enemy AI would be nonresponsive and certain subquests would reset themselves if you dont wrap them up quickly. For one of the submissions, I postponed it to pick up the main story and I realized later that a plot item that I recieved for the mission was missing. I feel there are also alot of missed gameplay opportunities with the darkness powers that could have been used for environmental puzzles and the like. Theres a handful of instances where you needed to use a specific Darkling or a power to create a path or activate machinery. It would have added a nice change of pace to the game to add more gameplay mechanics like this.

This game is graphically violent and I love it. Close range execution moves, devouring dead enemies hearts to level up, broken exposed bones and a torture scene faintly reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs adds up to an experience thats on par with the Condemned series and Gears of War.

Overall, its an okay game with the potential to be so much more. Given Starbreezes critically acclaimed hit, Escape From Butcher Bay, the game fell short of expectations.
Hoping for something better     On: 2008-08-08

Wanted to play this game since it dropped - glad I waited.
Gameplay is less than desirable.
should of won game of the yesr! (if it didnt)     On: 2008-08-04

i love this game, my fav, great story, good acting (for a game) and just fun!
A little too dark     On: 2008-07-21

This game is an abomination, and if you even allow children to see it, YOU ARE A BAD, BAD PARENT.
The folks at Starbreeze apparently thought their masterpiece "Riddick" didnt delve deeply enough into inhumanity and depravity; the result is one of the most powerfully negative experiences Ive ever had. This game literally made me feel weird and bad. Not to spoil anything, but, their version of Hell is appropriately a WWI battlefield. Inarguably the worst tragedy humanity has ever visited on itself. Its all a bit too much.

I say these things as a fan of the game (and Mike Patton disciple).
Its kind of like having everything you ever asked for and being horrified by it.

Even in its earlier releases, Starbreeze was an innovator that took chances, pushing the player to make decisions/realizations that seemed almost outside of the context of a videogame. No change here.
The gameplay shines brilliantly as you are forced to learn and think on your feet. The shooting mechanic is superb, and the immersion factor is off the scales. And for those who like a challenge, the game aint easy, even on "Easy." Peppered with surprising humor (for an adult audience) and moments of shock that truly shock, The Darkness is an emotional ride that has pushed possible far beyond what even a veteran gamer might even expect. I truly felt rage towards the end, and literally cried during the final sequence.

If you can look past the long load times between areas and glitchy control of the Creeping Dark, youre in for a gaming experience without equal.

You have been warned.




The Darkness ROCKZ     On: 2008-06-29

game play , story and game style is WOW but graphics wise not good as Bioshok who give a damn a game is so cool and loved
Teriffic GAME     On: 2008-06-13

My son had boughten this game and was very pleased with it - there is a lot of action and fighting in it!
OK - Kind of Predictable     On: 2008-06-05

This is an OK game if you can get it for under $20. Its not very challenging and pretty much tells you what to do every step of the way.
The graphics are cool.
Another great comic book video game.     On: 2008-05-31

Well, the same guys who brought you riddick: escape from butcher bay have brought another game that is dark and fun. If your not a fan of the comic, then this is a great game to start with, if you are, even better. Get it!!! Play it!!!
my ears     On: 2008-05-26

The darkness is a fun and good game you play as a guy named Jackie who on his twenty first birthday finds himself in a world of trouble with the mafia but fortuently he is helped by a demon that calls itself the darkness. The game has an interesting a long story that seems to put to shame many other fps single player games with three different levels of difficuties. The biggest problem I had with this game was the language. While you could turn off the blood and gore the game dropped the f bomb in almost every sentence. The multiplayer is okay as well but you will probably want to play through the story mostly.
"I Attack the Darkness!"     On: 2008-05-26

Ive never read The Darkness comic. I couldnt get past the fact that the character looks like a bad Spawn rip-off and the quote from Brunching Shuttlecocks about the truth behind Dungeons & Dragons: "I attack the darkness!"

The Darkness is essentially every Mafia movie cliché mixed with the brooding atmosphere of The Crow. In fact, the protagonist, Jackie Estacado (Kirk Acevedo), looks and sounds at lot like Michael Wincott, who played Top Dollar in that film. If youve seen The Crow, you know that Wincotts got a very distinctive appearance, with his long black hair, leather overcoat, and hawkish features. In The Darkness, Jackie is affectionately nicknamed Ratface by his girlfriend Jenny Romano (Lauren Ambrose). As you can imagine, having personal connections in a dark game like this is inevitably a liability, but I digress.

The Darkness owes a lot to films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, with random narrative from our hero, outrageous characters, and an uneven mix of action and drama. The first cut scene (created with all in-game graphics) gives a perfect sense of whats to come: lots of cursing, lots of gore, absolutely no respect for authority, and plenty of violence, all taking place in New York. Its the New York of the seventies, when crime and graffiti were rampant and sane people didnt wander out alone by themselves. And youre one of the reasons.

The Darkness is a two-headed demonic symbiont that lives within Jackie and, we discover later, the entire Estacado bloodline. In that respect the game is a lot like Spawn or Venom; the Darkness is a personality as much as it is a thing that augments Jackies considerable gun-fu skills with the ability to create black holes that suck everything into them, whiplash barbed tentacles, magical guns, and snake-like mouths. In the dark, Jackie can summon other demons to do his bidding, which range from kamikaze critters loaded with explosives to gatling-gun wielding warriors.

Jackies opponents have no such superpowers, and its a credit to the games creators that any supernatural monsters you encounter all fit the plot. Theres no inevitable escalation of the villain gaining superpowers to do battle; indeed, the villain behind most of Jackies woes, Uncle Paulie Franchetti (Dwight Schultz) is as much a moral foil as he is an arch-foe. Killing him isnt the point.

The game revolves around the issue of Jackies soul. Mob life is a violent one, and The Darkness contrasts the mythical honor of the "old ways" with the mad-dog frenzy of Franchetti. When Franchetti starts blowing up orphanages, the older mobsters use Jackie as their form of vengeance.

The Darkness uses the New York subway system as its primary means of shuttling Jackie from place to place. This makes a lot of sense and provides a sense of realism to an otherwise route form of travel that bedevils so many first-person shooters. The streets are filled with entertaining characters who all have missions of their own to complete. Two of the most memorable characters include Butcher Joyce (Mike Starr) and Aunt Sarah (Norma Michaels), but there are many more and the voice actors are all superb. Between screens, and there are a lot of load screens, Jackie narrates his life and death to Jenny, which provides a humorous series of quotable anecdotes. These are the first load screens that actually distracted me from the load time.

Despite the age-old Mafia tropes, The Darkness takes the themes explored in The Crow and Spawn and amps them up to eleven, without ever losing focus on sacrifice, violence, and even love. I wasnt entirely convinced that saving Jackies soul was feasible (I earned the anti-hero rating from the game), but the very notion of redemption being possible is a breath of fresh air to the first-person shooter genre.
Is "The Darkness" a ray of light for gamers?     On: 2008-05-25

With game developers needing to make a good million dollars to turn a profit these days, it becomes riskier and riskier to break away from the typical FPS mold. "The Darkness" tries to break the same repetitive mold in its own innovative and unique way. Does being unique pay off for this sadistic FPS?

Graphics- 7/10. It has been quite a while since "The Darkness" was released, and it really shows. What some thought were the best console graphics yet, looked very bland after only a few short months. The texture work is still pretty good, lighting is used incredibly well, and those two aspects of the game are still top of the line for the XBox 360. However, particle effects are laughable, the game fails miserably at some of the character models, and "The Darklings" you gain as a special power dont look very polished at all. In addition, matching words to lips in the cut-scenes is pathetic. The characters barely open their mouths, and it truly does look just like what you might see from the original XBox. The graphics got great reviews when the game was released, but with games like BioShock, Call of Duty 4, and GTA 4 out now, these graphics just couldnt stand the test of time, and if you are looking to buy this game because the other reviews mention how great the graphics are, dont bother. The graphics shouldnt stop you from buying the game, but you sure would be disappointed if you thought you were getting something great out of them.

Sound- 8/10. Sound throughout the main storyline is superb. For every heart pounding moment, the game has intense heavy metal to match. Bullets sound realistic, and the darklings sound very nice as well. The voice overs are incredibly well done, with Jackie being always interesting to listen to- but I have to say my favorite voice over is the berserker power you get. Its a little demon that helps you out, and if you shoot it responds with, "Im telling mommy"! All of the other characters are also well done, especially Jenny who is Jackies girlfriend, and is obviously played by a talented voice actress.

There is a big problem with the sound, however. During the multiplayer, the same heavy metal that plays in the story plays constantly, only twice as loud. I cant hear other players footsteps at all, and it is the same track of heavy metal over and over and over again.

Fighting System- 8/10. This is where the game tries to be innovative. Instead of just throwing in the same, typical, uninspired set of weapons, it gives you the same, typical, uninspired weapons AND a pair of cool snakes attached to your shoulders. The guns you use are pretty much the norm- a rifle, a SMG, a shotgun, and a pistol. The game also tries to implement some kind of half-hearted lock-on system, but it fails miserably. It might randomly lock on to an enemy, when you clearly are pointing at another enemy, or just not lock on at all. You get the point about the normal weapons, but the real fun is in The Darkness curse you get. You can slither through tight spaces to attack enemies, spawn darklings, which will show you how to get out of an area or just help you out in general, or just go nuts with the Creeping Dark (One of the snakes attached to you) attacking everyone you see- kind of. The hub of the story is in the subway, where you have to travel from place to place to progress the story, but you cannot attack people with the darkling or your normal weapons. Also, the darklings only have one attack, and it can get really, really old using that as many times as you will have to. You level up your powers by eating the hearts of your victims, and it is definitely as bloody as it should be. Rather than give you a ton of new powers though, the game just makes the ones you have better. This gets a ton of bonus points in my eyes, for trying something new besides just the basic weapons. It can be fun attacking people with the darklings, and really, its the only fun thing about the fighting system.

Game play (minus the fighting system)- 6/10. 6/10 is generous in my mind. There is a total lack of cover system here. I mean you can do the basic crouch, but for a game that only requires a few hits for death, you think that they could do a little bit better. Besides that, it can be frustrating using up all of your ammo trying to shoot out the lights in the streets. Your darklings are not as effective when they are in the presence of light, so you have to shoot out the lights on the streets before going on rampages with your demon powers. Even when you do have all the lights shot out, the darkness powers are very difficult to control. At times, they seem to slither in random directions despite your repeated attempts to retract them back to you. If you dont have a flat surface around you, it is definitely a steep learning curve to use them. Also, you can only move at one speed in the game- slow. It can be very annoying trying to get past an enemy to cover while you are walking. It doesnt make any sense to me, and is a HUGE turn off.

Controls- 6/10. The game uses the basic controls you might expect. RT is shoot your weapon, Y is jump, A is action, and B is reload. It is clear how complicated it must have been for the designers trying to find a way to implement the darkness powers easily into the controls, and they found a way. RB and LB both control the darkness, and LB with X allows you to use your creeping dark option. With such a complicated fighting system, you have to call the controls some what of a success, even though no matter how much you tweak the sensitivity, the controls always feel a little loose.

Multiplayer- 5/10. Typical, uninspired multiplayer. You get the basic Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Survivor games. You can customize the games a fair amount including Time Limits, One Hit Kills, and Randomize Weapons, but all of these should be expected in the game. The map pack you get is VERY boring. Basically, it is a series of hallways that you barely notice while you look for enemies. Sorry guys, not as good as Halo. Of course, the game implements the darkness powers into the multiplayer in the form of "shape shifting", meaning that you can turn from a human to a darkling at will in certain games, but again, darklings can be very hard to control and humans are just plain boring to play. Most of the time, you respawn in the same area, so the enemy can just stand and wait for you to re-spawn, and then take you out with one shot, usually. Of course, all of this is totally irrelevant if there is no one to play. Ive been online where there are only a few groups of people playing, and at times, I havent been able to get a match at all. The multiplayer was just thrown-in to add a little more replay value to the game. Well, it doesnt add much.

Story- 9/10. Based on a series of comics and graphics novels, the story just oozes cool. You play as Jackie Estacado, who was a hitman for a crime family, but on Jackies 21st birthday a powerful force known as "The Darkness" awakens within you. The crime familys "Don" whom you are a hitman for is not happy with the fact you have disagreed with the way he does business, and he has a hit put out on you. With your newly inherited powers, you have to take out your former family. The story has abundant interesting and intense moments, and always keeps moving forward with many different plot changes. You get to play through Manhattan, Chinatown, and even Hell, where your curse originated. The game also tries to be somewhat of a free roaming game with other areas to visit inside New York, but none of them are really worth the effort. In addition, the game throws in random side quests throughout New York, but again, none of them are worth your time or effort. The story is always slick, even in the loading screens where Jackie tells a story about his life, friends, and former family. The reason I was so pleased with the story is the fact that it just keeps moving along. Some games just try to drag out levels for much longer than necessary, but with The Darkness you will always feel like you are doing something new. If you are a fan of the comics or not, you will probably enjoy the story quite a bit. Though it is not super long (I found it to be about 10 hours), it packs quite a punch, and you will be left wanting more.

Much can be said about The Darkness. You might call it innovative, ambitious, sloppy, or a Mafioso mess. Moreover, while it may be all of the above, The Darkness definitely brings something new to the table, and if you are tired of the same old FPS, you will really enjoy this game. I give it an 8.3/10.
Light in the Darkness     On: 2008-05-22

I will keep this short and sweet. Pretty darn good solid game and the story was pretty cool. Definately would recommend specially at the used price. And you dont have to have read the comics.
For $20 dollars=steal     On: 2008-05-18

This is an absolute steal at 20 dollars and I would recommend this game to anyone. Not many games are on the same level as this one when it comes to level of destruction. The story mode is excellent clocking in at around 10 hours whihc isnt bad for a first person shooter. Youll find yourself playing this one again, or I did anyways. The multiplayer is the weak link however, it just isnt fun for me. Its a very weak attempt at multiplayer platforming, it is nowhere near some of the other powerhouse multiplayers. Overall this is a great game for this general price, and I would recommend this title to anyone.
Overall 8.0-8.5
Pretty, a good story, but incredibly linear for the genre     On: 2008-04-01

The Xbox 360 has brought in a new era of roleplaying/shooter crossovers, which offer the deeper story and flexible character development of RPGs with more first or third person action to spice up the combats. Most of these games offer a "casual" or "easy" difficulty setting so RPG players can enjoy them too.

The best of these products, like Mass Effect really deliver on this promise. The stories are engaging and compelling; the player has real choice in how to develop the character(s), and the combat gains the adrenaline rush of a shooter without necessarily requiring the reflexes of a long-time shooter player or a teenager on Jolt to play.

Sadly, The Darkness may look like one of these games but it is not. The gameplay is entirely linear, without even a nod to real choices. On a typical map you face a sequence of combats and single-solution puzzles and dont even have much choice in the order you encounter them; on some of the maps attempting to deviate from the preplanned course will just get you "killed" in punishment, forcing you to restart from the last programmed point you successfully satisfied.

Compared even to story-driven shooters like BioShock, this is terribly disappointing, and the game has zero replay value. Compared to early efforts like Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition or polished modern games like Mass Effect, this is not a game - its a movie where you are forced to use the controller and earn progress.

Yet for all of that, this game is not a total loss. The visuals are good, and combine with the sounds to be evocative and visceral. The body animations are reasonably rendered even if the characters mouths rarely move when they talk. The overstereotypical New York mobster dialog and voice acting is amusing, and delivered with a sense of humor to make it fun rather than trite.

While I doubt this game will ever be remembered as seminal, or even remembered in a few years, it is not a total waste. Given that it can be found used, played, and then resold its probably worth your time to play.
THE BOREDUMNESS     On: 2008-03-31

keyword: Boring.

graphics: great.

about as repetitive as assassins creed.
Awesome!     On: 2008-03-30

I really like the plot in this game. I have read the comics which makes the game play even better.
Good overall experience     On: 2008-03-05

The game had amazing visual along with a captivating story. It plays like your usual first person shooter except you get the perk of having different Darkness powers which put a whole new twist on the genre. Coming from the makers of Bioshock you should know you are getting a quality game.

The one gripe I do have about the game is the overall movement of your character. He seems to move a lot slower then other first person shooters so it took a little getting used to. It made it a little harder to run and gun, if you get into trouble running away wasnt easy. The powers would cover you for the most part but it was just something I wasnt too happy with.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to others. Of one note, the language in this game is very adult. You may not want to buy this game for children under 16 or so.
Good Game     On: 2008-03-01

I enjoyed the game very much. The graphics are very good and the gameplay was consistently entertaining. Considering you can get the game for under 20 bucks, I think its an awesome deal and I highly recommend it.
More like Donness     On: 2008-02-17

Great story and great game play, though i didnt care for the aiming in the game. the powers were cool and like i said really good story just not a good game as far as replay value goes.
DEMONS COMING OUT OF YOUR SHOULDERS?! NIIIIICE!     On: 2008-01-20

Although I personally can only play this game for 30-60 minutes at a time without getting motion sick, the "graphics"- emphasis on the word "graphic" -are sick, as is the game- literally! I mean, name one other game where you can run around as a former mobster who came back from the dead with submachine guns, commanding the legions of hell to spring forth from the ground- complete with combat helmets and chain guns -and have demon-like serpents spring forth from ones shoulders to "Devour Heart", using the "A" button?! AND THEY SHOW IT. NASTEEEEY!!!! Give it a shot, but take your dramamine for this motion sickness-inducing game.
Not great     On: 2008-01-01

I enjoyed the demo a little, but not to really make me want the game REALLY bad. Found this one sale, and figured I would give it another chance, and I didnt get really all that much farther than I did with the demo.

Some nice visuals, but I couldnt really get into it otherwise.
decent game, under appreciated     On: 2007-12-29

While some game flaws kept this game from being great. It is fun to wreak havic with Darklings and the dark powers but controls are not that great. But there is a lot here to enjoy as well, and I got the game for 19.99 so it was well worth the pick up. So I suggest you check it out and I think you will enjoy it.
The Darkness     On: 2007-12-28

I bought this game for my son. He beat it easily so now it just sits. I hated that I paid so much for so little.
decent game, under appreciated     On: 2007-12-28

While some game flaws kept this game from being great. It is fun to wreak havic with Darklings and the dark powers but controls are not that great. But there is a lot here to enjoy as well, and I got the game for 19.99 so it was well worth the pick up. So I suggest you check it out and I think you will enjoy it.
Tedium defined.     On: 2007-12-24

Clunky controls, bad interface, boring story, one dimensional stereotypical characters. Nothing about this game is compelling or original. Is this the best the gaming industry has to offer?
Falls way short of the hype     On: 2007-12-23

In a year completely saturated with incredible first person shooters, The Darkness falls short as a very bland title with little to offer. The mechanics and graphics are good, but nothing revolutionary or even unique. Basically, the gimmick of this game is that you are a man exiled by the mafia who can control demons. A novel concept, but it is more burdensome than useful. You will constantly be shooting out light bulbs to use these abilities which is not very entertaining. The A.I. is sub-par as is the convoluted story line. Level design and enemies are very mundane: a clear sign that more money was spent advertising on this game than making it. The box shots may look great, but do not buy this game for somebody unless you hate them. Games like BioShock, Call of Duty 4, and Halo are far greater values for the money.
decent game     On: 2007-12-18

the darkness is a pretty cool game for some one who doesnt know anything about the comic
The Darkness is cheap thrills     On: 2007-12-17

I played this game and it can be very aggravating waiting for all the cut scenes when loading a new area of the game. This occur hundreds of times. Other than that, the game has a nice mobster vibe to it and is definitely a nice shooter. Very similar to Bullet Witch due to the extra abilities.
good game play.......     On: 2007-12-17

I liked the game; especially the darkness powers and the creatures you could summon (especially urinating on corpses and the jestures) but it was lacking in the story department, I really didnt care about the mafia parts but I have to say the game is fairly original and worth checking out.
Raucous NY ganster fun!     On: 2007-12-14

Ive only played through about maybe half the game, and although the gameplay is a little quirky, the story and visual style of the game are incredible. The voice acting is great, and really reminds you of those New York gansters with their no-BS, trash talking attitude. Definitely not for the younger kids! But definite fun for the rest!
More action, less talk and travel!     On: 2007-12-14

Awesome theme / mechanics / ideas. If you like eating hearts and summoning the dark forces. I think storylines (in general) are overrated. This has too many breaks and jumping around. The mob angle doesnt fit.

If you like DARK horrific themes u cant go wrong
Very violent but relatively fun     On: 2007-12-10

Forget about Doom, Gears of War, and Grand Theft Auto. If you want a game whos language and violence make the most of their "M" rating then youve found it in The Darkness. I enjoy all types of games. Generally, I pay little attention to the violence and language in a particular game because I see the evolution of video games much the same as movies. Their are ratings for a reason. But The Darkness takes it to the next level. Are all "M" rated games the same? Not unless "Fracture" and "Resevoir Dogs" are the same. So if youre squeemish, you might want to pass.

All that aside, this was a very good game. The controls are good, the graphics are solid, and the story is inventive and tight. The whole going back in time thing is hokey but otherwise its a solid buy for fans of the shooter genre that want something a little different and dont mind ripping a guys heart out and eating it.
Seen, Played Better     On: 2007-12-05

What game doesnt look good now on the next gen consoles? Sure, this looks pretty sweet and has some nice supernatural features. The gunplay is pretty average here, and it seems like the whole game was talk to people, take the subway, kill some people. Repeat. Maybe because I am not into the comicbook this was loosely based on, I missed some of the enjoyment. There were some fun portions in this game, but sometimes objectives seemed unclear and the level design questionable(where am I supposed to go?). The game controls fine and has no major problems, but just seemed very average to me. In fact, near the end I was just waiting for it to be over so I could move onto something better. But it sure looks purty.
Love this game, it has some cool themes!     On: 2007-11-28

Got this game because I downloaded the demo. If you want to play something new with special themes get this! It is way better than BulletWitch, so if you like the dark gothic scene and first shooters get this! It has some nice artwork and the storyline is good! Better than Bioshock, but got this on Amazon with Bioshock for $49. Thanks Amazon for the deals, keeep them coming!
NEEDS SOME POLISH 7.75 OUT OF 10     On: 2007-11-24

This game was a satisfying FPS but I was somewhat disappointed by it. I love the action, the gore of eating someones face or heart, the good graphics, and cool darkling sidekicks. This game will get your blood pumping during intense gun battles like the one against the police and SWAT team in the beginning at the butcher shop. It also has RPG elements and achievements are pretty easy to get, like I got one for just staying at the apartment of the protagonists girlfriend to which it was called "romantic". The enemies are also creepy along with the environments like the Purgatory version of a World War I battlefield. The problems however include issues with controls, like when I wanted my darkling to bite off an enemys face he ended up going under the enemys feet, or when Id want it to turn a corner it would slither up the wall instead, there is also a lot of talking, and the shotgun is pathetic. You wont notice these problems when youre investigating your past, killing creepy enemies, and seeking revenge.
NEEDS SOME POLISH 7.75 OUT OF 10     On: 2007-11-23

This game was a satisfying FPS but I was somewhat disappointed by it. I love the action, the gore of eating someones face or heart, the good graphics, and cool darkling sidekicks. This game will get your blood pumping during intense gun battles like the one against the police and SWAT team in the beginning at the butcher shop. It also has RPG elements and achievements are pretty easy to get, like I got one for just staying at the apartment of the protagonists girlfriend to which it was called "romantic". The enemies are also creepy along with the environments like the Purgatory version of a World War I battlefield. The problems however include issues with controls, like when I wanted my darkling to bite off an enemys face he ended up going under the enemys feet, or when Id want it to turn a corner it would slither up the wall instead, there is also a lot of talking, and the shotgun is pathetic. You wont notice these problems when youre investigating your past, killing creepy enemies, and seeking revenge.
Like being in a movie     On: 2007-10-26

I really enjoyed this game. It felt like I was inside a movie. There was a plot. There was a definite storyline with a begining, middle, and end. Youre introduced to the character, you discover his motives, what makes him tick. You get wrapped into the opposing forces, you care about him, you want to help him. You follow along in the peaks and valleys of this moment in his life. You come up to the end, you dont have a choice, you have to go through with it even though its not the best decision for him. And then the story is wrapped up and its over. Except, instead of spending $20 on a 1.5 hour movie in a theater with sticky floors, crying kids, and crappy food you spend $50 (or less if you rent it) and get 10 hours of entertainment in your own home with hopefully cleaner floors, better food, and no crying kids (unless your at my house).

Gameplay was good, probably the best way of handling loading Ive ever seen, an excellent story, and top notch voice acting. I think those whove given it lower votes probably are anxious teenagers with no love of a good story. Theyre just wanting a game thats kill kill kill with no motive or substance. This game has plenty of motive and substance and if thats something your looking for a game, then this is the game your looking for.
It's equal parts frustration and fun.     On: 2007-10-26

Im torn with this game because when I have fun with it I have a lot of fun, when Im frustrated Im very frustrated.

Pros:

-Lots of great execution moves
-Strategy plays a huge role
-The Darklings are a cool feature/tool
-I, personally, enjoy FPS.

Cons:

-I played pretty much the entire game using creeping dark. This made it VERY easy. I didnt have to use it, granted, but when it sweeps through the tricky parts without getting killed why wouldnt you? Then once you devour a heart you can go far, so far in fact that the game keeps getting stuck and freaking out; going black and not responding to my controls. You cant make something possible, if not easily available, and then make the game go buggy.

-Another frustration is the one track story. You have one way and only one way the situations are supposed to play out; this is a royal pain in the butt with the auto-save. Youll battle through a ton of enemies get to the plot crux, oops you tried to do something other than the designated path, even if you stay clear of the danger, youre now dead and must start back way before those baddies you just fought.

-There were times the controls, particularly during creeping dark, made me want to poke out my eyes.

This is the sort of game that was fun while I played it but am equally excited to trade in. Unless youre super-jazzed about it, buy it cheap and used.
Surprisingly Good     On: 2007-10-25

I bought this game recently, used, for a bare bones price because I saw that it was a 2K Games release and I recently played through 2K Games Bioshock (Which I also recommend). The storyline, characters, and overall gameplay for this title amazed me. Why didnt this get more media attention when it was released?

However, definitely not a title youd want to buy for your 12 year old kid. If any game requires a Mature rating, its this one. Not to say that its so entirely vulgar that its too much to play. It provides an awesome storyline, presenting tragedy in the form of Jackie Estacados girlfriend Jenny. You wont regret making this buy.
Like being in a movie     On: 2007-10-25

I really enjoyed this game. It felt like I was inside a movie. There was a plot. There was a definite storyline with a begining, middle, and end. Youre introduced to the character, you discover his motives, what makes him tick. You get wrapped into the opposing forces, you care about him, you want to help him. You follow along in the peaks and valleys of this moment in his life. You come up to the end, you dont have a choice, you have to go through with it even though its not the best decision for him. And then the story is wrapped up and its over. Except, instead of spending $20 on a 1.5 hour movie in a theater with sticky floors, crying kids, and crappy food you spend $50 (or less if you rent it) and get 10 hours of entertainment in your own home with hopefully cleaner floors, better food, and no crying kids (unless your at my house).

Gameplay was good, probably the best way of handling loading Ive ever seen, an excellent story, and top notch voice acting. I think those whove given it lower votes probably are anxious teenagers with no love of a good story. Theyre just wanting a game thats kill kill kill with no motive or substance. This game has plenty of motive and substance and if thats something your looking for a game, then this is the game your looking for.
Surprisingly Good     On: 2007-10-24

I bought this game recently, used, for a bare bones price because I saw that it was a 2K Games release and I recently played through 2K Games Bioshock (Which I also recommend). The storyline, characters, and overall gameplay for this title amazed me. Why didnt this get more media attention when it was released?

However, definitely not a title youd want to buy for your 12 year old kid. If any game requires a Mature rating, its this one. Not to say that its so entirely vulgar that its too much to play. It provides an awesome storyline, presenting tragedy in the form of Jackie Estacados girlfriend Jenny. You wont regret making this buy.
awsome     On: 2007-10-17

the game is very fun and for anyone who dosent mind lots of heart eating violence the controls could have a little more flexibility but overall its a reaally enjoyable game.
Great idea - poor execution (The Darkness - XBOX 360)     On: 2007-09-25

I have a feeling that The Darkness needed about 6 more months of play-testing and bug fixing. This game comes from the development studio that made the excellent Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay so I know they have the potential to do much better. The gameplay idea, graphics and storyline are really good but everything else was poorly or not fully executed. You spend the first part of the game starving for ammo, yet you are required to shoot out the many, many light sources in the game. Early on you can control an eel-like dark tentacle to perform stealth-kills and solve simple environmental puzzles yet too often the darn eel drives like a bus, refuses to bite an enemy and disorients you by climbing up walls. The main reason to destroy light sources in the game is because the light drains your Darkness power, yet you have no way of knowing how much Darkness power you have at any given time (same for your regenerating health) and you will often have your powers drained unexpectedly at the worst times. Another major fault lies with the targeting system and poor hit detection. There are plenty of glitches where you are clearly hitting an enemy or light source yet the game does not accurate detect the hit. There is also a problem with your aiming snapping to light sources - there are many in the game and this makes it even harder to register a hit on an enemy when your reticule keeps moving to a nearby light. Later, you gain a power that helps you snuff out lights but it is also a hit or miss affair. Its hard to feel like a dangerous, possessed hit man when you cant even knock out a light with your flailing tentacle. Also, there are many situations in the game where you will be unexpectedly killed with no feedback given to let you know what you did wrong, tell you if you are damaging an enemy, or to provide you with any clue as to what you should be doing. Overall, this is a game with an enjoyable story and graphics if you can get past the frustration and lack of fun in the gameplay. I give this game credit, at least, that I was motivated to suffer through the glitches in order to finish the story. One thing that strikes me as strange, though, is that the main character never shows any surprise or shock about being possessed? He hardly acknowledges this major development.
Darkness rocks. Being possessed is blessed.     On: 2007-09-18

Well i am here to say that i just finished The Darkness and i am impressed beyond words....... Never have i played a game where i couldnt put down the controller until now. I for one feel this game is ground breaking in its gameplay, presentation, and originality. 2K has out did them selves, once again. There also seems to be a lot of dissent between gamers that liked this title versus gamers that thought it was less than stellar. If you have been looking for a game that has something untried/new before now then you owe it to yourself to buy or at least rent this game, go ahead give it a try. If you follow the advise of the nay-sayers and follow the huge herd of sheep playing the same old tried and true cookie cutter games that have been rehashed a 100 dozen times with a 100 dozen different titles with the same generic hack and slash/wham bam thank you mam type game play then steer clear of this game, its groundbreaking visuals and indepth game play will overwhelm you. And sadly my friends you will not know what you have missed.
The most excellent part, this is my opinion, was after witnessing the murder of your girl Genny. You turn around, look in a mirror, pull out your weapon and do your self...NOT!. You wake up in a hellish world still alive with the darkness telling you that you do not belong here, "here" is a W.W.1 battle field replete with trenches, Huns (Germans) and you. The world is dark with a blood color sky, when viewable through the clouds, you are behind enemy lines trying to complete a series of mini missions which will lead you to no mans land and eventually to the British, Canadians, Australians, and whom ever else make up this world of disbelief lines. Once your at the village take your time, look around, read the posters on the bombed out ruins of buildings, likewise in the beginning of the game, read the tomb stones, very beleiveable and chilling to say the least. The ambient mood of the game, the dark humor, the possession of your will and soul as well as the original score completes the overall package, but dont take my word for it, check it out yourself, you will be glad you did. I am a 49 year old gamer, i have played video games all my life back when mechanical pin-ball was the rage. Then we got Pong for Christmas, next Nintendo, and its been game on ever since and will be until i die. So with that being said i wouldnt steer you wrong, money is to hard to come by these days to foolishly waste it, so take my advise and rent it first, if it aint the best thing since sliced bread then take it back, no foul no harm. Remember, this is the same publisher (2K) that put out the critically acclaimed Bio Shock and we all know how freakin great that ride was. So .........GAME ON. Thanks.
Darkness rocks. Being possessed is blessed.     On: 2007-09-17

Well i am here to say that i just finished The Darkness and i am impressed beyond words....... Never have i played a game where i couldnt put down the controller until now. I for one feel this game is ground breaking in its gameplay, presentation, and originality. 2K has out did them selves, once again. There also seems to be a lot of dissent between gamers that liked this title versus gamers that thought it was less than stellar. If you have been looking for a game that has something untried/new before now then you owe it to yourself to buy or at least rent this game, go ahead give it a try. If you follow the advise of the nay-sayers and follow the huge herd of sheep playing the same old tried and true cookie cutter games that have been rehashed a 100 dozen times with a 100 dozen different titles with the same generic hack and slash/wham bam thank you mam type game play then steer clear of this game, its groundbreaking visuals and indepth game play will overwhelm you. And sadly my friends you will not know what you have missed.
The most excellent part, this is my opinion, was after witnessing the murder of your girl Genny. You turn around, look in a mirror, pull out your weapon and do your self...NOT!. You wake up in a hellish world still alive with the darkness telling you that you do not belong here, "here" is a W.W.1 battle field replete with trenches, Huns (Germans) and you. The world is dark with a blood color sky, when viewable through the clouds, you are behind enemy lines trying to complete a series of mini missions which will lead you to no mans land and eventually to the British, Canadians, Australians, and whom ever else make up this world of disbelief lines. Once your at the village take your time, look around, read the posters on the bombed out ruins of buildings, likewise in the beginning of the game, read the tomb stones, very beleiveable and chilling to say the least. The ambient mood of the game, the dark humor, the possession of your will and soul as well as the original score completes the overall package, but dont take my word for it, check it out yourself, you will be glad you did. I am a 49 year old gamer, i have played video games all my life back when mechanical pin-ball was the rage. Then we got Pong for Christmas, next Nintendo, and its been game on ever since and will be until i die. So with that being said i wouldnt steer you wrong, money is to hard to come by these days to foolishly waste it, so take my advise and rent it first, if it aint the best thing since sliced bread then take it back, no foul no harm. Remember, this is the same publisher (2K) that put out the critically acclaimed Bio Shock and we all know how freakin great that ride was. So .........GAME ON. Thanks.
Great game but with 1 BIG BUG preventing it from being flawless     On: 2007-09-01

I loved this game. I was unhappy with the 8s it was getting in the press, especially from those reviewers that didnt seem to understand "why ya gotta knock out all the lights all the time" in The Darkness. Gee I dont know...I wonder why in a game called The Darkness that you have to be in the darkness to do stuff. Huh. Go figure...

Good
- voice acting (professional actors, plus Mike Patton)
- good story
- animation (especially the darkness tentacles). Tearing peoples hearts out is simply cool.
- competent shooter
- the hands in the FPS aspect of the game move differently that other FPS...it has its own FPS style.
- no HUD means enjoy the beauty
- Strarbreeze is a good engine; its good to have something else out there besides Unreal Engine.
- unexpected Hell levels. Very very cool.
- interactive TVs you can watch in the game (its a little known fact that the blu-ray has 10gb more of non-exclusive content here than the xbox DVD9 - which offends me as an xbox owner).

Mediocre
- Friendly AI doesnt necessarily always shoot straight

Bad
- As with Starbreezes last excellent title (Butcher Bay), it has a VERY BAD BUG THAT NEEDS TO BE PATCHED. At the time I played it, I got half-way through the game, and HAD TO RESTART FROM THE BEGINNING because of a glitch. This happened to all kinds of people in the xbox forum. It is inexcusable for a title that has so few side missions which are small and uncomplicated for this to happen! Bad game testing!!! This is my only criticism of the game. Similar thing happened in Butcher Bay - it lets you get significantly far into the game without forcing you to obtain a weapon that you WILL NEED in further levels forcing you to restart. BAD BAD BAD! I must say that NONE OF THE PROFESSIONAL REVIEWERS MENTION THIS BUG!!! They criticize it for really stupid things, like the fact that you have to knock out the lights! Hilary Goldstein (a guy with a girls name) from IGN should be FIRED! He didnt understand the story. Whats not to understand???
Fan of the Series     On: 2007-09-01

While I am a fan of both The Darkness and FPSes, but this game does neither very well. For an X360 game it isnt very polished. It feels more like an XBox original game, and while the story is decent, there are glitches. For example, while your walking across the dead area, you keep getting caught on nothing, over and over you get stuck on nothing and the goblins, dont get me started on how stupid the goblin AI is.

One of my main disappointments is the goblins. The goblins AI isnt even as smart as the goblin AI in the game Overlord, although are sometimes useful when they have to be, but often the storyline seems to come up with excuses to use them. Most of the time they are used as cannon fodder or a distraction, but rarely do they ever do something that you shouldnt be able to do with your powers, or better yet, with your hands.

As the game progresses you get powers, but the game limits how and when you can use them, which is VERY frustrating. For example, you can use the dark arms to pick up cars, but you cant use them to smash down a flimsy wooden door.

I WAS really excited to play this game...emphasis on the was...=/
Great game but with 1 BIG BUG preventing it from being flawless     On: 2007-08-31

I loved this game. I was unhappy with the 8s it was getting in the press, especially from those reviewers that didnt seem to understand "why ya gotta knock out all the lights all the time" in The Darkness. Gee I dont know...I wonder why in a game called The Darkness that you have to be in the darkness to do stuff. Huh. Go figure...

Good
- voice acting (professional actors, plus Mike Patton)
- good story
- animation (especially the darkness tentacles). Tearing peoples hearts out is simply cool.
- competent shooter
- the hands in the FPS aspect of the game move differently that other FPS...it has its own FPS style.
- no HUD means enjoy the beauty
- Strarbreeze is a good engine; its good to have something else out there besides Unreal Engine.
- unexpected Hell levels. Very very cool.
- interactive TVs you can watch in the game (its a little known fact that the blu-ray has 10gb more of non-exclusive content here than the xbox DVD9 - which offends me as an xbox owner).

Mediocre
- Friendly AI doesnt necessarily always shoot straight

Bad
- As with Starbreezes last excellent title (Butcher Bay), it has a VERY BAD BUG THAT NEEDS TO BE PATCHED. At the time I played it, I got half-way through the game, and HAD TO RESTART FROM THE BEGINNING because of a glitch. This happened to all kinds of people in the xbox forum. It is inexcusable for a title that has so few side missions which are small and uncomplicated for this to happen! Bad game testing!!! This is my only criticism of the game. Similar thing happened in Butcher Bay - it lets you get significantly far into the game without forcing you to obtain a weapon that you WILL NEED in further levels forcing you to restart. BAD BAD BAD! I must say that NONE OF THE PROFESSIONAL REVIEWERS MENTION THIS BUG!!! They criticize it for really stupid things, like the fact that you have to knock out the lights! Hilary Goldstein (a guy with a girls name) from IGN should be FIRED! He didnt understand the story. Whats not to understand???
Fan of the Series     On: 2007-08-31

While I am a fan of both The Darkness and FPSes, but this game does neither very well. For an X360 game it isnt very polished. It feels more like an XBox original game, and while the story is decent, there are glitches. For example, while your walking across the dead area, you keep getting caught on nothing, over and over you get stuck on nothing and the goblins, dont get me started on how stupid the goblin AI is.

One of my main disappointments is the goblins. The goblins AI isnt even as smart as the goblin AI in the game Overlord, although are sometimes useful when they have to be, but often the storyline seems to come up with excuses to use them. Most of the time they are used as cannon fodder or a distraction, but rarely do they ever do something that you shouldnt be able to do with your powers, or better yet, with your hands.

As the game progresses you get powers, but the game limits how and when you can use them, which is VERY frustrating. For example, you can use the dark arms to pick up cars, but you cant use them to smash down a flimsy wooden door.

I WAS really excited to play this game...emphasis on the was...=/
I got my moneys worth.     On: 2007-08-28

Hello, I love this game. I never usally beat games I own. I start doing something else and never really get into them again, but I will have this beat later on today. This game is really fun. It has a good story. Good graphics. Good controls and a cool thing called "Darkness." This allows you to make demons come from your body for all kinds of things. Somethimes you need to stick one through a small hole to unlock a door. Sometimes you may need one to go and shoot or attack you enemies. You will go to hell and back through this game. When you start to find out more about why you have the Darkness you get even more sucked into the game. This game is not linear at all. You can just go to the sub way, hop on a train and go to wherever you wish. I must say, buy this game,this and Bioshock.(see my review on amazon) I feel like I 164% got my moneys worth with this game. Im pretty sure everyone will feel this way. The only thing that gets annoying are the cut scenes. When you do certin things cut scenes come on. They are ALWAYS the same. You will probably get sick of hearing them. But do not fret, after like 10 seconds you can hit B and skip them. So its cool.
Yawn
by: chip1978    On: 2007-08-27

The Darkness is one of those hyped up games that fails to deliver. Its (yet another) first person shooter (FPS) set in New York and the alternate reality of the Darkness - a demon which posses your character at the start of the story.

Theres a lot that this game does have going for it - the facial graphics are really outstanding. The levels designed in the hellish alternate reality of the demon are really nightmarish. Theyre a tad cliche, but well executed and I never was bored looking around in those levels. Some of the kills (using your "demon arm") are strangly satisfying; although the standard "executions" are very poorly animated and just look plain silly.

The gameplay is very standard for a FPS. As many reviewers have noted, there are a variety of weapons; but theres rarely any reason to use any weapon other than your dual pistols. The AI is nothing special and will generally let you hide and recoup your health and simply stand its position and let you pick them off one at a time. Since your powers depend on darkness; much of the game is spent shooting out lights. Annoyingly, there are very few light switches to simply turn off the lights.

The multiplayer on Xbox live lags something awful. If you manage to spend more than a few minutes online, your patience is greater than mine. This feature was probably tacked on last minute and adds nothing to the games value.

The worst part of this game is the way you have to travel from level to level. You travel between parts of town (most often) via subway. In the subway, you cannot kill or be killed; and its mostly there to get you from one point to another and occasionaly move the plot. The problem is that, often, youll complete a mission, then go back to the subway, then have to travel to another subway station, and then go to a new level - and god help you if you take the wrong subway or get off on the wrong platform. Each time you move from level to level theres about a minute or two loading. The point is, after you complete a mission, it can be five or ten minutes before youre back shooting stuff up. The pacing is maddening.

This game wasnt bad for renting. The story is mildly interesting and some of the gameplay was OK. But this game will soon be eclipsed by other games and I seriously doubt anyone will be playing this game in six months.
Shattered idols     On: 2007-08-25

XPlay gave this game a horrible rating. Complained how the aiming was done wrong, how some of the missions were based on the first person template and a poorly done story.

Thankfully I only watched that review after I bought it, played it, beat it, and was on my way to pick up all the side quests. Thankfully.

This game is a lot of fun to play and a story that did not let itself to be known until it was all over. The main characters voice, I felt, was all wrong but did not distract from the fun.

During load sequences he talks about the story, the other characters you meet, amusing anecdotes, or just shows him wandering around or his guns. The timing was great since once his story was over, so was the loading time.

Not the greatest game of all time, but it does happen to be a lot of fun.
Sweet evil     On: 2007-08-23

If you enjoy being evil and commanding two evil snake-like creatures to kill and eat hearts, then you may enjoy this game. More evil than Overlord, just so you know.
Overall not a bad experience     On: 2007-08-23

... except in multi-player.

Die Single Player Campaign of The Darkness was quite enjoyable. When I bought the game I was wondering if the two demon arms would become annoying, being constantly in view, but actually, the developers did a pretty good job with their use and placement.

The city areas are fairly small, connected by a subway hub. While the buildings etc look pretty good, the streets are mostly dead. If something moves, theres a 95% chance you have to kill it. There is not much life going on.

The missions are straight forward, except a few collectables that you will never find, unless you use an online guide. However, you can finish the game without them.

For the completionist and the multi-player achievements on 360, you will have a hard time. Its not so much fun chasing down all the achievements. Especially in the painful multi-player. Its one of the laggiest games ever. For the last achievement, you need to be on the winning team in 250 multiplayer matches, which is simply excruciating, giving the painful experience.

And for some reason, I was at 55% of completion for the last achievement, when all of a sudden, it went back to 40%. I havent played it since.

The single-player campaign was fun, but forget about multi-player. They had a pretty good concept, but the execution is beyond flawed.

Henning Thiel
The Darkness has you...     On: 2007-08-20

The Darkness - Circa 2007


GOOD:
- Unique "Darkness" powers and give you the abilities like sending out a tentacle creature that can stealth kill your enemies, Stab people/objects with another type of Shadow Tentacle, create black hole vortex that sucks up everything in its path and spits it back out, use demonic looking guns that shoot Lighting & Thunder (which are also fueled by the shadows around you) and even summon four different types Minions to do your bidding.
- Watch TV, the TVs in the game play real movies, cartoons, and music videos and you can even change the channel too.
- Its not all shooting, in this game you come to claim points where you can interact with non combat characters in a open ended (go almost to any part of the game at any time) version of New York City. In these parts of the game you can meet and talk (but mostly do favors) for the citizens of NYC or just be a jerk and kill them.
- Great voice acting.
- Graphics look good (for 2007) and animations are fairly smooth as well.

BAD:
- Shooting/knocking out lights while unique in the first hour of gameplay or becomes more of a choir and distraction as the game progress.
- Some people might find the story of the game disjointed and cliché.
- Some times the Darkness powers dont seem to work the way you want or need in a situation, example The Darkling (your minions) have very simple A.I. and seem almost useless in some situations by not attacking enemies or running head long into bright areas (where they die instantly), and the Darkness Guns which act like traditional guns have no real value next your standard guns, outside of the fact that they have unlimited ammo and no reloading in the dark (also note they have no ammo in the light).
- The online gameplay feels tacked on and is glitchly, unless a patch comes out for it I would say stay away from the multiplayer option of this title.

IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A decent range and Varity of your standard issue First Person Shoot type of guns, with Shotgun, Duel pistols/SMGs and M16 types.
- The aiming sight in the game is just a simple red dot, which while it frees up space on your screen a few people might find it difficult to aim with.
- The lack of a true or traditional HUD (Heads up Display for health/power meter and such) can make the game confusing and difficult to some.
- Being in the light makes your Darkness powers very weak or even not available (in bright light), so youre going to spend lots of time seeking out shadows in order to use your powers and get the most out of this game.
- Its not all in the streets of NYC; some parts of the game take place in a dream world that looks like a hell version of World War 1.
- This game is for adults or mature gamers as most of the dialog is full of foul words and the content of this game can be pretty gory, for example your dark tentacles eat human hearts (they show them ripping the hearts out of your slain enemies chests and chewing them up, not joking) to gain new power, and also getting close to any enemy with your guns drawn and shooting them up close will make the game go into an animation where you (pretty violently) execute the your enemy (examples are shots fired into an enemies leg followed by a shots to the head).

GAME ITS MOST ASSOCIATED TOO:
- The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay (Xbox & PC)
- F.E.A.R. (PC, 360, PS3)
- Prey (360)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- A demo of this game is available on Xbox Live Marketplace.
- This game is based on the comic book of the same name (the comic and story is similar to Witch Blade comics).
- This game was made by Star Breeze Studios, which also made The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butchers Bay.
- This game is banned in Singapore and heavily modified in Germany
- It is possible to watch the entire film of To Kill a Mocking Bird in this game by watching the in-game television.
- Mike Patton of the Rock Band Faith No More did the voice for the Darkness (with little to no help with voice editing).
- This game is also on Sonys PS3
Fun, but not as good as Chronicles of Riddick     On: 2007-08-19

Starbreeze has an impressive resume entry with Chronicles of Riddick (...and Im looking forward to the upcoming re-make), and I was looking for the same type of strong characters, story, unique gameplay, and unique environments. The Darknees provided much of this but felt somewhat lacking. The Darkness attacks, while fun, were somewhat stunted with the difficult to control main attack (the snake thing). From the previews, I was getting excited about throwing cars at things and causing satisfying havoc. It turned out that you could pick up cars, but you couldnt really expect to do much with them. Shooting out the lights, while a fun dynamic in things like Splinter Cell, became redundant. When all the lights were out, the Darkness seemed to randomly help you out with seeing fairly well while other times you couldnt see much of anything.

On the good side, Mike Patton was excellent in the game. Additionally, the story was entertaining and I enjoyed the messed up WWI-type areas. The graphics were mostly good and the sound was fairly entertaining.

Riding in the car at the beginning of the game was also confusing and felt poorly done. All of the rail-shooting parts of the game felt tacked on and unsatisfying.

I do enjoy playing this game and hope that they can improve if a sequel is considered.
Fun, but not as good as Chronicles of Riddick     On: 2007-08-18

Starbreeze has an impressive resume entry with Chronicles of Riddick (...and Im looking forward to the upcoming re-make), and I was looking for the same type of strong characters, story, unique gameplay, and unique environments. The Darknees provided much of this but felt somewhat lacking. The Darkness attacks, while fun, were somewhat stunted with the difficult to control main attack (the snake thing). From the previews, I was getting excited about throwing cars at things and causing satisfying havoc. It turned out that you could pick up cars, but you couldnt really expect to do much with them. Shooting out the lights, while a fun dynamic in things like Splinter Cell, became redundant. When all the lights were out, the Darkness seemed to randomly help you out with seeing fairly well while other times you couldnt see much of anything.

On the good side, Mike Patton was excellent in the game. Additionally, the story was entertaining and I enjoyed the messed up WWI-type areas. The graphics were mostly good and the sound was fairly entertaining.

Riding in the car at the beginning of the game was also confusing and felt poorly done. All of the rail-shooting parts of the game felt tacked on and unsatisfying.

I do enjoy playing this game and hope that they can improve if a sequel is considered.
A twist on the standard FPS     On: 2007-08-14

Great lighting,excellent controls and engaging story.Well worth the price of admission. The story line is saprisingly fleshed out.Seemed to be about 15 to 18 hours on the hardest dificulty in the single player portion.
Accually controling an evil entity was interesting.And as long as you can keep the lights out or stay in the shadows you are shockingly powerful.
A twist on the standard FPS     On: 2007-08-13

Great lighting,excellent controls and engaging story.Well worth the price of admission. The story line is saprisingly fleshed out.Seemed to be about 15 to 18 hours on the hardest dificulty in the single player portion.
Accually controling an evil entity was interesting.And as long as you can keep the lights out or stay in the shadows you are shockingly powerful.
The Darkness - a near perfect game?     On: 2007-08-10

This game was fantastically eerie, dark and totally captivating both in content and visual impact. Try playing it with the lights off! And just as much fun with others in the same room watching you go through the game. Everybody seems to get completely absorbed by it.

You find yourself walking around and becoming pretty taken by the graphics, scenery and the virtual reality people as much as the mission itself. Extremely realistic and at times disturbing in its hellish and dark representation! Highly impressive.

I found the game so close to being perfect, that I can hardly think of a criticism other than the fact the game ended! Imagine dark roads, streets/alleys with the glow of lamp lights, subways, trains stations, rooms and hallways, chuch yards/abandoned buildings. So much to investigate and the seedy and eerie atmosphere to go with it.

To me, this game is a MUST as any addition to your collection.
Fun the first time     On: 2007-08-10

If you want a game with a pretty good storyline, amazing graphics, fun to play (the first time), and fairly short, then pick up The Darkness. Seriously, I had a blast playing through this game the first time. Storyline kept me pretty interested, though the monologue cutscenes got annoying when moving from section to section. The graphics are by far the best aspect of this game. They really immerse you in the game world. The game was pretty short (I was able to complete it in about 6.5 hours), which was a little disappointing. Overall, I would suggest renting this game like I did.
The Darkness - a near perfect game?     On: 2007-08-09

This game was fantastically eerie, dark and totally captivating both in content and visual impact. Try playing it with the lights off! And just as much fun with others in the same room watching you go through the game. Everybody seems to get completely absorbed by it.

You find yourself walking around and becoming pretty taken by the graphics, scenery and the virtual reality people as much as the mission itself. Extremely realistic and at times disturbing in its hellish and dark representation! Highly impressive.

I found the game so close to being perfect, that I can hardly think of a criticism other than the fact the game ended! Imagine dark roads, streets/alleys with the glow of lamp lights, subways, trains stations, rooms and hallways, chuch yards/abandoned buildings. So much to investigate and the seedy and eerie atmosphere to go with it.

To me, this game is a MUST as any addition to your collection.
Fun the first time     On: 2007-08-09

If you want a game with a pretty good storyline, amazing graphics, fun to play (the first time), and fairly short, then pick up The Darkness. Seriously, I had a blast playing through this game the first time. Storyline kept me pretty interested, though the monologue cutscenes got annoying when moving from section to section. The graphics are by far the best aspect of this game. They really immerse you in the game world. The game was pretty short (I was able to complete it in about 6.5 hours), which was a little disappointing. Overall, I would suggest renting this game like I did.
The Darkness is FRESH!     On: 2007-08-08

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.

Join "The Darkness"
by: ence1981    On: 2007-08-08

"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 Paulies 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 Jackies 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 thats 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. Its 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 players 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 isnt 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 dont 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 doesnt 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 games 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 didnt 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.
Mafia/Sci-Fi ... what?!     On: 2007-08-07

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 guys 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.
360 game with xbox graphics     On: 2007-07-30

Im a fan of the comics and I thought that the games was fun to play. The thing that I did not like is this is a 360 game with xbox graphics. The story was great but like I said the graphics were not up to the 360s potential.
BUY THIS GAME!     On: 2007-07-28

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 !
BUY THIS GAME!     On: 2007-07-27

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 !
Tripping at the finish line...     On: 2007-07-22

I was very excited about this game, it was on my short list of titles for this year (HALO 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect, etc) and I couldnt wait to pick it up.

There are certainly some outstanding features in this game. If you want 500 easy gamerpoints, pick this up and give yourself 4 hours. The executions while violent, are pretty neat! Lets not kid ourselves, if you are offended by violence and you picked this game up, then you should probably have a coloring book, a bike helmet, and a chaperone.

There are three really major points that destroy this game. One- it is really short. Pretty self explanatory. Two- the controls are very jerky, and that lack of smooth, well-refined interaction makes you conscious that you are piloting a video game character. I dont like that. Three- this may be the worst multiplayer since we were all on 28.8 modems. Seriously, it is 2007 and that is the best they could do? Three or four modes that are simplistic at best, and a few maps that are boring to say the least. And the LAG!! If you arent the host, forget it. Everytime someone joins/quits, you freeze up for 15-20 seconds!! Unacceptable.

Okay, i thought of a fourth problem. Load times. You frequently have to go back and forth between sections of the map, and the load times between each are so long that they have little animations (10-15 seconds each) that are there to distract you from the fact that you are growing older while the game loads. It really breaks up the flow of the game.

The graphics of this game are great, and the violence is stunning, but overall, this game had 100x more promise than it really delivers. Dont believe me? Look how many are already available at your local game shop, available used here on Amazon, etc. I know my copy is available...

Rent it and save yourself the $60 for Mass Effect, Bioshock, or one of the other really promising games coming out in the next few months.
cheaper please!     On: 2007-07-20

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!
This Game is Wicked Fun (offline, story-mode review)     On: 2007-07-17

I purchased this game soley on the advice of a friend. I had not viewed any trailers, nor had I played a demo version when I purchased it for full release price. Thats how highly recommended it came to me. Im here to tell you that the game definately lives up to the hype.

The story is based on an older comic partially created by Garth Ennis. Anyone who knows anything about comics knows that anything touched by Garth Ennis is pretty much worth its weight in gold when it comes to quality and entertainment value. The game based on his creation does not disappoint.

Lets start at the beginning. As the game opens you find yourself (Jackie Estacado) in the back seat of a convertable. Two of your fellow mafioso-types occupy the car with you. Within moments youre on a high-speed chase through a tunnel with police shooting at you while you frantically try to load your shotgun. One of your partners dies (in a satisfyingly gruesome way) before you even reach the end of the tunnel sequence. When you do reach the end, the game begins in earnest, with your other partner laid up with about 3 inches of bone sticking out of his leg. Fan-freakin-tastic. Then the game actually begins.

As first person shooters go, this one is fairly unique, though not so much in design as in concept and ability. The perspective is good (though the excessive head-bob does occasionally grate on the nerves...) and the movement relatively fluid. To me the controls seem a little loose or sluggish (but that may be influenced by how much I play Rainbow Six : Vegas, which has impeccable control) but dont really hinder your progress through or enjoyment of the game itself.

Visually the game is stunning. The darks are dark...very dark, but still textured and vivid, and the lights a very bright. (It may be my imagination but they seem to get brighter the longer Jackie is possessed with the Darkness) Blood spatters, bullets ricochet, and your Darklings are amusingly disgusting. They (the Darklings) also provide some of the more amusing sound bites in the game, as well. For instance, upon summoning a Lightkiller Darkling, he might say "Got a light?" and then chuckle in a thoroughly pleasing demonic little voice. (Its especially entertaining when one of your Darklings chooses to relieve his bladder upon a fallen enemy!)

The story is engrossing. Once you start playing through the game you wont want to put it down. It has a linear story line, and updating objectives that must be completed to advance the story, but there doesnt seem to be any time limit on accomplishing said objectives, as far as I can tell. This is nice because there are a number of side-objectives that are not crucial to the completion of the game but give you more Collectables (of which in the game there are 100) which unlock extra content from the main menu. Some of this content includes digital reproductions of original The Darkness comics, concept art, add covers, and more.

If youre thinking of buying this game, follow these simple steps:
1) Quit thinking about it
2) Buy the freakin game.
If youre not thinking of buying this game, Start thinking of buying the game and then go to step one. If you like dark-toned, gory first person shooters with an interesting story line, fun abilities, and lots of blood, this game is definately for you.
Bravo! The Darkness is a truly fun and engrossing game!     On: 2007-07-17

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 its 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 thats 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 didnt 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.

cool game     On: 2007-07-15

great game the graphics is amazing .. the story.. the soundtracks.... guys Im in love with the soundtracks in this game !!!!
how can I get them ?
Light and dark.     On: