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The Darkness Review
Jon Wilcox
28/06/2007
Starbreeze's delayed entry to the next-generation finally steps out of the shadows and sees the light...
Having survived the turbulent exit of Majesco from the triple-A market, Starbreeze Studios' The Darkness finally gets its long-awaited release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 courtesy of 2K Games. Based on the Top Cow Productions comics of the same name, the game follows young mafia hitman Jackie Estacado through a story of discovery and revenge via the underworld of New York City and the nightmarish wastelands of Hell. The Swedish studio appears to be enjoying the broody atmosphere offered by the shadows and the darkness of night following their development of one of the most impressive-looking titles on the original Xbox - 2005's Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay.
Written by long-term The Darkness scribe Paul Jenkins, the game loosely follows the origin of Estacado and his early experiences gaining the power of the demonic forces on his 21st birthday. Despite being one of the higher-profile titles of the summer, otherwise known as the traditional desert for new releases, The Darkness isn't one of the best-known comic book brands. As such, there's been some speculation as to how successful the game will actually be for 2K Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive, given the lack of mainstream awareness of Top Cow's graphic novel series. We'll certainly hold our hands up and admit that outside of the videogame (and a promotional issue of the comic), our knowledge of Estacado's demonic exploits was virtually nil. However, both Jenkins and the team at Starbreeze have managed to weave the story into a largely compelling experience, helped by a mix of set pieces and side-missions as well as the main thread of gun-blazing action...not that we're going to reveal any major spoilers here.
Split into three Acts set in the seedy mob-run streets of NYC and The Darkness' own interpretation of Hell (a nightmarish world of trench warfare, zombie Germans, and stitched together British soldiers), the game explores two very different objectives: Jackie's determined thirst for revenge, and his desire to uncover the truth behind his newly evolved 'affliction'. Besides straightforward shootouts in the mean streets of the Big Apple, which tend to litter the tarmac with blood and the heart-less remains of Estacado's victims (both mobsters' and the occasional innocents'), set piece events remain at the core of The Darkness with a series of events that drive the story forward.
A very stylish looking title that positively oozes cinematically polished production, Starbreeze seems to have the knack for creating suitably atmospheric environments, something that they demonstrated in their previous title. Gloomy street corners illuminated by rows of all-too destructible lamps or even gloomier sewers underneath the trench-scarred battlefields of The Darkness' Hell, the mood is undoubtedly captured to such an effect that we have to wonder whether Starbreeze could ever create a more upbeat title?
Besides the main thread of revenge, The Darkness also has Estacado 'help' various innocents throughout the game, breaking up the experience beyond the shootouts against Uncle Paulie's goons. From 'duffing up' a random Harmonica-stealing thug in one of the Subways, to taking down a group of hired stalkers from Chicago, the optional objectives sprinkle a light amount of variety to the game, though never really adding anything to the storyline beyond showing Estacado's occasional softer side to his anti-hero personality. Borrowing an element usually found in open sandbox titles, The Darkness also features 100 different collectibles (phone numbers in the present day and letters on the Hellish front line), which have to be activated by posting or dialling them in between missions to unlock bonus content. Breaking up the action between locations and acting as a neat distraction to loading times, short cut-scenes with a spotlit Jackie sheds light on the character's thoughts as the story progress. An attempt to add further character development and depth, which altogether works quite neatly within the structure of the game, they do occasionally suffer from repetition - do we really need to hear about Crazy Abdul's death-defying taxi rides again?
Despite his background in performing mob hits across the city, Estacado's skill with the various pistols, rifles, machine guns, and machine pistols is fully supplemented by the power of The Darkness itself. Besides a somewhat sticky auto-aim, which takes a little to get used to, the four powers of The Darkness form a key part in the gameplay as well as supporting the mythology of the brand. Unlocked as the story progresses, the powers become increasingly more potent, culminating with the ability to create a mini-black hole to suck up enemies at range - provided that enough power has been absorbed from the shadows for them to work...or if enough hearts have been eaten from the fallen victims of Estacado's wrath. All of them work in the practical sense of gameplay; the Creeping Dark is particularly useful when it comes to sneaking into small gaps in walls or silent attacks against enemies, whilst the Dark Arm can be used to throw objects such as cars out of Jackie's way. And then of course, there are the Darklings to contend with.
Contrary to even the official information from publisher 2K Games, only four Darkling types are available to unlock. A band of malevolent gremlin/Gollum demon types, the Darklings form an integral part of The Darkness mythology, and provide basic supplementary help for Jackie. Whilst the extra firepower of the cigar-chomping Gunner Darkling or the even more feral Berserker are useful distractions against groups of enemies, only one (the bomb-strapped Kamikaze Darkling) is used to solve the occasional puzzle in the game, blowing holes into walls or blocked tunnels wherever necessary. The AI of the Darklings however is at best, twitchy. Rarely used as essential components to the gameplay, the Darklings seem to serve the purpose of just being represented as part of the brand's mythology, and as such don't feel as well-developed as they really should be. The Lightkiller Darkling in particular seemed uncertain in fulfilling its role; all too often yelling "Lemon Curd" underneath the glaring light of a street lamp instead of zapping it or even just disappearing (as Darklings should outside of the shadows), this Darkling type is typical of the poor implementation that the demons have endured in the game. Aside from more helpful Darklings, the one key element missing is a 'Run' control, which would certainly help the rather plodding Estacado travel through the occasionally empty streets of NYC's Lower East Side and the surrounding area. At times Jackie seemed exhausted, and there were certainly occasions where we had to double-check he wasn't crouching his way through the side-streets and alleyways...which he wasn't. Both the Darklings and the laboured pace of movement are pretty representative of how The Darkness doesn't manage to live up to early expectations, especially after its explosive start to the action, and it perhaps shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the story ends in more of a whimper than a bang.
In what seems to be increasingly endemic for First-Person Shooters, the swansong showdown between Jackie and 'Uncle' Paulie is far from the Earth-shattering, cataclysmic encounter that it should have been. Like General RAMM in Gears of War or The Mother in Prey, the 'battle' itself is actually quite straightforward, leaving the final few moments of the game quite unsatisfying considering the dramatic build up through the final mission. Perhaps it can be explained away by the fact that Paulie is just human, but it ultimately feels quite unfulfilling, even when the final cut-scene ends, paving the way forward for a sequel in the future.
Despite offering a significantly compelling single-player story, there's little to keep you coming back once it's been completed. Though the obligatory multi-player mode includes a fun Darkling versus Human 'Survivor' gametype, the supernatural version of Last Man Standing, the option to play Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, or Capture the Flag in yet another First-Person Shooter is far from powerful enough to keep you coming back for more.
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