Game Review: The Darkness II

The game which I'm reviewing today is the second game within a series that is very near and dear to my heart, it's called The Darkness II. The Darkness II is an first person shooter game that also has some elements of an RPG mixed into it here and there. It was developed by Digital Extremes and then published by 2k Games back in 2012, it is the sequel to the 2007 game of the same name (The Darkness). It was released for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC as well. As I mentioned before, this series is very close to my heart due to it being probably one of the best anti-hero themed series made. I've ever had the pleasure of touching. I pretty much instantly became a die hard fan of the first game, so much so in fact that I ended up getting into the comic book series these games are based off of. 

If you're unfamiliar with the series and haven't played the original The Darkness game, then let me fill you in a bit. The first game has us playing as a young mob hitman by the name of Jackie Estacado on the eve of his 21st birthday. After surviving an assassination attempt made on him by his uncle, he finds himself hiding in the bathroom of a cemetery. Very quickly, however, he beings hearing a voice inside his head. This voice belongs to The Darkness, a demonic entity that has been inhabiting male human hosts for thousands of years. It has resided within a chosen male of his family for generations now, laying dormant for years until their 21st birthdays before emerging.  

After its awakening, Jackie inherits a set of demonic superpowers as well an invulnerability to being harmed, so long as he is in the darkness that is. The cost of these powers is a heavy one, however. The more you let the darkness in and use its abilities, the quicker it will erode your sanity and take over your soul. And, sadly, the story told within this game is a tragic one. Jackie's childhood love and girlfriend Jenny ends up being murdered by his uncle and his men as a way to get to him. 

This thrusts Jackie into wanting revenge and vengeance against those involved while also trying to fight against The Darkness within him so he doesn't lose his soul. After he goes a bit crazy and avenges her death, he attempts to suppress the unholy entity within him and live a healthy, normal mob boss life for a number of years. But, is it really possible to contain such an insidious, dark thing forever? Well, that answer is given to us pretty quickly within the start of this game. 

I'm going to try my best not to delve too deep into the story, as I don't want to spoil it for everyone. This game opens up with us in the shoes of our main character Jackie, arriving at an Italian restaurant to have dinner. Of course, things getting very violent and noisy pretty much right away. Shortly after finding your table, an explosion happens and you quickly come to realize someone is trying to assassinate you in public. It becomes clear that an occult like group called the Brotherhood which has roots buried in the supernatural has become aware of your existence and the power that slumbers inside of you. And, of course, they want it for themselves. This group is not afraid to do anything and everything possible to get their hands on it, so you can expect a lot of messed up things as you play. They're led by a disfigured man by the name of Victor Valente. 

Of course, Jackie has no real choice in letting the Darkness out if he wants to stay alive. Though, it's pretty clear he isn't too happy to do so. Throughout the game you get many grim and dark monologues from him on the rough life that he had to lead before he acquired it, which gives us some backstory and knowledge on his origin which we didn't really get from the first game. However, he'll have to deal with the issue that he's having a very, very hard time controlling the demon compared to the first game. 

Jackie will start having hallucinations of his deceased girlfriend Jenny as he plays, alongside some mental breakdowns  and trips to a dream like hospital ward. You know, the fun things in life. As you continue to play, you find out that these hospital ward scenes are a trap that The Darkness has set, hoping to use it to convince you to let it take over your body. The contrast between the real world and the alternate world in this hospital ward are really interesting, and at times make you question if maybe Jackie really imagined it all up. At least for a short while that is. 

As the game progresses on, you'll encounter more and more battles with The Brotherhood and Jackie will have to endure quite a few things, on an emotional and physical level both. Even if you're new to the game, there will be times you're playing where you can't just help but feel sorry for Jackie, and feel some sympathy in the way things had turned out for him. There are some truly large punches to the gut throughout the game with some twists which you won't be expecting. 

And, since I brought up the gut punching aspect of the game. I will just give a heads up that it has a very upsetting ending, which left me feeling a bit frustrated for a couple of days after I finished it. That's not to say that it is a bad ending or anything, but it's abrupt and also quite bittersweet, with a larger emphasis on the bitter. In part this is because the creators had planned on adding a DLC to the game which would pick up where it ended in the original game, but it was not meant to be I'm afraid due to the fact the game fell short of their 1 million sales goal. I really think it is a shame, because this series has had some amazingly great ideas and concepts. There is so much left to be expanded upon with the ending we received and the lore of what this series is based off of. Hopefully someday maybe we'll get one more go at a sequel to wrap it up. 

As for the gameplay of The Darkness II? It is absolutely one hell of a fun time, to say the least. I definitely spent a large number of hours playing this game when it came out in 2012, mostly because the combat in the game is just very entertaining both in the multiplayer and in the single player mode. The formula has been changed with this series from your typical FPS style games, as you won't be doing just normal shooting and blasting to get through your enemies. Thanks to having a demon trying to take over your soul, you get some cool powers as well! 

Besides the typical firearms that are put in the game, your main weapon throughout most of your play time is two demonic snake like tentacles which protrude from your back outwards. These things allow you to do a number of brutal and nasty things to your enemies, in addition to just being able to grab and slash things as well. This can be helpful for tossing up enemies in the air to move them out of your way or stun them. It also can be used to pick up objects in the environment to try and defend yourself like using a car door for a shield to soak up some bullets, or maybe picking up some metal spike to impale your foes if you've run out of ammo. If you want to use these extra appendages though, you'll have to make sure to stay in the darkness, otherwise they burn away. 

There's also an executions option built into the game, which is reminiscent of Mortal Kombat's Fatality system with how brutal some of them can be. It allows you to use your demon tentacles to grab enemies and rip them apart in absolutely absurd, not to mention gory, ways. I'd have to say that it's probably the most entertaining and funny way you can kill enemies in this game. As a bonus to the comical executions, you can refill your health and ammo by doing these if you start running low. Something else which is nice about them besides the laughs is that there is several animations for each type you can do, so you never really feel like they're getting old since there's some variety. I mean, can you really get tired of watching a man having his spine ripped out from his colon, though? 

Another interesting aspect from the combat and gameplay is the option to devour your victims hearts to earn Essence, as well as finding Darkness artifacts scattered throughout the game or just straight up eviscerating your foes. You can then take the essence you've earned and use it to upgrade your talents. These talents which you can unlock boost your combat abilities, which is very helpful for once you start facing the tougher foes later on in the game. These talents range from summoning demon insects, to boosting your toughness in the darkness, to many other things. The upgrade system really helps beef your character up a bit, and lets you change up your play style to how you want it to be. If you're more focused on firearms, you can work towards getting more explosive rounds or being able to carry more ammo. Or, if you're like me, you can unlock the ability to have swords protrude from your arms to cut enemies up with even more ease! 

And, I briefly mentioned this before, but I think that the light mechanic of the game keeps things from getting too easy, and is just a cool concept in general. In a way, the light in your surroundings will be your main enemy over the waves of humans with guns, since it'll burn away all of your powers if left unchecked. It helps keep Jackie on a more human level, showing that he is vulnerable at times and not just an invincible monster. I think it also helps keep things interesting, instead of just a linear search and destroy type of gameplay. Especially later on in the game, when the Brotherhood starts bringing in high powered flashlights that burn your abilities away and leave you relying on no one but yourself and your trusty firearms. 

I should also mention that you're not alone in your endeavors of fighting against the Brotherhood, as you get a cool little sidekick who will probably more than likely make you crack a grin or give you a chuckle. This comes in the form of a Darkling, which is like a small imp but far, far more cool. He'll aid you in a multitude of ways, from opening locked doors, to killing some of your enemies then doing crude things to their bodies. This character was quite needed in my opinion, as the grim dark tones of the game are balanced out a bit with his comedy relief. I can't tell you how many times I laughed on my first playthrough at his bizarre antics and vocabulary. Having him along side you while you play at times also helps to humanize Jackie a tiny bit more, since the creature comes from his subconscious. 

Something else which I must mention is that the voice acting for this game is amazing, as was it for the first game. The voice of The Darkness is done by Mike Patton, who does an outstanding job of creating an unholy voice, his vocal range is just amazing and his voice over work stretches out into many games which I'm sure you guys have played. Jackie's voice actor also does a solid job, as does the rest of the cast as well. Though, Mike Patton of course just steals the show with his performance. At least in my humble opinion. 

Honestly, my only issue with this game is that it's too short. I completed the single player mode in about 7 hours each time I played through it, and I just don't think that truly is a long enough campaign mode. This is in part due to the fact that a fair chunk of the game has us stuck in that hospital limbo area, and not leaving enough time to explore things in the real world. Between the short story and the abrupt, bittersweet ending I just wish they would have added something more to the story to stretch it out a bit more. As I said though, I think they were planning to do this with the DLC but failed to follow up. Though the fact it had to be a DLC added on is a mistake in my opinion. 

In conclusion, this game is a short but awesome ride. If you're wanting something with a great anti-hero character, an interesting story, some entertaining side characters, and extremely fun gameplay then this is a game for you! It's definitely a memorable action game that stands out from the crowd. And, if you're anything like me then the game will have an impact on you for at least a few hours afterwards. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone in need of a new game to play that's something unique. 

Thanks for stopping by my review! I want to apologize in advance since this is a bit shorter than my typical reviews, and might be a bit unorganized compared to them as well. I've been dealing with a sinus infection or a bad cold of some kind and I was rushing to get this done so I can try and rest some more. I hope that this review still has helped bring some interest in trying out the game for some of you, or that maybe it's at the very least entertained one or two of you.