Review: The Darkness II // Video Game

Greetings, Darklings! I've been meaning to review "The Darkness II" for quite a while now since it's one of my all-time favourite gory psychological horror games. If that wasn't a captivating enough genre, it also contains light elements of roleplay. What a winner! I haven't had a lot of free time lately due to college deadlines being brought into the equation but now that I'm off college for two weeks, I'll be posting as frequently as I can since I'm an insomniac so be on the lookout for that and feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below as to what you would like to see me review/discuss. I tend to ramble a lot during every introductory paragraph... So, without further ado, let's begin. 

Firstly, I would just like to start off by saying that I picked up The Darkness II on a whim whilst spontaneously browsing in the gaming section of HMV at the beginning of last year. Beforehand, I had no prior knowledge that this was a direct sequel to the original or that there was a comic series that went hand in hand with it until a few months later when I finally got around to playing the original game and discovered the comics in Forbidden Planet. Not very practical, considering the series was written by Paul Jenkins; a comic book veteran and the games were inspired by the comics. I know, I know. Surprisingly enough, I became infatuated with "The Age of Reason" series shortly after despite the fact that it's a little generic. However, if you would be interested in reading a comic review or two then let me know and I'll be sure to get onto that. 

Personally, I favour this game over the original - if you hadn't guessed already - despite the fact that the gameplay in the first game is a lot more paced and the storyline in the second is a lot shorter than I had hoped it would be. But, it's not a big deal considering the 'limited edition' version provides you with an alternate ending thus leaving it up to the player to decide how they would prefer the storyline to end. I love the fact that I feel like I'm in the mafia and have superpowers. That's pretty cool, if I do say so myself! The upgrade allows players to unlock new Darkness powers but they're only available once you've finished the campaign and start a 'new-game-plus' mode meaning that the gameplay doesn't have to stop there. You can upgrade to a more advanced difficulty level as well as being able to go back and earn any talents that you originally missed. 

Okay, so, skip two years ahead of the first game and the player will be amazed *ahem* to find Jackie Estacado as the don of the Franchetti family. Let's be honest, we all seen that one coming. If you're unfamiliar with the Franchetti family, they're a group of mobs that live a life of crime - this is a genre that I find myself drawn to when it comes to old school 'gangster' films. I've decided that I like the reformed portrayal of Jackie a little bit more than the original character. Surely I can't be the only one that thinks this? 

As a bit of background knowledge, Jackie still wields the Darkness. The Darkness is a vindictive force that is trying to overpower him. It has the tendency to play mind tricks on him as it knows that he is prone to vulnerability when the death of his girlfriend Jenny Romano is brought to his attention. This is where the psychological element comes into play and I can honestly say that it is done very sufficiently. The Darkness began supplying Jackie with supernatural powers earlier on in the original storyline. Jackie managed to defeat the entity after Johnny Powell - an occultist - assisted him in the process. However, Johnny soon became mentally unstable afterwards and fled after realising the unholy powers that the Darkness withholds. We are then faced with a group known as 'The Brotherhood of The Darkness'. They're an ancient and malevolent secret society who aim to capture and control The Darkness in order to achieve world domination through the use of blackmail. In this case, they threaten to destroy his friends, family and organisation thus causing the Darkness to re-emerge.

The reformed and customised powers are what made the game for me. The Darklings are genuinely my heart and soul - if you hadn't realised from the references that I make at the start/end of my posts every week. They're two demonic arms that hang from Jackie's shoulders and have a perpetual craving for human hearts. The hearts give you points to use which help you to level up your superpowers which is a concept that I find pretty rad. The right Darkling allows you to smash enemies, electrical wires and street lamps either vertically or horizontally. On the other hand, the left Darkling allows you restore health, gain additional experience points and grab things such as car doors to throw at enemies and/or metal poles since the Demon arms can turn debris into projectiles or shields. I have to say that ripping off car doors and using them to launch at guys with guns was by far my favourite perk of the game especially when you end up decapitating a mobster. What a morbid child I am. When you grab each leg of your enemy you can tear him in half. I absolutely love the fact that the sound effects are down to a t in terms of being able to hear all the gory details of your enemies cartilage tearing and their vital organs rupturing. When you encounter a glowing enemy, you have the power to perform one out of four executions. In doing so, you can get ammo, restore health, create a demon shield or shorten the cool down time of your powers. Throughout Jackie's fight against "The Brotherhood", there is one Darkling in particular who assists him during normal combat. This Darkling calls Jackie 'monkey', attacks enemies in one shot, urinates on corpses and supplies him with weapons/valuable items. I never thought I would see the day when a Darkling is has a working-class British accent, a deceased cat placed upon his head and is wearing an oversized Union Jack jumper. What an absolute belter!

As you upgrade and progress, you can unlock varied powers which have a sadistic effect on the enemy thus causing them to suffer extreme pain. Ayyy, bullseye! When you shoot the enemies, you can use the Darkness bees as a minor distraction. In doing so, you will unleash a swarm of bees directed towards your enemies thus causing a nauseating fatality to happen. The Darkness void is essentially, a wee black hole that sucks lingering enemies into a vortex. You also have Darkness bullets which are used to replace the bullets you already have in your gun and they will do quite a bit of damage when used in a rifle or standard pistol which is pretty damn sweet.

In order to restore your health and earn essence you must consume as many hearts as you can. This might seem like an easy task but the hearts are only edible for less than a minute thus requiring you to move in as quickly as you can and eat them before they vanish. Tip: They glow purple and can be seen through an enemy's skin. Essence allows you to purchase Talent from Talent Shrines. Just a heads up, you will find at least two of them in every stage. You can choose between upgrading or adding to Jackie's powers. When you upgrade his powers, you can experience all-new attacks and ammo capacity which is definitely worth it. If you weren't already aware, Jackie and the Darklings are sensitive to light as his powers rely on Darkness. This is shown in the game when the Darkness tells Jackie to "Stay away from the light" which is one of my favourite quotes. If you come into contact with soldiers whom are carrying light cannons you can choose between whether you want to kill them or disable their lights which is a wee twist since some lights cannot be shot out thus the power source must be destroyed in order to survive which is the only downfall about his overall performance. 

Now that brings me onto the Vendettas section that Digital Extremes created as an additional segment. It runs in parallel with Jackie’s adventure but focuses on the gunplay aspect. You can either play Vendettas alone - some Hit Lists are available offline which is fantastic - or as a co-op. I'm going to be honest, I've delved a little into both and came to the conclusion that I like the co-op campaign better otherwise I just find the process mundane due to the fact that it’s not much of a challenge unless you boost it up the highest difficulty level. You have the choice of undertaking one out of four characters; Inugami, Shoshanna, JP Dumond or Jimmy Wilson. Each character has their own specialised weapons which are infused with Darkness powers such as a sword for savaging the enemy or you could have an arcane staff which raises gangsters into the air causing them to twist in half. Sweeet! They have their own unique and strategic tactics. Like any other shooter game, you will always have one person whom is more effective in certain situations than the others and this applies here, one hundred percent. However, in this segment you don’t eat hearts; you destroy them which is an interesting concept. 

The Darkness II is one of the few games that I will continue to play religiously until Digital Extremes decide to give in to high demand and make a III version. Please? I would rate The Darkness II a solid 9 out of 10 due to the fact that I found the dark storyline incorporated with the comic book styled graphics very enthralling. I thoroughly enjoyed combat mode and quad-wielding. There was a lot of quirky wee remarks in the narration which made me laugh from start to finish and the customised powers were a lot more advanced in comparison to the original which was very refreshing. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of Vendettas. It was a change, yes. But, I would have much rather the game had a bit of a gameplay extension in regards to Jackie’s story but overall, the storytelling was fantastic and the gory aspects were a winner in my books.

Have you played The Darkness or The Darkness II? What is your opinion on the series? Do you love it or hate it? Have you read any of the comics? I'm intrigued to know!