The Darkness II, Sony PlayStation 3, 2K Games / Digital Extremes. Rated M, MSRP $59.99.
A lot has been made of the fact that the sequel to unexpected critical darling The Darkness was going to be developed by a different design team.
Since it’s been almost 4 1/2 years since the original, some quarters opined that Digital Extremes was having trouble filling the dark shoes left behind by Starbreeze Studios.
Rest assured, Darkness fans, the game you want to enjoy is still here, albeit in a slightly more straight-ahead and, at times, unpolished form.
Jackie Estacado is enjoying his life as mafia don, thanks to his newfound ability to control the "darkness" within him that manifested itself in the form of horrific demonic issuances and appendages in the original Darkness game.
Sadly, a tragic turn of events sparks the darkness to bubble forth in Jackie again and soon the full power of Jackie’s "talents" is available to be wrought upon his enemies.
The primary combat application of Jackie’s "darkness" is the demonic arms that sprout from him like a ghoulish take on Doctor Octopus.
Combined with Jackie’s proficiency with twin guns, swords and his other dark powers, he becomes a one-man wrecking crew laying waste upon those unlucky to cross him.
The Mature rating on this game is well earned; players can open the chest cavities of enemies like books, casually relieve people of their spines and many other gruesome and spectacular finishing moves.
Darklings — hideous imp-like creatures that Jackie can summon to his cause — play a bigger role in this title than previous, allowing gamers to scout distant locations, reach otherwise impossible places and to direct Jackie where he needs to go.
But the demonic arms are where the money is when it comes to combat, no question.
From impaling those who displease you on street poles like macabre decorations to hurling people into the air and filling them with lead like human skeet disks, The Darkness II goes the extra mile in making Jackie’s powers fun to use and rewarding to experiment with.
But at the same time, a major flaw in the game is exposed: you can hurl car doors at people, but only certain car doors.
You can pick up parking meters and go full Barry Bonds on baddies, but only particular parking meters.
The initial illusion of being able to use your environment fully and the sad realization that it’s only very specific pieces of the world around you that you can interact with undercuts a lot of the fun in the crazier and more complicated attacks.
Another profound limitation is that while the streets, subways and buildings of New York unfurl impressively before gamers, there are only a select few alleyways and tunnels you can actually explore.
Invisible walls and other level-design features shamelessly shunt players down a very straight-forward path from one objective to another.
Graphically, the game stays close to its graphic novel roots, employing a painstaking hand-painted cel-shading technique that deftly walks the line between art-panel chic and detailed video game rendering.
The entire game can be torn through in a couple of long gaming sessions, but what is here is potent and enjoyable, so the brevity is not keenly felt.
As a sequel, The Darkness II does what any decent sequel should do: improve the overall gameplay, add a few new toys to play with and keep the series on track for a possible third outing.
A few growing pains aside, any gamer not afraid to get a little blood on the screen will find their experience with The Darkness II enlightening indeed.
UPSIDE: Fun combat, gritty feel and atmosphere. Creative kills, decent storyline.
DOWNSIDE: Linear gameplay, some combat inconsistencies. Short game span, poor enemy AI.
BOTTOM LINE: The Darkness II is more than just a shadow of its predecessor.
Neil MacFarlane is a Halifax video game enthusiast. ( nmacfarlane@herald.ca)
