OJ Films: March 2012

For most of our lives, Jack and I have been retro-gamers, spending many gaming hours playing NES, Gameboy, or old PC games. Unlike a lot of the other kids in our neighborhood, Jack and I never owned a Super Nintendo, an N64, or a Playstation. Unfortunately for me and Jack, our parents weren’t really the types to shell out the big bucks for a gaming system. It wasn’t until one Christmas when, to our complete surprise, our parents gave us a Playstation 2, and our gaming experience completely changed. Now, instead of spending most of our time playing Mario, Pokémon, and numerous FMV computer games, we started to get into the Jak and Daxter series, Sly Cooper, and the Kingdom Hearts games. It was like we were on the cutting edge of gaming. And then, something even more incredible happened. On Christmas Day 2007, Jack and I unwrapped a present from our parents, revealing a brand-spanking new Xbox 360. It was like we had died and gone to gamer heaven. We started off with a modest collection, playing games like Lego Star Wars and Halo, but we soon learned of a few new games we just COULDN’T do without. One of those games would become one of my favorite games of all time, and change my outlook on the First Person Shooter genre forever. That game was “The Darkness.”

“The Darkness” had everything. It was noir gangster-style, it had gunfights, it had a powerful story, it had memorable characters, it had a tense creepy atmosphere, and it made the player feel like an empowered badass. I found myself awed by the game. From the opening chase scene, throwing the player directly into the shoes of mafia hit man Jackie Estacado, to the ending cinematic that literally left me in tears, I was hooked. Never before had I played a comic-book game with so much aspiration behind it. The visuals were some of the best I had ever seen, the music and voice acting was spot-on, and the Darkness Powers… holy shit, did I LOVE the Darkness Powers. Nothing satisfied me more than shooting out every light in a room, creeping up on enemies, and impaling them in the back of the head with a dark tentacle. For me, it was the perfect game, a game that I would always love…

Fast forward about 4 years later. It’s now February of 2012, and “The Darkness II,” a direct sequel to “The Darkness” has been released. Is it a good game? Does it live up to its cult-classic predecessor? Or, does it miss the mark completely, and fall flat on its face?

~THE STORY~

Set two years after the events of the first game, the player once again takes control of Jackie Estacado, who is now the don of the Franchetti crime family. Jackie has kept the Darkness bottled-up inside since his final face off with Uncle Paulie in the last game. However, an unprovoked attack by a mysterious group known as the Brotherhood of Darkness forces Jackie to unleash the Darkness once again, and discover the mystery behind the Brotherhood, and their leader, Viktor.

Although the story is intriguing and engaging enough to keep the player interested throughout the campaign, the plot itself is simple and barebones at best. However, with an approximate playtime of only seven hours, it isn’t surprising that “The Darkness II” has such a simple, basic story. The game has a very linear plotline, lacking the twists-and-turns and overall suspense that the first game offered players. “The Darkness II” ‘s plot is highly predictable, and the ending is unsurprising. This time around, the story feels more like something out of a comic book, but in terms of the series, I don’t think this works to the game’s advantage.

This leads to “The Darkness II” ‘s biggest problem – its identity. The story has strong ties to the first game, bringing back characters and locations from Jackie’s last adventure, and referencing moments players experienced in the last game. But, at the same time, the game tries to integrate more elements from the comic book series, which in itself isn’t a bad thing. However, because of this, the story seems lost somewhere between the two, unsure of what it is trying to be. And because of the story’s lack of identity, both players of the last game and new players to the series will find the plot odd and a bit confusing at times.

The best part of the story is the supporting characters, who are written extremely well. Characters like Johnny Powell, Fat Tony, and Dolfo have their own eccentricities that make them interesting and memorable characters. They have unique things to say, and it is well worth your time to interact with them and get to know them better. On the other hand, characters like Jackie and Jenny tend to get a bit tired and one-note as the game goes on, and other characters like the Darkness itself aren’t explored in enough detail to even warrant character development.

On it’s own, “The Darkness II” ‘s story is a short, enjoyable ride, but when compared to its predecessor, a game with a deep, layered plot and incredible characters, “The Darkness II” feels rushed, and even a bit lazy.

~THE VISUALS~

“The Darkness” was one of the best-looking games on consoles when it released in 2007, and its detailed graphics and dark, creepy atmosphere still hold up over four years later.

“The Darkness II” takes an entirely different approach to its visuals than the first game, opting towards a comic-book style cell-shaded look. Now, when it comes to cell-shading in video games, I’m not really a big fan of the style. I think it works well in cartoony games such as the Sly Cooper series, but as a visual style, I have never thought of it as being particularly atmospheric or detailed.

When I heard this game would be adopting this style, I was a bit skeptical about its ability to hold up visually to its predecessor. However, I was surprised to find that the visuals in “The Darkness II” are VERY detailed, atmospheric, and even breathtaking at times. The comic-book look is done incredibly well here, creating environments that are simple in design, yet grand in scale. Certain images, like New York City’s endless sea of skyscrapers, are incredible to look at, and the inclusion of larger outdoor environments make the game feel bigger. Even small details, like doors and windows, look great.

Unfortunately, the cell-shading takes away from character models, making the characters look slightly bland, though not enough to make them look bad. I found Jackie’s new look to be particularly standard, and found myself missing his design from the first game. Jackie’s in-game character design is closer to a “pretty boy” look, whereas in the first game he looked more like a greasy mobster. I guess one could argue that Jackie looks “nicer and cleaned-up,” and closer to his look in the comic books in this game, but honestly, I miss straight-haired trench-coat Jackie.

Another thing that bothered me about the visuals is an overall lack of dark environments. This game just looks too bright to me. In the first game, players could shoot out all the lights in a room, and find themselves in an entirely pitch-black environment. In “The Darkness II,” rarely does a player find themselves in this same situation. In fact, I was stunned to find that, when I DID find myself in a pitch-black environment, I couldn’t see a single thing to orient myself. New players may be confused as to why this is surprising, but those who have played the first game know that Jackie has what is called Darkness Vision when the Darkness is manifested, allowing him to see the outlines and surfaces of everything around him, despite the complete darkness. This power is completely dropped in the sequel, making near-pitch-black areas hard to navigate, and resulting in more “bright” areas, that honestly don’t look dark enough for the Darkness to manifest in. This brightness makes the game feel much less creepy, and detracts from the feeling of being a monster hiding in the shadows.
On the whole, the visuals are interesting and even stunning at times. However, the overall mood and brightness, and the look of the characters, don’t quite cut it, and leave me wondering why certain design choices were made. For what it is, it doesn’t look too bad. But I can’t help but wonder what it COULD have been.

~THE SOUND~

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the game’s sound. Like the first “Darkness” game, “Darkness II” has good music and voice acting, with great performances all around. However, although the acting was good, and the characters were highly engaging, the only one who stands out in my mind as being memorable is Johnny, probably because of how absolutely bat-shit insane he is.

I do have a few complaints, though. Although the acting is good, I can’t help but feel that the Darkling talks a little bit too much, and the Darkness itself doesn’t really have anything interesting or threatening to say. The performances are good, don’t get me wrong, but without strong character development, they just felt like they were there, just to talk and fill the silence. I’m disappointed that, while the other characters in the game are done VERY well, these two are bland, and feel somewhat unimportant.
Although I realize there is a new actor playing Jackie, I have to say I didn’t care so much for his performance. The Jackie in the first game was incredibly expressive, and had a voice that was quiet, suave, soft, and threatening all at the same time. The Jackie in this game, however, seems like he’s just trying to sound “cool.” The voice is either far too angry or far too threatening, but not in the subtle way the first Jackie’s was. Don’t get me wrong, the actor does a good job, but the voice just doesn’t seem entirely right to me.
And lastly, every once in a while, I would talk to a character in the game and the audio would sound like it was unfinished, with pops and scratches, and a very tinny timbre. I thought this might have been just my game at first, but there are others who have noticed this as well. This doesn’t detract from the game much, but I believe it shows signs of the game being unfinished, and in a way bolsters the feeling of this game being rushed and lazy.

~THE GAMEPLAY~

“The Darkness II” is a different entity than its predecessor, and this is especially evident in the gameplay. This time around, the player has control of both of Jackie’s Demon Heads as well as dual- and single-wielding weapons. Jackie can use the Heads to grab and throw enemies, slash through obstacles and foes, and even perform new Execution Moves, which can yield benefits such as health and ammo, and provide an amusing animation of enemies being violently mutilated. Sadly, these Execution Moves will get old after a while, as will much of the gunplay, and you may find yourself merely bashing through enemies with a Demon Head, as it can destroy enemies with only a few powerful blows.
Also new to the game is an upgrade system that uses Dark Essence collected throughout by completing certain tasks, like destroying light sources and killing enemies. The player is free to choose which upgrades he wants to fit his play style, which is a nice change-up from the first game, in which gaining powers and leveling-up was essentially dictated by the story. However, the go-to powers in “The Darkness II,” Gun Channeling and Swarm, aren’t a necessity for completing the game, and therefore feel very unimportant. I myself made it through the whole game without using Swarm once, and only using Gun Channeling when I had no ammunition. Other powers, like Blades and Black Hole, are not under your control, and happen at random. However, in boss battles they are practically useless as these powers occur rarely, and enemies in normal combat are easily defeated with a slice of your Demon Head. While the level-up system in this game is superior to the progression in the first game, and offers customization, the powers in the first game felt far more useful and destructive, and did more to add depth to the game. Here, the action seems less focused on powers, and more on gunplay and pure carnage.

Collectibles are back in this game, however, they are painfully easy to find, and there is almost no incentive to explore the game’s environments, especially given the linear level design. Collectible telephone numbers and unlockable bonus content are gone, replaced with collectibles called Relics, which are simple to find, and finding them only results in extra Dark Essence and an achievement or trophy. A player can find every Relic easily on his first playthrough, whereas collectibles in the first game were more difficult to find, and it could take multiple playthroughs for someone to find them all.

This brings me to the game’s overall design. The first “Darkness” game felt very open, with a subway HUB where players could travel to new areas, plenty of collectibles to promote exploration, and a few simple side-missions to enhance the experience. In “The Darkness II,” there is no open-ended exploration involved. The game, instead, takes a linear level approach, resulting in long paths and hallways with quick, wild gunfights, broken up only once in a while by short return trips to Jackie’s mansion. While the first game was about creeping up on enemies and smiting them with the power of the Darkness, this game is a series of staged fights that are only triggered once the player has reached a certain area, and the enemy always has the jump on Jackie. Gone is that feeling of immense power, replaced with a feeling of paranoia that at any time an enemy may jump out and attack.
At first, enemy types seem varied and interesting, especially with the inclusion of lights that not only disable Darkness powers, but cause Jackie’s vision to blur, adding a new level of difficulty to the game. However, by the end of the game, it feels like you’ve been fighting the same five guys over and over again, and taking them out, along with lights, starts to feel like a chore. The AI in the game is average at best to being completely idiotic, never doing anything surprising or out of the ordinary, and after shooting for a while, enemies will tend to run straight at Jackie with guns blazing, just waiting to be sliced in half by a Demon Head. Because of predictable AI, fighting enemies, even bosses, is a fairly simple task, and doesn’t really build up much tension.

New systems and controls in “The Darkness II” build upon those of the first game, creating interesting and creative ways to use powers and dispatch enemies. Leveling up also encourages player choice and customization, which is also a nice addition. However, powers don’t feel as important as they should be, and while the new style of gameplay is fast-paced and involves many opportunities for blood and gore, the bland linear level design, lack of exploration, and redundant, predictable enemies makes this game feel like a complete step backward from its predecessor.

~THE VERDICT~

If you are a hard-core fan of the original game, then you may be a bit disappointed with what you get in “The Darkness II.” Even fans of the comic-book series and new players may find this game to be a bit bland and lacking. But, does that mean it’s a terrible game?
I know I’ve said a lot of negative things about this game, but that doesn’t make it a BAD game. In fact, I would say it’s a fairly GOOD game. Does it live up to the first game? Hell no. Did I expect this game to be as good as the first? Honestly, I didn’t expect it to live up to the expectations set by the first game. So, am I mad? Do I feel betrayed by this game? Maybe a little bit, but given the fact this game was developed by a completely different company than the first, who chose to do their own interpretation of the story, I can’t really be too upset. Digital Extremes made a decent game, and in the end, that’s really what counts. Could they have done better? Definitely. But the game is what it is, and it isn’t too bad.

If you’re looking for a game similar to the first “Darkness” game, or a shooter with a very deep, involved story, this may not be the game for you. However, if you’re a huge “Darkness” fan, or you’re into games with fast-paced action, like “Call of Duty,” this might be a game that will interest you. As for me, I don’t think this game is really worth the $60 my brother and I shelled out for it, but it is definitely worth a rent. If you’re a “Darkness” fan who absolutely HAS to have this game in your collection, I would say to hold off on buying it until you can get a cheaper used copy, or until it has gone down a bit in price.

My final verdict on “The Darkness II” is a 7 out of 10. It’s a decent game, if a bit short and simple. If you’re looking for a game to sink a couple of hours into, this one might be worth checking out.

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The Darkness II - A Review

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