The Darkness 2 Features

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Credit: 2K Games

Jackie Estacado Is The Don

The Darkness 2 is the story of Jackie Estacado, years after the original game. He's no longer a hitman or a foot soldier for the Franchetti crime family: he's the freaking Don now. As head of the family, that means he's got everyone gunning for him and in the mere opening moments of the game, someone takes a big swipe at the king's crown. I won't ruin the story details for you because I think people should really experience it on their own, but let's just say there are reasons why mob restaurants have no windows.

Even though Jackie's got a legion of New York's finest mob foot soldiers at his beck and call, he takes the attempt on his life rather seriously and sets out to find out who tried to kill him and why they went after him... and, how it's all connected to his Darkness powers.

Credit: 2K Games

A Man Of The Past And Present

Jackie might be the main man, but that doesn't mean he's immune to his emotions or his inability to get over his girlfriend Jenny's death. The Darkness restrained Jackie so that he could not save his girlfriend and her death allowed The Darkness to take greater control over him. Even now The Darkness won't let him go, it won't let him die.

But Jenny's not gone, oh no. Her visage tortures Jackie throughout The Darkness 2. He can see her, feel her and smell her as he makes his way through New York City, and she's constantly on his mind as he tries to grapple with the guilt and pain of her death. The Darkness 2 seems like it will be equal parts story of a man on a mission and a man seeking solace. I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Credit: 2K Games

The Darkness Is An Addiction

In the years before The Darkness 2, Jackie has been able to keep The Darkness in check. It's not really until the attempt on his life that he lets go and allows the powers to return full force. Early on in the game he describes the power as an addiction and something that's eating him up inside. Well, he's fallen off the wagon completely, because in The Darkness 2, Jackie is all about using his powers to destroy his enemies. We'll have to see if he's able to rid himself of The Darkness or get it back in check, but let's just say, it's not looking good.

Credit: 2K Games

Upgrades Galore

You'll do some serious upgrading in The Darkness 2. Jackie will find dark portals spread around the world and in levels, each granting you the opportunity to upgrade his equipment, weapons and abilities. The tree is spread into four major paths, each with their own branches for what seems about eight upgrade paths. You can upgrade any way you like, you don't seem locked into any one set path.

You'll be able to upgrade Jackie's firearms, firearm mods and his gun channeling ability, his execution moves, physical moves and Darkness arm upgrades and abilities like a swarm, which stuns opponents and sets them up for major pain.

I found success in upgrading my execution moves, which allowed me to collect additional health from ripping foes in half and the opportunity to collect more ammo for my guns. This complimented my play style, which is probably far more aggressive than I had a right to be. I enjoyed pushing forward and ripping guys apart, collecting instant health and dealing out pain as quickly as I could.

Credit: 2K Games

Quad Wielding

In the original you could use your Darkness powers, or your guns, but not both, and you couldn't use your powers in public places; well in The Darkness 2 all bets are seemingly off and you can wield your dual guns and have both Darkness arms out at the same time - that's four different ways to deal out pain to everyone in your way.

I truly loved being able to use my arms on their own, grab an opponent and rip them in half, and then without missing a beat dump two guns worth of bullets in some poor schmuck. Also, now you'll be able to use environmental weapons and defense to help you out along the way. If you're facing off against a gang of guys, you can grab a car door with one of your arms and use it as a shield to protect yourself while you pick them off with your guns. Or you can grab an errant construction metal rod and impale enemies on it from a distance. The flexibility of combat really makes The Darkness 2 stand out and gives me great hope for the rest of the game.

Oddly enough, no one seems to really comment so much on Jackie having horribly gross tentacle arms growing out of his body, but that's progress people.

Credit: 2K Games

New York! New York?

I walk New York City's streets every day on my way to and from work and in my leisure I spend time all over the city. Most people probably won't notice or be bothered by the odd mis-named sign, mixed up geography or otherwise general comic book nature of developer Digital Extreme's version of New York City, but a few things stood out during my time with The Darkness 2. For instance, in the Canal Street subway stop early in the game there are a few signs that attempt to point the character to "Broadway Street." That place doesn't exist...the main artery of the city goes by only one name, Broadway. Later in the game a character comments that we were all going to the Queensboro Bridge to track someone down, but when the scene started and I looked up at the bridge, I found that I was under the Brooklyn Bridge all the way on the other side of Manhattan.

Also, the game makes it seem like the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan (where the game begins) is a thriving place full of Italian gangsters ripped from The Godfather, but that couldn't be further from the truth because Little Italy has more or less been relegated to a tourist trap street and has fought off the encroachment of the ever-expanding Chinatown section of the city for years.

These aren't knocks against the game, these aren't gameplay detractors or anything else that a regular player will pick out. These are things I noticed as a resident of the area and a lover of New York City in general.