The Darkness 2 Review

The Darkness 2 is a raw game.

There's probably no better way to describe it. It's foul-mouthed, exceedingly violent and intensely sexual at moments, and if you've got the stomach for it, it's downright awesome. Several times during my play sessions with the game I paused the action, grabbed the box and double checked the ESRB rating on the box and the content descriptions on the back. I had a hard time believing this slipped by with an M rating, because it's brutal. The game revels in its violence, its vices and its disturbing visuals. Like Jackie Estacado, restrained by the Darkness and forced to watch grisly deaths, you're forced to watch horrifying things happen to bad people. If you're not affected by The Darkness 2's story, visuals and violence, you're most likely a psychopath - you might want to get to get checked out. 

Starbreeze Studios gave up the reins on The Darkness series when they went off to develop Syndicate for EA, but they left the sequel in very capable hands with Digital Extremes. These guys have managed to take a strong look, feel and foundation from the first The Darkness and enhance it for an experience that surpasses the original in almost every way. The Darkness has gone from sleeper hit to full on franchise as far as I'm concerned and I can't wait to see where this series goes.

This guy might be shooting blood.

The Darkness 2 is Jackie Estacado's tale of mystery, growth and revenge. After his girlfriend Jenny was murdered in the original game, Jackie was able to repress his Darkness powers and live a relatively normal, Italian-mobster lifestyle... but when he's attacked brazenly and openly, he's forced to resurrect the darkest parts of his being. Only by using the Darkness is Jackie able to find out who attacked him and how his powers are involved. Oh yeah, and he's dead set on finding out more about Jenny's death and why these mystery men seem to know so much about him, her and the Estacado family's deep and dark path.

I loved the way Digital Extremes told Jackie's story - a winding tale of violence, dreams, nightmares and altered reality that demonstrate character growth and world building. They've concocted a fine mix of action storytelling and even a few quiet and mysterious moments that keep you wondering what will happen next. I was never disappointed in the way the developers told this game's story and was always intrigued about what they were going to do next. 

Oh look, they decorated for Christmas.

The Darkness 2's combat system is incredibly flexible, frantic and above all, fun. You have essentially four arms to deal out damage: your two Darkness arms, which hover over your shoulders, and your two human arms. Your human arms can single or dual wield guns, meaning you can shoot the hell out of everyone. At the same time, you can stab, grab and throw objects with your Darkness arms to multiply your damage output. There were several heated moments in the game where I was shooting bullets into one enemy, quickly grabbing objects to slam into separate advancing thugs and then returning my reticule to my original opponent to finish him off. Two dead thugs with minimal effort; that type of flexibility isn't something you see often in games, and the ability to drastically vary your attacks is completely awesome.

As you kill you earn Dark Essence which you can cash in at portals for new moves and enhancements to your abilities. It adds a layer of customization that the original did not have and caused me to focus on what attacks were working against enemies and how I could better attack my many, many foes. The system gives the game a bit of an RPG feel with how you can develop abilities and was something I really enjoyed and appreciated.

If you're worried about game length, don't; the main campaign will take you between six and eight hours, but the inclusion of a new game plus mode means you're likely to play through the game a few times. If you're more of a social player, you and three other friends can get together to play the multiplayer Vendettas mode. It's a separate campaign from the main single player game, but intersects with moments from the main story. Play the single-player campaign before you jump into multiplayer, so you can understand who some of the characters are and why you're doing some of the things you're doing. 

Parking in New York can cost you your life.

Players take the role of four separate Darkness-infused fights. You have: Inugami, a mentally unstable Asian assassin, Shoshanna, a Mossad agent with serious gun skills, Jimmy Wilson, a Scotsman wielding an axe and an accent, and J.P. DuMond, an African-American doctor that practices the dark arts. The characters stick pretty close to stereotypes, but they are each fun to play.

The multiplayer campaign will take you between two and three hours and there are several one off missions you can play afterwards to extend your multiplayer game sessions. If none of your friends buy The Darkness 2 (get new friends), you can still play the Vendettas campaign by yourself. It's still quite enjoyable solo and functions just as more The Darkness 2... which isn't a bad thing.

Version Tested: Xbox 360