The Darkness

"The Darkness Beckons You"

Gameplay(40/50)

The Darkness was different than other first person shooters that I have played. Usually you go from point A to point B gunning down everything in your path with maybe a couple of simple puzzles to solve along the way. In the Darkness you had more of an open map where you went wandering the city looking for the correct person A to lead you to point A where person B would give you the direction for point B. However, it is very strait forward on whom you are supposed to talk to and which direction you're supposed to go afterwards. In addition to using standard projectile weapons to gun down everything in your path you also have darkness powers which give you aid in combat anywhere from a long distance melee to a shield that protects you from enemy's bullets. The only downside to the darkness power is you have to "turn off" all the light sources in the local area as well as consume the hearts of your fallen foes in order to receive further Darkness powers. You can also summon little demons do to your evil deeds. The setting mainly takes place in New York City with trips back in time to a warped Western Front in World War I which gives the game an interesting psychological horror theme to it.

Graphics(15/15)

A lot of detail and hard work went into making this game from the graffiti on the walls to the details in the character models. Even in various run down urban environments you can see rust on toilets and cracks in mirrors and leaky pipes.

Story(17/25)

The game had a psychological horror theme as mentioned earlier but was rather confusing at times. You'll be asking a lot of questions about the back story of why some things are in this game and a lot go unanswered. The game also has your New York Mafia theme with your main character being a hitman. Some of the dialogue is quite humorous. Especially during loading sequences where the main character is by himself in a dark room with only a chair and a weapon nearby telling various stories about life in New York City.

Sound(10/10)

It seems these days that better voice acting is becoming more and more common in video games with larger profile people. Voice acting is well done and the sound effects were creepy when needed and realistic when needed. The music was also depressing to suit the run down urban environment in which the game takes place at.

Overall(82/100)

I enjoyed this game overall. It was short but enjoyable. I'd recommend at least giving it a rent.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/07