The Darkness

"Not your generic FPS, but rather a more interesting mix of FPS and role playing..."

The Darkness is based off a comic of the same name. The Darkness plays much like any other FPS, it has the same kind of controls and health system etc, but there is more to it. The Darkness also has a role playing part to it, in the sense you have your central hub where you can travel to other areas, help people out, and just generally explore Manhatten.

The story follows our anti-hero Jackie Estacado, who works for the mob in Manhatten. However on the night of his 21st birthday, a job goes wrong, leaving Uncle Paulie (the mob leader) angry with Jackie, and when I say angry, I mean he wants to kill him. However Jackie obtains a mysterious power, called the Darkness. He can summon small dark creatures to help him in battle, giving him a massive advantage over his enemies. There is more to the story however writing any more will spoil the story, the rest of the story isn't too bad, but its nothing breath taking either.

The gameplay is split into two different types: Shooting and Role Playing (well, ill call it role playing for this review). The shooting parts aren't too exciting, its just like most other FPS games around, you shoot the enemies, they die, you carry on, its all good. However, you get to use the darkness powers to aid you on your journey. You can summon Black Holes, use a demon arm to put out lights, or summon little creatures to help you fight. However through out playing the game I didn't really use the powers that much, there was a lot of potential with the Darkness powers. They were a nice addition, but you can play without. So what are these role playing sections I speak of then? Well, its not really role playing as such, but you do quests (well, they're like quests anyway) in a central hub, which is the sub-way. You can talk to other people around the place and help them out, or explore the town. There are collectables (which unlock bonus content and achievements) hidden all over the place, requiring you to phone the number to unlock the content. Its definitely something different to other FPS games which require you to just run through level after level blasting stuff. The Darkness has a much more free roam feel to it.

The graphics in the Darkness aren't too bad. The characters and animation are fine, as are the environments and textures. The graphics aren't the best, but they're still pretty good. There was something I didn't like though, the characters mouths barely moved, it wasn't too much of a problem, but it still looked dodgey when characters talked. I admit I didn't really notice much of the music, its not too bad, but a lot of the time music isn't really playing (only in cut-scenes and when fighting).

Overall, the Darkness is definitely something different. If you're bored of generic FPS games, The Darkness may be worth it look. It mixes some fun shooting sections with nice role playing sections, The Darkness is unique from what I have played so far. Overall I give it an 8/10. Please note I couldn't review the multiplayer since I couldn't actually connect to any games (although not many people seemed to play online).

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/08

Game Release: The Darkness (EU, 06/29/07)