Darkness II
A quest for vengeance may be the most played-out plot in gaming, but Digital Extreme’s “The Darkness II” uses the tired premise to create one of the strongest narratives in a first-person shooter since “Bioshock.” The storyline delivers the visceral satisfaction of revenge films like “Kill Bill” and “Oldboy,” but turns its unsurprisingly dark tone on a dime for quieter moments that carry surprising emotional weight.
Jackie Estacado has suppressed the darkness and taken control of a criminal empire in the two years since the events of the first game. The opening scene illustrates Estacado’s new place in life as he makes his way to dinner in a ritzy Italian restaurant, then quickly sets the story into motion when his meal is interrupted by an assassination attempt. These sudden shifts between moments of character development to gore-filled action sequences are jarring, but keep the game interesting throughout the six- or seven-hour campaign.
While the narrative focuses on Jackie’s emotional vulnerability, the gameplay leans more toward an ultra-violent power trip. Players command devastating demonic powers against almost helpless mortal enemies with a level of brutality only seen in games like “Mortal Kombat.” Using Estacado’s supernatural tentacles, impalement, decapitation and eating enemy hearts are all par for the course in combat encounters.
What makes the combat in “The Darkness II” unique also created a sad first for me as an elitist PC gamer. I generally prefer using a mouse and keyboard to play a first-person shooter. Although most modern shooters are designed with consoles as their priority, the greater precision of mouse and keyboard controls have always made them the superior choice. The game’s combat mechanics require simultaneous control of two weapons and two tentacles. On a 360 controller the bumpers and triggers activate the tentacles and weapons, while the right analog stick controls the crosshair and direction of Estacado’s tentacle whip. Using a mouse to direct the tentacle whip felt unnatural, and the bumpers and triggers provided more intuitive control of the left and right weapons and tentacles.
Precise aiming isn’t what the combat is about anyway; here the focus is instead on macro-managing a large number of weak enemies. Objects in the environment can be grabbed by a tentacle for use as a projectile or portable cover, and their strategic use is necessary for the more difficult encounters. A few rechargeable powers mapped to the face buttons, such as a swarm of flies to stun enemies, also help with crowd control.
Melee combat in first-person shooters usually has only situational use, and almost always boils down to tapping a button in close range to smack an enemy with your gun. Estacado’s tentacles provide a longer ranged and more powerful melee option. Controlling the direction of the tentacle slash makes the melee combat feel more involved than the typical shooter and adds some strategic options once upgraded.
The game’s upgrade system is divided into four branching skill trees that add and improve powers. Upgrade points are primarily earned through combat. Killing an enemy in more stylish manner will net more upgrade points, but will usually be riskier to pull off. Upgrades range from adding effects to the tentacle slash, to giving additional options for disposing captured foes, to adding new abilities like a gun channeling spell that improves weapon fire for a stretch of time.
Thick outlines and bright colors evoke the game’s roots as a comic book series. Little touches like occasional cross-hatching on textures and hard black shadows make this the most successful use of cel-shading in a video game to date. The script, penned by comic writer Paul Jenkins, is delivered with consistently great voice acting, highlighted by Mike Patton as the Darkness. The short but sweet adventure is one to experience, though don’t expect any resolution from the sequel setup ending.
