I literally just beat The Darkness II a couple minutes ago. It was short as hell but I enjoyed what was there. However I don't think I liked it as much as the first one. Although I wouldn't argue with someone who said they liked the combat in this one better I did really, really like the combat in the first at well. I also thought the first one told a better story from start to finish. The second one told a great story as well but it didn't feel as complete.

I could probably point out several story points and things I liked better but I'll just talk about the ending for now. The ending to this one was...lackluster. Running through hell should have been a lot cooler than it actually was. And for a game that actually does have boss fights why not give us one at the end? Also they were clearly relying on a sequel to finish off this story. The first one has one of my favorite endings in game history. Climbing up the lighthouse, watching the big baddie crawling away begging for his life. Do you let him live or take your revenge and allow the darkness to take over? There isn't a choice, the darkness already has taken over. It was just such a well done scene that left the ending bleak, sad and almost hopeless. . It is an ending that has stuck with me since I saw it. The ending to this game, eh, probably not.

So I'm curious, how did you guys like this one compared to the first? I also should probably state that I've never read the comics and know very little about them (other than that he has that bitchin' armor) so maybe the second more true to the source material.

I loved the game for different reasons than the first. The first has a fantastic story, like you said, and a great sense of a complete adventure. The second one, however, is way more fun to play. The arcadey combat in 2 is so solid that I can forgive it's more linear and limited scope. I also thought it had a really good story and I loved the ending as a set-up for a third game, which may never happen, sadly. The art style was also well-done and very appealing.

I will say, that if there was ANYTHING the second game has over the first, it's the ability to pull your enemies' spines out through their assholes. That is just...beautiful.

I enjoyed the game for being as brutal as it was and the segments when Jackie was in the Asylum were some of the best moments in the entire game. I haven't played the first Darkness since 2007 so I can't remember most of that game other than it too was brutal and visually stunning for a game released in 2007.

I prefer the visual style of the second one as well as the feeling of that game being more dynamic compared to the first. Both game games have flair though in entirely different ways. I can't really choose between them to be honest.

Yeah, one of the reasons I made this topic is because they are basically two totally different games. For me the answer is easy because of how much I loved the first one but as you said, they both have a lot going for them in different ways. I do agree with everyone that the art style in the second one was great. The first one was also quite a looker when it came out but the style of the second game was an improvement for sure.

Even though I like the first one more I'm glad Digital Extremes did what they were comfortable doing rather than trying to emulate Starbreeze and (probably) failing.

Vastly prefer the frist one, but 2 is a great, unique FPS that just controls great, considering you have basically four arms. It was way too fucking short,though.

Liked them both for various reasons though 2 was lot shorter & should have been longer as it was worth the ride. Both Darkness I & II are highly recommended around here.

Finally blasted my way through the 2nd game and I was pretty impressed with how competent it was. The first game is a shining example in my mind of what a video game narrative can be, what some imagination and willingness to not play to type could be in a game. I suppose I should have known the dialogue would be just as sharp, since the writer is the same, but I was genuinely impressed with the voice performances too, even if I thought the main story arc is rather weaker this time around. Less impressive was the world, which although looked terrific (not enough is made of how well they made the hand drawn style work in a shooter, probably, even if it is probably much too vibrant for a video game called "The Darkness II"), is a much more straight forward affair this time around. No real good reason to poke around and immerse yourself in it, and certainly no part of it equals the nightmarish ingenuity of the WWI inspired interpretation of the Darkness's mind.

In a word, rather better than expected but still, basically "Darkness Lite".

I think the narrative in the first game was probably stronger (not that The Darkness 2's story is bad or anything) but I still liked the second game better because I really disliked those World War I sequences in the first game from a gameplay perspective and overall, Darkness 2 is just a better playing game.

I felt the second one just kind of harped on the things that made the first one great a little too much.

I thought a few things were worse than the original, but overall, it was a great sequel and I'm disappointed I held off playing it all this time. I got it last night and beat it this morning. Story-wise, it went in the right direction to me, where it was mostly about Jackie's love for Jenny, that was sweet. The Darkness was one of my favorite games of 07, and I played it a lot, The Darkness 2 doesn't really bring that sense of amazement the first did, but it was still great.

Edit - 2/2/2018. I doubt anyone will see this, but the game became backward compatible on the One and since I enjoyed it, I thought I'd replay it again on hard and I think it's awesome. I remember most of it considering it's pretty short, but I don't remember all of it so it's still somewhat fresh. I played some of it on hard right after I finished it the first time, but didn't finish it. In hindsight, I am not actually sure which one I like more. I think both are exceptional and two is a whole lot of fun on hard.

I hope the first comes out on backward compatibility. Man, I want a third game. I also think it'd be pretty cool to see both games remastered. I think both games have great visuals, but I'd like to see a remaster where both games are consistent visually. The voice acting for Jackie and Jenny are fantastic in the first, but I'd also like to hear the voices from two brought into the first again for consistency sake. Lastly, I am very surprised that I played The Darkness 2 three years ago now. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago.