The Darkness 1&2 Demo Impressions:
Due to the hype surrounding The Darkness II, I downloaded the predecessor’s demo, but much to my surprise, my thoughts can be best summarized by the following video:
Why yes, I am a huge fan of Zero Punctuation.
But how does the sequel’s demo stack up? Here’s what I thought:
The Darkess II Demo Impression
Release Date: 7/2/2012
Platforms: Xbox 360 (Demoed) , Playstation 3, PC
The demo begins by thrusting you into the shoes of a bloke named Jackie, who has been nailed to a plank of wood, in a similar manner to that of a fictitious son of god. While the camera drunkenly spins around, you notice just how good this game looks, the colors are well used and vibrant, the designs invoke an otherworldly feel, amplified by the burn victim using some form of magic to extract the manifestation of evil and badassery that lurks inside Jackie’s shoulders. After some vague expedition about the Darkness, for those who are new to the series and talks of extracting the Darkness from Jackie. You then flashback to an Italian restaurant where you learn how much of a pimp Jackie is. Unfortunately for Jackie, the restaurant gets raided, and he lose his right leg, then you need to partake in a first-person-shooting section where you are dragged around by a friend/relative of Jackie.
After you escape into the kitchen, the raiders burn you by setting the kitchen on fire. It is a very exciting scene, that certainly does grab you attention, that is only helped by the auto aim, which some may consider cheating, but I consider to be a helpful addition that amplifies the sense of empowerment that the game appears to be built on. However, Jackie can survive a burning gas leak, and manages to escape the kitchen with third degree burns, but is then healed by the satanic tentacles that lie within him, know as the Darkness. You then are taught the basic mechanics of the game, namely the quad-wielding. Unlike most first person shooters that let you have two pistols or something, the Darkness II allows you to dual wield any gun, and have two tentacles that are used by the right and left bumpers. On the left is Grabbie, who throws and grabs people, car doors and miscellaneous garbage, and Slashie, who cuts people in half in vertical or horizontal fashions. You continue through the city, encountering a farting dark imp who guides you, a vision of Jackie’s lost love, presumably from the first game, and some amazing color design in the areas. It is an amazing contrast compared to the grey original. It invokes the feel of a comic book, which is suitable since it is an adaptation of one. After some jolly good shootery fun that maintains interesting due to the many ways to massacre orange jumpsuit wearing weirdos, you then return to the present, Jackie unleashes his satanic power, and the game cuts away. leaving a feeling of interest and excitement in the player along with it. I loved this demo, and am looking forward to the full game, when it released on February 7, 2012. The frantic and beautifully done gameplay is given a bit of extra spice by a story of loss and revenge, done by a character, who as the trailers indicated, has nothing to lose ever since the only woman he ever loved, died. But I don’t expect this game to be more than 10 hours, and I don’t believe that $60 is worth maybe two playthroughs of a 10 hour game, while multiplayer is involved, I’ve never been a big fan of playing any multiplayer that isn’t couch co-op. That and it comes out on the same day as Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and I think I’d get more bang for my back by buying that. Although, when the game is available for $30 by June, I’ll probably pick it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA