The Darkness II Review [XBox360]

rating:3.5

If Starbreeze's 2007 release The Darkness was a grim and brooding opera, fraught with love, loss, betrayal and revenge, then Digital Extreme's 2012 release The Darkness II is somewhat of a Hollywood action sequel. Refined, more visceral, far less pensive but ultimately satisfying. This sequel both benefits and suffers from this pithier re-imagining of the formulae. Though five years and a studio change have gone by reality side, for Jackie Estacado, the begrudging host of ultimate murderous evil 'The Darkness', it's been a quiet two year stint bottling up the demon within and taking his seat as Don, in one of the New York crime families. Not a minute after the story picks up however things begin to go proverbially awry and Jackie is forced to unleash his demonic abilities in order to survive an attack against his life. It's here Mike Patton's unflinching portrayal as raspy evil incarnate returns as he voices the unleashed Darkness once more. It's also here that the player is introduced to 'quad wielding' a new, intuitive control scheme which allows Jackie to dual wield a choice of pistols and SMGs whilst simultaneously wreaking havoc with the Darkness' two head snakes, each one mapped to either bumper. It's from here that Jackie, the Darkness and new sidekick 'The Darkling' embark on a blood soaked adventure to uncover the intent of new nemesis 'The Brotherhood'. What follows is a brilliantly penned tail of old favourites love, loss, betrayal and revenge. Renowned comic book writer Paul Jenkins doesn't struggle to find new and interesting paths of intrigue and if anything the story and characterisation are the game's greatest strength. Returning characters such as Jimmy the Grape, Jackie and lost love Jenny are faithfully recreated with new ground quickly being broken as the script quickly finds fresh ways to explore Jackie's tortured soul. New characters such as The Darkling (replacing the previous four anonymous darklings of the original) and unhinged-mystic-know-it-all Johnny Powell being particularly of note. Superbly nuanced in both writing and performance these two characters especially help add another layer of texture to Jackie's somewhat singular cycle of misery and revenge. The gameplay itself is equally engaging, allowing players a platter of satisfying and gory options for dispatching wave upon wave of homogenous soon-to-be-pieces enemies. The game encourages gory, stylish kills which net 'dark essence', the mojo currency used to unlock powers on Jackie's four skill trees. Whether it's tearing a spinal column out from a man's anus or firing your auto-aiming darkness fuelled pistols through walls, whilst your darkling buddy pisses on the fallen with the cockney slur 'ave it you c***', the Darkness II definitely makes you feel powerful. Moreover the temptation to actually shoot things often falls behind in favour of Darkness fuelled destruction. If it's not impaling goons with a launched scaffold pole, it's slicing him in half with a flick of the analogue-stick-manned Darkness tendril. Indeed the temptation may actually be to max out one or two of the talent trees in the first play through but unlocking a diverse mix of powers is a more rewarding experience in a game that is fairly easy anyway. The only problem that Jackie's story, the co-op side story 'Vendettas' (a four player online cluster orgy of giblets and gore) or the package as a whole faces is it's length. Both campaigns can be easily seen back to back by a skilled player in one 7-8 hour sitting. Indeed mopping up the standalone vendetta missions (pooled under the 'hit list' heading), collecting all the hidden relics and seeing the game through again in New Game Plus on a harder setting, will only extend that duration another 4 hours or so. This is a shame as what content there is is really great and worthy of attention. Whether you're a returning fan, a fatigued shooter player looking for some genuinely meaty story or even just a reprieve from the formulaic look down sight, pull trigger formulae The Darkness II does deliver. That said the Vendettas co-op half of the disc is not nearly as satisfying as the main story element. Vendettas' short campaign runs parallel to the main narrative but really is nothing more than an excuse to get four players together in a car park as they each scramble to put their shotguns in the mouths or hatchet's in the hearts of the continuing swarms of enemies. Yes, each character has their own powers and personality, and yes, the co-operative carnage is enjoyable enough but considering the length of Jackie's story, it's certain fans will be disappointed that the money and man hours spent on Vendettas couldn't have instead been used to lengthen the solo experience. On the presentation side of things, the sound and visuals are really fantastic. Graphically, the cell shaded look fits the pulpier tone of the sequel and keeps the decapitations and disemboweling hyper realistic and fun, without it feeling genuinely sadistic or too unpleasant. The sound work is outstanding all round, although many of the characters have a certain stock New York mobster twang that doesn't stop them feeling unique, interesting or believable. Again it's worth noting the stand out brilliance of Mike Patton's Darkness, the darkling and Johnny Powell once more. The use of music is great too, blending well with the atmospheric soundscape and even employing a few classic hits in ways that suit the narrative perfectly. It's just a shame that like all of the elements in the game there isn't more of it. Conversations between NPCs and Jackie's monologues between scenes are a cut above the sort of drivel you hear in most games. That said, you will probably leave the experience having felt like the game is missing an act or so. What the Darkness franchise has going for it is a great sense of tone and mood, something modern games in general severely lack but that this sequel doles out again in droves. Fans of the original may miss the darker, more serious edge of the original but the story telling is just as compelling and the gameplay doubtless light years ahead. Looking to the future of the franchise the hope is that Jackie's story will continue and that more great writing will be there to back him in an age of otherwise homogenous multiplayer focused shooters. For the series to expand however, and for the games to continue to improve, who ever develops the next game has to have the conviction and belief in the narrative to push it further. A longer, winding tale and yet more ways to feel like the devil himself are what is needed to make good on this short but undoubtedly sweet sequel.