For those who are not aware, The Darkness is inspired by the comic of the same name created by Garth Ennis, Marc Silvestri and David Whol for Top Cow Productions, and brought to success by Paul Jenkins, former author of famous comic book sagas for The Amazing. Spiderman, Uncanny Xman and Sentry. Compared to the comic series, the video game distances itself in several crucial points, marrying them more to the videogame genre, while leaving the basic narrative plot unchanged.
Screen
It's been two years since, in the first chapter, Jackie came back from the dead and saw his Jenny die, the only woman he was truly in love with. Jackie Estacado is now firmly at the head of the Franchetti mafia family and is determined to control “La Tenebra” which, as he will later discover, is a dark legacy of his family's male descendants. Unfortunately, his attempts are made in vain when, in the middle of a dinner, Jackie is brutally attacked by a mysterious organization. In fact, to escape death, our protagonist will have to resort to the dark powers of darkness which, saving his life, will ask for his reason in exchange.
Jackie's choice to revive the Darkness is not without consequences and Jackie's mind, already deeply shaken by the death of her beloved, begins to waver, caught between the dark advice of the entity that lives within him and the terrible omens. of a Jenny who appears not to be really dead.
In the meantime, as you will discover during the game, the mysterious organization with the name, The Brotherhood, is intent on freeing "The Guest" of his powers.
The title, although it has lost the poignant narrative structure of the first chapter, is nevertheless compelling, halfway between the noir atmospheres of the great gangster movies and the expressive power of films like Shutter Island, of which we seemed to glimpse quotes in several places. . In the background, the tender love story between two characters who are overwhelmed by events greater than them, almost new Paolo and Francesca, lovers that not even the darkness of hell has managed to separate.
The title plays on ambiguity, destroying the certainties of the player who will find himself repeatedly faced with the question of what is real and what is not, the world in which we are at the head of a powerful mafia family or the one in which we are only gods. freaks locked up in an asylum, until the final tragic choice that will affect your entire gaming experience.
We do not hide that we would have appreciated a greater depth of the character, limited to the phases in which it is Jackie himself who tells us his story from the darkness of a room, but that despite everything, we appreciated this attempt by the developers to play on the level of double reality. , the one inside the asylum and the one outside it, only successful in a few cinematographic works like the one mentioned above.
gameplay
For the second chapter of The Darkness, the Digital Extremes team, the same as the multiplayer sector of Bioshock 2, seems to have privileged the aspect of the frenzy of the fighting and the speed of the attacks. Jackie is still equipped with the two demonic arms and a decent military arsenal to be used to fill the enemies of the brotherhood with lead, but, even more than in the first chapter, the interaction with the surrounding environment will be fundamental, which will always provide you with means. new ones to tear apart your enemies. Precisely for this reason, secondary quests that could have fragmented the narrative and environmental puzzles disappear completely, except for very few sequences in which you will have to eliminate light generators in order to continue.
To the basic combat techniques with weapons, and to those determined by the presence of your tentacle friends, which mainly consist in grabbing enemies and objects and throwing them away (left tentacle) or lashing them and tearing them up vertically or horizontally (right tentacle), a series of combo moves are added, such as decapitation, slicing and others that will be unlocked as you develop your skills by spending the "essence" collected from the execution of your enemies. Some of these will also be useful to gain vital energy (also recoverable from the hearts of killed enemies) or ammunition, never enough, especially in the highest game difficulties.
The presence of the darkling, Jackie's faithful demonic friend, will make your fighting style varied, allowing you, for example, to launch it towards the more distant enemies that target you hidden behind comfortable cover, while you think about the closest ones. During the game, on two short occasions, you will find yourself personally controlling the darkling: we liked it a lot, but these phases should have been more numerous and above all long.
If you have already played the first chapter, you will find the control system rather familiar, otherwise it will take you an hour to start killing and seeing blood spurt everywhere. In any case, it will be fundamental to enhance your skills (purchased as mentioned in the appropriate "altars" throughout the game) by choosing between the four different specializations present, and adapting them to your style of play. Privileging the demonic powers rather than the military skills of our character will make you almost unbeatable in the dark, but particularly vulnerable to the light and vice versa.
The title as it should be, given the "adult" nature of the plot, is gory and in some game sequences, such as the masterful one inside the house of horrors, impressive, even for the most savvy of you. Of course, it is highly recommended to play it late at night.
Unfortunately, the game is really too short: it will only take 6-7 hours to read the credits (by the way, as always, don't skip them, you will be rewarded 😉), a couple more if you launch yourself in the search for all the scattered relics in the game and with a higher difficulty level than "normal"). The substantial linearity of the title and an artificial intelligence that is not exactly excellent, will help to make the title a challenge not too difficult for those who are used to first person shooters. Things change slightly with the higher difficulty level, increasing the number of enemies, their resistance and above all making the ammunition that you will find along the way scarce.
To "lengthen the soup" we think a well-structured cooperative multiplayer sector, divided into missions that in some cases can represent real additional chapters compared to the main plot.
Lights and shadows
Stylistically speaking, the title will surely be familiar to all those who have played, and loved, Bioshock. Movements of the characters, some stylistic choices for the settings and even the hands of the character Jackie, will be a pleasant dejavu, you can take for granted given the team of programmers behind the development, perhaps, but still pleasant.
The choice of Cell Shading, as well as a clear homage to the comic series
(another can be found inside Jackie's hospital room: on the bedside table there are in fact some historical numbers of the American comic) helps to make the visual impact really excellent, perhaps just a little out of tune or excessively " colored ”compared to the gloom of the narrated plot.
The good use of the lighting, however not at the highest levels for this generation and the solidity of the graphics engine, capable of managing even numerous enemies on the screen, make the title very pleasant and above all fun, which makes it even more bitter to have to abandon it. after a few hours.
The sound sector is excellent from every point of view. The dubbing of both the main character and the supporting actors is incredibly realistic and well done (shame about a "lip sync" not perfect for the Italian version) while the soundtrack presses properly in the most excited phases, while loading the suspense environment in the phases where it will be necessary to act silently.
Incredible is the voice of darkness that recalls the scariest characters of some famous horror films (if you are passionate about the genre you will have no difficulty in identifying them). It goes without saying that playing it with a 5.1 system makes the experience completely different given the excellent audio post production of the title.
Final comment
The Darkness II is an extraordinary title from certain points of view, which makes us rediscover the pleasure of playing an FPS, which we seemed to have lost, playfully speaking, a long time ago. Not surprisingly, in our review, the largest space was dedicated to gameplay, perhaps the most successful aspect of this chapter together with the sound sector. Of course, the depth of the first chapter has been lost and the longevity is really very low, but what has been lost, it has been earned with the interests in frenzy and fun and this in the opinion of the writer, is a great merit for a media which has this as its main objective: to entertain. The Darkness II is suspended between reality, which in horror surpasses fantasy, and madness; Is it a journey into the protagonist's sick mind or a struggle to survive the madness generated by Darkness? It's up to you players to find out.
TheDarknessII_PS3 votes
Playability 88
Graphics 88
Sound 90
Logevity 78
Overall 88
For
- Articulated and immediate gameplay
- Outstanding sound
Cons
- Longevity too short
The title is available from 10 February 2012 on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms.
