By Boot Scraper

A few years back, a Swedish game company by the name of Starbreeze Studios made a name for itself in the industry when they released The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay on the original Xbox. It was a game that, by all means, shouldn’t have been good. It was a licensed title, it was a spin-off of a poorly reviewed film, and Starbreeze Studios had only a couple mediocre games out. Somehow, though, it was one of, if not the best game on the Xbox. Now, with the license of The Darkness comic books at their disposal, can they make lightning strike twice?
The Darkness puts you in the shoes of mafia hitman Jackie Estacado who is the next in line to inherit his family’s curse, the Darkness. It grants him superhuman powers, which he’ll need to defeat his uncle Paulie, who is not only the person Jackie makes hits for, but also the guy who killed his girlfriend Jenny. It follows the 2nd volume of The Darkness comics by Topcow.

The gameplay is just as solid as it was in The Chronicles of Riddick. It doesn’t have any of the melee combat, but it does take the RPG-like elements from Riddick like the ability to talk to different people and getting side quests. Most of which are pretty fun and have you completing hits for the older mob guys who still like you. The biggest draw of the gameplay, however, is the Darkness powers. You have a tentacle arm to smash out lights (which lets you regenerate your powers) and impale people with, the ability to send a small eel-like head to get into places you can’t reach, special guns you can spawn, and arguably the most fun is the black hole which lets you suck enemies and debris into a… well… black hole. All of which you can level up to make stronger. You also have the help of different types of darklings, which are hilariously demented monsters that help you wreak havoc on the unsuspecting populous. All these powers are very easy to use, but the fun part is being able to master the art of when to use what power. Within time you will be able to dominate all enemies, which is incredibly fun and satisfying.

The graphics and sound are among the best in the industry. Every corner, alleyway, character, and building has so much detail that it’s hard to imagine how this game was ever finished. When I first started playing this game, I occasionally found myself staring at the screen waiting for a cinematic to be over, when really the game just looks that good. The one part of the game that really outdid itself on a visual level is the gore. The blood shines realistically and dynamically on the ground, bullet holes tear through bodies and bleed out through fabric, and as you have the darkness eat the hearts of your enemies to level up your powers, holes are punched through the bodies with visible parts of ribcage bent inward. It’s sick, twisted, and I loved every detail. And the sound only adds to it. All the effects are topnotch, and the voice acting is so far the best I’ve heard in a game. The best of which is Mike Patton (lead singer of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle) as The Darkness itself. It’s creepy, disturbing, demented, and at some points downright funny.

The game also has a lot of replayability. After you beat the amazing storyline, you can go on the multiplayer mode. Now, all they really had to do is make a Quake-style deathmatch mode with how great the game already is, but they went that extra mile by adding in the ability to change into a darkling. It’s a great gameplay mechanic that makes every online battle hilarious. Also adding to the replay value is the huge amount of unlockable extras. Everything from early dev screens and art to documentaries and full comics can be found in this gigantic adventure.
This is one of those rare gems that everyone that calls themselves a gamer should own. It proves once and for all that Starbreeze Studios is not a one trick pony and deserves to be held on as high a pedestal as the giants like Epic and id Software.

Score:10 out of 10.