The Darkness (video game)

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The Darkness
Developer(s)	Starbreeze Studios
Publisher(s)	2K Games
Engine	Starbreeze Engine (Proprietary)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA June 25, 2007 EU June 29, 2007 (360) EU July 20, 2007 (PS3)
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, first-person action, survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 ESRB: M OFLC: MA 15+ PEGI: 18+ USK: 18
Media	DVD, Blu-ray Disc
Input methods	SIXAXIS, DualShock 3, Xbox 360 Controller

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The Darkness is a first-person shooter video game, released by Starbreeze Studios, the game was released on June 25, 2007 in North America, and on June 20, 2007 in Europe. The video game is based on the comic book of the same title, though some changes to the storyline within the game have been made. The game takes place in modern-day New York City, the protagonist is Jackie Estacado, who has been possessed by a spirit that is known as "The Darkness". The game is available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Reception 3.1 Ban in Singapore 4 Possible sequel 5 Soundtrack 6 Trivia 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The Darkness is a first-person shooter, with an American named Jackie Estacado as the protagonist. The game includes a range of modern-day weapons that become available over the course of the game. However, as a result of Estacado turning 21 at the very start of the game, the powers of The Darkness are also available to the player, with some powers not being unlocked until later in the game. The Darkness powers include summoning different types of imp-like "darklings" that can attack foes, using "dark tentacles" to impale foes or break down walls, using "creeping dark" tendrils that sneak along floors, walls, and ceilings to take out foes from a distance, and creating a black hole that sucks anything nearby into it. Over the course of the game, Estacado also comes into possession of the "darkness guns" that are more powerful than many conventional weapons but consume some amount of darkness energy in order to fire. The darkness guns are held one in each hand, the one on the right being a small minigun, and the other is a sort "One hand cannon" that fires immensely large and powerful rounds. These Darkness powers cannot be used when Estacado is in a well-lit area, but do become more powerful in darker conditions; the player is able to shoot out lights to help increase the amount of dark energy available for their attacks. Additionally, by ordering The Darkness to consume the hearts of the victims of the attacks, the player can further increase the effects of the darkness powers.

The game has several levels based on New York City locales that players visit multiple times. A significantly-reduced subway system allows the player to move between areas. While the main plot is primarily linear, requiring the player to visit each area in a certain order, the player can undertake side missions by speaking with non-player characters that wander the subway stations. For example, one such mission is to win a rigged shell game being run in the subway after getting a tip from another character. Completing sub-missions earns the player a "collectible" phone number which can then be used at any phone to unlock additional game media; collectibles can also be found scattered throughout the level. The Otherworld levels feature collectibles in the form of unposted postal mail that the player can deliver when back in New York City in order to unlock the content.

[edit] Plot

The player takes the role of Jackie Estacado (voiced by Kirk Acevedo, of Oz fame), with the story presented as a future-narrative on the present events observed by the player. On the eve of his 21st birthday, Jackie was targeted for assassination by the don of the New York mafia, "Uncle" Paulie. He finds his body possessed by "the Darkness" (voiced by lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton, who used his natural voice without any added vocal effects^{[citation needed]}), a malevolent spirit that has inhabited his family for several generations, with the benefit of Jackie gaining supernatural powers that feeds off the dark. Using these dark powers, Jackie is able to survive further assassination attempts and track down Paulie, but not before Paulie and the corrupt police chief, Eddie Shrote,kidnap Jackie's girlfriend, Jenny. they take her to the orphanege where Jackie and jenny grew up,and then they murder her and then escape. Unable to stop them due to the Darkness deliberately restraining him and forcing him to watch her die, he commits suicide out of sheer emotional stress, noting in the narrative that "That... well, that was the first time I died." He finds himself in the Otherworld, the realm of the Darkness with patchwork undead beings in World War I outfits fighting each other, and physical manifestations of the Four Horsemen. He meets his great-great-grandfather Anthony Estacado, who admits that it was he that brought the Darkness into the family, and tells Jackie how to free himself of the Darkness by invading the castle in the Otherworld and facing the Darkness there. Jackie is interrupted in his journey through the Otherworld and brought back to the living.

Once he recovers, he determines that he must dispose of Chief Shrote before he can face Paulie. Chasing Shrote to his apartment and then confiscating a briefcase containing illicit goods in Shrote's ownership and rigging it with an explosive, Jackie is able to lure Shrote out of hiding, but he is shortly captured. After overhearing about a shipment of drugs that a Chicago mob is entrusting to Paulie to handle, Jackie triggers the explosive, killing Shrote and his men along with himself, the narrative noting that "that was the second time I died." Jackie re-awakes in the Otherworld, and lays siege to the Darkness's castle with Anthony's help. Anthony is mortally wounded in the attack, but before he can tell Jackie the last steps needed to free himself from the Darkness, the spirit pulls him away. Jackie faces the Darkness and surprises it by willingly being taken by the Darkness's power, allowing him to fully control the spirit back in the real world; however, the Darkness tells him that, while he has control now, each time Jackie takes a life, he will become more consumed by the Darkness. He lays an assault on the drug shipment, causing Paulie to flee to the safety of a lighthouse mansion for fear of retribution from the Chicago mob. Jackie takes advantage of a solar eclipse to raid the mansion and finally kill Paulie. The Darkness revels in Jackie's murderous spree, and fully envelops Jackie, shouting "Now you are mine!!"

In the epilogue, Jackie finds himself in a dream in a park, laying on a bench in Jenny's arms; Jenny explains that they are only allowed a few minutes to be together one last time to say goodbye. Jackie tries to ask how, but Jenny just quiets him, allowing them to enjoy the last moments together before Jackie wakes back up with the screen fading to black.

[edit] Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com 9/10 Electronic Gaming Monthly 8/10 Eurogamer 8/10 Game Informer 8.75/10 GamePro 3.75/5 Game Revolution B- GameSpot 8.5/10 GameSpy 4/5 IGN 7.7/10 Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) 6/10 Official Xbox Magazine 8/10 PSM 9/10

The Darkness received favorable reviews from critics. Most praised the single player campaign, the story, and the game's graphics across both platforms, but warned readers about unreasonably bad lag in multiplayer sessions and advised to ignore multiplayer altogether until a patch is released. The Darkness received the "Game of the Month" award in the August issue of Game Informer. Reviewer Andrew Reiner gave the game an 8.75 out of 10, stating that "Players are immersed in an adventure that brings out the best of humanity."^[1]

As of June 24, 2009, the Game Rankings score for The Darkness is 83.31 (Xbox 360) / 81.36 (PS3).^[2][3] The Metacritic score was 82 (Xbox 360) / 80 (PS3).^[4][5]

[edit] Ban in Singapore

The game was banned in Singapore according to the distributor New Era. The reason for this was due to the local censorship board dubbing the game due to profanity use and graphic violence.^[6] The game had been scheduled for a July release before the ban.

[edit] Possible sequel

A sequel to the game was accidentally revealed due to a letter from a 2K employer to a Dutch rap artist, along with reports of a Top Cow Comics employee letting slips of the title's production.^[7] According to several articles, apparently developer Starbreeze Studios is currently working on the sequel, to be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with plans for an early 2009 release.^[7] No other information has been revealed about this game since, although it is said to follow directly after the events of the first game.^[7] As of December 7, 2007, publisher 2K Games has currently dismissed the reports as "just a rumour" and has refused to comment further on the matter.^[7] No official announcements have been made to confirm a sequel to The Darkness. Some say that the Angelus, or Sonatine will make an appearance as the main antagonists.

Starbreeze Studio, spoke at NYCC 08 and have gone as far as saying:

"We can't say Darkness and video game sequel in the same sentence, so Darkness. Wink. Sequel."^{[citation needed]}

On September 16, 2008, the admin for the Starbreeze Studios forums stated that the Darkness 2 is not in production, and probably won't be made by Starbreeze Studio. ^[8]

In an e-mail from Top Cow, it is stated that should a Darkness sequel be made, the decision to create one lies with 2K Games. ^[9]

[edit] Soundtrack

Music includes [song (artist)]:

• "Try" (The 21st Impact)
• "7 Days" (Acid House Kings)
• "Say Yes If You Love Me" (Acid House Kings)
• "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (Blinded Colony)
• "Riverbank" (Pelle Carlberg)
• "Open Casket (edit)" (Closer)
• "Grind & Rewind" (Defleshed)
• "Black and White" (Down and Away)
• "Shoot It In" (The Duskfall)
• "Zon" (dyF1.6)
• "A nice day" (El Caco)
• "Substitute" (El Caco)
• "Die Toten Core" (F.K.Ü.)
• "Forever Train" (Frame)
• "I, Deviant" (Insense)
• "Pure and White" (Joy Serene)
• "Lucky Star" (The Legends)
• "Last Injection" (M.A.N.)
• "The Hunt" (man.machine.industry)
• "To Hell and Back" (man.machine.industry)
• "Cruci-Fiction in Space" (Marilyn Manson)
• "Later That Night" (Path of no Return)
• "Empty Threats" (Searing I)
• "Die 5 Times Times 5" (South Ambulance)
• "Going Down" (Sparzanza)
• "It Won't Stop Bleeding" (Stained Red)
• "Captain Midnight" (Tomahawk)
• "Rendered In Vain" (Zonaria)
• "Summer's End (To Kill A Mockingbird)" (Elmer Bernstein)

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (October 2008)

• All the graffiti throughout the game was made by a group of active, anonymous Swedish graffiti artists. Upon beating the game, the player can see a graffiti "making of", narrated by a Starbreeze employee. He reveals that they intended to use real New York graffiti, but could not do so due to copyright issues. As a product of this, the player can find many tags written in Swedish (examples include: "hata alla" ("hate everyone"), "Rumpa" ("Butt"), "läskväska" ("soda bag"), "kuk"("cock").
• There are several more references to Sweden, including a humorous conversation in a bar and a garage door painted as a Swedish flag.
• The tag "Lizardking" appears a number of times within the game. This is the demoscene pseudonym of Gustaf Grefberg, a Starbreeze employee that composed the musical score for several Starbreeze titles.
• There are many billboards, posters, and fictional adverts in the game with some containing telephone numbers which the player can call to unlock hidden content such as concept art and early screenshots.
• As in an early course in the game, the character Jenny is watching the film To Kill a Mockingbird, the player has the option to tell Jenny "I love you", if the player does so Jackie will say, "Hey, Jenny?" Jenny will reply with "Yeah?", to which Jackie replies, "Nothing." Throughout the course of To Kill a Mockingbird, many conversations between Jem and Scout in the film have a similar scenario.
• Before the game's release, it was revealed that there would be two exclusive darkling outfits. One could be obtained in any copy of the game purchased from a retailer in Europe or Australia and the other from a game purchased at GameStop or EB Games. It has been revealed they are not actually exclusive and can be found in any copy of the game through use of specific in-game phone numbers.
• Mike Patton performed as the voice for The Darkness. He is the lead singer for the band Tomahawk, whose song "Captain Midnight", appears in the game. He was also the singer for the band Faith No More and has performed with Fantomas and lent his talents to The Dillinger Escape Plan on the Irony Is a Dead Scene EP. Patton has also provided the voice for the Anger Sphere in the game Portal and also the voices of the creatures in the film I Am Legend.
• The Angelus was abandoned for the game; however several concept art for the character can be unlocked. There are also several hints about the Angelus throughout the game, such as a man in the subway preaching about angels appearing at the Orphanage after the bombing and Anthony in the Otherworld speaking of the balance between the darkness and the light.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Darkness Official website
• Starbreeze
• 2K Games