The Darkness (video game)
| The Darkness | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Starbreeze Studios |
| Publisher(s) | 2K Games |
| Engine | Starbreeze Engine |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter Third-person action |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
The Darkness is a first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is based on the comic book of the same name, though some changes to the story have been made.
Story
In modern day New York City, Jackie Estacado is a young Mafia hitman just turning 21, and is finding himself in the crosshairs of the mafia's don, his "Uncle" Paulie. After making sure that Jenny, his girlfriend since their childhood spent in St. Mary's Orphanage, is safe, Jackie proceeds to try to find out where Paulie is hiding when he is set on by some of Paulie's hitmen. Suddenly, a voice in his head manifests itself, calling itself "The Darkness", and demonstrates the power it has over Jackie by controlling his body, and causing supernatural appendages and powers to violently eliminate all of the hitmen. Knowing that the Darkness has control over him and is urging him to continue his mission, Jackie seeks out information on where Paulie is.
Jackie gets a lead on Paulie's location, but before Jackie can get there, Paulie finishes the job he was there for: the demolition of St. Mary's Orphanage. Paulie escapes while Jackie goes over to the scene of destruction, finding Jenny there trying to see if she can help in any way. Jackie realizes the demolition was purposely targeted at him, and Jackie attempts to learn more information from Paulie's underlings. He returns to the Orphanage to find that Paulie, along with the Chief of Police Eddie Shrote, who is working for Paulie, have taken Jenny. Before he can go in to free her, the Darkness takes control of Jackie's body, and forces him to watch as Paulie murders Jenny. As Paulie and Shrote flee, the Darkness lets Jackie go, telling him that Jenny was holding him back from his true powers. However, in emotional distress, Jackie commits suicide by shooting a gun into his mouth. As Jackie says "That... well, that was the first time I died."
Jackie wakes up in a bizarre landscape based on World War I, though the people he meets have patchwork faces and he sees the physical manifestations of the Four Horsemen (Pestilence, Famine, Death and War). As he wanders the landscape, he comes across Anthony Estacado, his great-great-grandfather who admits that it was he that brought the Darkness into the family, and this place is its realm, the Otherworld. Anthony tells Jackie that the only way to get control of the Darkness is to destroy it at its castle, but that it would require one to breach the castle with a large cannon. Throughout this period, the Darkness lies to Jackie and tries to stop his progress. Ignoring this, Jackie seeks out and locates the enormous cannon and begins to drive it towards the castle, but then blacks out as the Darkness manages to bring Jackie back to life on earth.
Waking up, he finds himself back in New York, a while after the death of Jenny. Seeking out old acquaintances, he learns that the only way to get to Paulie is to take out Eddie Shrote. Jackie attempts to chase Shrote to his apartment but Shrote flees on a helicopter. Butcher Joyce; Head of Cleanup after mob hits, helps Jackie locate and retrieve a briefcase of illicit goods that Shrote would want back, and then rigs the case with an explosive. Jackie goes to return the case at Trinity Church, but it turns out to be a trap; Shrote's forces are able to subdue Jackie and keep him in the light to prevent the use of his powers. As Jackie is tortured by Shrote, one of Shrote's underlings talks about the "Mother of God" coming in, immediately causing Shrote to tell him to shut up. Eventually, the underlings block enough light for Jackie to use the Darkness' powers to cause the rigged briefcase to explode, and as noted by Jackie, "that was the second time I died."
Jackie wakes up back in the Otherworld (now known to not be hell, but in fact the mind of the darkness), in the cannon's control room, just arriving at the castle, but lacking ammo. He meets up again with Anthony, who assists him into getting where the ammunition for the cannon is stored, but a large monster mortally wounds Anthony. Anthony then realizes that mankind was the big mistake, through all our chaos and endless time the Darkness went insane. Anthony tells Jackie what he believes is the only way to take control of the Darkness, but before he can fully reveal it, the Darkness takes Anthony's body away. Jackie proceeds to move the ammunition to the cannon and load it, breaching the doors to the castle. Inside, he finds various extraction machines, which help him to remove the Darkness. The Darkness then forms a dark version of Jackie under an archway. Behind this is a bright light (the light in the darkness)where Jenny can be seen and communicates with you. Jackie willingly gives himself to the Darkness, the only way a host can control it. Having control of the Darkness and stronger than ever, Jackie blacks out and wakes up in the orphanage, some days after the church explosion.
Jackie seeks out information on the "Mother of God" and find it is a ship carrying drugs in from Chicago gangs. Jackie goes to the ship and kills the crew to make it look like Paulie did it. Paulie, realizing that Jackie's back and not safe from the Chicago gangs, flees to his lighthouse mansion. Jackie gets a ride to the mansion, but unfortunately arrives in the middle of the day and unable to use his Darkness powers. However, as he infiltrates the island, an eclipse begins, and Jackie soon becomes a savage killing beast, killing all of Paulie's men. Jackie chases Paulie up to the lighthouse top, and disables the don. Paulie attempts to reason with Jackie as the Darkness urges Jackie to finish the killing spree and let the Darkness take over. After Paulie attempts to retrieve a hidden gun, Jackie finishes him off, the Darkness basking in the act. The snake-like appendages start to cover Jackie, the Darkness gloating over its victory. "Now you are mine!!"
In the epilogue, Jackie finds himself in a dream on a bench in Jenny's arms; Jenny explains they are only allowed a few minutes of time to be together one last time. Jackie tries to ask how, but Jenny just quiets him and lets them enjoy the last moments together before Jackie wakes back up, with the screen fading to black.
Characters
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
- Jackie Estacado
- The protagonist of the game and the character controlled by the player. He is a hitman who has found himself under the control of an entity known only as "the Darkness". Voiced by Kirk Acevedo.
- Jenny Romano
- Jackie's girlfriend. The two were both orphans at St. Mary's Orphanage and became close friends there. Jenny has just moved into her own apartment in New York City at the start of the game. Voiced by Lauren Ambrose.
- Uncle Paulie Franchetti
- Don of a New York Mafia gang who deals in drugs and pacts made with the police. Serves as the primary antagonist of the game. Voiced by Dwight Schultz
- Anthony Estacado
- Jackies's great-great-grandfather, trapped in the Otherworld. He claims to have brought the Darkness into the Estacado family. He did this by accepting the Darkness so that he could avoid certain death in the hands of the Germans.
- Police Capt. Edward "Eddie" Shrote
- Corrupt Police Captain who is on Paulie's payroll. One of the main antagonists in the game. Voiced by James Mathers.
- The Darkness
- A mysterious force that feeds off the dark and must possess a live human body to exist. The Darkness was introduced to the Estacado family by Jackie's great-grandfather Anthony (with details in the game hinting that this occured at some time during World War I), and manifests itself in its host when they turn 21. During the game, it sometimes speaks to the player, with its comments earlier in the game being angry and commanding, while its later quips are submissive. Voiced by Mike Patton.
- Butcher Joyce
- Go-to guy for information, friend of Jackie, and never chooses a side, which explains how he survived so long in the Mafia underground of New York. Helps Jackie with finding Paulie's safe house. Voiced by Mike Starr.
- Aunt Sarah
- She is revealed approximately halfway through the game. Aunt Sarah was one of the only people that cared for Jackie. She has an apartment next to the Green Olive Grove Restaurant, in the Lower East side, which is reached from the Canal St. Station.
Gameplay
At its core, The Darkness is a first-person shooter, with Estacado's skills as a hitman allowing him to make use of a wide variety of guns, from basic 9 mm handguns and submachine guns to high-powered assault rifles and automatic shotguns. While Estacado primarily uses these guns in well-lit environments, where he cannot use his Darkness Powers to summon creatures and artifacts from The Otherworld and Hell, the hitman can also use his arsenal in the dark supplementing his Darkness powers to maximize damage. The Darkness feeds off the dark to recharge its power and to influence the strength of the attacks; by shooting out nearby lights, Estacado can increase the strength and rates of his attack.
The powers that Estacado gains from The Darkness include:
- Darklings
- Estacado's main Darkness ability is the summoning of Darklings, hellspawn imp-like creatures that do the bidding of the current recipient of the Darkness, in this case Estacado. Darklings can only be summoned from specific spots visible only while The Darkness powers are active. If left alone, the Darklings will follow Estacado and seek out nearby foes or insult and urinate on corpses, but the player can direct Darklings to any point within his vision. This can allow the Darklings to draw enemy fire away from Estacado, allowing him to progress more easily through well-defended areas. Darklings do not have a large amount of stamina and will disappear into blackness after taking a few damaging hits. There are four types of Darklings that can be summoned, some which are not available until later in the game. Berserkers will generally attack anything close, Gunners carry a mini chaingun to take out enemies from a distance, Kamikaze Darklings will throws themselves into the middle of battle and ignite the explosives they wear, taking out all those nearby, and Lightkillers will also attack any light sources, creating more darkness for Estacado's powers to work in. An optional mission in the game is to collect outfits that the Berserker Darklings will randomly wear when they appear, including two that are unlocked using special telephone numbers.
- Dark Tentacles
- Dark Tentacles are huge, incredibly strong appendages which grow from Estacado's back when summoned. They can lift and throw heavy objects with ease, allowing them to smash through barricades and tear down walls to allow Estacado access to difficult-to-reach areas, and they have no difficulty in crushing enemy characters to a pulp. Their tough, resilient surfaces mean they can also form an effective bullet shield in front of Estacado, protecting him from harm.
- Creeping Dark
- Estacado can extend these tendrils and direct it across the ground, up walls, and through narrow spaces to take out distance enemies close up. While the Creeper Dark power is active, the player views the level as from the Creeping Dark, leaving Estacado vulnerable to attack; should Estacado take damage, the tendril is immediately retracted.
- Demon Arm
- Impales the target on a dark tentacle, allowing you to move or throw it.
- Black Hole
- One of the more devastating Darkness abilities, this allows Estacado to summon a small piece of the darkness and force it to collapse on itself. A single Black Hole opened in a room full of enemies can clear the area in moments, making it an excellent weapon when assaulting defended buildings. The Black hole has a limited range, it will open in mid-air if you target a far object. You can also cause the hole to explode, dealing less damage, but in a larger area.
- Darkness Guns
- The Darkness Guns are acquired within The Otherworld. The gun that Jackie wields on his right harnesses the element of lightning, sending small projectile bursts, similar to a gatling gun. The gun in his left hand harnesses thunder into a concussive shockwave, similar to a shotgun. Instead of depleting ammo, each gunshot consumes Darkness energy. In the storyline, the Darkness Guns are the only thing capable of controlling The Darkness; due to the ammo being of light. The guns can also be used in Hell (other world) to permanently kill the zombies.
The game has several levels based on New York City locales that the player will visit multiple times. A significantly-reduced subway system allows the player to move between levels. While the main plot is primarily linear, requiring the player to visit each level in a certain order, the player can gain side missions from talking 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 submissions 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 to unlock the content.
History
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The game uses television sets located within the game to progress the plot, but they can also be used to view full, licensed content.[1] This content includes the movies To Kill a Mockingbird, The Man with the Golden Arm, and The Street Fighter, the entire 13 part 1936 serial of Flash Gordon, and several "Popeye" and "Gabby" cartoon shorts. According to the developers in an article by Official Xbox Magazine, the copyrights for some of these videos have expired, putting them in public domain and enabling Starbreeze to put them in the game without the need to pay royalties.
Top Cow officially announced a Darkness mini-series of comics to go along with the release of the video game while the game was still in development. The series is slated to run for five issues, one for each chapter of the game and will be a retelling of the events of the game. There is also a sixth issue, known as issue 0, which is a prequel to the events of the game.
Jackie's primary antagonist from the comic, The Angelus, does not appear in the game although several images of concept art for the Angelus intended for design in the game does appear in the game's unlockable content section.
Demos for this game have been released on the PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 and on Xbox Live Marketplace for Xbox 360.
Reception
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| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
The Darkness received generally favorable reviews from critics, averaging out to about 86%. Most praised the single player campaign 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.
As of July 7, 2007, the Gamerankings score for The Darkness is 83. [2]. The Metacritic score is also currently 83.[3]
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 "excessively violent".[4] The game had been scheduled for a July release before the ban.
Soundtrack
- Music includes: (song - artist)
- Captain Midnight - Tomahawk
- Open Casket (edit) - Closer
- I, Deviant - Insense
- Grind & Rewind - Defleshed
- Empty Threats - Searing I
- It won't stop bleeding - Stained Red
- Rendered In Vain - Zonaria
- A nice day - El Caco
- Substitute - El Caco
- Forever Train - Frame
- Die 5 Times Times 5 - South Ambulance
- Die Toten Core - F.K.Ü.
- Riverbank - Pelle Carlberg
- 7 Days - Acid House Kings
- Say Yes If You Love Me - Acid House Kings
- Last Injection - M.A.N.
- Lucky Star - The Legends
- Try - The21st Impact
- Going Down - Sparzanza
- Zon - dyF1.6
- Pure and White - Joy Serene
- The Hunt - man.machine.industry
- To Hell and Back - man.machine.industry
- Later That Night - Path of no Return
- Black and White - Down and Away
- Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Blinded Colony
- Shoot It In - The Duskfall
Trivia
Going from Grinder's Lane there is a graffiti tag which says: "Hata alla" which is Swedish for Hate all. Also in the same graffiti there is written 'Stina', which is a common Swedish female name.
References
- ^ "The Darkness Q&A". 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ^ [http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/927014.asp GameRankings: The Darkness (Xbox 360)
- ^ MetaCritic: The Darkness (Xbox 360)
- ^ "www.gameaxis.com/home/?blog=1558". Retrieved 2007-07-05.