The Darkness
The Darkness will pop your eyes. Literally.
Tags: The Darkness Categories: PS3 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Aug 29th, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Darkness (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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The Darkness is based on a comic book, but is a different entity entirely. The story focuses on a mob hitman named Jackie Estacado, who may or may not have lost his life and now has the power of “The Darkness,” an octopus-like ghost-demon that helps make Jackie an even-more-deadly killing machine than he already was.
Trouble is, while he would make a great villain, Jackie’s actually the hero/antihero/protagonist of this PS3 release and the results are at once both eye-popping and stomach-churning. It engenders such a mixed reaction because the first reaction kind of gives birth to the other. Allow me to explain.
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The Darkness is eye-popping because the title has the feel of a “second-wave PS3 game,” boasting graphics impressive enough to finally put even Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to shame. On a pure eye-candy scale, The Darkness sets a new standard in next-gen in-game graphics, at least until something better comes along. From the opening moments, the gamer realizes he’s in for one of the most photorealistic videogames released on PlayStation 3 to date.
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It is that very photorealism that gives birth to the stomach-churning reaction. (Granted, not for everyone, but anyone with a weak stomach may find that the game moves them in all-new ways… videogame violence has never looked so real.) When inhabiting his Darkness powers, one of Jackie’s key moves is to have his “Darkness arms” tear out the heart of a defeated foe and feed on it. Unless you turn the blood-filter control off in the game, be prepared for some truly disturbing gore. Heck, even with the blood filter set to “none,” it’s some disturbing imagery.
Message: this game is not for those with weak stomachs or strong anti-violence convictions. It earns every bit of its M-rating from the ESRB. Parents will also want to note the rating applies for language reasons, also. While no one expects mob members to talk like saints, these folks are less restrained than the Sopranos, for crying out loud! Young ears should not be nearby.
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That said, the game play is solid; the variety of locations and styles of challenge are numerous enough to keep things lively and the control scheme is introduced at a friendly pace, making mastering the principals and moves a bit less of a task. That’s a good thing.
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From the opening moments of the car chase scene that signals the beginning of the game, through the various scenes from basement shootings to roaming a local bar to big shootout scenes from rooftop to rooftop, the photorealism of the game is unmatched by anything I’ve played on store shelves so far, though I’m sure the looming holiday rush will produce a couple of titles that might take a shot at overtaking The Darkness in the eye-candy department.
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While many have praised the game’s story, I found myself at more of a mixed place about it. The plot itself is deep and surprising and fun. However, the dialog comes off a bit lazy due to the excessive profanity. I mean, heck, I don’t mind a good, motivated tirade, but even on The Sopranos mobsters did have more to say to each other than reciting the cuss-word dictionary. Of course, that’s a largely subjective take; many might pop in the game and find it to be no worse than, say, 300 or Sin City. Tastes and opinion may vary.
Still, if you can see your way past the rougher dialog, the voice acting is actually fairly convincing and rarely overacted. The score doesn’t stand out and call attention to itself, but fits the tone of the game. And don’t forget, despite the gory realism of the graphics, it really IS a lot of fun to use those Darkness powers.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Incredible graphics that - at least for now - set a new standard in next-gen graphics. + Solid control scheme introduced at a user-friendly pace. |
8.1 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - One of the most profanity-laden games EVER. Some might call this a "what works," though. | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| The Darkness is a solid-playing game with incredible graphics... that unfortunately immediately becomes the most family-unfriendly game title currently on the market. Under the photorealistic violence, gore and cussin', however, is one of the best-playing, best-looking, best-sounding action games of the year. The weak of stomach might not like it, and those allergic to profanity might want to turn down the TV sound and turn on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, just to see if it matches up like The Wizard of Oz does! Lost a bit due to content, for me, though... defiantly M-rated! | |
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Tags: The Darkness
Posted by Craig "American Idle" Hansen on Aug 29th, 2007 and is filed under PS3 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
