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Back in the mid-80s, the comic book industry made a quantum shift from the bright-colored, spandex-clad heroes to the dark, realistic, anti-heroes that are oh so popular in movies and books today. One of the front runners of this change was The Darkness by Marc Silvestri. The main character, Jackie Estacado, is the nephew of a New York mob boss, certainly not a bright shining Superman-esque character, and Jackie partakes of all the benefits being a mafia man affords him. Anti-hero through and through. In the year 2007, anti-heroes are just about all there is to be found, so does The Darkness float to the top of the pile? Let’s find out. On the surface, the violence and dark nature of The Darkness seems like it is tailor-made for video game conversion. The subject matter coupled with the fact that developer Starbreeze, the team behind the very well received Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, was responsible for turning the popular comic into a next-gen title, gave us all much hope that the game would be fantastic. Unfortunately, fantastic it is not. Do not get me wrong, folks, as far as next-gen games go, this one is definitely above average. Unfortunately, the game suffers from some pacing problems, as well as a fair bit of storyline ambiguity because at all times, there are two storylines being presented. The Darkness is the first game I have ever seen that may have a slight case of schizophrenia. As I said, The Darkness has two concurrent storylines unfolding at once. As Jackie Estacado, your mission is one of payback. The top mob man in the Chinatown area, your NYC haunt, is your “uncle” Paulie. The game starts on your 21st birthday, and your uncle’s present is a big fat bomb. Since you are basically on par with a hired goon in terms of firepower, there is no chance of you walking into Paulie’s compound and taking him out. This is where the darkness comes in. It just so happens that your 21st birthday is also the exact time that the powers of The Darkness manifest themselves in the men of the Estacado family. Using the mob contacts that are still on your side and the newly garnered powers of the Darkness, you begin your journey of murder and mayhem, doomed to fight against both the Darkness and Paulie at the same time. Jackie also has one ray of sunshine in his dismal life – Jenny. Jenny is his long-term girlfriend/friend/confidant who grew up at the local orphanage alongside him. Of course, she gets captured and killed by Paulie and his head goon, the corrupt NYPD Cop, and as punishment to Jackie, well, you get the idea. The death of Jenny has the opposite intended effect though, and Jackie begins to strike at Paulie’s empire with renewed vigor and hatred. Why these mafia guys always think that killing an innocent is going to make things better is beyond me. |
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The Darkness |
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