The Darkness

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. The game takes place in modern-day New York City with the player controlling mob hitman Jackie Estacado, who has been possessed by a spirit that calls itself "The Darkness". This spirit gives Estacado supernatural powers that feed off of the dark, giving him the ability to cheat death.

Gameplay

The Darkness is a first-person shooter, with the player controlling Jackie Estacado. 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 to kill foes, 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. 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.

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 experimental musician Mike Patton who used his natural voice without any added vocal effects), 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 powers, Jackie is able to survive further assassination attempts and track down Paulie, but not before he and the corrupt police chief, Eddie Shrote, kill his girlfriend Jenny and escapes. 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 on a bench in Jenny's arms; Jenny explains that they are only allowed a few minutes to be together one last time. 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.

Soundtrack

• "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)

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. 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 a late 2008 or early 2009 release. No other information has been revealed about this game since, although it is said to follow directly after the events of the first game. 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. No official announcements have been made to confirm a sequel to The Darkness.
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. Sequell."