14 DAY TRIAL // The first Darkness impressed only through its unique story, which was based on the popular comic book series. Now, with The Darkness II, the team at Digital Extremes is trying to live up to the franchise and deliver a violent experience that really makes players feel like they are in control of the supernatural Darkness powers.
In order to properly showcase this, the studio, together with the title’s publisher, 2K Games, has just released a demo across the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms. We’ve decided to give it a try and see if The Darkness II can deliver on its promises or if it’s just a bloody mess.
The Darkness II starts off rather badly for the game’s protagonist, Jackie Estacado, as a group of guys more evil than him (don’t forget that Jackie is a mob boss) is trying to suck out the Darkness from his body.
We’re then treated with a few flashbacks, which show Jackie’s favorite restaurant being invaded by the aforementioned bad guys. Hurt and without the desire to unleash his Darkness powers, Jackie tries to defeat his enemies with simple guns.
As you can imagine, that doesn’t go all that well, so he’s soon forced to unleash his two demon tentacles and go to town on this adversaries. This is where The Darkness 2 stands out from all the other first person shooter out there, as you’re soon wielding two guns as well as two Darkness demons, thanks to the game’s Quadwielding mechanic, while unleashing all sorts of havoc.
You can choose to shoot enemies with your variety of weapons, but it’s much better if you use your supernatural powers. The right arm is able to slash and smash opponents, while the left one can be deployed to destroy obstacles or just tear out the hearts from your enemies, thus earning Jackie bonus health and experience.
The demo also gives players a chance to try out the talent customization mechanic, which allows Jackie to augment his abilities with all sorts of special skills and powers. It’s also worth pointing out the game’s stylized visuals, as they make it feel even more similar to a comic book than its predecessor.
Check out a gameplay video from The Darkness 2’s demo above and get ready for the full game on February 7, in North America, and February 10, in Europe, for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.