The Darkness Hands-On
We take time out with the latest version of Starbreeze's first-person shooter to see both the World War levels and the multiplayer features for the first time.
As the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, The Darkness is an important release for Swedish outfit Starbreeze Studios. Adapted from a Top Cow comic book with a brand-new storyline from writer Paul Jenkins, the game ambitiously mixes first-person shooting with superhuman abilities in the form of a young Mafioso. Jackie Estacado is a don in New York's Franchetti family mob, and on his 21st birthday, he's taken over by a mysterious force called "the darkness." This is where the game begins, and as Jackie, you must harness your increasing supernatural power while also struggling to control it.
Anyone who has seen our previous coverage of the game will be familiar with the gloomy New York setting, in which Jackie is able to roam around without many restrictions. However, it was recently announced that the famous East Coast city will only make up two-thirds of the 16-hour game, with the other third set in a mysterious place that the developers have called "worse than hell." Another aspect of The Darkness that was previously kept under wraps was the multiplayer component, which will let players compete locally and online in four different game modes. Luckily, both new features were on show for the first time when we made a recent visit to 2K Games' UK headquarters, and we can now report back with our first impressions of both.
Our preview begins with another look at the single-player game--a story that starts with an exhilarating car chase through a series of winding tunnels. We've seen this sequence a number of times before, but what's noteworthy is how much the engine has improved since our last viewing at Microsoft's X06 event. With the majority of the game now in place, the last few months have clearly been spent polishing its look and feel, particularly the cinematic look and feel. A motion blur has now been implemented to provide a more natural effect as you look around, while the bullets have a Matrix-style visual trail as they fly through the air.
Jackie himself has also been given a complete overhaul, with the pale-white gothic figure replaced by a more masculine-looking version. It might seem like a small point in a first-person shooter, but as with Riddick, much of the story is told via in-engine cinematics viewed from a third-person perspective. It will also be important to fans of the comic, as the original Jackie is a mean character who feels no remorse about killing people. In addition to cosmetic improvements, Starbreeze has licensed a wealth of old movies, TV shows, and adverts that will show on television sets inside the game, and they promise to maximise the storage space of the DVD and Blu-ray discs to offer a wealth of content. The developer also let slip that the entire Darkness comic book collection will also reside on the disc as an unlockable extra.
Motion blur and new character skins are mere face-lifts in comparison to the other new feature in the game, though--the Otherworld setting that will make up around a third of the game's content. It's a world that Jackie will dip in and out of as he not only becomes more powerful but also has to fight with the darkness for control of his body. This struggle is manifested in a World War I setting, where undead soldiers are forced to relive the horrors of the trenches over and over again. In one section, Jackie wakes up paralysed, unable to help three soldiers that are about to be executed by a demonic guard. You're helpless to do anything as they plead for their lives, but as you regain consciousness, you can pick up an authentic period rifle and take out the executioner. These are no mere mortals, though; they will come back to life after 15 seconds unless you use your dark powers to eat out their hearts.
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- 2K Games
- Starbreeze
- Modern First-Person...
- Release: Jun 25, 2007 »
- ESRB: Mature
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