The Darkness is one of the best singleplayer experiences in years and it should not be missed.
It was known for its unrivaled graphics and top notch action sequences. So the big question is does it live up to the hype? The short answer is simply: yes, it most certainly does.
To begin with, the games visuals are a masterpiece, with incredibly sharp textures and lighting and unique art design and setting. It's one of the best looking games on the 360.
The area of New York you're allowed to walk around in isn't terribly large, but what's there is very detailed and looks amazing.
The game is basically free-roaming, there are two subway stations, Canal St. and I forgot what the other one is called, but they both look very different from eachother, with different characters walking around and different art design. You can talk to some people in the areas and they can give you side-missions such as killing someone or delivering a letter or talking to someone. They aren't really very varied and they don't hurt the main mission so you can breeze through the game without even bothering with them.
But if you do complete these quests you're rewarded with a piece of note with a phone number on it, if you go and dial this number you'll unlock extra content such as a concept art, a video, a screenshot or even a The Darkness comic. You can also find these notes hidden throughout the game, you'll most likely come across a whole bunch of them.
The characters and story in the game are very deep and very involved, your uncle Paulie has grown tired of you for some reason and decides he wants you dead. He puts a bomb at where you're supposed to kill someone on your birthday, but you survive the explosion, so you're basically just hunting him for revenge.
What is also incredibly cool is that you're possessed the same day by The Darkness, which is two snake-like tentacles shooting out of your shoulder-blades. What you can do with this gift (or curse) is taking control of one of the tentacles to stealth kill someone. There's a demon arm you can impale enemies with or lift objects out of the way. And very late in the game you get to use a black hole which sucks enemies and objects into it, it's a great display of the games physics, it's a neat little trick but sometimes it just seems too easy, because the black hole is basically instant death.
Oh, and there is one power to call fourth dual pistols draining power from The Darkness itself, it's pretty standard and not alot more powerful than your regular dual handguns, they look alot cooler though.
What's kind of weird though is that sometimes some characters are speaking their lips aren't always moving the way they're supposed to. They stand there talking with their mouths closed, especially Jackie, it looks ridiculous and it hurts the immersion a bit.
The A.I is also disappointing, they tend to do some unrealistic things like running right at you, and sometimes when you're using the tentacles to stealth kill they sometimes just stand still and stare right into the wall.
Another lacking thing is the variety in weapons and how ineffective they are, you will most likely use the dual pistols throughout most of the game because they're the strongest ones.
If you were looking for an action game to satisfy you for a week you will be disappointed, the game can be completed in a dedicated weekend, it's about 12 hours long. It doesn't have much replay value because the campaign is very linear, but you can choose what chapter you want to play if you would like to replay it, maybe complete some sidemissions for extra content.
I haven't tried the multiplayer yet, I'm banned from Live for reasons I won't tell you, but I heard it's very lackluster and buggy and laggy as hell.
You can play as a human with big powerful guns or as a darkling. The darklings are very fast, they can also climb walls but their attacks are weak. You can transform into either one whenever you want, it's kind of cool but it won't last for very long.
Like I said, the game isn't a very long ride, but what's there is pretty amazing, you'll feel like you've done alot before the game is over.
For a third of the game you'll spend time in an otherworld, where a neverending World War 1 is being fought. The people stuck in that place has to fight until he is shot, only to be revived again and live the terrible nightmares over and over again for eternity.
There you will try to find out what the hell is going on, and you will eventually find out what The Darkness really is, and whether or not you can stop it.
One of the things that is unique about The Darkness is its pacing, one moment you're out in the streets of New York eating hearts, and the next you're cuddling with your girlfriend Jenny while watching TV in her new appartment.
Whenever you go into a new area, Jackie will talk for a moment, about what's going on or whatever else he feels like. It's mostly a part for you to understand what's going on throughout the game, but it's also used to overshadow the loading times. You wont tell the game is loading because you're mostly listening to whatever Jackie has to say, but after a while when he says the same thing over and over again it just gets a little dull.
The Darkness can't be in the light for too long, or he will go away, so you'll have to get rid of the light sources around, either by simply turning off the lights with the lightswitch, or shooting it with your guns or using your demon arm ability. It's a neat little trick, but some might think it's annoying, because you'll fight the light almost as much as you're fighting enemies.
Whenever The Darkness runs out of energy you'll have to stand in the shadows for a few seconds to refill, and he will recharge by consuming the shadows around you. You can also refill your energy by devouring human hearts, it's also one way to level up your Darkness level. So you're basically getting stronger by eating hearts. It looks incredible while doing it too, but for some odd reason the right one always seems to win, poor Leftie.
The Darkness is simply an amazing game with amazing action sequences, especially in the prerendered ones where The Darkness takes a control of Jackie. It is one of the best singleplayer experiences in years and it should not be missed. Now, about that sequel...