The Darkness tells the tale of a different kind of super hero. A hero who is dark, dangerous, powerful and original.
Red and blue, soaring through the sky, rescuing little animals from trees, loved by all, feared by the wicked.
You wont find any of that in The Darkness.... Well... You will definitely be feared.
The Darkness is a story about a hardened criminal. A very bad dude who kills people for money. One might think a leading character such as this is slightly odd, and is probably more fitting in the role of the villain - this in itself is an original and attractive premise. The catch is that the villains in The Darkness are even more loathsome and evil then the protagonist.
Jackie (Our Hero) is somewhat a victim of circumstance. He had no parents and was raised on the streets by some very prominent mafia members. Jackie just does as he is told by those who cared enough to take him in.
The thing that really lifts The Darkness above an average and generic shooter is the Characters. The character development is of great importance throughout the game. It's the characters and what happens to each of them that makes you keep playing with true vested interest. So much tragedy, can you possibly rise above it and become a hero...?
The Darkness' is set exclusively at night. Your powers rely on being in the dark (You are most weakest in the light), so the game play revolves around scaring your enemies, knocking out light sources and creeping around in the shadows. It feels good to be the guy everyone is afraid of... Except pedestrians... Pedestrians don't seem to acknowledge your horrific demon like features. This bug or whatever REALLY detracts from your immersion in the game. I guess the developers just ran out of time...?
As you progress through the game, you gain more and more powerful "Spells". Each new power is designed to help you in different ways and are very clever and extremely satisfying to play with. Summoning a chainsaw wielding demon to help cover your back while you pin an enemy to the wall using one of your razor sharp tentacle, simultaneously gunning down several other enemies using your dual pistols really feels awesome.
The graphics in The Darkness are pretty good, some issue with shadowing at times, but generally of high quality and consistent frame-rate. Character models and animations are good enough, but lip-syncing is a little off.
The sound effects and music are awesome. The voice-actors play their parts well, especially Jackie who manages to sound authentic even though he such a unique character.
The Darkness is an entertaining game with a unique story and very interesting characters. It's not the best shooter ever, but if you like shooters with a difference, you could do far worse then to add The Darkness to your collection.