"The Darkness" has one of the strangest, most mysterious storylines ever - and it's absolutely genius.
Storyline:
Like I said in my opening statement, this game has such an awesomely weird storyline. It is so far out there, but so brilliant at the same time. Every minute, you find out more and more about what is going on, meaning you will constantly be confused...and yet satisfied at the same time! Without giving too much away, here's basically how the story goes. You play as Jackie Estacado, a hitman for a "family" known as the Franchetti's (I put the family part in quotes, because it appears to be more just like a mafia group, which does make sense with the whole New York Italian setup the game portrays). Anyways, the game starts out as Jackie's 21st birthday. This is obviously a big deal, but more so in his situation. You find out that you have acquired these weird powers that basically are taking over your body. The "power" is what is referred to as "The Darkness". It's basically an evil spirit of sorts that finds a host and uses him to display its powers. In a way, you're probably thinking "well that sucks." Well yes, but not completely. This force gives you some incredible abilities, and allows you to experience possession first hand. It really is an awesome idea, and is presented pretty well too. You get to do some twisted stuff, and it's just a lot of endless entertainment. So, like I said, it is your 21st birthday. What happens next though is what gets the story moving. You are targeted by the "don" of the family, referred to as Uncle Paulie. For inexplicable reasons, he goes after you and tries to take you out. As the story slowly progresses, he begins to realize that getting to you is not an easy task. Instead, he basically ends up torturing you emotionally. I can't tell you why - you need to see for yourself. That's basically the gist of how the game goes. With each minute that goes by, you learn more and more about "The Darkness" and its history...including why you're the victim in all of this. That's all I can say. Bottom line, the storyline is the main reason you are going to want to play this game.
Graphics:
In my opinion, 2006 was a very inconsistent year in terms of graphic quality in videogames. But I think it is fair to say that "The Darkness" is part of the "good-looking" group. It's got a lot of really awesome visuals, and you will be pretty amazed throughout. Creatures look hilariously creepy, and human models are extremely impressive as well. I think the greatest thing that 2K did in terms of graphics was display a very appropriate atmosphere for the game. Just the way everything is set up, in terms of location, overall special effects, and lighting looks fantastic. It definitely conveys the whole "darkness" concept. There was a big problem that I did have throughout the game, however. For some reason, the first person combat always felt buggy. Frame-rate issues just seemed way to expectable when you are coming up to some enemies. This made for a lot of difficulties when trying to kill enemies. I can almost guarantee you that you will die at least a few times because of this.
Entertainment:
"The Darkness" certainly is an entertaining game...while it lasts. The storyline is so unpredictable, and that's what makes it so good. But on the negative side of this, it means that there is basically no replay value. You will have no desire to try to beat the game again. It will just be way too boring. It was good to see that 2K did incorporate an online multiplayer, but it just really doesn't work (sorry to say). It was...a disaster. All it is is a poorly developed team deathmatch, and it just doesn't work. If more than 5 people join a game, it will most likely crash and you will be forced to start over. The maps are small as well, and this makes for easy kills/deaths. It may sound fun in retrospect, but believe me, it's not. It's also extremely laggy. And besides the online multiplayer, the ONLY other thing available is the campaign, which will last you anywhere between 5-10 hours (depending on whether or not you get stuck - though I can almost guarantee you will at some time). So I would say it IS worth the purchase, but only if you can find it cheap. It doesn't have enough replay value to recommend paying a big price for it. Although, I got my copy used at GameStop for $7.99, and that was definitely worth it. Otherwise, stick to the rental. All in all though, for what it DOES offer, it is a good game.
Recommendations:
-Strategy fans
-Anyone who is into the whole gothic atmosphere concept
-Anyone looking for a quick, cheap thrill
Overall: B-