There is an old saying about how light and darkness can't exist without each other, so there isn't anyone out there who doesn't have a little darkness tied to their soul…though the chances are strong that darkness doesn't manifest itself in the form of special evil powers and demonic snakes that eat the hearts of people. Based on the comic of the same name, The Darkness is brought to the PS3 by Starbreeze, who as far as we are concerned has excelled amazingly well for two games in a row. A two for two track record…couldn't ask for much better than that.

THE STORY SO FAR
You play as Jackie Estacado, a hitman working for his Uncle Paulie, until one day Uncle Paulie gets mad at you for supposedly botching a job, and the next thing you know you've got one very unpleasant surprise waiting for you on your birthday. Luckily for Jackie, if you can even call it luck, Jackie doesn't die and soon finds himself in control of an entity called the darkness, which gives him strange powers, has two snake like things on his shoulders, and is able to call for Darklings to run around and do his bidding.

One thing The Darkness does remarkably well is tell a well told and engaging story, which works as part love story, part mob story, part revenge story, part supernatural story, and part psychological dissection into the heart and mind of man. Yeah, heavy stuff, but the game only falters occasionally, when the story becomes a bit too "deep" and loses a bit of the narrative strength.

The best parts of the story unfold much like the Half-Life series, through interactive storytelling moments where you are still 100% in control, able to look and move around, and this really makes you feel like you are part of the world and not playing a game. There are some points that exist in the world much like this, though they restrict you a little bit more, but they are a necessity of the story, and are usually the most emotional ones of them all. Otherwise, the story unfolds in dialogue drive cutscenes with certain characters, and inner monologues that happen from stage to stage during loading screens.

SINGLE PLAYER: GAMEPLAY
While The Darkness may have elements similar to other games in the FPS genre, the game is still a unique hybrid that blends FPS combat with first person exploration and role playing, mixed with a bit of supernatural splendor as well. Given the real world setting (though with the supernatural slant) the combat is strictly weapons of our world, with pistols, Uzis, shotguns, and some more high-powered weapons as well. If you want grenades, however, you'll have to settle for the next best thing – kamikaze Darklings. Combat with the weapons is pretty good, with the ability to tweak the auto aim so it's as easy or as hard as you want it to be. You can also zoom in with a click of the right thumbstick, slowing you down but enabling more precise headshots. Jackie is also able to wield two weapons simultaneously, though only the pistols and Uzis.

On the supernatural side of things, thanks to his curse, Jackie is able to unleash dark powers to help him smite his Uncle Paulie. Because of the essence of his powers, Jackie will need the dark to replenish spent energy, which comes from resting a bit in the dark and shadows of the world (you'll know you're recovering because of the inhaling of your snakes as they suck up the shadows). You can find cover in dark alleys, but most of the time you'll have to create your own dark by taking shots at lights to blow them out. It can be a bit tedious early on to individually shoot every light you come across, but later on you'll get an ability that can easily dispatch a light whenever you run across one.

In regards to powers, Jackie can have one of his snakes detach and slither on the ground, walls, ceilings, you name it! By using this snake Jackie can scout ahead, but also personally attack bad guys so he can keep himself out of danger. Another power will give Jackie the ability to throw a tentacle out, which can bust lights without wasting your bullets, move objects around, or the personal favorite – impaling bad guys. Forget a gun fight with someone across the room, as it is just more fun to take a few bullets, run in close, and impale a cop (crooked cops mind you!) and then devour their heart. Mmmm…tasty. You'll also be able to wield guns that thrive on your Darkness ability and receive the ability to create black holes, which will suck up enemies, debris, and break lights. Out of all the abilities, the tentacle and black hole will be used frequently, with the controllable snake coming in third place. As for the guns you'll probably use them right when you get them, and then never use them again. Hey, they can't all be winners.

Besides your personal powers, you'll also be able to call on underlings called Darklings to do your bidding, which you can order around with the press of a button. The Darklings come in four different flavors: a more hands on fighter, one who uses a Gatling gun, a kamikaze Darkling who self destructs near enemies, and one that you can use to fry lights and create darkness. Much like your powers, Darklings range in usefulness, with the hands on attacker being respectable early on, but becoming useless once you get the Gatling gunner and kamikaze. Meanwhile, the light attacking Darkling is nothing but a waste. You'll summon the Darklings from portals in the ground, scattered in select places, though you can only see them when your powers are activated.

The game is linear to a degree, as you'll be given a destination where you'll need to go in order to advance the story. However, while trying to get there, you can often stumble around through alleys, searching high and low for the doorbell you need to ring. Early on, before I knew of the exploration, I was able to travel to somewhere I wasn't supposed to be yet, and thought I was overlooking something important or had a game ending bug; turns out I just got on a subway when I didn't need to yet. Though you'll run across some areas that are blocked by locked doors from time to time, and there are many closed doors to keep you pressing forward to your destination, it's still nice to have a more open environment.

Continue On Page Two