The Darkness Review (aka OMG a game worth playing on the PS3!)
Before I get into the review, I should mention that today marks the first day of what used to be the single greatest week in a gamers life. E3 used to be the time for gamers to gather together and drool over the coming year's goodness. It is now a elite club of media types of which you are not cool enough to join. That doesn't mean that some pretty big announcements won't come out this week, and if you want to stay up on whats happening might I suggest:
http://www.G4tv.com - G4 is covering the events, and if you can wade your way through their mess of a website you could find out some pretty juicy information.
http://www.E3insider.com - What used to be the premiere E3 website is now no more than a collection of videos. However, it is a very well done collection of videos. And everyone loves videos.
Also, if you happen to have picked up a PS3 you can watch all the big events (especially those Sony related) right from the Playstation Network.
On with the review.
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The best way to describe the darkness is that it's just like The Sopranos. It has all the elements of a good mobster story. The lead character is the nephew of the new boss in town, and doesn't agree with the path his uncle is taking the family. He was always a traditionalist, and didn't agree with getting into the drug trade and such. Yep it's just like The Sopranos, or movies like the Godfather where traditional mobster values go up against a new type of crime. It is just like those other movies except the main character can morph into a creature of darkness to devour the hearts of his enemies and summon darklings to go out and do his bidding. Other than that, its just like The Sopranos.
The game is violent (read: M rated, and not for children by ANY means), stylish, brutal, and very fun. It plays less like a video game and more like an interactive movie. They have done away with distractions like health bars and ammo meters and whatnot to bring a clean interface that focuses on the action. They have also done away with traditional loading screens, and each time you go between zones you are treated with a random cut scene giving the game a more fluid, cinematic feel. This game really shows what the PS3 can do, and is a well earned treat for those who shelled out far too much money for their big black paper weight.
The Darkness has a fantastic feel to it. The world is detailed down to the smallest part. It is dark and seedy, but also has a certain charm and attitude. The darklings have personality and, while they are your minions, you are never really in control of them. Every once in a while you will lose track of your little shadowy friends and find them gnawing on some enemy that you forgot to take down a few blocks back.
If anything, the game is worth picking up for its combination of the classic mobster genre with some dark fantasy that really stands out as unique. Again, this game is not for children (or anyone who could not legally buy it at a store), so parents should pay attention to what their kid's are playing. If you are "of age" then this is one game worthy of checking out.
Kris