The Darkness II more brutal, fun

The first Darkness game was an underappreciated title missed by a lot of gamers under a vast swathe of other first-person shooters coming out at the time. Based off the comic books of the same name, the video games follow Jackie Estacado, son of a mafia boss and host to a supernatural and very evil power called The Darkness. The first game explored Jackie’s experience discovering The Darkness and brutally murdering a whole bunch of people.

A big plot point was when The Darkness held Jackie back in the first game, preventing him from saving the life of his girlfriend Jennie.

The Darkness II begins with Jackie at the top of his game, head of his crime family, and generally living the good life with fancy dinners and tons of floozies. He’s also kept The Darkness walled up inside him for two years, when an attack on his life forces him to unleash it all over again.

The killing this time around is much more brutal and fun. You can wield two guns at a time, while simultaneously throwing around enemies with two Darkness tendrils coming out of your shoulders.

Also, how fun is it to lift an enemy in the air with one tendril, then rip through his stomach with the other tendril to pull out his heart, which you can then swallow whole? A ton of fun. You’re also accompanied by a friendly little Darkling, a British little imp created by your psyche, who claws at enemies faces and pisses on their dead bodies. He’s full of character, and a very good time to be around.

While all this may seem vulgar or immature, it’s Jackie’s no-nonsense demeanour that keeps the game from falling into the territory usually relegated to frat-boys and 14-year-olds. At it’s heart, The Darkness II is a serious tale of Jackie struggling to fight the demon inside him and come to terms with the death of his girlfriend.

As many balls-to-the-wall action moments as there are, there are enough tender moments to really flesh out the characters. This is the sequel to a game where you were given an award for sitting with your girlfriend until she fell asleep.

My biggest complaint comes for length. The main campaign is very short and ends a little abruptly.

But the game is an easy recommendation to make, and with a new game plus option, it’s probably something you’ll play a few times through.