Embracing The Darkness in sunny Spain

Spending time with mafia hit-man turned diabolical revenge machine Jackie Estacado, we’ve rediscovered our taste for gaming rock ’n’ roll. If there were a dial on the side of Xbox 360, Starbreeze just cranked up the gain beyond as far as it should go. This is probably the first game we could describe as having the equivalent of ‘Marshall Sound’; The Darkness is definitely rocking X06.

As antiheroes go, Jackie Estacado is a perfect fit for videogame notoriety, and Xbox 360 is the ideal stage for his exploits. At the age of 21 Jackie discovers he is blessed with the mother of hereditary conditions, The Darkness; granting power to summon Darkling minions as ruthless accomplices among other sinister supernatural powers. In the story, Jackie struggles to keep The Darkness at bay for the sake of his own sanity. On Xbox 360, Jackie’s wicked alter-ego is a fantastic gameplay opportunity.

Although played from a first-person perspective, and often with guns involved, The Darkness doesn’t easily fit the FPS profile. Jackie manipulates the environment wherever it is dark, controlling objects with his mind while Darklings scurry around to do his bidding. Shooting enemies can be effective. Summoning a portal to hell is far more creative and looks way better. Jackie’s powers become progressively more lethal and spectacular as his vendetta against the Franchetti family gains momentum. With just about everything in sight being destructible or at least damageable in some way, it’s tempting to spend time wreaking carnage long after the battle is won.

The cinematic feel of The Darkness neatly compliments the game’s constant visceral rewards. Although slick presentation is becoming standard on Xbox 360, Starbreeze has staged a show in a class of its own.