Preview: The Darkness (360)

While the title is enough to make musical aficionados groan in despair, The Darkness is actually based upon the Top Cow comic book series and has enjoyed reasonable success since its debut in 1996. With Dimension Films bringing the movie based upon the series it was evitable that a video game would also be in the works. Starbreeze Studios enjoyed critical and commercial success with The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and was an obvious choice for development. However their historical track record is somewhat dubious with the visually impressive (but shallow) Enclave, or the plain awful (Knights of the Temple) but we can remain hopeful.

You take the role of Jackie Estacado, who earns a living as a mafia hit man for the New York Franchetti family but on your 21st birthday everything changes. From then on your are bestowed with the powers of the Darkness, which are ancient abilities often passed hereditarily. Previously Jackie was almost out of control, armed with predatory killing instinct and the ability to survive the most dangerous hits. Now with the darkness powers he is even more of a threat and the mafia want to take him out of the equation once and for all. As the story has been created with input from comic author Paul Jenkins it is faithful to the universe created by the Darkness series.

With the Darkness it would be easy to create a first person experience which was unbalanced in favour of the player. Your powers can manifest in many ways, leading to several gory endings for anyone who gets in your way. However death is not an escape for those brave enough to stand in yoru way, as you can cannibalise victims to create Darklings, and these demons will run amok, multiplying the death count.

It would be all too easy to storm through levels with little attention to morales or any sense of difficulty. Thankfully your powers are not limitless, as being exposed to sunlight depletes your abilities. So while you are a god underground, out in the open you are more exposed and prone to injury. Throw in the element of doubt about your powers (after all they don't come with an instruction manual) and learning your restrictions as you progress, the balance should be restored. Part of the appeal is being able to freely experiment with your powers and decide on the best solution to each given situation. For instance you can open up a black hole that sucks in nearby objects and helpless victimes, trapping them in hell for eternity. However the most practical and memorable abilities are extensions of your own body (tentacles) which can lift heavy objects with ease, or rip the flesh from opponents. As they are able to act as your eyes, you can send them into vents or through gaps to discover what awaits.

Starbreeze have also mentioned the implementation of another realm (also know as the Darkness), although details are few and far between. This may follow similar examples in Shadowman or Soul Reaver, where new doors and paths could only be unlocked by venturing into another world. Interestingly the game will also ship with a multi-player mode, which could provide a worthwhile supernatural alternative to your usual king of the hill scenario. And as you'd expect from Starbreeze, The Darkness maintains their tradition for graphically strong releases, capturing the essence of the series.

In an era of first person shooters, The Darkness promises to be some more than just another excessive romp and multi-player campaign. Whether Starbreeze can tap into this potential and exploit the comic fully remains to be seen, however after the Chronicles of Riddick, Gamestyle wouldn't be suprised if they do deliver, again.

Words by Jason Julier