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All You Need To Know About The Darkness II

2K’s The Darkness was a critically acclaimed first-person shooter released in 2007 based on the popular comic book about mafia head Jackie Estacado, who is possessed by a chaotic entity known only as The Darkness. So when 2k announced earlier this year about the upcoming 2012 release The Darkness II, gamers knew they were in for something special. We took an in-depth look at at the co-op multiplayer aspect of the game last week, but for all those out there unsure of what the heck is going on, here’s all you need to know about The Darkness II.

Um, Did I Miss Something?

In the last game we met Jackie Estacado, the Don of a big bad crime family who did all sorts of bad-guy mafia stuff. So being the type of dude who kills people for a living, Jackie was obviously thrilled to learn he had become a host of a dark and evil entity that gave him all sorts of superhero powers. But when the mob turns on him and kills his lady friend Jenny, all hell breaks loose and the game ends with Jackie learning to control The Darkness, thinking after avenging her death he can live happily ever after. But can he?
Check this out for the official video recap of The Darkness.

In The Darkness II, you play as the head of a Mafia crime syndicate. Not badass enough? He’s also possessed by an evil dark entity that can rip you apart in less than a second. Chew on that one, John McClane! 

So What Now?

Keep in mind, this is a video game, we’ll always find a way to ruin the heroes’ day so we can play yet another action-packed sequel! Enter the upcoming The Darkness II, the next instalment in the series that will show us a much deeper insight into The Darkness universe. It’s been two years since the last game, and Jackie still hasn’t gotten over Jenny’s death. Meanwhile a secret society known as “The Brotherhood” attacks Jackie, wanting to unleash The Darkness to control it for themselves. With all that pressure on his back, The Darkness that has been bottling up inside breaks free, wanting nothing but destruction and chaos. The Darkness II is all about stopping “The Brotherhood” from killing Jackie and taking The Darkness for themselves the only way a first-person shooting game knows how-by going all out with guns blazing baby! 
Check this out for the official video recap of The Brotherhood.

Oh yeah, and The Darkness is also voiced by Mike Patton, former vocalist of the popular alternative metal band Faith No More. I told you The Darkness was badass!

Come At Me Bro!

So now we’ve got a reason to fight, so now let’s go get em’! Unlike many FPS games that completely ignore the campaign and focus mostly only on the multiplayer (I’m looking at you Battlefield 3 and Mordern Warfare 3!) The Darkness II has a strong focus on the single player campaign, bringing a dark, story-driven experience to the player. Featuring pick-up-and-play mechanics and a unique system of Quad-Weilding gameplay where players can slash, grab and throw enemies and objects whilst also firing their guns at a target. This means you can wreck havoc with ease by using one arm to throw and grab objects like parking meters and cash registers, while the other arm is all about slashing and severing enemies in half. Nice and gory, just the way we like it! Other options such as online co-op are also included, and players are also given a variety of other options such as the Hit List, which allows the player to repeat their favorite campaign moments and access brutal new scenarios.

Jackie gets all sorts of crazy dark powers, including powers that let him shoot people through walls, some can distract enemies and make them vulnerable for attack, and some can help out his ammunition and gunplay. The game also features player progression, meaning there are various upgrade trees to help advance Jackie to the player’s preferred style of play. Like shooting people? Upgrade your Hitman tree. Wanna rip people in half with The Darkness? Upgrade your Execution tree. Your gonna have to kill a lot people, so you may as well do it the way YOU want to! The only problem is, The Darkness has a weakness-light. While in the first game your powers became limited in light, in the Darkness II your vision will also become blurry and will feel uncomfortable for the player as well as Jackie with audio disorientation and sometimes even complete blindness. So stay away from the light!

Check out these videos of The Darkness in action:
Blackhole  |  Gun Channeling  |  Swarm  |  Quad-Wielding  |  Darkling  |

These guys aren’t just gonna beat you up for your lunch money. They’re a secret society who want The Darkness, and these guys play for keeps!

Who The Hell Are You Guys?

As we previously discussed in our in-depth preview of the co-op multiplayer, the game features a co-op mode called “Vendettas” that introduces four new characters who are each effected by The Darkness in different ways; Inugami who uses a mythical Japanese sword, Shoshanna who wields the Arm of Night, Jimmy Wilson uses a Dark Axe and can summon darklings he calls “Little Jimmies”, and J.P DuMond who has the Midnight Stick and can toss his Box of Tricks which can pull enemies into an anatomy-crushing vortex. Each character also has their own back story which enhances the narrative-driven missions and if you’d rather play alone or offline you can choose each Vendettas character for individual solo missions giving you a nice variety of levels to choose from.
Check this out for the official video recap of the Vendetta Co-Op Mode.

This game looks so pretty I’m thinking I might ask it out to a dinner and a movie…that’s normal, right?

DAYMN! What’s Cookin’ Good Lookin’?

The Darkness II is one heck of a stylish game, mixing influences of graphic novels, film noir, and photo-realism together to create a ‘graphic noir’ look to it. Layered with themes of dark verses light, The Darkness II is filled with gorgeous stylistic violence that is visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir art technique, keeping it true to the game’s comic book origins. Taking full advantage of the game’s new Evolution Engine, The Darkness II is filled with high-quality ambient light that is looking very impressive, and is sure to provide a lot of eye candy. Better hope your eyes have a sweet tooth!

Jackie wins! FATALITY! Oops, wrong game! But hey you get the idea-it’s nice and violent!

Shoosh! You Talk Too Much. When Can I Get It?

Alright! Geez, calm down! It’s being developed by Digital Extremes and published by 2K GamesThe Darkness II is set for a February 10, 2012 release on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Also keep an eye out for the upcoming film adaption of the comic book from Mandeville Films.
Don’t forget to check out the official release date trailer as well!

But remember: You don’t own The Darkness. The Darkness…owns you!

Matthew Vella
Matthew Vellahttp://www.facebook.com/mattvellaftw
Matt Vella. Capsule Computers' Community Manager. I say 'Laters' a lot.