If you haven’t seen the first trailer for Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, see it here! This is the first glimpse we’ve gotten of the game outside of generic cover art, and I hope to see more info on this movie tie-in at E3…regardless of if the game looks crappy or not.
I’ll be honest. The Superman Returns movie tie-in and the Catwoman game sucked pretty hard, so Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has a lot to make up for as far as their movie games go, but at least Batman Begins, and Batman: Arkham Asylum were pretty good, so we know it is possible for WBIE to make good games.
So if you weren’t one of the lucky few to snatch up a Marvel vs. Capcom fighting stick, then maybe the fighting pad will suit you. Resembling — to me at least — a Sega Genesis controller, a six button fighting pad with awesome art by Brian Hitch has been released that really completes the MvC3 experience. Street Fighter IV fans will likely be familiar with this style of fighting pad, but for comic book fans just getting into MvC3, they may want to invest in this controller for more than just the beautiful Marvel art. It really does amplify the game experience.
For far too long I’ve heard nothing but bad things about the game adaption to Top Cow’s The Darkness, and I’m here to set the comic book fan’s perspective straight. While The Darkness is no Halo caliber first-person-shooter, it certainly is not as bad a game as most will tell you. Especially if you’re a fan of the source material.
The Darkness
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Starbreeze
Released: June 25, 2007
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
ESRB: Mature
The game sort of plays out as an origin story for Jackie Estacado. You get caught up in a mob misunderstanding, family members die, and blah blah blah, you’re suddenly possessed by the Darkness. Makes sense, right? Well, it will.
Your special Darkness abilities appear as two snake-like figures on the left and right side of the screen that bite and drain enemies. The Darkness gives you special abilities like being able to see in low light, and it serves to shield you against damage, and eventually you learn more attacks and abilities with your demon appendages.
Throughout the game you’ll come across different weapons like various shotguns and rifles, but your most effective weapons will be your standard dueling pistols, just because of how efficient they are compared to everything else. The Darkness power itself is fueled by, well, the Darkness. Shooting out lights and standing in the shadows will restore your demon abilities, as will eating the hearts of human beings.
The game offers only a few pretty basic and very easy side missions outside the campaign, and completing them gives you access to generic unlockables like comic book pages and concept art, but the various plot twists and primary missions are satisfying in their own right.
The story, however, isn’t perfect. There are some continuity issues, like citizens and enemies not even noticing the demons spawning from your body, and reacting as if you’re some average Joe with giant snake creatures on your shoulders, like it’s just another day in the park. But the overall gameplay makes up for this fault, as far as I’m concerned.
Online offers basic capture-the-flag and various survival and team death match modes, which are fun, if not on par with Halo.
The voice acting in the game is surprisingly good, and so are the visuals and textures throughout the entire game.
The game isn’t perfect, but not bad, and for some reason it has a horrible reputation among “gamers.” As a comic book fan, and reader of The Darkness, yes, I may be a bit biased, but this game isn’t nearly as horrendous as most would have you think.
You can probably find this game in a bargain bin at a K-Mart somewhere, and for the discount price you’ll pay for it, it’s a pretty fun way to spend a boring afternoon, even if no one will be online.
I can’t wait to see how this series will have improved with The Darkness II, scheduled for release this fall.
For more segments of The Comics Console, click here!
Editor’s Note: ComicAttack.net has been pre-nominated for an Eagle Award! Please click here to vote for us in the “Favorite Comic Book Website” category (question #27). Thank you for your continued support!
Andrew Hurst
andrewhurst@comicattack.net
@andrewEhurst
I liked the Darkness game for what it was and I still play it actually. Though I did get it several years after it’s release it’s still a great game but I will say that when I’m using Jackie and walking around with the Darkness the citizens usually cower or they scream and run though it’s not like the streets are full of npcs or anything.
I haven’t been online with the game because whenever I try there is NO ONE plyaing and it’s probably because the game is pretty old and people have moved on. I will agree that the voice acting in the game is some of the best around and apparently Mike Patton who voiced the Darkness is coming back again for the sequel that comes out later this year I think.
I remember playing the demo of The Darkness (PS3) thinking “this actually isn’t that bad.” Then I got stuck on some part during the demo (the “where in the hell do I go?” problem) so I didn’t end up buying it. But now that’s it’s about six bucks used at GameStop, I might just pick that up.
As far as gamers being cynical to the game, I think it’s because most gamers have become film audiences IMHO. Anything that’s good but falls short of a masterpiece ends up being ripped to shreds. Like this game or Lego Batman.
The Darkness looks and sounds pretty cool.
Pingback: The Comics Console: The Darkness II Review