Four years after his tremendous video game debut, comic book anti-hero Jackie Estacado returns in The Darkness II, and this time he’s bringing all four of his arms to bear at once.
The Darkness is one of the greatest comic book video games of all time. The first-person shooter told the story of mob kid Jackie Estacado, who upon turning 21 discovers the unholy power of the demonic Darkness lurking within him. Using a combination of firearms and demonic powers, Jackie cuts a bloody swathe through mob bosses and otherworldly forces as he struggles with both the literal and spiritual darkness inside him.
The Darkness II picks up two years after the events in the first game. Now the Don of the Franchetti crime family, Jackie hasn’t kept the Darkness bottled up for two years, but visions of a lost loved one and the coming of a full-blown mob war stir the creature lurking within. Outside forces are at work, and Jackie will journey to hell and back to unravel the secrets behind those forces.
Jackie faces this new challenged fore-armed with the power of four arms, finally able to dual-wield pistols and use his two demonic limbs to take down enemies at the same time. 2K is calling it quad-wielding. I can live with that.
“The Darkness II is a well of dark and imaginative violence, and it’s a stylized and beautiful nightmare,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “The Darkness II continues the 2K Games tradition of delivering quality, innovative games that are filled to the brim with atmosphere and deep storytelling. The game takes a unique stance on fighting in the dark versus light. Combined with the arsenal of weapons at Jackie’s disposal and the gruesome attacks of the supernatural Demon Arms and Darkness powers, we’re proud to announce another title that delivers on our core values of creating games for gamers.”
While award-winning comic book writer Paul Jenkins is handling the words. The Darkness co-creator Marc Silvestri has seen the game and is quite pleased.
“Sometimes that whooshing sound you hear is that of comic fans holding their collective breath,” said Marc Silvestri, founder and CEO of Top Cow Productions and co-creator of The Darkness comics. “So often disappointed when a favourite character gives birth to a lame movie or video game, us fans have come to expect the worst. And sometimes we get it. But not with The Darkness II. Yeah, call me biased, but this second installment of Jackie Estacado’s epic saga is – in my humble opinion – one of the most brutally cool games I’ve ever played. 2K Games hammered this one out of the park.”
Silvestri would be the one to know. Hopefully his enthusiasm isn’t unfounded and fans of the comic and the video game will find something special in store for them later 2011 to the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 from 2K Games and Digital Extremes.
And in case you haven’t had the pleasure, the original Darkness game is available at GameStop used for a mere $US4.99. Do yourself a favour.
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