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Consumed Or Succumbed - Thoughts On The Darkness II


The Dark In The Light
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Completed it yesterday I loved it from start to finish. Cant compare to first game as I never played it but it was pretty much what I expected it to be.

Story could have gone a bit deeper but kept me enthralled enough I never got bored, dont want to say much but the end left more questions than answers.

Advise everyone to play through on Don Mode on your new game plus run through I hardly noticed the difference in difficulty by the time you have your upgrades.

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I enjoyed The Darkness 2 from start to finish, the visuals seem to fit much more, the gore is awesome, but the game was much too short. Currently playing through Vendettas now which is pretty damn boring if I'm honest, very linear with lots of 'survive the attack' objectives.

 

I preferred the original, but I did enjoy this games single player very much.

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The Darkness II had the better gameplay. I've never played any other shooter that was this frantic, where you were literally doing 12 things at once--be it shooting, ripping, using powers, eating hearts, executing, etc..--and that was thoroughly enjoyable. But everything else (besides, perhaps, visuals) was done much better in the first game. I still consider the first game a masterpiece. This game was fun, but the story, atmosphere, sequencing, etc was more-or-less mediocre. And that's unfortunate. This is a very mature franchise, with a lot of elements that could've been incorporated into the game; instead, the team chose to rehash much of the first game's (superior) story. I hope the third game brings us something fresh again. I'm really tired of the protagonist killing himself to go to hell to achieve some predictable objective only to escape without a scratch, ready to do it again, because his one-dimensional emotions make him ever-suicidal, and the darkness is merely his artifice to continue this boring activity in perpetuity.

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The Darkness II had the better gameplay. I've never played any other shooter that was this frantic, where you were literally doing 12 things at once--be it shooting, ripping, using powers, eating hearts, executing, etc..--and that was thoroughly enjoyable. But everything else (besides, perhaps, visuals) was done much better in the first game. I still consider the first game a masterpiece. This game was fun, but the story, atmosphere, sequencing, etc was more-or-less mediocre. And that's unfortunate. This is a very mature franchise, with a lot of elements that could've been incorporated into the game; instead, the team chose to rehash much of the first game's (superior) story. I hope the third game brings us something fresh again. I'm really tired of the protagonist killing himself to go to hell to achieve some predictable objective only to escape without a scratch, ready to do it again, because his one-dimensional emotions make him ever-suicidal, and the darkness is merely his artifice to continue this boring activity in perpetuity.

 

thats exactly what i thought the gameplay was perfect doing many things at once was a great idea. the story however not so great, it was ok becuz well it wasnt really dark enough for me u know and i didnt mind him seeing jenny but come on they show her like in every scene and every level show her once in a while. i think they over did it with the backflashes which is another reason why the story wasnt very good. I really hope the third one makes up for this and please less romance and more action.

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the story is alright, i got tired of the jenny stuff but it was still enjoyable. I like the ending even if its a lil confusing at first but the story compared to the first one i'd say they're at even odds. The gameplay is amazing compared to the first. Sooo i'd say the darkness 2 is alot better, it suited me more seeing as i liked the over the top action direction they were trying to take with this one. Better than MW3 that's for sure

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The first had more powers and used them to better effect. It had a less linear world and the story really dragged you into the universes. The gameplay was a little old school compared to modern shooters but still holds up today. The second had a nice graphics but nothing special, i did notice a lot of glitches. It was to short and added nothing to the universe and the the dark didnt really play as much of a role in the second compared to the first.

 

The loss of Kirk Acevedo was another thing that bothered me about the second.

 

Over all I think the first even today is still better over all but both deserve to be played. You can pick the first up for peanuts so if you havnt played it give it a go.

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Personally, I think this game is better than the first. It's ironed out all of the issues that I had with the first one - Too much mindless wandering around at times and the lackluster combat - and still managed to keep the characters interesting.

 

The Aunt Sarah moment was amazing as well, needless to say I was enraged. And then again on the next mission.

 

Nothing will match the moment of just sitting on the sofa in the first game, though.

 

Oh, and the multiplayer is so much better on this one!

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Well it's about time i give my take on this matter by providing my brief but slightly detailed opinion however i have to make one thing clear:I've NEVER played the original.

 

Story-It seemed decently structured as you fought for control of your dark powers and dealing with your own personal demons while questioning your very sanity in a dark twisted world.I for one didn't really have a issue with the whole "jenny side of things" as it's obvious why it would be a big part of the story and made sense (for the most part) so my only main issues with it is the campaign's length and the fact it gave more questions then answers (ie. Lost).

 

Visuals- The graphics appear to be on par with the current generation as cel shading combined with hand painted artwork gives a graphic novel/comic book feel while giving a overall realistic look to the game although despite the environments,animations and character models being detailed and well throughout,the visuals do appear to be somewhat lacking at times.

 

Gameplay-This area shows promise as quad- wielding adds variety to dispatching foes and utilising skill trees to unlock the full potential of the the darkness keeps things interesting but alas these plus other mechanics could have been explored in more depth but come off more like simple gimmicks (case in point : the darkling).

 

Sounds-It offers a few licenced tracks both classical and modern that combine different genres together with orchestral and choir pieces helping make the entire experience immersive and intense.Finally the voice acting fit the majority of the roles nicely so no part seemed too small for this tale however interesting dialogue choices and some voice overs do leave a little to be desired.

 

All in all the darkness II was better then expected as it seemed to be a unique experience indeed but it isn't exactly prefect and certain aspects of the game could use some tweaking but it proved it's worth as the majority of it was very enjoyable with the minority seeming a bit weak however i am unable to say if it has consumed or succumbed to it's predecessor as i will be playing this series backwards so for now i shall see if the first one and the comics can provide at least the same level of quality i found here but as far as i'm concerned there are still many dark deeds to be done.

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I did like the references to the first one, but why would you get rid of creeping dark i mean comeon that was the best thing bout the first. I think the asylum was 100% fake because it is similar to the war scenes in the first game he goes there when his body is being repaired so to speak. I guess it was good overall but creeping dark was a great move.

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I did like the references to the first one, but why would you get rid of creeping dark i mean comeon that was the best thing bout the first. I think the asylum was 100% fake because it is similar to the war scenes in the first game he goes there when his body is being repaired so to speak. I guess it was good overall but creeping dark was a great move.

 

The asylum was lame, lame, lame. Even lamer when compared to the "alternate universe" presented in the first game.

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I never played the first one. LOVED darkeness too.

 

You just contradicted yourself. Unless you meant to write "two" at the end. Anyway you probably shouldn't even bother playing the first one, I doubt you have the capacity to appreciate it.

 

PS- I know I'm being a dick

Edited by tunaleg
der
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Well it's about time i give my take on this matter by providing my brief but slightly detailed opinion however i have to make one thing clear:I've NEVER played the original.

 

Story-It seemed decently structured as you fought for control of your dark powers and dealing with your own personal demons while questioning your very sanity in a dark twisted world.I for one didn't really have a issue with the whole "jenny side of things" as it's obvious why it would be a big part of the story and made sense (for the most part) so my only main issues with it is the campaign's length and the fact it gave more questions then answers (ie. Lost).

 

Visuals- The graphics appear to be on par with the current generation as cel shading combined with hand painted artwork gives a graphic novel/comic book feel while giving a overall realistic look to the game although despite the environments,animations and character models being detailed and well throughout,the visuals do appear to be somewhat lacking at times.

 

Gameplay-This area shows promise as quad- wielding adds variety to dispatching foes and utilising skill trees to unlock the full potential of the the darkness keeps things interesting but alas these plus other mechanics could have been explored in more depth but come off more like simple gimmicks (case in point : the darkling).

 

Sounds-It offers a few licenced tracks both classical and modern that combine different genres together with orchestral and choir pieces helping make the entire experience immersive and intense.Finally the voice acting fit the majority of the roles nicely so no part seemed too small for this tale however interesting dialogue choices and some voice overs do leave a little to be desired.

 

All in all the darkness II was better then expected as it seemed to be a unique experience indeed but it isn't exactly prefect and certain aspects of the game could use some tweaking but it proved it's worth as the majority of it was very enjoyable with the minority seeming a bit weak however i am unable to say if it has consumed or succumbed to it's predecessor as i will be playing this series backwards so for now i shall see if the first one and the comics can provide at least the same level of quality i found here but as far as i'm concerned there are still many dark deeds to be done.

 

I agree with pretty much everything you said. The story was excellent and I like how they actually made Jackie a likeable character despite the fact that he was your stereotypical mob boss. I really liked how the story progressed throughout the game (in the cutscenes and in the interactive custscene moments like in the asylum) and especially how it ended until the cutscene after the credits where it left a big question as to what was gonna happen next in the series.

 

I really enjoyed the graphical approach they took for this game as it did remind me alot of Borderlands and how that game was able to create a unique world with a unique artstyle that really sets itself apart from other shooters. Another thing that the developers did really well with this game was the lighting. This was probably important to them to get it done correctly since it played a huge role in the gameplay and you could really tell that they payed extra attention into the lighting in this game and how it was shown off in this cel-shaded world.

 

The darkness gameplay was really fun as it made it more about having lots of different options in how you wanted to approach a scenario (with your various darkness powers) in order to get past it or survive it. The co-op gameplay was really fun too given that the story in that ran parallel to the story in the single player campaign.

 

My only main complaint was how short the whole game is. While its a game you should definitely check out, its probably something most people can finish (and perhaps get the full 1000/1000) in a weekend rental. However with that in mind, its definitely one of my fav games of the year so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Darkness 3 will be like after playing this one.

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I thought it was great. Cell shaded graphics compliment the comic book style, the gunplay is fun alongside 'quad-wielding' (2 guns and 2 'snakes'), the story was enticing, the several visits to hell and the mental hospital were unique scenes that tied in well with story development, not to mention the addition of a secondary vendettas campaign and hit list missions. 8.5/10

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  • 1 month later...

I lump these two together in my title because even though I enjoy the games/movies that came from them, the graphic novels that were related to them were very different and much better actually.

 

The first Darkness was great, but it was really an alternate telling of the comics.

The few things they did get right;

21st birthday is when the Darkness manifests.

Light negates the Darkness.

Jackie is unkillable and nearly invulnerable when in the Dark.

 

What they got wrong; (ALL SPOILERS or SPOILERish)

Jackie doesn't have a single or a few Darklings. He has literally hundreds that manifest itself at once. So in this since, the comics would be more like Overlord than they are like Prototype.

Jackie's father was a Darkness host, as was his father. The Darkness is passed down from father to son.

Having sex as the host GUARANTEES insemination and the fertilized child will be the next male host. Also, the previous host dies after insemination. Yep, kind of sucks.

Jackie does not really have an adversarial relation with the Darkness. They kind of coexist peacefully as Jackie just wants revenge for the most part and enjoys the power/killing.

Jenny plays a minor role in the comics as a love interest, which is never requited especially since Jackie can't be physically romantic, and her death is covered in about 2-3 comics and then never spoken of again.

(END SPOILERS)

 

I feel as though this is more indicative of video games as a whole that don't embrace the whole "he's evil and enjoys it", whether it's a reluctant antihero in GTA or any of a plethora of "dark" heroes.

 

I was really excited to see (SPOILERS AGAIN) the Angelus (END SPOILERS) at the end of this game as they are the main antagonists in the Darkness story, along with the Brotherhood.

 

I prefer a villain who knows and stays a villain, whether it's, like I mentioned before, the Overlord, or an Alex Mercer or the Jackie Estacado of comic book canon.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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