@JemyM Heads up for the Black Crypt review. It is on my 'to play' list as Raven Software is one of my favorite devs. Too bad they currently are focused on content for MW3.
So a quick review of The Darkness II.
I have spend most of my time lately with The Old Republic and Skyrim but took a break to give The Darkness II a spin. From reviews I gathered that it was fairly short so this was actually one of the things that counted as a plus in my book as I needed something I could finish within a reasonable time frame.
This is the second installment of the series but the first to appear on the PC. Even though I own both a PS3 and a X360 I haven't played the first one, so I'm a bit at a disadvantage as how it compares to the first one and how the story did evolve in the first chapter. The developers have included an introductory cut scene that will give you a resume about the story so far but how well it covers what happened int the first game is as I said hard for me to tell.
The premise is that you play the role of Jackie Estacado, the head of a crime family. You have been gifted/cursed with something called The Darkness, which in essence is a demonic presence inside Jackie which grants him extraordinary powers in the form of two snake-like arms. These snake arms plays an essential part of the combat mechanics of the game. The game starts with Jackie having suppressed The Darkness but an attempt at his life forces him to call upon its aid again and set on a path of vengeance.
The games plays like a straight shooter with levels that are pretty linear. In this case the lack of freedom really didn't bother me as the action is fun. The snake arms is well implemented and works great in conjunction with the regular gun play. The Darkness only works in the dark so you'll have to beware of lights and enemies will sometimes be armed with light casters and light grenades. They are aware of your 'condition' so you don't have to wonder why they would be equipped with these items
You gain experience during your quest which can be spend to upgrade your skills. For instance you can upgrade what you gain from executing an enemy with The Darkness, like health, ammo etc. This also includes unlocking new animations. Besides The Darkness you also have the aid of a Darkling, which is a creature which can be of some assistance in combat. You can for instance pick him up with your snake arm and throw him at enemies, if you acquire the right upgrade. At other times (albeit only two times in the entire game) you will transfer your consciousness into the Darkling to solve specific tasks.
The story is well told and I did find it quite interesting. Voice acting is generally good, albeit a lot of the characters are pretty cliché. Loading between levels are usually hidden by a cut scene where Jackie will tell about his past, thus adding more depth to the character. Besides being helpful in combat The Darkness is also very much a presence in Jackies mind. It will constantly scream out and make you feel on the brink of insanity.
Jackie is also haunted by images of his dead girlfriend, Jenny. These moments are excellently done and you'll constantly be wondering if all this is real or not.
The graphics use cell shading which probably is a homage to it's comic book heritage but don't let this fool you the game still is gory and in general the visual are very fitting for a game of this type.
The game took me somewhere between 5-6 hours to complete, which might put many people off, but to be fair I does have the advantage that the game at all times stays interesting. I can't help but compare this game to Max Payne (especially Max Payne II). They both have about the same length and both succeeds in having you get emotionally involved in the story. So if you liked the Max Payne games I think you might find this one likable as well.
