Cregulators: February 2012

Disclaimer: What is said here is the opinion of one individual and isn't fact or the opinion of the whole group, this review was based on the playstation 3 version of The Darkness II so it's possible that some things in the graphics, gameplay, ETC may not apply to the Xbox 360 version or the PC.)

Sum up

The Darkness II is a mix of the comic book super hero and mafia crime genre, the game allows you to "take care of business" but with a demonic force to back you up!

Story

This game takes place 2 years after the events of the original game when our protagonist Jackie Estacardo is betrayed by his uncle Paulie who tries to kill him on his 21st birthday but something else happens that night...

For the first time ever Jackie notices something dark and powerful stir within him and soon enough it emerges as a two headed demon known only as "The Darkness." Jackie at first uses the Darkness' power to get revenge on his uncle up until he pays the price for using it's power when he loses the only light in his life his girlfriend Jenny.

From this moment on Jackie cares about nothing else but revenge and through this drive of vengeance he masters the darkness and avenges Jennie at the near cost of his soul.

Jackie since has been keeping the Darkness in check and for two years refuses to use it's power, up until he is attacked by an unusually organised cult. Jackie is once again forced to turn to the Darkness and use it's power to destroy his new found enemies... The Brotherhood.

Gameplay

The story in this game is never dull for a moment although you do have to get information and return home at the end of missions these tranquil moments quickly pass as most people will be eager to get back to the action the game doesn't force you to stay at home longer than necessary.

Although the story isn't as long as the original and in my view not as well written it is still satisfying and is still a great experience going deeper into the mind of Jackie and bringing back all your favourite characters and introducing new ones.

The game cuts back on side quests which filled the original and there are only a few acts, 3 I think which will reduce playing time massively compared to the original. The game was incredibly short in comparison and I did it on a Sunday afternoon in about 7 hours or so (with a lot of dicking around).

There are a few mini games involved nothing as exciting as that crazy old lady that threw coins on the track and told you to pick them up before you got hit by a train, but still a number of games that involve killing pigeons in creative and evasive manors.

The problem is these mini games don't feel like they are worth wasting your time on as you don't get much of an award for doing them (Other than approval from Shale), I'm sure you get an achievement or something for doing some of them or maybe if you do them all but I don't care about achievements.

There are many violent and horrific moments that made the original what it is, it also keeps up with the tradition of making the player an unstoppable nightmarish force of destruction and boy is it satisfying. You can use a number of unlock able Darkness powers and you even get your own minion (who I refer to as Wheatley after Portal 2 because he's English) as well as duel wielding of a wide range of fire arms. The only problem is that I am unstoppable I only died a few times and none of these deaths were from damage one was from fall damage and a few others were story events which I didn't react fast enough to, but other than that this game was so easy on normal I would imagine that easy is a walk in the park.

Graphics

This is one of the things the game is sadly lacking on, I appreciate that they have tried to make it into a comic book style of gameplay as seen in Borderlands. The problem is that it looks somewhat worse than the 2007 original game which was made 5 years before, although the world is well detailed and imaginative it still feels like a late Playstation 2 game or early Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 game.

It is a shame that this may put off the younger Call of duty loving generation from a good experience but for all of the readers out there with a brain I'm sure you don't need good graphics to make a good game.

Lifespan

This game will last you a couple of hours on the single player campaign as well as a number of hours on the coop campaign (which I haven't played yet). This game might be worth playing once or twice because of it's alternative choices, but I wouldn't say it was a brilliant replay value as these didn't feel as if they would alter the game that much or not at all.

Conclusion

In conclusion I would definitely say the Darkness is worth buying I wouldn't regard it as high as the original but it is by no means by any stretch of the imagination bad. This game is like the 300 of gaming sure it's unrealistic but it's gory, brutal, sexy and fun so it's definitely worth checking out even if you just rent it.

These are the 2011 episodes of The Corrupt Regulator Chronicles with trailers the full thing can be seen on our youtube channel or Psychomantis108's or Swift Frostsaber's channels.

Redemption

Redemption was the first recorded campaign of The Corrupt Regulators, taking place between Blood Harvest and The Sacrifice.

The campaign takes The Hanged Man (as Louis), Drew Lectre (as Bill) and Swift Frostsaber (as Francis) through an abandoned military base where they uncover all sorts of secrets and discoveries.

will The Hanged Man find Happiness?
will Frostsabre find that epic gun he has always sought for?
does anyone give a shit? NO! but please try to watch anyway.

The Sacrifice

The end of the road is only the beginning as The Hanged Man, Swift Frostsaber and Tiff arrive in a hell hole worse than they left they prepare for destiny...