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The Darkness


Ant-Shimmin

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Glad to hear you appreciated it, aimless - shame on you Gizmo!

 

The game is based on a comic series, from what I remember, so the story element is massively important - and you're right, aimless; the world created feels sturdy and tasty, and can be absorbing. It's not an easy game, and the achievements aren't fabulously quick to ensnare, but the orphanage bit and the whole youknowwhat was one of few parts to a game where I woahed throughout.

 

It's one of those games that feels more like an interactive movie, kind of like how Kane and Lynch feels (I've not played past the first 2 levels on that, mind you!) and if you approach it as a story-driven game, it is very cool indeed.

 

Any whispers of a sequel are very welcome indeed!

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Great game, highly unappreciated at the time. Awesome story as Jay says too. You really get involved and start to feel the Darkness taking over, by the end you're really not sure what will happen. It has a powerful ending as a result.

 

Creepy and adventurous. I dont know why it didn't sell better.

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Glad to hear you appreciated it, aimless - shame on you Gizmo!

 

The game is based on a comic series, from what I remember, so the story element is massively important - and you're right, aimless; the world created feels sturdy and tasty, and can be absorbing. It's not an easy game, and the achievements aren't fabulously quick to ensnare, but the orphanage bit and the whole youknowwhat was one of few parts to a game where I woahed throughout.

 

It's one of those games that feels more like an interactive movie, kind of like how Kane and Lynch feels (I've not played past the first 2 levels on that, mind you!) and if you approach it as a story-driven game, it is very cool indeed.

 

Any whispers of a sequel are very welcome indeed!

 

Ok yes I agree BUT and its a big BUT they set up the opening with the car chase and it staying in 1st person the whole time and then when you recieve the two pistols off your mate it goes into 3rd person and it seems to do it again at random points in the game. It really took me out of the experience. I'm not saying third person can't offer that experience but when a game sets itself up as one thing and tries to be immersive in that way its a shame to see it abandon it seemingly for no reason other than to show off the character art.

 

Anyway wondering why I've bumped this thread? I've had this game for years and just picked it up today to actually play it. It's a very competent shooter made all the better by the crazy dark powers and such like. I love the mob plot aswell.

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It's the switching between two modes that takes you out of the experience, for sure, but I think that was why it was only as immersive as a movie; you have no control at all with a movie and my point was that this game is like a movie but with some control.

 

But I'm glad you're enjoying the game :) I was considering playing it through again, but I know that I'll be sidetracked with some achievements I missed, some of which are hoarding ones, and I know that'll detract from my enjoyment.

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It's the switching between two modes that takes you out of the experience, for sure, but I think that was why it was only as immersive as a movie; you have no control at all with a movie and my point was that this game is like a movie but with some control.

 

But I'm glad you're enjoying the game :) I was considering playing it through again, but I know that I'll be sidetracked with some achievements I missed, some of which are hoarding ones, and I know that'll detract from my enjoyment.

 

Yeah I'm not very far into but its totally immersive, I do get what you are saying. So I'm guessing you think they made conscious directorial decisions when and when not/ what to show third person view. and I think it offers something different to your usual shooters.

 

Bizarrely/coincidentally given I just started this game. I was doing some lazy sunday morning web browsing and stumbled across this on 1up.com:

 

Here's a bit of good news, bad news for anyone who enjoyed the 2007 supernatural first-person shooter The Darkness. At the New York Comic-Con, Top Cow Productions' sales and marketing director Atom! Freeman explained to Joystiq that they're definitely still interested in making a sequel, but there a few roadblocks keeping them from moving forward right now.

 

"There are certain rights issues that we needed to clear up in order to move ahead with The Darkness 2. Those are getting cleared up. While there are no specific plans, it is definitely still on all of our minds," Freeman said. Top Cow has been hinting at a sequel to The Darkness since way back in 2008, even officially confirming The Darkness 2 last year, but it looks like these "rights issues" are why we haven't heard much of it since.

 

Still, Freeman assured that they're still very interested in making a sequel. "We loved the game. The fans loved the game. There's no reason to not do another one," he said. "Just making sure that all of our ducks are in a row so that we can begin that process."

 

Since Top Cow is the owner of the Darkness comic book that the first game was based on, it's hard to see what rights issues they would need to clear up (and who they'd need to clear them with). But in any case, let's hope they get cleared soon.

 

http://www.1up.com/news/darkness-sequel-impeded-rights-issues

Edited by flameboy
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While in FP, encounters with NPCs are often boring. How many times have you patiently just stared at the person talking? How many times have you, instead, jumped, crouched, span around and shot stuff while you're waiting to get back to the shooting! I think it's a form of narrative control to switch to the third person mode, like a mini cut-scene, so yeah it's definitely a directorial decision that you'll forget is even happening in due course.

 

As for the sequel news - here's hoping it does come around. I think they could really let rip with a sequel.

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Pointless trivia - the weird voice of the Darkness is done by none other than Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton.

 

Played and finished this game years ago, and it was ok, but completely forgettable. Other than being in a subway station, I can't really remember too much about this game.

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While in FP, encounters with NPCs are often boring. How many times have you patiently just stared at the person talking? How many times have you, instead, jumped, crouched, span around and shot stuff while you're waiting to get back to the shooting! I think it's a form of narrative control to switch to the third person mode, like a mini cut-scene, so yeah it's definitely a directorial decision that you'll forget is even happening in due course.

 

As for the sequel news - here's hoping it does come around. I think they could really let rip with a sequel.

 

ok this point you make all makes sense. However I do feel so far the best "cutscene" in the game is when

 

jenny dies

 

 

and the darkness fits you in that spot and makes you watch. However can't the game force the same effect as and when it wants to in order to take control over the way the story is told. That's another way to direct the story and stop people jumping around etc as the plot develops The third person bits to me are annoying! I've found myself increasing distracted when it randomly cuts just to go up some ladders and some conversations will be in 1st person others in third person. I would have preferred it if they had kept the third person bits to his monologues you get during loading (which themselves have problems as despite Jackies emotions his face remains blank all the time) anyway still enjoying the game have just made my way back to new york after the slight detour.

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Ah, you are so right about that scene! Intense stuff.

 

It's kinda like how Bioshock does pretty much all its cutscenes - you keep the view but lose control. In that respect, I totally get what you mean, and it is very much so immersive.

 

But! I still think that Darkness is attempting to imitate movies first and foremost, or at least that's a decent enough excuse for refusing to put in the extra dev. time to do all interactions like bioshock. Perversely, that one scene in Darkness where it's in that mode is probably the most claustraphobic of all of them, and it perhaps has such weight because we're not used to the perspective?

 

You've got me wanting to play the game again. I'm sure I said it already, but I deferred from playing through on a harder difficulty straight away as it was bothering me not being able to find all the collectable stuff - I did attempt to go back to it but having not played it for so long it was too tricky to remember everything combined with it all being so painfully hard.

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