The Darkness

#3 from Trev. I told you I'd get through these games! The Darkness was a title I had very little interest in, but FPSes tend to be the easiest loggings so I had no reservations about giving this a shot. And I'm glad I did! While The Darkness is hardly a classic, it was a fun shooter that did enough different from its brethren to keep me interested for its 8 hours or so- mainly two things: a major emphasis on story, and some actual interesting powers in addition to the tried and true FPS mechanics. I mean, not since Half-Life 2 have I seen a non-RPG FPS go to such great lengths to actually be "about" something rather than just running from one place to the next and kill everyone in your way. Protagonist Jackie Estacado travels back and forth through the seediest streets of New York chasing and being chased by members of his Uncle's mafia, seeking vengeance for his dead girlfriend, but there's a bizarre fantasy subplot in which Jackie comes to term with "the Darkness"- a sort of dark spirit that takes over his body whether he wants it or not that gives him superpowers but is also driving him nuts. The Darkness gives Jackie the series' iconic dueling-anaconda limbs as you can see on the box. Gameplay involves basic FPS controls in addition to using the snake-like appendages which can shoot out black holes, slide into small crevices, and devour the hearts of the enemies unfortunate enough to run into Jackie Estacado on a darkness-bender. It all came together well enough for me to enjoy, and I'll probably check out the sequel which came out earlier this year for completion's sake, but there's probably no need to go out of your way to play this one.