Since I've been out of gaming for awhile, I've been trying to shake off the rust by playing a few older games I had laying around. GTA IV, Lost Odyssey, Rainbow 6, and The Darkness.

The Darkness is really an outstanding game in so many respects yet no one talks about it. The story is engaging, the characters are believable, and it's a perfect example of an "adult themed" action game. It's gory, yes. Some of the dialogue is less than perfect but overall, it's pretty good.

What makes this game stand out in my eyes are the characters. You honestly give a shit about Jackie and Jenny. They have some depth to them and the way the game delivers this content (sitting and watching a movie with Jenny, seeing childhood apparitions later in the game) is new and refreshing. Inversely, you actually end up having a relationship with The Darkness as the game progresses. Initially, you're like "fuck YEAH, this is awesome!" as you first get powers. Then you learn to despise The Darkness. Finally, you end up feeling somewhat sorry for it as you realize that time has simply driven it mad. The segues in the loading screen where Jackie talks about whatever add to the character development as well.

The gameplay is a little lacking because once you get the Black Void, it becomes an "I win" button. The challenge all but disappears after that point. Overall though, the gameplay is solid though not extraordinary. What makes up for this is some really inspired thinking about the story progression. Entering The Darkness' mind and playing through the WWI battlefields is simply brilliant. It was a completely unexpected change and I thought it was great. Also, I'm a fan of how the game is linear but gives the impression that some freedom is allowed. Using the NY subway system to make calls, move about the city, etc. was a smart design choice. It keeps the game small but allows the player to move as they see fit.

Overall, I have a hard time coming up with a noir game that delivers a better action experience than The Darkness. The story is solid, the characters are inspired, and while it's far from fine art, it's one of the better gaming experiences I've had recently and was completely unexpected. The developers really did a fine job of making the most of the game's themes and delivering intelligent content within the confines of the action/shooter genre.

I wish more developers had the brains to realize that a gamer can care about even the most violent shooter hero if they take a little time to nurture the character's motivations and the surrounding cast. Sometimes a few gameplay mistakes can be overlooked if the player needs to know what happens next or get revenge on that fucker who just ruined the character's life.

The Darkness is fucking epic !
Only the WWI parts were a bit....strange...

OMG you back! Are you going to stay around? You were one of my favorite mods and then you just disappeared :(

OT: I really have nothing to say I'm still in shock

edit- btw why did you leave?

I loved that part. You enter The Darkness' mind and find... zombie Germans eternally tormenting a squad of WWI soldiers, one of which was the first to carry The Darkness. Perfectly creepy.

I just burned out on gaming for awhile. Constantly bickering over pointless hardware arguments while playing repetitive games that delivered the same juvenile content wore me out. I needed a year off or so.

I think Virtua Fighter 5 deserves the top spot. It rivals Street Fighter 4 in quality, but it sold really poorly. And when people talk about the big fighter games, it usually gets ignored. It's such a shame, it's a really awesome game.

The game wasnt nothing special.

The game didnt do anything brilliant. Nor did it do anything completely shit.

It was just ok. Thats it. It has a few boring moments but nothing to major. The game about the right recognition. Especially when you see the standard of the other games in the genre

Huh, this isn't what I expected! Where is the moaning!

I know exactly how you feel. I find it hard to motivate myself to game recently unless its with a group of friends, just so much other crap to worry about.

As for your argument about violent shooter heroes I agree completely. This is something that is true for games and hollywood. They seem so reluctant to portray their world through the eyes of a man driven to his darkest depths. Hollywood has gotten better at it but I feel like every time they get to the edge they pull back, afraid their audience will become repulsed with the character. If a developer could create a truly ruthless character with relatable motivations, a man pushed into his darkest depths and then fleshed into a believable world I think they could have a groundbreaking game on their hands. But they will always be afraid of alienating the player, they don't think we can cope playing through the eyes of such a character. Which is false I think, give the player the right motivation in the story and I think they would be more than happy to play.

If that standard includes 'roided up anti-heroes who just love to kill everything in their path for no apparent reason other than that they exist, then I agree.

The Darkness didn't do that. They gave the character a real reason to go revenge-crazy and wipe out a mob family. I actually cared about Jackie, something I can't say about Master Chief, any Tom Clancy hero, any WWII shooter character (excepting perhaps that cool Brit dude with the mustache in CoD games), and nearly every other shooter I've ever played (and trust me, I've played fucking hundreds of the things dating back to Wolfenstein).

To tell the truth, I never even cared much about Freeman. I mainly wanted to find out what the hell the dude with the briefcase was up to.