The Darkness Review

By Kristan Reed Published 25 June, 2007

Day of the tentacles.

Version tested: Xbox 360

I'm facing a bit of a dilemma, dear readers. You see, beloved colleague Rob Fahey got a bit carried away when he wrote the first impressions piece of The Darkness. He liked it so much, he not only played it all the way through (all 15 hours), but he detailed almost every interesting feature in-depth, told us about the excellent narrative and back-story, the tentacle-waving combat, and the darkness powers and summed up by saying the game was a "fascinating prospect" that any fan of first-person shooters or horror games should buy. Lucky for us we don't pay by the hour.

So what's left for me to say other than slap a deservingly high score on the end and expand on the online multiplayer side of the game? Fortunately for you, review fans, a fair bit.

There are things about The Darkness that will have you gurning with frothing appreciation and leave you in no doubt that Starbreeze is among the most talented developers in the world. Its ability to consistently inject new life into a resolutely tired genre shouldn't be underestimated. Just as Starbreeze managed with The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the pacing's exquisite in that the game twists and turns in new directions just when it's required.

As soon as you settle into a groove, a new darkness power unlocks and offers a new dimension to the gameplay, or a new type of darkling is made available to you. Far from being yet another corridor shooter to yawn your way through, it's a game that gives you a great deal of choice, and no set solution to get there. For example, rather like how FEAR gave players the option of whether to use time-slowing abilities or not (and an Achievement for those who didn't use them), The Darkness has a similar dynamic. The fact it's not a mandatory requirement opens up the gameplay variety considerably.

'The Darkness' Screenshot 1

The Darkling tries a diplomatic solution before resorting to feasting on entrails.

In my case, I preferred to use the more stealthy Creeping Dark ability. Sending out one of your tentacles slithering ahead on a scouting mission, it lets you creep up on unsuspecting sentries, snap your slavering jaws in their shocked face and rip their still beating hearts out in a flash. Other players might prefer more traditional options such as using the regular tactical rifles and dual pistols and test themselves that way, or try and sneak up on enemies and pull off grisly close-quarter moves. There's no hard and fast route to success, and the game's all the better for letting players decide what kind of anti-hero they want to be.

Of course, you also gain access to four types of Darkling along the way. These scrawny little imps can run ahead into battle for you, taking out the lights, acting as a gunner, a suicide bomber, or just a general nuisance. On rare occasions they help solve puzzles for you, although giving you an example would give you too much of a clue, so I'll resist that particular temptation.

As you'll no doubt know by now, taking out any lights in your immediate vicinity is a key requirement if you fancy using your darkness powers to full effect, but also one that makes the approach to most combat situations a rather methodical process - maybe too methodical for some. Although I liked this more slow-paced, patient approach to the combat, others might see this as a bad thing. Having to pick off every sodding light bulb and strip light before you can reliably engage in full-power combat might irk players who prefer to just wade in all guns blazing, so it's worth bearing that in mind. It's not a game for everyone, but don't take that as a negative.

'The Darkness' Screenshot 2

Possibly the most generic looking screenshot ever. Honestly, the game drips atmosphere, but this shot manages to make it look tired and boring. Whoops.

As Rob explained in his preview, the game's central hub is - for the most part - set around two underground stations in New York, with all the major locations available via the station exits. In common with Riddick, this gives Starbreeze a logical link point to some of the main mission areas, as well as a much-needed sense of freedom to wander around and do your own thing when you feel the need. And if you're ever lost, or in doubt of where to go next, the status screen and various helpful terminals dotted around the station make some otherwise frustrating navigation a piece of cake. And even when you get to your destination, various street maps on the side of the road ensure you'll never be wandering aimlessly - something that games risk doing as soon as they take the linear guard rail off the level design. It's as if Starbreeze identified all the little things that could prove an annoyance and took care of them in as unobtrusive a way as possible. The game never patronises you by barking at you for going the 'wrong' way, but the minute you do get lost in the gloomy streets of Lower East Side you don't have to do much to get back on track.

That said, the sections of the game where you travel to the 'otherworld' at times display ill-advised design that feels like the polar opposite of the well-thought-out New York environment. As a concept, the otherworld is a chillingly wonderful nightmare World War, with harrowing trenches filled with zombie Germans on one side, and literally stitched together British on the other, seemingly fighting a war they can never win or lose. As horribly atmospheric as these sections are, they just don't work as well as New York: all too often it's rather too easy to stray off-course and wonder if you're doing the right thing or walking the right way. The often featureless, murky and fog-ridden landscape might well do a good job of giving the impression of one man's hell, but playing within it is the game's undoubted low-point - like Max Payne's interminable dream sequences.

Getting back to New York provides stark relief, and a clear illustration of how much more enjoyable it is to play the game in this setting. In this case, unlike Riddick, the change of scene doesn't necessarily work as well as you'd hope, and as good as it is to have a break from the norm, it seems more a tool to make the player feel unsettled and uncomfortable than anything. If that was the aim, job done, but it's simply not as enjoyable an experience for the player and doesn't exactly show off the best elements of either the technical prowess of the engine or the gameplay. It feels muddled and incoherent, like a bad dream you can't quite wake up from. Hurgh.

As masterful as some of the artistry and atmosphere is, there's still a lingering feeling that the game world and accompanying physics aren't as fleshed out as they might be, with an engine that doens't seem to have moved on an awful lot since Riddick astonished us in 2004. For example, being able to use the demon arm to wield objects and smash them down on assailants ought to kill them, not merely disrupt them: it's physics lite. And what about the ghost town streets of New York almost entirely free of NPCs, and with barely a single building you can enter? It's all very well making the locations staggeringly detailed, but if they end up feeling like flimsy film sets, what's the point? Looking back, it's a shame so much of the game's life, ambience and general interactivity is shoehorned into the two subway stations, because it serves to highlight what's missing elsewhere. It might remove the need to slowly wander around to meet up with characters, but it ends up feeling slightly unfinished as a result.

Other little kinks and quirks started to chip away at our original intention to dish out a back slapping 9/10. Control niggles when controlling the Creeping Dark mean that your tentacle tends to snag on dead bodies and refuse to crawl over them. You'll also grow to hate the way your tentacle will sluggishly misread your intended direction and often completely disorientate you in the process. For example - elementary changes of direction such as coming down a wall and back down to horizontal alignment rarely happen as quickly or as easily as you think they should, and during the heat of battle such things can be a real annoyance. Indeed, snapping your jaws in the direction of an assailant doesn't always make a firm connection - often bafflingly so. It's like Starbreeze never quite nailed what it was intending to do, and one of the most crucial elements of the game design doesn't end up feeling as fluid as it should. Shame.

And if we're going to get our slavering (albeit misbehaving) jaws stuck firmly into the weaker elements of The Darkness, perhaps now's the time to turn our attention to how the AI fares - obviously it's a key part of what any heralded shooter should offer in 2007. The truth is, although it's perfectly respectable and challenging enough to offer regularly exciting and engaging firefights, it doesn't really stand up to close scrutiny compared with the very best FPS AI out there, feeling a little standard and unambitious. Enemies tend to merely stand and shoot, taking cover and popping out to return fire in a typically obliging fashion - it's no FEAR, put it that way. You won't see any evidence of flanking tactics or concerted attempts at teamwork; in fact, I'd go as far as to say you won't see anything majorly out of the ordinary. Once in a while you might notice that some enemies follow you downstairs, but it's a rarity, and a valid complaint that The Darkness doesn't test skilled FPS players often enough. At its worst, the AI (on normal setting, at least) is downright dim if you're savvy enough to use creeping dark against them. They react so late, it stretches credibility - oh look, a giant tentacle slithering towards me. Oh noes! It may well have been a deliberate balancing decision to make it as accessible and entertaining as possible to the widest possible audience, but that doesn't hide the fact that the game's enemies aren't that smart, put it that way.

'The Darkness' Screenshot 3

Sack the screenshot taker Part Two: Yeah, this one's makes it look a bit rubbish too. Amazing.

Another interesting point about the game as a whole, is that the most spectacular moments in the entire experience are saved for the very end when you're not even in control anymore. Seemingly Starbreeze wanted to take an opportunity to show you how it had all these plans to make a 10/10 action spectacular, but couldn't quite work out how to let the player do that within an intuitive control framework. The three minute section near the very final moments of the game, for instance, are so wild and frantic, it brings into sharp focus what the game could have been if they had cut the player loose. You have to see it to believe it.

Rob's contention that The Darkness offers "little that's new or hugely ambitious in its gameplay" is fair, to a large extent. You shoot guns. You have special powers. You kill people. They try to kill you back. Big deal - it was never going to be the most innovative game ever, but it's not something that should put people off if you're one of the millions of people that love shooters. No one would claim it's the first game to offer numerous contrasting types of 'weapons' either, nor is it the first to offer the player one than one approach to slaying their foe, but all you can ask for is that everything this is in the game is well balanced, relentlessly entertaining and works as it should - and it does.

The thing that really marks The Darkness out, we'll repeat, is its "minute-to-minute gameplay". You can't argue with that. It's a game which offers thrills arguably as intense as anything the genre has to offer. It is, for the most part, an extraordinarily entertaining game with precious little fat around the edges,and often technically stunning. Not only that, it's complemented by a wonderfully engaging script, great (although sometimes cod amusing in the case of Mike Patton's attempt at voicing The Darkness with gravely malevolence) voice acting, and some of the best presentation you'll ever see in a first-person shooter.

It's not often we'll talk about 'game direction' in the way that a film reviewer might refer to a must-see movie, but this deserves to be held up as a great example of a game that got it spot-on. More often than not, you get the sense that Starbreeze's main aim was to keep its audience entertained and that everything else simply flowed from that central idea. Admittedly, it's a shame that the otherworld sections were a blight on the overall quality, but it's not enough to detract from how you'll feel about it.

'The Darkness' Screenshot 4

This one's a bit better. The subtle ighting in the game is truly some of the best we've ever seen in a videogame.

More likely, you'll remember the little touches. The hidden items, for example, provide you with an almighty amount of amusement in the form of warped answerphone greeting from a procession of mentally unhinged individuals, while the ability to sit down and watch entire movies (like Flash Gordon, The Street Fighter, various cartoons and music videos) is one of those moments you'll pull a friend in from another room to giddily exclaim: "look!" It's fairly meaningless in terms of the game, but simply fantastic that we've reached a stage where long-form, real-life movies can be chucked into a videogame as a bonus. Another nice touch is to get entire comics as an unlockable - especially useful if, like me, you've never read the graphic novel the game's based on.

Talking of bonuses, Starbreeze has also gone one further than it did with Riddick by including the online (or System Link) multiplayer portion to round off an already essential package. In this instance, you're given the usual Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag staples, along with a Survivor mode where everyone's out to get you. Only eight players are supported, which is an initial disappointment for those of you used to somewhat bigger matches, but on the plus side you won't have to worry about waiting around incessantly in lobbies like you do with game with bigger player support. With all three modes you have the option to play as Humans, Darklings or as Shapeshifters (where you can switch between the two during play), so what seems like a standard online add-on is actually given something of an extra dimension.

To add to the fun, there are also 23 different characters to choose from - 15 humans and eight darklings, which is a nice touch. My favourite is Sally Kreuger, for presumably being related to Freddie. If she isn't, she should be. Given that very few people appear to be playing online as-yet (no wonder, given the game's not out for another four days), it's hard to discern quite how the game's online facet will go down in the big wide world, but the time we have had online suggests it's a worthy addition, if a little limited.

In a year absolutely crammed with interesting-looking first-person shooters, you've got to come up with a game of extraordinary quality to rise above the competition. The Darkness has come along at simultaneously the best- and worst-possible time: on the one hand, it has arrived before it risked being drowned out in a fiercely competitive market, full of games claiming to be the Next Big Thing; on the other, it might well suffer from people holding off for what else is coming out. For what it's worth, I'd concur with Rob and suggest that any fan of first-person shooters needs to play this game, even though the occasional duff level, and the slightly pedestrian AI disrupts the quality at times. Once The Darkness gets its tentacles around you, resistance is futile.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (112) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Aretak #1 5 years ago

    No witty picture captions? A sad day.

    /reads review

  • Wash #2 5 years ago

    360 is getting a few solid titles on a roll as of late... and now i guess a break for the summer till the next good games get released its probably a good thing.

    Anyway, prolly pick this up when i'm done with Flatout

  • SeesThroughAll #3 5 years ago

    The review reflects what I expected from the game.
    Will buy it as soon as it's out on the PS3.

  • MrBiggles #4 5 years ago

    Will buy it on Friday along with RE4 Wii edition.

  • kissthestick #5 5 years ago

    picking up this fri :)

  • fiery_jackass #6 5 years ago

    I was very surprised to find myself intensely disliking Chronicles of Riddick; normally I'm in agreement on the merits of "classic" xbox games, but it just seemed turgid and clumsy to me, with some grating design decisions. I'll grant that it was atmospheric, and that it looked great when it wasn't juddering along, but, for me, it never gelled.

    i'd try this before i bought it.
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 11:25

  • El_MUERkO #7 5 years ago

    sounds good, pity about the ps3 delay, may pick it up from the secondhand bin in august

  • Killerbee #8 5 years ago

    Is there a PC version on the way?

    Sounds good but I definitely concur with the view that there seems to be a bit of a glut of these "FPS with a twist" games coming out.

  • S.J.Rogers #9 5 years ago

    Another 8/10 game...

    I want to see a 9/10 but that will be on Mass Efect, Halo 3 and GTA 4...!

  • login_name #10 5 years ago

    Interesting, didn't seem that great when I played it. I got bored pretty early on.

  • nervokid #11 5 years ago

    Wait.
    Mike Patton?
    Want this game.

  • souljacker2000 #12 5 years ago

    looks cracking... its really shit i forgot i had graw2 in my drawer and just popped that in im hooked so this will have to wait aswell as flatout

  • the_dudefather #13 5 years ago

    thats it then, a purchase for me good sirs

    knowing me I'll spend much of my time watching tv in the game, something games have forgotten to provide since max payne 2

  • Der_tolle_Emil #14 5 years ago

    The 360 is becoming a money sucking beast once again. Too many good games. I'll still wait for a demo here just to be sure.

  • yegon #15 5 years ago

    So, PS3 or 360 version? I'm leaning towards the 360 purely on the basis of the pad. Has anyone heard of any content/framerate/graphical differences?

  • SeesThroughAll #16 5 years ago

    Looking forward for american reviews of this game, since the US are getting both on schedule. Especially those from the usual suspects ;)

    Gamespot review of [insert multiplatform game here]:

    V-sync tearing? What's that? The 360 is the best version. The PS3 version has framerate issues, and looks much, much worse. It will also bore you because, you know, playing games on a PS3 isn't cool, you know?

    Nevermind if we're sponsored by Microsoft and promote Vista for them in our editorials, if you dare call us biased, we'll BAN YOU! Only PS brand bashing is permitted in our forums.

    Don't miss our next Graphics Comparison, where we once again compare XBox 360 VGA output to blurred SDTV PS3 screenshots and conclude that the PS3 is teh suck!

    Buy American!

  • Inquisitor #17 5 years ago

    Read like a 9, seemed like it deserved more than an 8 from the review.

    Good review none the less.

    I'd love to pick this up but I'd only be able to play it for 2 days then I'd be off for 2 months without my xbox!

  • Darren #18 5 years ago

    Great review, definitely convinces me that I did the right thing pre-ordering the game, not that I was expecting anything else after the wonderful Riddick on Xbox and PC. Shame about the Otherworld sections letting the game down a little, it does kind of look a little dull in the videos I've seen.

  • Nostromo13 #19 5 years ago

    how do you get past that bit when you are in the world war one zone and that giant bell is blocking your way?

  • The-Bodybuilder #20 5 years ago

    No split-screen?

    NEXT GEN FTL.
    It's so sad that PDZ is the only good split screen fps.

  • Chtulie #21 5 years ago

    A review of the preview, or a review of the game?
    U decide!

  • Azazel #22 5 years ago

    /buys SeesThroughAll a strong drink

  • nickthegun #23 5 years ago

    Any idea of the split between online and offline achievements?

    Not that im a gamerpoint whore or anything, but the last FPS game I played (FEAR) gave me a massive 75 points for finishing the single player campaign.....

  • SeesThroughAll #24 5 years ago

    That'll be some whiskey, Azazel. Thanks!

  • Hullfire #25 5 years ago

    Looks to be a decent split:

    [link url=htt p://www.achieve360points.com/game/thedarkness/
    ]http://ww w.achieve360points.com/game/the...[/link]

  • zuljin #26 5 years ago

    @The Bodybuilder
    Resistance and Warhawk do pretty good split screen play.

    Ofcourse it would have also been nice to have online coop in Resistance...

  • dryden555 #27 5 years ago

    the review doesnt seem to mention at all the quality of the enemy AI. I loved Chron of Riddick but The Darkness is "all shooter" so the AI is paramount.

  • Donny #28 5 years ago

    "Once The Darkness gets its tentacles around you, resistance is futile."

    That wouldn't be a subtle jab at another FPS out the moment would it?
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 12:22

  • wanksta10 #29 5 years ago

    the reviewer says that the dream sequences in max payne arent that gr8 (i.e. a downside)

    yet out of that whole game those are what stick in my mind the most, what with the blood trails and screaming baby, great gaming i thought

    mind u it was a bloody pain tryin not to fall off haha :)

    definately gonna get this game, sounds fun

  • MrBiggles #30 5 years ago

    The review is kinda bad. Doesn't mention the quality of graphics, enemy AI, weapons ect. I know there was a preview of the game but the review should still include all that stuff. Normally Eurogamer are very in depth with reviews, shame about this one.
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 12:42

  • Pike #31 5 years ago

    Graphics - The review clearly statees that it looks good.
    AI - Would have been interesting to know, but it's not a tactical shooter, so it's not all that important
    Weapons - The darkness powers is the main thing. Who cares about the brand of firearmes he uses in addition to those.

    I think the review was fine. Hopefully the game will get a PC release, so I'll get a chance to play it.

  • mcmonkeyplc #32 5 years ago

    What the fuck happened to the summer drought?!

  • souljacker2000 #33 5 years ago

    btw any1 heard of sacred 2:fallen angel n when its out on 360

  • morriss #34 5 years ago

    How are the Achievements spread out, Krudster? Any replay value in them?

  • Garibaldi #35 5 years ago

    Yes, one game with certainly break the summer drought!

  • afghan_jones #36 5 years ago

    It might not be as bad a drought as usual (if you like racers) but its certainly an extremely heavy hosepipe ban.

  • Rirekon #37 5 years ago

    Massive fan of the comics so I've had this on pre-order since it was available, glad my faith in Starbreeze won't go unrewarded :-)

  • IAmBatman #38 5 years ago

    Achievements:

    http://ww w.achieve360points.com/game/the...

  • asphaltcowboy #39 5 years ago

    sounds great! will get it after my holiday

  • krudster #40 5 years ago

    AI is solid. Enemies generally stand their ground, take cover and fire back with accuracy, but don't attempt anything groundbreaking. No flanking, for example, no sense of working as a team, despite calling out to one another. Occasionally enemies chase you down if you, for example, go downstairs inside a complex.

    I did think the AI was a little dim against the Creeping Dark, reacting very late sometimes, even when you're in clear view.

    I'll edit something into the review. Sorry about that!
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 13:49

  • krudster #41 5 years ago

    Review updated with a few thoughts on AI and control niggles that didn't make the cut this AM. I think you'll agree with these in mind, the 8 is more than justified.

  • Overlush #42 5 years ago

    REVIEW AMMENDED IN EG DEFENDING SCORE SHOCKER!

    ;~)

  • krudster #43 5 years ago

    Heh, hardly. Just clarifying points people were asking about :)

  • jlaakso #44 5 years ago

    A solid review, but let's get this straight: more pages is not a good thing. Please write briefly. I will not read reviews of more than two pages, and even then, things could certainly be squeezed into one well-written page.

  • Pike #45 5 years ago

    Since more pages = more ad-revenues I think you'll have to live with multi page reviews.

  • krudster #46 5 years ago

    I know where you're coming from about that, but if we did write concise, single page 500 word reviews, the flaming pichforks would be out!
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 14:48

  • Shinji #47 5 years ago

    Indeed - given the number of people who moan at *lack* of detail, even in 2000 word reviews, I shudder to think what the comments threads on 500 word reviews would be like :)

  • Max_Powers #48 5 years ago

    2 things:

    1. Eurogamer stop with the 2 page reviews. They are too long.

    2. Why no mention of the gruesome, off-putting violence in this game? I'm mature, I like mature games, I even really liked Riddick, but the graphical violence in this game (from what I've seen so far) has stopped me from buying it. There must be a couple of people like me that don't dislike a mature, violent game per se, but draw the line at Manhunt, Condemned, The Darkness et all.

    I thought this was worth a mention

    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 14:59

  • Shinji #49 5 years ago

    The Darkness isn't remotely as violent as Manhunt or Condemned - certainly, it's not suitable for kids, but this is silly comic book violence, not the kind of gritty gore-fest that Condemned was. I find it hard to understand how anyone who liked Riddick would find the violence in The Darkness offputting, really; it's far less realistic and brutal than Riddick was.

    Maybe the trailers don't really make that clear. This is a grown-up comic book, not a nasty, gritty, ultra-violent game.

  • Max_Powers #50 5 years ago

    Mmm, mind I have only seen the promotional stuff and read the odd thing about the game here and there. There seemed to be a lot of emphasis on the violence. Ripping peoples hearts out, chewing their faces off, slo-mo blood splatter. That sort of thing. Very teen America if you will.

    It kinda put me off from buying it. Riddick was gritty but didn't feel exploitative.

  • DanMW #51 5 years ago

    2 pages is ok, try 8 pages like the guys at meristation have done, they always do long reviews, it totally puts me off reading them :D

  • krudster #52 5 years ago

    The violence must have been overplayed in the trailers. It's really no more violent than any number of shooters once you're actually playing it.

  • zuljin #53 5 years ago

    "1. Eurogamer stop with the 2 page reviews. They are too long."

    Surely thats what the score at the end is for, for people too lazy to read?

    /Runs

  • MrBiggles #54 5 years ago

    Thanks for the update Krudster, I wasn't having a go at your review, I understand there was a lot about this game here before the review that explained most stuff.

  • ruckus #55 5 years ago

    Didn't warm to the trailer for this one, so I doubt I'll bother.
    The Darkness - meh
    Bioshock - meh
    Halo 3 - meh
    When's PGR4 coming out :(

    ...back to driving a window bay in forza2 :/

  • Sud0g #56 5 years ago

    I'm stuck on the bell bit too Nostromo13 ........ any luck???

  • el_pollo_diablo #57 5 years ago

    The Street Fighter?

    As in, Sonny Chiba's The Street Fighter?

    Whoa.

  • PortJourno #58 5 years ago

    Nostromo and Sud0g, you got to use the Demon Arm (R1 on PS3) to impale the bell and move it out of the way. Hope that helps.

  • afghan_jones #59 5 years ago

    "The Street Fighter?

    As in, Sonny Chiba's The Street Fighter?

    Whoa. "


    If it is Sonny Chiba's Streetfighter, this could be the one thing that makes me vaguely interested in this game.

  • Xerx3s #60 5 years ago

    dorknesslol.

  • richardiox #61 5 years ago

    Use your special Dickless powers to horrify and overwhelm the enemy.

  • The-Bodybuilder #62 5 years ago

    @ Zuljin.

    What does it say that to two best offline FPSs are resistance and PDZ?
    And warhawk doesn't really count.

  • Kiigan #63 5 years ago

    TBH I really don't have a problem with the length of Eurogamer reviews - if a review is well written I'm happy to keep reading. Perhaps the main issue people have with the multi-page reviews comes down to having to interrupt your reading to click "next page". Also there is that annoying thing where the navigation move about a bit from page to page.

    Reviews of the same length, but on a single page, would work for me.

  • DanWhitehead #64 5 years ago

    Someone should comission a scientific study to find out whether having to constantly drag the scroll bar, or spin the mouse wheel, involves less finger work than having to click on links. Then we could put the fascinating 2 Page Review debate to rest forever.

  • zuljin #65 5 years ago

    @The Bodybuilder
    1. Ehhh. I don't know, am I missing something?

    2. Why doesn't Warhawk count? I know it's not on general release, but unless it gets canned (unlikely this late), its a pretty good example.

    Really good fun playing with 2 people from one PS3.

  • The-Bodybuilder #66 5 years ago

    >"1. Eurogamer stop with the 2 page reviews. They are too long."

    They're still the same 2000 words of previous reviews, just split into 2 pages.

    At first I used to hate multi-page reviews. But I've come to accept that the EG staff need to eat, and if multi-page reviews help then so be it, it's not THAT bad.

    What does annoy however, is when you have 4-6pages articles, and you can't select what page you want, bt have to skip a couple to get to the end. That's just cheap.

    >"There must be a couple of people like me that don't dislike a mature, violent game per se, but draw the line at Manhunt, Condemned, The Darkness et all. "

    That's me, and the reason why I'm not getting this.

    >"
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 17:18

  • The-Bodybuilder #67 5 years ago

    >"@The Bodybuilder
    1. Ehhh. I don't know, am I missing something?

    2. Why doesn't Warhawk count? I know it's not on general release, but unless it gets canned (unlikely this late), its a pretty good example."

    I mean they aren't that great, really. Pretty fun, but not halo 1/goldeneye material.

    2. Warhawk is not really out yet (can't count beta/demos). And it's not an FPS.

    And after reading comments from krudster and shinji, I'm guessing darkness is not as gruesome as I thought it would be.
    Still not a big fan of the dark, hellish, gothic emo stuff.

  • dryden555 #68 5 years ago

    Krudster, thanks for adding info about the quality of enemy AI.

  • krudster #69 5 years ago

    No problem. Should have been in there to begin with.

  • captainrentboy #70 5 years ago

    Are you sure Yellowtruck? I mean, it's out on the PS3 in a few weeks too!!
    Anyways, I'm definitely getting this on Friday, I love me some gory FPS action. But being a driving game fan too, this month's been pretty effin expensive, software wise, with the 360.
    Then again after this game, from what I can see, there isn't much that looks decent coming out for a good few weeks.

  • manic_mouse #71 5 years ago

    "Are you sure Yellowtruck? I mean, it's out on the PS3 in a few weeks too!! "

    Obviously it'll be "pants" until the PS3 version is out. Which will be brilliant.

  • Scimarad #72 5 years ago

    I'm definitely going to hold off buying this until I know which version is best - Also, by then the 360 version will be cheaper anyway.

  • The-Bodybuilder #73 5 years ago

    @ Owen-B

    Ah yes, FEAR. I forgot about that game, and how I was fooled into departing with my cash.
    Maybe I shouldn't be too quick to trust this review afterall.

  • Les #74 5 years ago

    "Also, by then the 360 version will be cheaper anyway."

    Who discounts games within a month after release?! Will buy my games there then...

  • Kryon #75 5 years ago

    @Yellowtruck

    "I've seen far far better on the Playstation 2 ;)"

    For someone so concerned about graphical fidelity, haven't you backed the wrong console? I mean have you actually played your PS3 of late, not much to write home about on the old graphics front at the mo is there?

  • Scimarad #76 5 years ago

    "Who discounts games within a month after release?! Will buy my games there then..."

    I guarantee some people will have bought it, failed to enjoy it and sold it again by then...
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/07 @ 20:34

  • Les #77 5 years ago

    "I guarantee some people will have bought it, failed to enjoy it and sold it again by then..."

    Aha, wouldn't have thought of that. Never get trade-ins myself. Don't like it for some reason.

  • Xerx3s #78 5 years ago

    Considering FEAR got a similar score, if not better, and was proclaimed by EG as the most interesting and fun FPS in years, I'm taking this particular review (which claims the same) with a pinch of salt. FEAR is boring in the extreme.

    Yes, one massive slipup there. So many fps games that are better.

  • Les #79 5 years ago

    "For someone so concerned about graphical fidelity, haven't you backed the wrong console?"

    Say what you want about yellowtruck but unlike many other people around here, at least he has some sense of humour...

  • ekko #80 5 years ago

    So it isn't about Charlie Murphy then?

  • Darth_Flibble #81 5 years ago

    "Say what you want about yellowtruck but unlike many other people around here, at least he has some sense of humour..."

    no, he is another sad little troll

  • Pho-Zoon #82 5 years ago

    Edit: thanks for the feedback. We'd appreciate it more if you mailed us personally when you see mistakes.

    Cheers - Krudster.
    Edited by 1 at 26/06/07 @ 07:48

  • Siberian_Khatru #83 5 years ago

    Nice. Hope their next game won't be based on another lousy franchise.

  • Les #84 5 years ago

    "no, he is another sad little troll"

    Like I said, too many people without a sense of humour... :(

  • Darren #85 5 years ago

    Just read IGN's (US) 7.8 review of The Darkness and they describe the Otherworld section as "cool"! LOL

  • zuljin #86 5 years ago

    @The Bodybuilder
    "2. Warhawk is not really out yet (can't count beta/demos)."
    Oh. Sorry. I'll read the rules next time...

    :)

  • Ryuken #87 5 years ago

    Bring in that supreme PC version, thank you.

  • DanMW #88 5 years ago

    I cancelled my pre-order, I'll pick it up later on.

    /goes to play F.E.A.R instead

  • The-Bodybuilder #89 5 years ago

    >"Oh. Sorry. I'll read the rules next time... "

    You better, BIATCH.

  • Kryon #90 5 years ago

    @Les

    "Say what you want about yellowtruck but unlike many other people blah blah etc"

    Sony Fan-tard defends other Sony Fan-tard SHOCKER!!!111... It's just a surprise-a-minute around here isn't it...

    As for Yellowtrucks sense of humour, well as far as I've seen, it consists of him saying things like "der PStree is more bettaz den der tree60 innit coz of der CELL POWERZ!!!"
    I'm just so glad that you're mature enough to enjoy this kind of comedy gold Les...

    /Pats Les on the head.

  • manic_mouse #91 5 years ago

    Why is the PS3 version cheaper on Play.com (despite identical RRPs)!? Argh.

  • Les #92 5 years ago

    @ Kryon

    Wow, those whole console wars really get to you don't they? :p

    I don't agree with a lot of what yellowtruck says but if you look carefully through the above comments section, you'll see that once again you turned this into a fanboy flamewar...

    /sighs and thinks "why try to reason with fundamentalists?"
    Edited by 1 at 26/06/07 @ 16:25

  • menage #93 5 years ago

    Well, Shrek 3 got a five so this must a real stinker then. Not. I'm beginning to doubt EG scores.

  • Darth_Flibble #94 5 years ago

    what a surprise sony tards try to derail another comments section

  • Les #95 5 years ago

    and what a surprise you cooperate...

  • dryden555 #96 5 years ago

    I like shooters but nothing sounds particularly special here. Its a shame they didnt go for a more story-driven game like Riddick was and BioShock (seems) it will be when that releases.

  • captainrentboy #97 5 years ago

    LOL@Yellowtruck, ahhh, that guy's great!...
    I played this for an hour or so in work today, and was veeery impressed with what I saw, it's a definite purchase for moi.
    The opening scene is particularly groovy, in a Prey(not very interactive, but still cool) kinda way.
    Graphics are sweet too.

  • Kryon #98 5 years ago

    Les, where are you from? It's just your grammar leaves much to be desired...

    /I'm guessing your French...

  • menage #99 5 years ago

    Bought it, played it for an hour. To little to rally get a good impression. But I love the way you can actually talk to people and the quit moments in the subway. Great Music.

    Presentation is sublime. It really feels like something fresh.

  • izak #100 5 years ago

    Maybe it's just me, but I thought taken out of context the following is hilarious:

    "You'll also grow to hate the way your tentacle will sluggishly misread your intended direction and often completely disorientate you in the process."

  • Crea #101 5 years ago

    I thought the opening of the game was right up there with the best of them. Absolutely gripping stuff. I do agree about feeling like you have to shoot every little light bulb becoming slightly grating.

  • Kryon #102 5 years ago

    rdexter, I may be an idiot, but atleast I'm not a cross eyed ugly gimp like you son, seriously you don't do yourself any favours by putting that mug shot on your profile...

  • menage #103 5 years ago

    Well, the atmosphere is getting pretty Drak in here:p

    "I like shooters but nothing sounds particularly special here. Its a shame they didnt go for a more story-driven game like Riddick was and BioShock (seems) it will be when that releases. "

    Play it, it is.


  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #104 5 years ago

    I may be an idiot but you're ugly!

    What is this, playgroup? Jeez-us.

    Shame to see an eight, the fanboy inside me was holding out for higher. Still, I'm sure I'll disagree once I give The Darkness a good seeing to.

  • menage #105 5 years ago

    I'm already disagreeing. It surely is the best 360 game this year up until now.

  • Kryon #106 5 years ago

    "What is this, playgroup? Jeez-us. "

    Erm...Rob don't be silly now! Playgroup is positively mature in comparison to the EG comments sections. Then again, this is a site dedicated to toys so it's hardly surprising ....
    Edited by 1 at 02/07/07 @ 17:24

  • MrBiggles #107 5 years ago

    Bought this today, about 7 hours in...LOVE IT. I can see myself replaying it many times as it's so much fun. Amazing graphics, sound, and one of the best put together stories in a game like this. Having the dark powers and darklings gives you a lot of different ways to approach each fight. Great stuff. Not perfect, the guns are a bit weak, AI is a bit dodgy at times, but this is the best FPS on 360 along with Rainbow six Vegas.

    I can see how some people might not like it, but for me it's better than Riddick so far.

  • septimus #108 5 years ago

    Good news for PS3 owners also... it actually looks a touch sharper and better colour (at 1080p at least) and runs just a smooth.

    They are slowly getting used to it at last.

    Holding off on getting the 360 version so I at least can play something new on the PS3 (sad but true :-( )

  • HazyUK #109 5 years ago

    I just got this for the PS3 and it's an amazing game.
    It's running smooth at 1080p, even when things get a bit hectic on screen.

  • bdgr #110 5 years ago

    it's sad but true - i'm amazed at how good the main menu screen is with the tentacles moving as if they were alive.

    The game's good too!

  • wa_uk #111 5 years ago

    i'd recommend you rent this game before you buy it. it feels quite glitchy in places and the actual 'FPS' aspects of the game are rather unsatisfying. also, although i suspect i'm one of the few who care, there are some irksome grammatical errors in the subtitles at times ( "thier over their behind they're cars" for instance. Not an actual quote but the mistakes are of this ilk)

  • Les #112 5 years ago

    Played the PS3 demo. Decent game. Like all 'current gen' games there's little innovative about it. The AI is terrible (at least in the demo) and the Ozzy main character seriously puts me off.