![]() Level after level, in single player or co-op multiplayer, players can expect to face several enemies at the same time, over and over again. However, for as fun as The Darkness II‘s core gameplay is, the game always has the exact same kind of challenge: a flood of enemies. The missions are a blast to play with four players, but especially with players who work together, as Darkness II has some light Brink-esque squad benefit mechanics. While most missions play out the same, each character is interacted with a little differently by story characters on the mission radio, each has their own story, and enemies tend to have different reaction phrases to each of the different characters. (They also each have a Darkness power.) They participate in story missions that run parallel to the main game’s story, in which The Brotherhood is trying to obtain the Spear of Destiny for Darkness-related purposes and they’re hired by Jackie’s crime family to try and stop them. The game features four characters (shotgun-wielding Mossad agent Shoshanna, axe-tossing Jimmy Wilson, voodoo-utilizing witch doctor JP Dumond, and samurai sword-slicing Inugami), each with a Darkness-infused weapon and a sidearm for dual-wielding, in addition to being able to use machine guns or each weapon individually. Vendettas Mode, The Darkness II‘s co-op that supports up to four players online (or available as individual missions offline as well), is great, too. The Darkness II also improves on the aiming mechanics of the original, which had a tendency to be somewhat inaccurate and a little frustrating. The Darkness II also consolidates the four specifically-skilled Darklings from the original into a generally useful single Darkling, which eliminates some of the guessing of “Which one(s) do I need to bring with me?” from the original. Jackie also gets a large-sized skill tree (which can have more of its abilities not picked up in one playthrough learned in New Game+) that enables players to pick skills that that they’re comfortable with using to flesh out Jackie the way they want him to be. The control layout may seem overly busy, but it takes about the duration of the tutorial level to get used to quad-wielding, and it’s very easy to handle after that. He can grab enemy shields, use car doors as mobile cover, execute enemies, eat enemy hearts and deploy Darkness powers without missing a step. Digital Extremes’ invention of quad-wielding is great fun and Jackie can hack, slash, and shoot enemies with relative ease. The Darkness II really shines with its core gameplay mechanics, though. That’s not to say that the story isn’t entertaining, but again, it just isn’t the same kind of story experience that was seen in The Darkness. The plot itself is mostly straightforward and has some moments that will ring familiar and resonate with Darkness fans, but doesn’t offer the same kind of story experience as the original. Other characters generally have less edge, less involvement, and less dialogue than the supporting cast of the original. The Darkness as a character, though, is surprisingly subdued in the sequel - compared to the original, that is - and rarely directly interjects itself into the events of the game. Whereas the original Darkness was a story with recurring themes about whether or not Jackie could control The Darkness, Darkness II is much more about whether or not The Darkness can convince Jackie that he’s losing control mentally. The story of The Darkness II is pretty good and works well enough for the game, but is nowhere near as dark or involved as the original. It tells Jackie that if he doesn’t obtain The Siphon and give it to The Darkness, it will hurt Jenny, who it claims it has obtained and contained. Once more, The Darkness proceeds to play mind games with Jackie concerning an artifact called The Siphon that The Brotherhood has possession of. Near-death, Jackie is forced to summon The Darkness again and do battle with them. He goes out to eat but members of The Brotherhood, a secret society obsessed with obtaining The Darkness, relentlessly assault the restaurant he’s in. Jackie is now the Don of his crime family and still mourning the loss of Jenny. The Darkness II returns to the story of Jackie Estacado, two years after the events of the original Darkness.
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