The Darkness 2 PS3 ( 2012 )

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Video Game Anthology

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Published on May 18, 2023 4:00:30 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHI7FwpPPP0

Game:

The Darkness (2007)

Duration: 25:43

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The Darkness II is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Digital Extremes and published by 2K. The game is the sequel to The Darkness (2007) and based on the comic book series published by Top Cow Productions. The player controls Jackie Estacado, a mafia hitman who possesses a mysterious power called "the Darkness" that grants him supernatural abilities and a pair of Demon Arms. The game features elements found in role-playing video games such as skill trees, experience, and a four-player cooperative mode. The player must rescue the soul of Jackie's dead girlfriend, which was trapped by the Darkness in Hell, and confront the Brotherhood, a group of armed cultists trying to take the Darkness away from Jackie.

Digital Extremes replaced the first game's developer Starbreeze Studios, though Paul Jenkins returned to write the script for the sequel. While the main narrative was envisioned to be a personal journey for Jackie, developers described the cooperative multiplayer mode as a "dark comedy". Singer Mike Patton returned to voice the Darkness, and Brian Bloom provided the voice for Jackie Estacado, replacing Kirk Acevedo. The development artists hand-painted the majority of the game's assets to create a comic book-influenced visual style.

The Darkness II was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in February 2012. The game received positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the gameplay, story, pacing, and art style. Criticisms were directed at the game's short length, technical issues, and lack of replay value. The game debuted as the third best-selling game in its first week of release in the United Kingdom.

Jackie Estacado (Brian Bloom) has become head of the Franchetti family, and has learned to suppress the Darkness (Mike Patton), an ancient demonic force in his bloodline. Jackie is haunted by the memory of his murdered girlfriend, Jenny Romano (Stephanie Frame). Jackie and his crew are attacked in a restaurant by a rival gang. Wounded, Jackie restores his powers using the Darkness. Aided by the Darkling (Peter Newman)—a goblin-like familiar—Jackie pursues his attackers into the subway. A vision of Jenny appears, then Jackie is apparently hit by a train. Jackie seemingly awakens to find himself in a mental institution, where various members of his crew are patients and staff. Among them is estranged occultist Johnny Powell, who tells Jackie to find him.

Reawakening with his men, Jackie plans a counterattack. Jimmy the Grape (Frank Ashmore), provides a lead that points to Swifty, a crime boss. Swifty is subdued; he explains that a shady group at the Brimstone Club brothel paid him to put the hit on Jackie. The Darkness murders Swifty to silence him. Vinnie (Rick Pasqualone) enlists his contact at Brimstone to help them. At the club, Jackie encounters armed cultists of the Brotherhood, a secret society who ordered the hit and wish to use the Darkness for themselves. They ambush Jackie with blinding lights that inhibit the Darkness, and Jackie is knocked out. Waking up, he finds himself crucified and a device (the Siphon) draining his dark power. He is greeted by Victor (William Salyers) who offers to take the Darkness from him in exchange for the lives of his family. Refusing, he loses consciousness and finds himself in Hell where the Darkness keeps Jenny's soul.

Jackie breaks free but Victor threatens to murder Jackie's Aunt Sarah (Bridger Fox). As the club burns, the Darkness offers Jenny's soul in exchange for the Siphon. Jackie and his men retake the penthouse, but Jackie is shot by Bragg, a Brotherhood enforcer, who murders Sarah. Jackie awakens in a psychiatric ward where Jenny and his crew are staff and patients. They tell him that his mob stories are delusions. At Sarah's funeral, the Brotherhood launches another attack. Jackie subdues Bragg, who says Victor is based in an abandoned theme park. Victor shuts Jackie in an iron maiden; he loses consciousness. Again, he wakes in the ward, but the janitor (his Darkling) explains that the asylum is a trap to keep him away from Jenny.

Victor drains the Darkness from Jackie. The Darkling helps Jackie escape and retake a small portion of the Darkness. Jackie pursues Victor through a mansion once owned by Carlo Estacado, Jackie's father. Jackie learns from Victor that Carlo had promised the Darkness to the Brotherhood to keep Jackie free. Jackie kills Victor and impales himself with the Siphon, regaining the Darkness and killing himself to rescue Jenny from Hell. Jackie once again wakes up in the psychiatric ward where the staff offer to take him to Jenny. The Darkling sacrifices himself to help Jackie escape. Jackie is confronted by Victor, Jenny, and an orderly who attempt to convince Jackie that his life as a mob boss is a delusion.