bit-tech Shopping: Take 2 Interactive The Darkness (Xbox 360)

• 1080i (HDTV)
• 1080p (HDTV)
• 720p (HDTV)

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2

Strengths: great graphics, great voice acting, good story

Weaknesses: multiplayer not so great

Summary: I really enjoyed this game. The dark powers you get are work great and are very fun to use. I thought it was weird that even though there are different guns in the game, the pistols you start with are the probably the guns you will use for most of the game. The story is great and the awesome voice acting just adds that much more to the overall experience. The game does have online multiplayer, but I didn?t spend too much time with it. It works, but it just didn?t do it for me. I think the single player is where the game was meant to shine. This game is definitely recommended.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 76 Days

Strengths: Darkness powers and good story

Weaknesses: A.I. is not too bright

Summary: The believability of the darkness characters mixed with this hellacious demonic force fits together in a really interesting way; the music in the game is ambient background that helps set the appropriate mood; the gameplay is very enjoyable, even if it isn't really challenging; and the presentation is top-notch.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Good Gameplay. Interesting story.

Weaknesses: While a good fps it's not exceptional.

Summary: The Darkness is a good example of the genre. It looks good, plays well, and has an interesting story. However, it doesn't rise to greatness, which is tough when there are so many great FPS on the 360. It's worth a play trhough but I would recommend a bunch of other FPS's before this one like Gears, COD4, Vegas, etc.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Uniqueness, graphics, gameplay

Weaknesses: Short single player game, weak multiplayer

Summary: Fun, unique twist on the FPS genre. The single player game is a little on the short side, but still definitely worth playing. Cool NYC environment to explore. Using your various powers of darkness to destroy enemies is very cool. I, like many others, got this game on a combo deal with Bioshock and so was well worth the price for me. I wouldn't pay the full retail sticker price for it, however. Just rent it if you're really interested in the dark side.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Graphics, Story, lots of sidequests

Weaknesses: Can be glitchy at times

Summary: The Darkness is a first-person shooter (FPS) based of a comic book for the XBOX 360. You play as Jackie a mobster who has a hit on him from his Uncle. Soon after Jackie realizes he has the Darkness festering inside of him. This gives Jackie many various supernatural powers. The game plays like a typical FPS, except that the Darkness changes a few things. You can toss around black holes, swing objects around at enemies, impale them, call on the Darkness guns, or even summon some helpers. The graphics are top notch and the voice work brings some life to the characters. The game has some flaws in that some actions don't work unless you repeat the button presses a few times. I give the game 4 stars for being a pretty good first start at a Darkness soon to become a gaming franchise series.