The Darkness - very cool

[j_garcia]

It is dark hearted, quite violent and very well done. The violence is mixed with some comedy, ala Evil Dead/ED2/Army of Darkness, however some of the violence is a bit extreme. People actually have expressions when you talk to them and they make natural looking gestures and movements. The overall look and feel of the game is great, detail is high up close as well as far away. The story is very intriguing too, and the whole package is just very well pulled together so far.

Probably the most unusual feature is that if you find a TV, you can select from a few channels and actually watch something in its entirety...there are two movies (The Man with the Golden Arm and To Kill a Mocking Bird), an episode or two of Flash Gordon, some music videos and cartoons.

 

[avaserfi]

You are a video game machine JG. You beat Sigma before I got to the fifth chapter! Glad to hear some more good games for the ps3 are coming out. Would you say the length of the game warrants buying or just renting?

 

[j_garcia]

Not sure if it is for everyone, though for me I am quite happy with the purchase. I'd say wait for the demo and that should tell you right away if you should buy it.

PSM said it could be finished in 10hrs, but they also said that was just doing the bare minimum to finish everything in a linear way. There is a LOT more to the game than that since you can wander around and talk to other people (NPCs)...there are little "mini" challenges, some related to the story and others not. As you wander and talk to people, you find "named" characters - people who either give you information depending on where in the game you are, or ask you for help and they give you info on how to complete your next main task or unlock content for completing their "quest". For one task, an old lady lost her bracelet on the subway tracks and you have to get it for her without getting splattered...stuff like that, that gives it another interesting dimension. You don't HAVE to complete all the tasks that aren't related to the main story or talk to these people, but it makes it fun IMO.

There are also many (at least 100 as far as I can tell) collectables that unlock content and some require a little bit of thinking to acquire (like using various powers or summoned helpers), others you just have to explore around for.

This game earns its M rating without even breaking a sweat...

I really enjoyed Sigma I had played the demo enough that I already knew the strengths and weaknesses of the weapons so I wasn't coming into the game without experience....though you basically only have one type of enemy in the demo and certain weapons aren't good against all enemies, or groups of enemies. I finished the demo on hard difficulty, but couldn't get half way on "very hard". I did beat the whole game with an overall ranking of Head Ninja, because I backtracked on a few levels because there are some things to explore there also, so I got low rankings on a few levels (Ninja Dog, LOL). Some of the new weapons are pretty cool too...I like the flail.

 

[darien87]

I liked it. It was too easy to finish though. Cool game, but I haven't picked it up since I finished it. It doesn't really have any replay value. But the story is VERY cool. Makes me wanna check out the comic book.

About my only complaint, was that I couldn't really get the Darklings to do what I wanted them to do. They never seemed to attack the people that I wanted them to. But they're hella funny when they start messing with the dead bodies lying around.

I haven't checked out the online play though. That might be cool.

Hey John, did you do the one where the lady throws 4 quarters on the train tracks and you have to pick them up before getting run over? That one was hella hard. You have JUST enough time to get them before the train hits you.

 

[j_garcia]

I haven't checked out the online play though. That might be cool.

Hey John, did you do the one where the lady throws 4 quarters on the train tracks and you have to pick them up before getting run over? That one was hella hard. You have JUST enough time to get them before the train hits you.

I got killed the first time but was able to do it the second time. I liked the one with the cup & ball game. "Nice try, but no tamales...you lose". LOL. Yes, the darklings can be hard to control, but I used them more as decoys than anything. The Light Killer guy is relatively useful too, and all of them say some funny stuff. "Enjoy the retirement, it's a nice gold watch..."

Maybe we will have to set something up to try out the online play because it says you can be a darkling and morph into a human...having to go look at a map within the game is kind of annoying too.

Sigma has some replay value IMO, and once you beat it, it unlocks "mission" challenges which are REALLY friggen hard, and there are at least 40 or 50 of them...I could barely beat the first one. You have whatever weapons they give you (some which are not in the game apparently) at whatever upgrade level and NO healing materials.... One of them I killed 69 enemies before I got killed...and they were still coming.

 

[darien87]

The Light Killer guy is relatively useful too, and all of them say some funny stuff. "Enjoy the retirement, it's a nice gold watch..."

I cracked up when the gunner one would say, "Let's kill a commie."

 

[j_garcia]

That was pretty funny. I was waiting for him to have some Sgt. Hartman lines... It is freaking hilarious when the Berzerker walks over and takes a leak on the dead bad guys.