Its 3 in the morning, do you know what your binge gamer is playing?
Quaunaut
The longest seven days in history... Join Date: 2003-03-21 Member: 14759Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
The longest seven days in history... Join Date: 2003-03-21 Member: 14759Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
So, I got a subscription to gamefly(in an effort to save money on games by not buying them, but renting them til I'm damn well done).
One of the first games I got was The Darkness(the other was Viva Pinata...haven't gotten to it yet). Holy hell, I don't think I've ever felt so conflicted in my life.
The game is good. Insanely good. The story is well written, the pacing is good(though sometimes, you do have trouble figuring out where to go), the characters are fairly unique, and the gameplay is awesome.
So, you're Jackie Estecado. Congratulations, its your 21st birthday! Being out of the orphanage you grew up in is good- heck, life is good. Kinda. I mean, you've got a beautiful girlfriend, Jenny, who you grew up with in the orphanage. You've got a good paying job as a Contract Killer for your Uncle Paulie...but Uncle Paulie ain't so happy witchu right now. Uncle Paulie ain't happy at all.
And so it begins.
The gameplay is a fun mix of shootouts(the aiming mechanism is neat, as your arms will autoaim to a point- its hard to explain without you playing it, but I like it quite a bit), horror(and some of the best I've seen- not BOO scary, but more like you begin getting afraid of where its gonna take things next. It really tempts your imagination to do the scaring for you, and its obvious they are doing that intentionally), gruesome killing(kind of like in Chronicles of Rid######- some fun execution moves- one them is hitting a guy in the face with the butt of your pistol, causing it to run into the barrel of your other pistol- and then blowing a hole through both cheeks. Or the close up shotgun kill where you pull the guy right up to you, put the barrel to his chin, and blam.), and puzzles, aided by what makes Jackie Estecado so special...The Darkness.
The Darkness are these two little black demons that you half-way control, whom you can use for various neat tricks- like as a way to sneak up on your enemies like a snake(the demons look like...well, demon snakes), then bite both their eyes out. Or a demon arm to pick things- including enemies- up and swing 'em about.
Now, The Darkness feeds off of two things: One, Darkness. Shoot lights. Try and stay in the dark. It gives you a bit of a 'Darkness Shield' that absorbs damage, as well as lets you have them out in general. And two, hearts- actual, usually-still-beating, hearts. Kill some worthless mob scum- then let them have a taste.
The Darkness also allows you to summon other demons through portals that appear only in the darkest of places- such as a Berserker, a demon that tears through your enemies, or a gunner, a demon with a huge chaingun.
I really, REALLY reccomend you guys try this game. I was planning on starting it tonite, just getting used to the controls, then going to bed. Before I realized it, it was 6 and a half hours later, 3 in the morning now, and I'm itching to go back in there- and lets just say that when you think the game can't get better, it takes it up another dozen notches.
Warning: Supposedly the multiplayer sucks. I don't know. Haven't tried. But DAMN the story mode is amazing. Oh, and apparently this entire thing is based off of a Comic, which they include entire books from(or, at least one, that I've gotten thus far- Comic 0.)
The thing has a ton of DVD-style extras, I can't wait to start going through them all. They aren't crappy ones, either- as I said, the comics, a few alt covers, and even videos of some paintings being done.
One of the first games I got was The Darkness(the other was Viva Pinata...haven't gotten to it yet). Holy hell, I don't think I've ever felt so conflicted in my life.
The game is good. Insanely good. The story is well written, the pacing is good(though sometimes, you do have trouble figuring out where to go), the characters are fairly unique, and the gameplay is awesome.
So, you're Jackie Estecado. Congratulations, its your 21st birthday! Being out of the orphanage you grew up in is good- heck, life is good. Kinda. I mean, you've got a beautiful girlfriend, Jenny, who you grew up with in the orphanage. You've got a good paying job as a Contract Killer for your Uncle Paulie...but Uncle Paulie ain't so happy witchu right now. Uncle Paulie ain't happy at all.
And so it begins.
The gameplay is a fun mix of shootouts(the aiming mechanism is neat, as your arms will autoaim to a point- its hard to explain without you playing it, but I like it quite a bit), horror(and some of the best I've seen- not BOO scary, but more like you begin getting afraid of where its gonna take things next. It really tempts your imagination to do the scaring for you, and its obvious they are doing that intentionally), gruesome killing(kind of like in Chronicles of Rid######- some fun execution moves- one them is hitting a guy in the face with the butt of your pistol, causing it to run into the barrel of your other pistol- and then blowing a hole through both cheeks. Or the close up shotgun kill where you pull the guy right up to you, put the barrel to his chin, and blam.), and puzzles, aided by what makes Jackie Estecado so special...The Darkness.
The Darkness are these two little black demons that you half-way control, whom you can use for various neat tricks- like as a way to sneak up on your enemies like a snake(the demons look like...well, demon snakes), then bite both their eyes out. Or a demon arm to pick things- including enemies- up and swing 'em about.
Now, The Darkness feeds off of two things: One, Darkness. Shoot lights. Try and stay in the dark. It gives you a bit of a 'Darkness Shield' that absorbs damage, as well as lets you have them out in general. And two, hearts- actual, usually-still-beating, hearts. Kill some worthless mob scum- then let them have a taste.
The Darkness also allows you to summon other demons through portals that appear only in the darkest of places- such as a Berserker, a demon that tears through your enemies, or a gunner, a demon with a huge chaingun.
I really, REALLY reccomend you guys try this game. I was planning on starting it tonite, just getting used to the controls, then going to bed. Before I realized it, it was 6 and a half hours later, 3 in the morning now, and I'm itching to go back in there- and lets just say that when you think the game can't get better, it takes it up another dozen notches.
Warning: Supposedly the multiplayer sucks. I don't know. Haven't tried. But DAMN the story mode is amazing. Oh, and apparently this entire thing is based off of a Comic, which they include entire books from(or, at least one, that I've gotten thus far- Comic 0.)
The thing has a ton of DVD-style extras, I can't wait to start going through them all. They aren't crappy ones, either- as I said, the comics, a few alt covers, and even videos of some paintings being done.
Comments
It's good to hear it's not mediocre.
I remember when I first noticed in hell the broken people. I remember turning a corner...and a guy's head was litterally a wood block. I never thought that'd be so creepy.
Oh, and don't worry too much about the lighthouse. I mean, it kinda brings the whole game down, but you've still got a fair ways and a whole bunch of awesome stuff before you get to it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
Oh, not that Darkness?
I was quite tempted to take a look at this, as previous titles like this I've really enjoyed. I don't know, it just looked a little 'random', and titles that appear out of the blue like that tend to fail. Thanks for the update Quau, I might see if I can get a viewing before considering buying.
- Shockwave
What if you come up against a mage and he casts magic missile at The Darkness? Then you're well ######.
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exactly what I always think when I hear the game's title <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
there's a lot of good 360 games out there, I really ought to pick one up...
I found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA" target="_blank">this video</a> endlessly amusing. The reason why it's not embedded is not because I don't know how to do that (although that would be the next reason), but because it contains horrible words that only grown-ups can safely hear and there are plenty of childish people on these boards. Enjoy.
The biggest problem I had with the demo were the controls. The idea is cool, but actually controlling the tentacle guy who slithers slowly and is never noticed by the enemy isn't that fun. Thru the trailer I got the idea that it'd be more like a whip the snaps off heads and various limbs. Actual gameplay, you have a whip option but not like in the trailer where you chase the dude crawling away and he get's his face bitten off. Not to mention I spent more time shooting lights than the enemies.
After playing Overlord, having just one to three minions at a time isn't nearly as amusing as fourty.
I know, that demos aren't always the same as the actual game. In my experience I expect a demo to be better than the actual game, while the game is still a pleaseant experience. If this demo is supposed to make me run out and buy this game, it's not working.
So...
I found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA" target="_blank">this video</a> endlessly amusing. The reason why it's not embedded is not because I don't know how to do that (although that would be the next reason), but because it contains horrible words that only grown-ups can safely hear and there are plenty of childish people on these boards. Enjoy.
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Lol, the video was so good
Lol, the video was so good <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That guy needs to do more reviews. I give that review 5 stars.
5 stars and some cake.
Jackie resists his urge to use the Darkness to his advantage in the comics, for fear of it taking control of him.
sold.
5 stars and some cake.
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And Belgium.
<!--quoteo(post=1641270:date=Jul 30 2007, 06:08 AM:name=Zig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Zig @ Jul 30 2007, 06:08 AM) [snapback]1641270[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
That guy needs to do more reviews. I give that review 5 stars.
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And incidentally, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4&NR=1" target="_blank">he did.</a>
Jackie resists his urge to use the Darkness to his advantage in the comics, for fear of it taking control of him.
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I am not judging the comic, just the game. Two different mediums completely. It's alot like the Halo Effect. While I've played both games they did not impress me one bit, however I've read all four of the books and am in awe of the story. It's just too bad none of that story or level of creativeness made it to either game.
incidentally, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4&NR=1" target="_blank">he did.</a>
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wow, this guy cracks me up.
[youtube]TANd-_Z_UZA[/youtube]
I am not judging the comic, just the game. Two different mediums completely. It's alot like the Halo Effect. While I've played both games they did not impress me one bit, however I've read all four of the books and am in awe of the story. It's just too bad none of that story or level of creativeness made it to either game.
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Comic purists would have ######ed if Jackie over-used the Darkness, but from what my friend told me it's a good mechanic once you get further into the game. It takes time, but apparently its power ramps up.
Comic purists would have ######ed if Jackie over-used the Darkness, but from what my friend told me it's a good mechanic once you get further into the game. It takes time, but apparently its power ramps up.
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Yeah. Right now, that Arm? Totally stabbing people and throwing them about. Fun.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA</a>
This review embodies my entire demo experience.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA</a>
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You mean the review that half the thread's discussed?
You mean the review that half the thread's discussed?
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<i>Exactly</i> that review! How did you know?