[Multiplatform] The Darkness

Are there any fans of this game? I picked up a copy for only $20 last night, and I am blown away by how cinematic and immersive it is. I was actually looking forward to getting this game (knowing it was from StarBreeze) during it's release back in summer, but the low scores made me avoid it. After finally playing it, I can conclude that game reviewers are a cult of idiots, since I can't imagine how you could give this masterpiece anything lower than a high 8 or 9.

The gameplay will be familiar to anyone that has played Riddick, since it revolves around shadows somewhat, but the mechanics are much more practical this time around because of how accessible your powers are (for those unfamiliar with the comic, you are basically possessed by a demon thing and you have powers revolving around shadows and the darkness).

But the game really shines in how the story is told. The narrative is strewn throughout the game in clever ways, such as interactive phone calls, NPC interaction, seamless cutscenes, and even dialogue during loading passes...it is all very immersive, and wraps you into the story without letting go, with a lot of powerful scenes. For instance, I just got through the scene where

Spoiler:

Jacky's girlfriend gets shot in the head literally with a window pane's space between you,

and I can't wait to see where the story is headed...because then you're

Spoiler:

transported to some kind of "hell" that seems to revolve around WW2 after you attempt suicide after what has happened to Jenny.

Naturally, I must comment on the sound mix, which is absolutely spectacular. Although it might have much to do with the fact that I replaced my bipole surrounds with floorstanders, the surround stage is absolutely enormous, especially when you hear the voice of the darkness speaking from within your character. The surrounds always seem to be engaged, even during trivial passes through the game's menus. Dialogue is exceptionally clean, and since the sound guys at StarBreeze seem to actually know more than just routing and leveling sounds to a bunch of speakers, you even get to control the level of LFE within a game, which has it's own built in crossover.

I am amazed that nobody has considered giving this game of the year, when people are considering rubbish such as Call of Duty 4. Cinematic games such as The Darkness do such a large part in justifying the industry's need for increasingly demanding and competent technology.

Jam it back in, in the dark.