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The Darkness Xbox 360
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Metascore
82 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 63 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 112 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: The Darkness features a distinct blend of dark modern crime drama and supernatural horror with intense first person non-linear gameplay. The game is a dynamic first person shooter that allows players to call upon the forces of the evil underworld as they fight in gritty, urban environments. Armed with an arsenal of guns, gamers battle an array of demonic creatures and supernatural powers. In the game, players assume the role of mafia hitman Jackie Estacado. On the night of his 21st birthday, Jackie is possessed by "The Darkness," an ancient demonic entity that gives Jackie spectacular powers. The story, written by Eisner Award winner Paul Jenkins, follows Jackie and his fight with the fictional Francetti mafia. As the story unfolds, the player will learn to utilize traditional weapons and the extraordinary powers of The Darkness. [2K Games]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 63
  3. Negative: 1 out of 63
  1. Game Almighty
    92
    A game that's built on a foundation of great gameplay with an intense and unique story. The look and sound of the game are awesome as well.
  2. Firing Squad
    71
    The Darkness has a great visual look to it and the supernatural powers you get to use are fun for a bit but ultimately it gets to be a grind to get to the game's final moments thanks to the long load times and the repetitive gameplay aspects.
  3. G4 TV
    40
    I was looking forward to it, but left very disappointed. It's completely playable. Being about 7 hours long helps but I spent the entire game waiting for it to get good, to make sense, to make a case for all the incongruous elements of design, gameplay and story, and then it ended.

See all 63 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 49
  3. Negative: 5 out of 49
  1. DickS
    9
    The excellent story makes up for virtually all the clunkiness of the engine. Defiantly one of my top two favorite games. Starbreeze has a nice engine that delivers realistic game play but it needs a MAJOR upgrade to compete with todays games and fix the unrefinement that bogs the game down.… Expand
    • 5 of 5 users said yes
  2. KevinM.
    6
    I liked this game a lot, but i felt the atmosphere of New York City was dead. Even though most of the game took place at night, there would be more than 2 people walking in a whole neighborhood. Though I loved the gameplay, you can really play the whole game without using one darkness power. After waiting for this game(especially since Riddick was awesome), I felt underwhelmed.Though the fast paced guns blazing tactic was fun, it does get old. The best part of this game was the story and the close combat kills. Though the close combat kills sometimes got repetitive, the gore and violence can put a smile on anyones face. Overall this was an ok game, with a fantastic story, and moments that would make you yell HOLY SHIT. But overall an underwhelming follow-up to Riddick.… Expand
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  3. ICUH8N
    2
    I was really looking forward to this release, and like Gary W. I was let down by the poor A.I., bland level designs, auto aiming and dated controls/gameplay. While I thought the graphics were good, the physics felt like a 6-8 year old game. Gears of War and F.E.A.R were much more enjoyable because of how intense the fighting was, the physics and how real the A.I. reacted. This game is basically walking around for blocks on end, find some guy shooting at you while standing still, kill him and then move on. I don't get how this game can be so much worse than the Chronicles of Riddick, which I thoroughly enjoyed.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 49 User Reviews