Darkwatch

Play Magazine

Quotation forthcoming. [Aug 2005]

Cheat Code Central

Just about every aspect of Darkwatch is cool. The environments are cool, the weapons are cool, the characters are cool and while the gameplay is not unique it's definitely one of the best first-person shooters on the Xbox and PS2. The controls alone are worth the price of admission.

Gaming Target

For anyone looking for something a little different out of their First Person Shooter experience, Darkwatch is that game.

Worth Playing

It’s got its share of issues, but they’re something you don’t have much time to think about between waves of hostile undead. I’d recommend it to any console owner who enjoys a good FPS.

Stuff

The game's nutty narrative would baffle Roger Corman, but the six-shootin' gameplay would make even Yosemite Sam giddy.

Game Informer

In terms of gameplay quality, this may be another middle-of-the-road shooter, but the unique premise sets it aside from everything else out there. [Sept 2005, p.94]

GamingTrend

The run and gun gameplay and unique storyline delivers, even if only for a short while.

GameShark

About the sharpest criticism that can be leveled at Darkwatch is that it really adds nothing original in the gameplay department. Aside from its extremely well executed western/horror environment, Darkwatch is a pretty generic FPS game with a weaker multiplayer mode.

Pelit (Finland)

A decent shooter with a vampire-western theme. More Sergio Leone and "Halo," less "Serious Sam" and techno-steam-punk-funk, and it would have been even better. [Oct 2005]

Next Level Gaming

I really liked the theme of the game, and the controls are almost perfect. The game does so many things right, but it does lack a deep story.

GameZone

This game should have been a 90! But weak plot pacing and that feeling that something is missing kept it from being so. Still, it is a ton of fun to play and still sitting in my console.

BonusStage

The use of the Havok physics engine, however, is almost as much fun to play with as Psi-Ops. I really do enjoy blowing a shotgun hole right through a bandito’s shoulder.

Yahoo! Games

Stylish, solid, and unique... and on the upper difficulty levels, it's hard as hell. It gives a gothic boost to the first-person shooter genre, and a definite shot in the arm to the criminally underrepresented western video game.

Inside Gamer Online

While its multiplayer might leave something to be desired, its single player hits its mark.

Maxim Online

Fighting an army of the undead with a six-shooter is rather challenging, but the game has smooth controls and sharp-edged firearms that allow you to get your gunsu on.

GameSpy

A truly remarkable experience. And, while the game itself may not have broken any new ground, the world it introduces more than makes up for that. It will leave gamers hungry for more.

PSM Magazine

Solid and polished enough to please most enthusiasts and supernatural violence. The plot is nearly D.O.A., but we can forgive it. This game is fun. [Sept 2005, p.74]

GamePro

Darkwatch mixes its Western Roots with gothic horror and steampunk aesthetics, and the results are uniquely engaging...Just darned good fun while it lasts. [Sept 2005, p.64]

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

Darkwatch has a few neat ideas but wins us over by doing solid shooting well. Fast-paced with cool guns, what's not to like? [Nov 2005, p.120]

GameSpot

If you're looking for an intense shooter experience, Darkwatch will not disappoint, offering crisp gameplay, an excellent presentation, and a varied campaign.

IGN

A solid first-person shooter that does the genre justice, but it's less than strong presentation elements and disappointing single-player adventure keeps it from living up to its true potential. Luckily the game controls like a breeze.

Gaming Age

It's a fun, fast-paced game with enough eye candy to entertain the undead-killing gunslinger that lives deep inside all of us.

TotalGames.net

The multiplayer co-op mode is nothing to write home about, and the adversarial split-screen is nothing short of totally pointless.

Total Video Games

The Campaign won't last long, and the multiplayer modes can be played in any first-person shooter; a short-lived title if it's not careful.

AceGamez

The ever changing campaign, which goes from gunplay to horseback and even skeleton crushing buggies, does a good job of offering new experiences to keep the gameplay fresh, which definitely makes Darkwatch one to spend some time with during the next gaming drought.

Game Revolution

Neither multiplayer scheme makes or breaks the game because the single-player is better than both of them, offering a fast-paced, good-looking first-person fragfest for either system.

TotalPlayStation

There's tons of potential here, but it's mired by a lack of variety, pacing that charges through important bits, and a lack of distinct personalities or identifiable characters. It's decent, but what's there wasn't used nearly well enough.

eToychest

It’s a wonderful and unique experience that really shows a lot of polish.

PALGN

Darkwatch gives vampires, undead, cowboys and plenty of bullets to fire. But that's about it. Otherwise, Darkwatch is a fairly standard affair that's worth a rental.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Playing good or evil has little effect on the loopy story; although the game kept me entertained, I didn't feel the need to replay for the alternate ending.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

Darkwatch doesn't amount to much more than your run-of-the mill first-person shooter. [Sept 2005, p.91]

games(TM)

The real joy of Darkwatch, however, is its simplicity. It's a pure, no-nonsense shooter, entirely focused on allowing the player to dispose of innumerable undead in ever more amusing ways. [Dec 2005, p.115]

Gamestyle

Despite the outlandish setting and undoubted promise, what survives is just an average first-person adventure without bite.

Eurogamer

A generic and quickly tiresome shooter, with a contrived premise which, unfortunately, does nothing to elevate it.

Edge Magazine

Nearly all enemy behaviour consists of direct charges, calling on the butt of your gun as frequently as its barrel. While it’s undeniably intense, it soon becomes apparent that this intensity is the only string on the designers’ banjo, plucked with increasingly feverish rapidity instead of ever-changing chords. [Nov 2005, p.105]

Computer Games Magazine

Quotation forthcoming. [Nov 2005]

GameCritics

This could have been a great original title, but instead it's a waste of shelf space with just one redeeming feature: it only takes around five hours to beat.