Hands-on impressions from The Darkness

The subject line should technically read "of The Darkness" but that doesn't sound anywhere near as cryptic. It seems comic-book fans (or shall we say "graphic novel" fans) have something to get excited about, as IGN released a very glowing hands-on impression of the title recently. Their subtitle is even "Starbreeze delivers the essence of evil like no other" so you know there's something going for this game. Let's break down what they enjoyed:

• Semi-famous actors/singers lend their talents as voiceovers, perform well.

• The opening sequence is amazing... in IGN's words: "The opening sequence is like one long Martin Scorsese car chase with no cuts, all sorts of foul language, car crashes, gun fighting, and a stylistic sense of graphic beauty and sheer intensity."

• The direction, clarity, and style perfectly compliment the source material.

• While it was played with the 360, the translation to PS3 controls makes it sound like a pretty easy-to-use control scheme.

• The demon's eyes are your health bar -- the dimmer they get, the closer you are to kicking the bucket. Also of note is the Halo-style health regeneration: sit still without getting shot at, you'll heal up.

• You get to shoot out lights -- the demons don't like the light...

• Lots of weapons, coupled with the demon heads, in addition to summoning Darklings up from predetermined locations really give you the sense of having a lot at your disposal -- almost a bit too much. Supposedly things change in later levels.

• Multiplayer was a load of fun. Playing as a Darkling, shimmying up walls and waiting in dark corners to pounce on an opponent seemed to be a very pleasant feature. Glad to hear it.

Well, it seems that IGN enjoys the game. The 360 and PS3 will have a lot of fun with this one when it comes out. What do you guys think? We've posted a lot about this game, but mostly just screenshots. Now that you've got a little bit more info at your disposal, what are your hands-off impressions?