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Humble 2K Bundle offers up BioShock trilogy, The Darkness 2
Publisher 2K Games headlines today's newly launched Humble Bundle, offering Steam-redeemable versions of BioShock, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified and other featured games for a price of your choosing. All bundle buyers receive copies of 2K's undersea FPS BioShock, comic book-based action game The Darkness 2, and alternate-history shooter The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. Purchases that exceed the bundle's average purchase price will also receive BioShock 2, Mafia 2 and Spec Ops: The Line, and customers who pay $20 or more will get bonus copies of BioShock Infinite and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. A buyer-chosen portion of proceeds benefits the American Red Cross and Action Against Hunger charities. The Humble 2K Bundle will be available through July 22. [Image: 2K Games]
Tomb Raider, Walking Dead, Brothers in today's Xbox Ultimate sale
Today's Xbox 360 Ultimate sale includes two entries from Joystiq's Top 10 of 2013 in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Tomb Raider. Meanwhile, the first episode of Walking Dead Season 2 can be yours for just a single dollar, and that really is an excellent deal - the first season placed #3 in our 2012 list. All of which reminds us that Oh Come On Telltale Where Is Episode 2 We Need To Know What Happens To Clementine Please Oh God Why. Ahem. In addition to the nine games that are on sale today, there's a whole bunch of On Demand and Arcade discounts running through until February 25. Check out the full list here, and head past the break for today's list of on-sale games and their prices.
Steam Summer Sale, Day 4: Saints Row: The Third, Walking Dead, Indie Bundle 4 and more
Survival Diary, Day Four:I don't know how much longer I can keep hiding here. It was safe at first; quiet even, like a snow-packed forest or the very depths of the sea, but his footsteps continue to grow closer. Eventually, he's going to find me, and when he does the very core of me will be torn inside out and used to purchase games like Saints Row: The Third, The Walking Dead or any number of the other games on sale today.I know now that my sanctuary beneath the sofa is no longer a sufficient haven in which to ensconce myself, so I must attempt to find new refuge. There's a very good chance this is my last entry, so please, if you find this, tell the pocket watch I love her.Always,Wallet
You can totally get The Darkness 2 for $12 at Best Buy today
The Darkness 2 is Best Buy's deal of the day, on sale for $12 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. If you're into juicy, demonic mutilations, psychotic episodes of extreme violence and solid voice acting, this may be the best $12 you spend all year.The sale extends to in-store purchases only, meaning while you can gaze longingly at the low price point online – you can't have it unless you get up and grab it.[Thanks, ZombieFever.]
The Darkness 2 review: Shooting bullets off a list
On paper, The Darkness 2 is a "linear, first-person shooter with some neat twists." It sounds boring, and it was every time I played the game in a preview session before it launched. I'd hole up at some PR office in Manhattan and they'd run down a prepared spiel about "quad-wielding" or "the Darkling." The what?In reality, The Darkness 2 is a beautiful, hand-drawn game from a team with derivative dreck like Dark Sector and Pariah in its past. It also has surprisingly realistic and impressive voice acting, which gets paired with gorgeous art direction right off the bat for a "last time on The Darkness" reintroduction.But as impressive as the game's art style and voice acting chops are, it's not very easy to shape a marketing-driven preview session around technical aspects like that. But that's the case for most of what's so great about The Darkness 2 -- touches, moments and experiences that don't fit onto a bullet point list.%Gallery-137848%
Reckoning rules UK sales chart
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning kicks off life atop the UK charts, which is not a bad place to begin a fateless destiny. This is the first new intellectual property to reach the top spot since Dead Island (another surprise hit) back in week 37 of last year, according to Chart-Track. But, wait, here's where it gets crazy: you have to go back to the year 2000 (the first Pokemon game) to find an original RPG winning the week.Final Fantasy XIII-2 slipped one spot into second, with Darkness 2 premiering in third. The top of the charts are actually stacked with "core" titles this week, with Mario & Sonic London at the 2012 Olympic Games being the closest "family" title. Certainly not a "family" game is Catherine, which debuted in the 20 spot. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
The Darkness 2 wraps its tentacles around Gaikai
The thing about video games as a hobby and fascination is that they can be quite expensive. Some may employ unscrupulous means to whet their appetite, but you won't have to do the same for a free taste of The Darkness 2.Gaikai has added the demo to its list of streaming titles, joining the ranks of Dead Rising 2, Orcs Must Die!, The Witcher 2, Spore and others. It's all part of Gaikai CEO and industry veteran Dave Perry's goal to offer pre-release demos of major titles to all (with good internet connections).
You never asked for this Darkness 2 launch trailer
Why is it that when we get something we never asked for, it turns out to be some kind of evil presence ruling over our lives? Why can't it be, like, a free muffin or something?
The Darkness 2 demo creeps toward Xbox Live, PSN and PC later this month
Do you want an evil spirit bound to you for the rest of your existence? How do you really know? If only the forces of evil got together and decided to offer some kind of pilot program. Thankfully, in this day and age of video games about evil things, we have demos. 2K Games is set to offer an early taste of The Darkness 2, starting with Xbox Live Gold subscribers next week, January 17. PC and PS3 users will be able to sample it on January 24. PS3 users in Asia/Pacific and Europe regions will have to wait an additional day, until January 25. 2K didn't offer any details on the contents of the demo, so we just hope it helps us gauge whether we're going to pressure our friends into buying it -- not to mention our tolerance level when it comes to evil hissing things and guys talking in thick, wiseguy accents.
The Darkness 2 breaks off a pre-order bonus on Steam starting today
The Darkness 2 is available right this very second for pre-order on Steam for $49.99, with a free upgrade to the limited edition included. Remember: 2K Games is offering this same deal to all pre-orders, from any retailer, which kind of makes the Limited Edition like the Normal Edition, and then anyone who buys it after release gets the Sub-Normal Edition. If that's how you want to view the world, that is.
The Darkness 2 gets 4-player co-op mode in 'Vendettas,' we count the wieldings [update: video, more screens!]
So, we're not mathemagicians but we're pretty sure we've got this worked out. The big marketing gotcha in The Darkness 2 is quad-wielding, meaning your character, mob boss Jackie Estacado, can not only dual wield pistols but also dual wield Darkness arms at the same time. With 2K's announcement of a co-op mode in the game, playable by up to four friends, we had to use all of our fingers and toes to figure out how much wielding is going on and ... we think we have it. Ladies and nerds, allow us to introduce: hexadeca-wielding. Google says that's the Greek prefix for "sixteen." The co-op mode, dubbed "Vendettas," is a "team-focused, mission based experience" with new environments and new story elements, "that takes place parallel to the single-player story." And instead of getting stuck with ol' Jackie Boy, perhaps you might try your hand(s) at another of the new co-op characters: Inugami, "a dark and mentally unstable character with revenge-driven motives" ... and a samurai sword; Shoshanna, an Israeli Intelligence agent with a gun that fires "multiple rounds of gunfire at one time" which, real talk, is impossible; Jimmy Wilson, an alcoholic Scotsman (really!) who hates the English and summons Darklings with his "Dark Axe"; and lastly, J.P. DuMond, a New Orleans-based practitioner of voodoo medicine or, as he would perhaps be more commonly called, a witch doctor! So that's Vendettas, the first game to feature four-player hexadeca-wielding co-op play, a back-of-the-box feature that's sure to bring all the boys to the killing yards. %Gallery-141146%
This new Darkness 2 trailer is impressively gross
For the most part, we as a culture have become desensitized to the ridiculous level of extremely graphic, realistic violence pervasive in most forms of entertainment media, which is why we're so damn impressed by how incredibly disgusting the latest trailer for The Darkness 2 is. Watching a man's spine and skull get ripped out through his scrotum (by chattering tentacle creatures, no less) wasn't really something we had planned on doing today, but there you go. While you check out the trailer, we're going to go cleanse our palate with something a little less violent, like Mortal Kombat.%Gallery-137848%
The Darkness 2 illuminated in trailer blowout
Perhaps today's news that The Darkness 2 will give players a chance to terrorize "The Brotherhood" with Jackie's little Darkling friend wasn't enough to sate your thirst for dark essence ... or, uh, information about the game? This volley of trailers should more than suffice!
Darkness sequel adds contextually playable Darkling
At various points throughout The Darkness 2, main character Jackie Estacado will relinquish control to his limey compatriot, the Darkling. During the past several preview events featuring next year's Digital Extremes-developed Darkness sequel, said Darkling has been a part of the environment, wantonly assisting in the murder of Jackie's foes but not allowing himself to be commanded. In a preview session this past week in Manhattan, however, I was shown how one specific Darkling section will play out in the final game. After somewhat stealthily winding Jackie through a dingy brothel, he arrived at a brightly lit area (which can't be accessed due to his dark powers) with a conveniently placed Darkling-sized ventilation shaft just above the door. Moments later, and I'm inside the Darkling, piloting him through the vent and out into a new area. I was told that these sections are scattered throughout the game, allowing for limited, context-specific Darkling action sequences (read: you can't use him whenever you want). The emphasis during his brief scene was on puzzle solving, allowing Jackie to progress through the door -- the Darkling had to navigate bright lights (which hurt him), enemies with guns (bullets hurt, too), and unknown corridors to find the solution. Sneaky Darkling pilots can pounce on unsuspecting enemies from behind, quietly murdering the bad guy and allowing for an escape. After a few more moments of sneaking around, I disconnected the light's power source with the Darkling and was instantly zipped back to Jackie, thankfully skipping an unnecessary trek back through where I had just come from. Unfortunately for Jackie, however, the demo was just about to end, which meant he was moments from being trapped by the forces out to steal his powers. Maybe next time, Jackie boy!%Gallery-136166%
The Darkness 2 spawns pre-order bonuses
All pre-orders of The Darkness 2 will be upgraded to the "Limited Edition," publisher 2K Games announced today. The pre-order edition includes an alternate "Crazy Abdul" darkling outfit, "Gourmet Hearts" and "Relic Hunter" character ability upgrades, an illustration by Marc Silvestri and download codes for The Darkness Origins Volume 1 and Volume 2 comics. 2K Games also reiterated that The Darkness 2 will arrive at retail on February 7 and 10 for North America and "internationally," respectively. Fleeing the packed holiday schedule, the sequel was originally planned for October.%Gallery-131815%
The Darkness 2 delayed until February 2012, making an appearance at Comic-Con
Hey, Jackie boy. The Darkness 2 has been delayed until 2012, with 2K Games announcing new launch dates for both the console and PC versions of February 7 and 10 for North America and Europe, respectively. The sequel was originally scheduled for this October. If you're attending Comic-Con in San Diego this weekend, there will be eight playable demo kiosks of The Darkness 2 at the Top Cow booth (#2629). There will also be a "Spreading The Darkness: From Comic Book to Video Games and Entertainment" panel on July 21 at noon in Room 9 of the convention center, featuring the co-creator of The Darkness comic, along with talent from the game. No word on whether or not the actual Darkness will show up and eviscerate the audience, but we're going to recommend keeping your distance just in case.
Cue up this Darkness 2 gameplay trailer
We're common people, with appetites that are almost embarrassingly easy to sate. At one point in this gameplay trailer for The Darkness 2, the titular Darkness throws a pool cue through a dude. So just know that when we say "this trailer is totally great" that bit was pretty much all it took.
Starbreeze: Giving The Darkness 2 to Digital Extremes was out of our hands
Those anxious for a Starbreeze-developed The Darkness 2 may still be looking for an explanation. Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark told CVG that the decision to tap Digital Extremes was all on 2K and out of his studio's hands. "The decision was not up to Starbreeze, and when it was decided to do a sequel we had already started working on a new project," he said. That new project is "RedLime," a new title for EA oft-rumored to be a Syndicate remake. Starbreeze had also previously began work on a Jason Bourne title, though that was canceled last year, so the studio has been admittedly pretty busy. Despite the lack of Starbreeze, The Darkness 2 is shaping up to be a fine title, quad-wielding marketing jargon notwithstanding. In both of our preview sessions, we were impressed with how capable and brutal protagonist Jackie Estacado is in the sequel -- and how his power translated into interesting gameplay.
The Darkness 2 emerges from the shadows October 4
Everyone's favorite possessed hitman, Jackie Estacado, will return in The Darkness 2 starting October 4 in North America and October 7 internationally. To commemorate the news, 2K has also release a new trailer, which can be found after the break. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait to see the wonders of quad-wielding in action, as the trailer is bereft of gameplay.
The Darkness 2 preview: Dancing in the dark
Jackie Estacado is an indestructible demigod. At least that's what the early stages of a recent demo for The Darkness 2 taught me about the game's main character. After unnamed assailants quite literally crash the dinner he had just sat down to eat -- subsequently murdering the erotic dancers he's dining with, of course -- Jackie's hurt pretty badly. His right foot is clearly mangled from the explosion, and soon enough he's being dragged to safety by a fellow mobster, all the while shooting at foes in pursuit. Thankfully for Jackie Estacado, though, he can take a lot of bullets. Like, dozens. From point blank range. At one point during the demo, I stopped firing back for a full 30 seconds to see what would happen. Lo and behold, the mobster dragging me kept right at his task and, aside from the occasional splash of red on the HUD, Jackie was no worse for the wear. Though a 2K Games rep assured me that Jackie could die during the sequence, the dozens of bullets that had already riddled him didn't do much damage. After that worrying intro, however, things improved greatly. Jackie was granted the power of quad-wielding and, soon enough, I was using his two crazy snake arms – the titular Darkness –to impale, assassinate, rip, and a whole host of other verbs, all while firing off bullets with my boring hands. Project lead Sheldon Carter with incoming developer Digital Extremes refers to Jackie's arsenal of arms as a "symphony of death," employing two weapons and two arms all at once to engage multiple enemies in a variety of ways.%Gallery-122546%
