thedarkness
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The Darkness has a birth date ... June 25 US, June 29 Europe
Reader Ben tipped us off to the the official MySpace page for The Darkness -- the upcoming comic-book adaptation by Starbreeze Studios -- which announces "The Darkness has a birth date" of June 25th for the good, old US of A, and June 29th for Europe. Two birthdays is a tad unusual, so we decided to accept June 25th as the game's real birthday.June 25th? That means The Darkness shares a birthday with The Office's Ricky Gervais, Planet's Funniest Animals' Matt Gallant, singer Carly Simon, writer George Orwell, British admiral Lord Mountbatten and, of course, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. It will be a Cancer, known to be both imaginative and intuitive, but also hypersensitive and moody. Ruh roh, better not piss it off. [Thanks, Ben]%Gallery-2283%
The Darkness trailer creeps out XBLM
The Darkness trailer that was released on the interweb last week is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. So, if screen-door-quality internet streaming video isn't your cup of tea, you can now download it in glorious High Definition. It's definitely worth checking out in HD, too, as the graphical fidelity is top notch in The Darkness. What we're getting at here is that the game looks nice. Well, nice may not be the proper word. Let's see ... gruesome, that's the word! It looks gruesome. Of course, if you're stuck at work and can't download it now, you can always check out the streaming version we posted earlier. Enjoy.Who's planning on picking up The Darkness?
New Darkness trailer emerges
If you can say one thing about Starbreeze Studios, it's that they know how to make a pretty game. Chronicles of Riddick stands as one of the best looking games on the original Xbox, and Starbreeze's latest, The Darkness, looks to do the same for the Xbox 360. GameTrailers has released the latest trailer for the game, featuring some impressive in game footage. Both the environments and the characters show off some serious polish. Everything is sharp, clear, and clean. Even better, the game looks like it might have a story that's worth seeing (the voice acting is top notch, too). Check out the trailer after the break.
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?
GameTrailer's GDC video wrap-up
Our 2007 Game Developers Conference has come to an end, we've had a fun ride, but there is still more to see. And the nice folks over at GameTrailers have their GDC section quarantined off and ready to showcase some of the best Xbox 360 media. You can sit back and watch a new Portal video, maybe some Mercenaries 2, a Fable 2 dog demo, or The Darkness. It's every video they have to offer from GDC that is Xbox 360 related. And we definitely recommend watching the Fable 2 dog demo, because it just might make you think differently about this new "revolutionary" feature. GDC may be over, but your video watching has just begun.
The Darkness gameplay video sees the light
Godfree over at Gamertagradio sent us a gameplay video for The Darkness. It looks pretty slick and shows off the great lighting in the game, which, considering the title, would pretty much have to be. It also displays some of the gunplay as well as The Darkness' powers. We're looking forward to seeing more on this from Starbreeze. Are you going to be watching this title as close as we are until its spring release?
NYCC: Hands-on with The Darkness
Warning: This video contains scenes of extreme violence and gore. It ends with a torture sequence which may not be appropriate for the faint of heart. Viewer discretion is advised.Top Cow's ultra-violent, ultra-cool comic The Darkness is heading to the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the summer, and attendees of New York Comic Con were treated to a special playable preview of the game. The game comes from the developers of the equally dark Chronicles of Riddick on ye olde Xbox, and it looks like Starbreeze is about to deliver another equally compelling and original FPS game. Just like Riddick before it, The Darkness looks to not only borrow from the license, but add a great deal of depth to it as well.The playable build at NYCC offered both single and multiplayer components. The single player demo certainly started with a memorable bang. You're in a Hollywood-style car chase: your comrades are wildly shooting around you, as cars are being flipped, crashed into, and destroyed in a cornucopia of chaos. Although it's basically an on-rails segment, it feels truly engrossing: you have control over your character's view, but you'll have to fight the wind and momentum of the car. It's really quite spectacular.
Some new Darkness screenshots to digest
Comic books to movies to video games to limited edition comic books about the movie version of the comics, etc etc... we know that these don't always work out as well as we'd like. In The Darkness, you play comic anti-hero Jackie Estacado, who is a "gangster corroded of the interior by the alarming capacities of darkness." Which, in decent English, translates to "a dude infested by evil".While incarnated as a FPS on the surface, there are some pretty gothic horror moments -- frightening creatures, darkness, dyed black hair, Starbucks, and brooding poetry. Jeux-France even goes as far as saying the PS3 version of the game will benefit from Blu-ray, offering more memory for the video sequences (whatever that means). These latest screens give you a glimpse of what to expect -- and expect something that may or may not be scary. Like, "The Ring" scary, or "Nightmare Creatures" scary? Give us your thoughts.
20 new screens emerge from The Darkness
2K Games has updated their official website for the comic book based shooter, The Darkness. There, you can find 20 new screenshots of the game. A few of the images we've seen before, but the vast majority of them are new. This game is looking extremely pretty, and given Starbreeze Studios' track record with Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, there's little question that the gameplay will be up to snuff. A neat little factoid for you fanboys out there is that Mike Patton will be lending his voice as the title character. Those of you who have heard "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things" should recognize that he is most definitely capable of providing a voice of something unearthly. With the critical acclaim of Riddick behind it, are you looking forward to The Darkness?[Via Xboxyde]
Shhh ... let's peer into The Darkness
Starbreeze, the studio behind The Darkness, sat down with Gamespot for a little Q&A session. Producer Denby Grace talks briefly about the story, multiplayer elements, and how far in development they are. It's kind of interesting to see how they adapted the story from a comic book series called Resurrection and how the studio put their spin on things. Very cool. We're thinking that The Darkness is going to be one of those sickeningly demented games ... something we'll welcome with open arms. Starbreeze studios knows what they are doing, they did make The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, so what's your opinion on The Darkness and its potential?[Thanks, Jonah]
The Darkness nearing "spit and polish" phase
Developers at Starbreeze have been hard at work on The Darkness, hoping to keep the quality of their titles up to snuff. Following the surprisingly well-received Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay for the XBox, we don't blame them for wanting to create something just as fun. The game's scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2007 for multiple consoles, boasting a step away from generic FPS action and throwing in superhero traits and elements -- it's based on a comic book, after all.Now, you can read the interview to learn more about the game's plot and such (but we don't like ruining it even a little bit) or you can stay here and we'll tell you what makes the Blu-ray/PS3 version of the game pretty neat. Denby Grace of Take-Two says: "Blu-ray offers us around 25GB to play with, so we're looking to license old TV shows, adverts, and cartoons to build entire TV channels in the game. You can actually turn on the TVs in the game and watch a film, watch a TV series, anything you want really. It's a little bit gimmicky, but at the same time, it's a really cool feature." So, um, yeah... that's an interesting choice. Still, kind of cool.As far as multiplayer goes, there's not much talked about in the sense of modes or weaponry specifics, but there is a distinct Aliens Vs. Predator feel to it -- one type of creature you can play as will be able to climb walls, attack with claws, see in the dark... where the humans can use a multitude of guns and scream when they get pounced by... The Darkness!
Scary new screens of The Darkness
It seems like The Darkness looks a little better every time we see it. Gamertag Radio got their hands on 21 new screens of the game, and they look sharp. The amount of detail and the use of lighting is very nice. Considering The Darkness is coming from the same people that brought us The Chronicles of Riddick, it's not exactly surprising that they're delivering a pretty game. More importantly, it looks like it will fun to play, too. Throw in some sweet multiplayer and we should have another great 360 title. The Darkness is expected to drop this quarter. Anyone got it on their wish list?
The Darkness meets The Interview
CVG recently sat down with Starbreeze, developers of The Chronicles of Riddick (and the underrated Enclave), to talk about their upcoming 360 title, The Darkness. The interview covers a number of topics, including why Starbreeze decided to tackle a relatively unknown comic and what sort of pressure they feel after Riddick became a huge success on the original Xbox. The developers admit that putting a shooter out for the 360 in the wake of Gears is "intimidating," but they remain focused on presenting the best game possible. They cover all the basic questions about what it's like to develop for 360 and how involved the comic creators are. Our favorite exchange involves the developers discussing the difficulty of bonding with a hitman, the main character of The Darkness. "The Darkness is quite a dark character - a hitman. Although he suffers from the normal trials and issues that we all do.""Yes, like 'Who do I want kill?'"We can all identify with that, right? Hit the read link for the full interview.[Via Digg]
Screenshots for The Darkness revealed!
Goodness gracious, if we were paid a nickel every time we made a statement about how [Game X with a name relating to dark] has been [brought to light, unveiled, revealed, pun about dark], we'd never have to work again. Not really, we'd have like 35 cents. Still. The game's developers have remained hush-hush about the actual gameplay, but have decided to tease us with some screenshots of the comic-book Mafia hitman, Jacky Estacado, and his shenanigans. We're not too sure what's going down in the picture we've got here, but it looks pretty dangerous for Mr. Red Jumpsuit. Anyway, check out the other screenshots and the humorously translated webpage they're on, then leave us your thoughts.
The Darkness, the first FPS with tentacles
More from 1UP, as they have released a video of the behind-closed-doors demo of The Darkness from E3. The game looks pretty interesting, if not earth shattering. The highlight, of course, is the the dark powers of the lead character. Able to see in the dark, summon beasties to kill foes, use tentacles to fling cars about with reckless abandon, and open black vortexes that suck in anything nearby, our hero is pretty slick. One of the more interesting bits in the game is the ability to flip on a TV and see actual video. Seriously, there's an actual Popeye cartoon on the TV in the game. The developers, Starbreeze, claim that this feature is truly next gen and makes The Darkness stand out. So now I can watch TV on my TV. What will they think of next? See the video after the break.
BIH content, 9/26: Lego Star Wars edition
Another day, another batch of BIH content. See what we did there? BIH. See, it's an acronym for Bringing It Home. Pretty sweet, huh? Anywho, here's the almighty list for today: Forza 2 Physics & Damage trailer NBA 2K7 trailer Sonic The Hedgehog trailer Shrek 3 trailer Just Cause trailer NHL 2K7 trailer The Darkness trailer LEGO Star Wars II demo(!) A potent list indeed, capable of discombobulating even those of the strongest constitutions. The real winner here is of course the demo of the UK's recent chart topper, LEGO Star Wars II. On a more peculiar note, wasn't there a trailer for The Darkness up yesterday? Is this one different? We'll be back shortly with our thoughts on the LSWII demo. We're sure you're waiting with bated breath.
Bringing It Home content, 9/25
Well folks, TGS is over, finished, kaput. As such, it seem only fitting that today's content is more oriented towards western audiences -- note also that there is no Japan exclusive content today. Here's the sweet sweet candy: Battlestations Midway trailer Eragon trailer Import Tuner Challenge trailer Need for Speed Carbon trailer The Darkness trailer Mass Effect Picture Pack (free!) Battlestar Galactica (United States) TGS Showfloor video 3 video F.E.A.R. demo We discussed the F.E.A.R. demo earlier: if you played the OXM demo, there's nothing new. With all this content, it may be time to start clearing out some of that old E3 stuff. Meanwhile, X06 inches ever closer. So, everybody make some room, download each and every one of these trailers, watch them, and then come back here and discuss them. Discuss them, I say!
The Darkness lead designer spills some beans on the game
An interview conducted over at Eurogamer covers the upcoming title The Darkness. They sat down with lead designer Jens Andersson and the main points from the interview are below: The story has been changed heavily from the comics, but the writer of the comics has been at their side to okay every move. PC version is unannounced, but likely. Andersson says they'd really like to put it on the PC. Online multiplayer will let you be darklings (creepy crawly dudes) as well as the main to keep the action fresh and pretty surprising. Jens believes the game has the potential to be a big hit on the PS3 because "there's so little competition that I've seen on the PS3." No 1080p support -- will probably be a standard resolution across Xbox 360 and PS3 instead. Extra content on the PS3 version, but no real gameplay tweaks/additions. 10-15 hours of gameplay, estimated for single player. Metal based soundtracks \m/, So there you have it: a quick run-down of the latest info regarding The Darkness. There's a little more in the actual interview, but it's nothing all that particular towards the game itself. Will this game contend with Resistance? It seems different enough, being more third-person. In truth, there isn't a game quite like this on the launchpad for the PS3. We'll keep our eyes on it when 2007 rolls around.
Creepy pics of The Darkness
Xboxygen has posted some nice -- mildly disturbing -- images of The Darkness, Starbreeze's horror themed FPS. Starbreeze was behind Chronicles of Riddick -- and the underrated Enclave -- so they have quite a legacy to live up to. Hopefully, The Darkness will deliver. If these screens are anything to go by, it looks like it will.Anyone looking forward to this one?
