2K Games announced the release date for The Darkness 2 today: October 4, 2011. The Darkness 2 — or The Darkness II, for those who are concerned with the ‘official’ nomenclature — will ship internationally on October 7. The game will ship for Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC. (Check out The Darkness 2 launch trailer here).
Like the original The Darkness, The Darkness 2 breaks from the sea of conventional first-person shooters (FPS) by taking players down a brutal path as Jackie Estacado, a man who wields “Darkness,” an ancient and ruthless force of chaos and destruction that gives him snake-like arms and a host of other powers when activated.
This unique gameplay mechanic lets players slash, grab and throw objects and enemies using their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons Jon Woo-style. Layered with intricate uses of dark versus light gameplay, the game combines a complex and twisted storyline with stylistic violence visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir technique. Yep, The Darkness 2 hearkens back to its comic-book roots for sure.
In The Darkness 2, it’s been two years since Jackie Estacado, now the Don of the Estacado crime family, used Darkness to kill the men responsible for his girlfriend’s murder. Jackie continues to have haunting visions of his beloved Jenny since her death. He’s tried to cope by bottling up his supernatural power, and now Darkness wants out. A sudden, unprovoked attack on Jackie’s life heralds the start of a full-scale mob war, which has clearly been orchestrated by some outside force. The botched attempt opens the door for Darkness to reemerge and sets Jackie on a journey to Hell and worse as he unravels the mystery behind the attack and the motivations of Darkness itself.
We’ll have much more information about The Darkness 2 from E3. Until then, make sure you check out The Darkness 2 launch trailer.
