The Darkness II Single-player review

The Darkness II returns as Jackie Estacado is now the don of the Franchetti family.  When you start the campaign, it updates you as to what happened in the first game in case you, like me never played it!  Being able to still play this new game without being left out of the previous storyline was a step in the right direction from the start.

Graphics and Optimization:
The Darkness II changes it's graphic style from the first game, this time using cel-shading techniques.  Even using these techniques the game is very beautiful and detailed with characters having a real-life look and feel to them.  To top that, the game runs very smooth on recommended specs without any hiccups running above 100 frames per second.

Gameplay:
The fast paced action was very consistently fun and held my attention throughout the whole campaign.  Being able to kill the enemies in a variety of ways is what made the Darkness II so fun to me.  Welding several different types of guns, you could shoot your way through or use the darkness to get creative in killing the A.I.  Throughout the game you can grab many objects that are always around and throw them at the enemy resulting in slicing, impaling, or crushing them.  On top of that, using the darkness, you can slice and beat the enemy to death or grab them and perform one of several finishing moves to boost health, ammo and more.  The story itself was fun and interesting and held my attention, waiting to find out what happens next.  As the game throws many enemies at you, many are clones of one another.  This still does not make the game any less fun.

Taking around 5 hours to complete, it was a short campaign but fun enough to do it a second time.  The Vendettas mode adds length to the game allowing you to play as one of four hit men using the same darkness powers that Jackie has.  You can also play Vendettas mode online in co-op.

Conclusion:
The Darkness II is very fun if you are looking for a fast paced shooter with many ways to kill your enemy!  Should run great on even lower-end pc's that meet the minimum requirements and has enough of a story to keep you interested.  The main con of the game is its shorter campaign.

GRAPHICS: 8/10
GAMEPLAY: 8/10
SOUND: 7/10
OVERALL: 7/10