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"  The Darkness, a cult release based on comics of the same name returns next month, continuing the story of Jackie Estacado, the mobster possessed with destructive demonic powers. After previously checking out the opening parts of the single-player campaign and the new Vendettas co-op mode, we met up with 2K Games and Digital Extremes to get some final play time with the action sequel. The most notable new feature we saw in our latest look was the hub area, which is basically a massive sprawling penthouse in New York, a bit like P Diddy&amp;#039;s house, only with a modicum more taste. The hub area is designed as a returning point in-between the linear action shooter missions, offering options to get to know more about Jackie&amp;#039;s world. You can talk to characters such as Aunt Sarah and Vinnie, play mini-games, including one involving shooting bottles, or just explore the rooftop mansion.   You can find me in da hub  The Darkness II really goes big for over-the-top stereotypes, and is very far from The Sopranos. Digital Extremes has opted for a mix of clich\u00E9 and the bizarre with its mob names, including such gems as Fat Tony and Jimmy the Grape (presumably one of Jackie&amp;#039;s five a day), and most things are done with tongue firmly in cheek. Entering the kitchen of the penthouse, Fat Tony offers to cook Jackie up a nice meal. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t take this the wrong way, but I got a big sausage with your name on it,&amp;quot; he says. As we back away, he urges: &amp;quot;I told you not to take this the wrong way.&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s certainly not subtle, but rather fits with the feel of the game. In the hub, radio and TV reports will dynamically reflect events in the game&amp;#039;s campaign, while Jackie&amp;#039;s goons will pass on rumour and intrigue. The penthouse will also provide a link to goings-on in the Vendettas co-op mission, which has its own, equally over-the-top narrative involving the fight of four Darkness-powered characters against the Brotherhood. However, it does not seem that the hub will spin off many side missions or quests in the typical RPG mould. Indeed, the entire RPG system seems very light, which could make it an interesting change of pace from the action, or just a pointless add-on.   Taking the fight to the Brotherhood  Our demo started just after the opening mission of the game, which was recently released as a demo. This involved a sequence escaping a restaurant raid, interspersed with scenes while Jackie was nailed to a cross being interrogated by Viktor. The evil Viktor leads the Brotherhood, an ancient order set up to keep the Darkness in check, but became corrupted and tried to take it for themselves. All the talk in the mansion, however, was about who had done the restaurant raid, and how they were going to repay the favour. In a hands-off mission, a representative from the development team exited the mansion&amp;#039;s entrance and triggered a level in a pool hall trying to find Swifty, who was spotted at the restaurant. The sequence started off in an alleyway with a group of mobsters, explaining that we were deep in enemy territory.      But that was not going to stop Jackie, who has the power to quad-wield weapons - two demonic arms and two firearms. Controlling the game involves the traditional left trigger putting you down iron sights and the right trigger firing the weapons, while the left bumper activates the grabbing demon arm and the right the melee arm. You can combine these various tools to great effect in the combat. Entering the pool hall opened up a range of options to the player. You could just shoot people as a standard shooter, or employ the Darkness powers, such as picking up a pool cue and impaling someone to a wall, or lifting someone in the air and performing a range of grisly executions, including the &amp;#039;head whip&amp;#039; and the &amp;#039;anaconda&amp;#039;.  It should be noted that there was some worrying AI in the demo, with enemies occasionally just standing there dutifully waiting to be dispatched. This is an issue we have seen in previous previews of The Darkness II, but Digital Extremes has introduced some measures to address the imbalance, which we will discuss later. Elsewhere, the game also ensures the player does not feel too powerful as the darkness powers will only work in, well, the dark. This means lights must be extinguished first, while health only regenerates in the darkness.   Guns a-blazing in the house of ill repute  In a different mission, Jackie entered a brothel in search of information on his enemies. But this was no glammed-up bordello, it was a dirty floor in an even dirtier building, complete with little cubicles, the cloth curtains poorly concealing the &amp;#039;business&amp;#039; going on inside. The Darkness II is expected to be an 18-rated game, but expect to see some rather eyebrow-raising stuff when playing this level.  We hooked up with a buxom prostitute called Venus, who took us to a cubicle on the promise of carnal relations, but then just gave us a gun and told us to kill everyone in the place. We headed past the booths, dispatching the goons with demon arms or pistols, before getting stuck at an unlockable door. This was where we assumed the role of the Darkling, the little demon that accompanies you through the campaign.  After the Darkling climbed into the ventilation shaft, we started moving deeper into the building, watching the Brotherhood goons dragging around a big crucifix below. Exiting the shaft, the Darkling can melee attack enemies, or do grisly executions by holding down the left bumper. It should be noted that it dies very quickly in the light. After tracking down the correct circuit box, we managed to unlock the door and then the view rushed back into Jackie&amp;#039;s body. We could then advance into the next stage, which was where the Brotherhood enemies really started to provide a more significant threat.   Let there be light  New foes much more consciously used light against the player, meaning the Darkness powers were unavailable for a short time. If you are low on ammo, this can lead to some frantic situations. There are also lights linked to generators that most be followed to the power source, and then destroyed, before you can freely use all your tools. In a weird twist of events, the level ended by segueing to the opening of the demo level, in which Jackie was being nailed to a crucifix by Viktor&amp;#039;s goons. Intriguing. The Darkness II is shaping up to be an interesting prospect, what with its quad-wield gameplay, comic book art style and story focus. There are still concerns over the occasionally dumb AI, while the Hub area could ultimately prove an underdeveloped feature, but hopefully the good will outweigh the bad when the game is released next month. The Darkness II is due out on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on February 7 in North America, and February 10 in Europe. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/previews/news/a361292/the-darkness-ii-final-impressions-preview/>