GameLight Review - The Darkness 2

Official Site: http://www.embracethedarkness.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/67370/
Source: Youtube Channel pixelenemy

Developer: Digital Extremes
Publisher: 2K Games
Platforms: [PC], Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Genre: First-Person Shooter

Pros:
+ Incredible writing that entices the player's interest in the story and dialogues
+ Fast-paced and exciting with lots of fire-fights and close-quarter encounters
+ The Darkness makes the player feel empowered
+ The environment is lively and very immersive despite the colorful art style
+ Multi-player offers 4 player co-op online with a separate story
+ New Game+ opens up new possibilities for replay value
+ Never lose your way as the next checkpoint can be revealed at any time

Cons:
- Very short campaign of ~5 hours
- Multiplayer is a bit glitchy at times
- The ending made the player feel cheated

Recommended: Yes!  First-Person Shooter/Action fans would get a kick out of this

The Darkness 2 is one of the biggest surprises for me this year.  I had a bit of interest in the first one, but was turned off by the Black/Grey/Brown color palette of the entire game and for its slow-paced gameplay which made me end up not getting it.  Perhaps it was the trailers for The Darkness 2, or rather it was the fact I got the game for $6.  Whatever the reason may be, I am very happy that I got the game and played through it.  The Darkness 2 follows the story of Jackie Estacado, who is the Don of a Mob and possesses an entity called "The Darkness", where a cult tries to take the Darkness away from him and use its powers for their goals and purposes.  The game isn't entirely just shooting like in most First-Person Shooters as the player can utilize the Darkness' powers to throw heavy objects, grab and impale enemies, slice things up, and engage in all sorts of close-quarter combat with light puzzles on the side.  Both the story and gameplay stay compelling the whole way through with the addition of a skill branch system where the player can choose which abilities to acquire to fit their play style (I believe it's possible to acquire all skills when playing New Game+).  I didn't expect the game to be so fun, and I'm considering playing it again very soon.

Aesthetics
Art Style: A colorful, almost cartoon-ish 3D cel-shaded style.  It's similar to Borderlands 2, but it still retains a dark atmosphere when needed.
+ The amount of detail put into the environment is beautiful
+ I prefer the colorful art style over the more realistic style of its predecessor
+ Animation for all the enemies and kills add to the satisfying feel of combat
+ Voice-acting brought out some very memorable characters

- Some of the animations (especially executions on multiplayer) are very odd
Aesthetics: 8/10

Buttons
Controller: Keyboard and Mouse; controller compatible
+ Melee combat had a unique mechanic to attack horizontally or vertically
+ Gun control felt great and responds very quickly
+ Aim-assist is available to those new to FPS games (on by default)
+ Controls feel natural and actions flow very well with the pacing of the game
Buttons: 9/10

Concept & Content
Core Concept: Kill enemies, move forward, listen to some story, repeat
+ There's a nice balance between gameplay and story, never too much of either
+ Combat isn't solely based around guns which is probably what makes it unique
+ Plot is very simplistic, but the way it is told is what makes it so interesting
+ The writing to dialogue and the voice acting made memorable characters
+ New Game+ was a good idea to extend the replay value of campaign
+ Vendetta mode opens up to those who want multiplayer or more content
+ Skill tree and various characters offers different ways to play the game

- There isn't that much content for those who paid $60 for the game
- Ending of game doesn't leave the player off on a good note
Concept & Content: 10/10

Duration
+ Pacing was fast and progressed nicely with an even flow of combat & story
+ New Game+ and Vendetta offers a bit more replay value
+ Multiplayer, difficulty levels, and finding relics are the main replay factors

- Main Campaign takes only ~5 hours to complete, even shorter if story is skipped
- Vendetta mode is also pretty short and doesn't randomly generate enemy layout
Duration: 6/10

Fun
+ It was very empowering being able to run in and decimate your enemies
+ The environments blew me away, it's so beautiful and artfully crafted
+ Although guns were limited in variation, they all felt really useful and strong
+ Combat was satisfying, but listening to character dialogue was also entertaining
+ I was happy to know there's a New Game+ and that Vendetta mode offered new story, gameplay, and play-styles to the game
+ The skill tree mechanic is a good incentive to get more points
+ Boss fights were pretty fun and challenging

- The ending made me feel cheated and a bit empty
- The game's really short.  I'll replay it, but I'm practically done with the game
Fun: 10/10

Overall
The Darkness 2 is a really good game, despite being so short.  But with what I paid for it, I can't complain at all.  I liked the story, the art style was pleasing, characters were memorable, combat was very satisfying, but the ending did leave me feeling a bit doubtful.  I don't want to spoil anything, so I didn't mention anything about it throughout the review.  If I were to hint anything, it would be that it's a huge cliffhanger.  Still, it was a very enjoyable game and one I would definitely recommend.  Overall: 8.6/10

GameLight - Borderlands 2 First Impressions

Official Site: http://www.borderlands2.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/49520/
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

The free-roaming, Action-RPG, First-Person Shooter, Co-op game Borderlands 2 released last night and I ended up pre-purchasing it so I got to start playing early.  Forget everything you knew about the first game and prepare yourselves for a new Pandora.  Here are some differences I noticed:

-Obviously a new cast of characters, but now their appearances can be changed
-Graphics look nicer for some reason, not sure if it's sharper or more detailed
-Lots of crazy new properties on guns (grenade reload)
-Different story arcs (I was fighting very different bosses than my friends)
-Game is significantly more difficult (already died a lot)
-Skill tree allows for a greater amount of customization in playstyle
-Sleek user-interface that allows the player to see their character in menu
-Better drop-in/drop-out mechanic for multiplayer

So far, I'm liking the game, but I can tell it's incredibly buggy.  I've run into a lot of odd problems with hit-box detection, getting stuck on the sides of buildings, enemies spawning out of nowhere all around the player, enemies not reacting to damage, and hosting/connecting to other players in multiplayer.  The game is certainly playable, but it lacks some refinement at the moment.  Borderlands 2 is now available for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC scoring high in the 80's on metacritic.

GameLight - Borderlands 2

Official Site: http://www.borderlands2.com/us/

The frantic, Action-RPG, First-Person Shooter, Looting frenzy, co-op game is about to return with a butt ton more items to acquire.  Borderlands 2 is only half a month away from release with new characters, new weapons, and new areas to explore.  The free-roaming RPG played like a First-Person Shooter caught the attention of all sorts of gamers in the first iteration and is sure to impress in the sequel.  A lot of new games will release in the following months as we near the holiday seasons.  For those looking for high replay value in a single game, Borderlands 2 seems to be the target game for such gamers.  Borderlands 2 will release on September 18th, 2012 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.