The Darkness

Abby_B · 08-28-2006, 04:47 PM

Has anybody heard anything about this one? Apparently it's coming from Starbreeze, who made the Riddick game that I liked a lot. I'm interested to see what this will look like.... I also think it's based on a comic? Can anybody give me the backstory with that?

Ken Chui · 08-28-2006, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abby_B

Has anybody heard anything about this one? Apparently it's coming from Starbreeze, who made the Riddick game that I liked a lot. I'm interested to see what this will look like.... I also think it's based on a comic? Can anybody give me the backstory with that?

Abby:
Here's the latest on The Darkness' progress.

The Darkness' origin (Wikipedia's entry is more comprehensive than my recollection, when I was a comic collector)

Abby_B · 08-30-2006, 02:01 PM

Thanks Ken, I'll totally check that out.

Did you ever read the comic? I think that it's going to be a more story driven game than most shooters, so I wonder if the story will come mostly from the comic? Seems like it is going to be pretty cool, from what I've seen so far!

Ken Chui · 08-30-2006, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abby_B

Did you ever read the comic? I think that it's going to be a more story driven game than most shooters, so I wonder if the story will come mostly from the comic? Seems like it is going to be pretty cool, from what I've seen so far!

Unfortunately, I stopped collecting and reading comics after Top Cow released Witchblade (The Darkness was released the following year). In retrospect, I should have given the series a closer look, as Garth Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer) did the writing. If Ennis is a contributor to the video game development (particularly dialogue), chances are The Darkness could supercede most gamers and comic collectors' expectations.

Abby_B · 08-31-2006, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Chui

If Ennis is a contributor to the video game development (particularly dialogue), chances are The Darkness could supercede most gamers and comic collectors' expectations.

That sounds really awesome - comments like that are getting me even more excited. So far it seems like they are definitely handling it right - I read a rumor on another site that Paul Jenkins was involved in writing the story for darkness - the guy who was involved with coming up with God of War. And God of War rocked - so i'm thinking that means this'll be a really storyline oriented game, which is a double plus good. is it a plotty kind of storyline? should i check out the comics? i liked the witchblade show on tnt

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Ken Chui · 09-07-2006, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abby_B

That sounds really awesome - comments like that are getting me even more excited. So far it seems like they are definitely handling it right - I read a rumor on another site that Paul Jenkins was involved in writing the story for darkness - the guy who was involved with coming up with God of War. And God of War rocked - so i'm thinking that means this'll be a really storyline oriented game, which is a double plus good. is it a plotty kind of storyline? should i check out the comics? i liked the witchblade show on tnt

Abby:
If you enjoy graphic novels, you may want to check out The Darkness trade paperback (i.e. a compilation of issues 1-6 from the first Darkness series), as the comic books are fairly expensive if purchased separately (the market value for the first issue is anywhere from $25-40, depending on condition; the list price of the trade paperback is $14.95

). With Ennis penning the dialogue and Silvestri doing the pencils (one of my favourite artists; his style is reminiscent of Jim Lee's work, IMHO), I think the comic series is worth exploring if you're really interested in the video game. If you do pick up the TPB, please let us know what you think of it.

Edit: I forgot to include a picture of the TPB (image link)

Abby_B · 09-07-2006, 06:13 PM

The only graphic novels I have ever really tried are the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, but i really liked them, and Darkness sounds like a really good story, so I'll have to look into it, I think.

I've been doing some digging for more info - I found some cool screenshots of the game here: http://playsyde.com/news_3321_en.html Check them out, they look really good. Dark and realistic, and...graphically really amazing.

Ken Chui · 09-08-2006, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abby_B

The only graphic novels I have ever really tried are the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman, but i really liked them, and Darkness sounds like a really good story, so I'll have to look into it, I think.

I've heard so much about Gaiman's work on the Sandman series, my one regret was that I wasn't there at its inception, i.e. when The Sandman was published under the DC banner. It wasn't until the first Death mini-series that I took a greater interest in the Vertigo line, and in so doing, acquainted myself with Gaiman's writing.

Quote:

I've been doing some digging for more info - I found some cool screenshots of the game here: http://playsyde.com/news_3321_en.html Check them out, they look really good. Dark and realistic, and...graphically really amazing.

They do look phenomenal; thanks for the link.

Abby_B · 09-08-2006, 04:37 PM

Ken - No problem! - I'll pass along whatever I manage to find, since this game has piqued my interest lately. There are some more good screens here: http://www.planetxbox360.com/index.p...table/show/151
I like how they get really detailed and up close. They just keep looking good!

I didn't read the Sandman series until I got to college, they'd been out for a while at that point - but I loved every one. I can't highly recommend the rest of Gaiman's writings if you've never read them. American Gods is great! I'm going to ask around and see if any of my comic friends know about the darkness, maybe i can check that out too.

Abby_B · 09-29-2006, 05:07 PM

Has anybody heard anything new about this recently? I'm still looking forward to seeing some game footage surface soon. I hope so, anyway - I really want to see it in action.

In case anyone is a budding artist, I did find out you could enter your own design for a Darkness poster into a contest to win a trip to California for the Gamespot After Hours Party, and something like ten runners up win the chance to have your poster put into the game (I think in the unlockables gallery?). It's here: http://www.thedarknessisspreading.co...ercontest.html.

So, if anyone is a good artist (i.e. not me, I suck at it), go for it. I think it'd be so cool to have some of your own stuff in a game. (Plus, free trip. No bad there.)

Ken Chui · 10-10-2006, 04:16 PM

Four new screenshots were added in late September at Planet Xbox 360 (link); unfortunately, I don't have any new developments or rumours to add at the moment.

It's too bad I missed out on the contest, as I was away on training. Oh well....

Abby_B · 10-20-2006, 12:40 PM

Aww, I wish you could have entered it! I'd have gone for it, except again for the part where I can't draw anything more complicated than a (bad) stick figure. Alas!

Gamespot had an article about a Hands On Preview for the game recently, and having read that, I'm still feeling pretty good. The demons sound cool. (Are those the Darklings?) Check it out - http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/acti...gumballs;img;0

I am really looking forward to seeing some gameplay footage for myself, now!