14 DAY TRIAL // It was about time Xbox Live users got a new demo, and a good one at that: The Darkness. 2K Games has just released the new demo of The Darkness on XBL Marketplace. It features a single-player experience from three early levels in the game, including the Tunnel, Cemetery and Grinders Lane.
Developed by award-winning developer of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Starbreeze Studios, The Darkness is a next generation, first-person action/shooter set in the dark and seedy underbelly of New York City. Players experience the role of mafia hitman Jackie Estacado, heir to "The Darkness", an ancient power that awakens within him on his 21st birthday. Jackie must use traditional weapons as well as learn to command his terrible new powers to seek revenge on his own crime family. The Darkness is based on the popular comic of the same name published by Top Cow Publishing and created by Marc Silvestri and Paul Jenkins.
Estacado's skills as a hitman allow him to make use of a wide variety of guns, from basic 9 mm handguns and submachine guns to high-powered assault rifles and automatic shotguns. While Estacado primarily uses these guns in well-lit environments, where he cannot use his Darkness Powers to summon creatures and artifacts from The Otherworld and Hell, the hitman can also use his arsenal in the dark supplementing his Darkness powers to maximize damage. The Darkness feeds off the dark to recharge its power and to influence the strength of the attacks. By shooting out nearby lights, Estacado can increase the strength and rates of his attack.
Here are Estacado's powers, which he gains from The Darkness:
Summoning Darklings Dark Tentacles Creeping Dark Demon Arm Black Hole Darkness Guns
The Darkness (full game) was released June 25 for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, being rated "M" for Mature by the ESRB. What are you waiting for? Go snatch it. I couldn't see a price anywhere. Hmmm...