If this is all too emotional for you then you will be pleased to know that this trailer also shows us more of the new sky hook system in operation, with mid air combat in full swing. We also see a little more of the co-operative fighting style between Booker (you) and Elizabeth, and get a much closer look at some of the more mysterious inhabitants of Columbia, Songbird and the Handymen.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to take from this trailer is the fact that it was made entirely from in engine footage, meaning that if this is anything to go by we could be in for quite a treat.

There is still no confirmed release date for Infinite, but personally I am hoping that a date for 2012 will be set soon, really soon please… tomorrow would be great…

Until next time,

24

x

Irrational Games

2K Games

www.bioshockinfinate.com

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has been in full swing in California this last week, giving us gamers and the press alike some fantastic insights into some of the title pegged for 2011. There have been some quite exciting announcements this year, with previews of Super Mario Bros 3D, Dead Island and some light at the end of the tunnel for fans of the Mirrors Edge franchise.

One thing in particular pricked my ears up, and that was the fact that more information on The Darkness II has surfaced. The information that has arisen about the second part of the comic book horror have got me more than I was when the game was first announced, and what follows is what we now know.

The Darkness II takes place two years after the events of the first game; the former small time mobster Jackie Calavera is now a Mafia gang leader and he’s more badass than ever. The opening sequences of the game have been revealed as well, showing Jackie being crucified by a mysterious stranger who is intent on obtaining the power of the darkness for himself. Whilst Jackie is nailed up you can see from his perspective that his powers are being absorbed into an ancient vase. The story of how he managed to find himself in this situation is revealed through playable flashbacks. Does this mean that there will be people out to get Jackie and his powers apart from the mysterious stranger? Will this be a vital part of the game’s storyline? Whatever it may be, it sounds awesome.

It’s also worth noting at this point that the sequel is being developed by a different company than the first instalment. The Darkness was developed by Starbreeze Studios; best known for The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. The Darkness baton has now been passed to developers Digital Extremes; best known for Dark Sector and the multiplayer aspect of Bioshock 2. Will this change be for the better?

So what’s new in terms of gameplay? In the first game you could do some pretty horrific stuff with your guns, including some epic pistol whips to the faces of your enemies and instantly ending their lives with an awesome headshot or two. Well, how about the new ability to wield four guns at once? One of these new additions is the ability to pull off some tentacle execution moves, such as the Anaconda execution; one of your tentacles wraps around your foe and then bursts through their chest, as well as the Wishbone; where both your Darkness tentacles grab the legs of your enemy apart and tear them in half.

Some pretty gruesome stuff, but definitely something I am looking forward too. The Darkness II is pegged for a 2011 release, and we’ll continue to update you when new information arises.

Garv

Every time I hit video game stores like GAME or GameStation, I usually take a browse round the pre-owned section. I always stumble across one game which is always about seven quid. That game? The Darkness, and to this day I still don’t know why the game is so cheap in the pre owned section. In short, The Darkness is awesome.

It wasn’t highly acclaimed by the critics, granted, but it was heavily under-rated in my opinion. The game is based on the hit graphic novel by the publishing company Top Cow, and tells the story of Jackie and how he possesses a power called the Darkness on his twenty-first birthday. He then has to keep his power under wraps as he is thrown into the middle of a Mafia gang war. Very cool story-line which in turn gives a really creepy and dark atmosphere to the game. The game play itself was awesome; utilising darkness powers as well as traditional FPS gun play. It made for a good mixture of weapons and ways to kill people.

If you would like to see a full review of the first Darkness game, then click here.. The main reason for this post is the fact that after a few years of waiting, The Darkness II has finally been announced and my excitement has shot up ten-fold.

The Darkness II screenshot from IGN.com

Set two years after the events of the first game, the Darkness still has a hold of Jackie, and he is still battling the Mafia gang war and the fact he has to keep his supernatural power hidden. Sadly, not much has been said about the game as yet. However, it is slated for a 2011 release which has got me beaming from ear to ear.

The co creator of the Darkness comic book and founder of the comic book publishers Top Cow Productions, Marc Silvestri is pretty excited as well, he said: “Sometimes that whooshing sound you hear is that of comic fans holding their collective breath, So often disappointed when a favorite character gives birth to a lame movie or video game, us fans have come to expect the worst. And sometimes we get it. But not with The Darkness II. Yeah, call me biased, but this second installment of Jackie Estacado’s epic saga is – in my humble opinion – one of the most brutally cool games I’ve ever played.”

As soon as I know more information about this game, you will be sure as heck get it too, so stay tuned to Plus XP for the latest as we get it!

Garv

Before I dive straight into this review. I would just like to highlight that I have only played this game in single player. This game has been advertised as a co-op game as much as a single player game. But I have found that this game works damn well in single player, and here are my thoughts.

Cunningly dubbed as an RPS (Role Playing Shooter) Boarderlands, like any good game out there, throws you into the story line from the get go, there are four mercenaries, or mercs as they like to be called, on a bus they have just flown into a desolate and baron planet called Pandora to seek out something called the vault. Legend has it the Vault contains advanced alien weaponless with technology so advanced it will blow your mind, or indeed you enemies.

As the bus rolls on you get the choice to choose one of the mercs who have come along for the ride. You have the soldier named Roland, who is your classic, assault rifle and shot gun squaddy who most FPS fans are used to when playing things such as halo, duke nukem, doom, any FPS game under the sun. Then you have Lilth, the siren phase walker, If stealth and speed is your game, this is the chick you wanna be. If sniper rifles and range attacks are more your cuppa you will be be a lot happier playing as Mordecai. But if your a full on FPS guy who loves explosives and ripping people apart with your bare hands then take my advice and choose Brick.

Each of these four characters has a special skill that can be used, the soldier has a deployable turret, the siren can turn invisible and have a great increase in speed, the sniper has a friendly hawk like bird creature that will happily peck enemies eyes out and Brick, well he just goes absolutely nuts with his berserk mode and has an insane increase in melee attack and is slightly invunrable. All these skills last a limited amount of time before they conk out and have to regenerate again. This is your classic FPS gaming element, Quake had it with Quad Damage, Doom had it with Berserk packs and Nukem had it with an array of equipment top use, and for me it never gets old, there is nothing like have a short boost of power to get you out of a sticky situation.

This game does the FPS genre justice. It has the aiming system where you look down the barrel/sight, that we associate with games like Modern Warfare and FEAR. There is a huge amount of weapons to find, make and customize, kind of in the same vein as Bioshock. Hell it also has re-generating shields from the likes of Halo. Speaking of Halo, you remember how the vehicles in that game controlled? Mainly using the left stick to accelerate, reverse etc. Boarderlands uses the same set up here when it comes to it vehicles. So you can see Gear Box has taken inspiration from a lot of First Person Shooter games. I love it when a game developer does its research.

But as you are fully aware this is as much of an RPG game as it is an FPS game. As you can imagine this is a real time combat RPG. When aiming at an enemy you will get his/her/its health and shield bars and what level they are at so if you level 4 and your opponent is level 12. Run away. You are given experience for each kill, each mission you complete and for each of the huge ammo boxes that are hidden and scattered across Pandora. With each level up you gain skill points which you can assign to a skill tree. This skill tree is linked to both your characters special skill and your character his/her self. So if you play the game with the Soldier Roland, such as I did you will get a skill tree linked to you and the scorpion turret. With skill points going towards things like your health and ammo capacity, to your scorpion turrets power and regeneration time. You can also acquire skills that enable your turret to regenerate the players health and shield. So you really can have a good play with what skills you want to assign and how you want your character to grow. You can also customise your character to a curtain extent, by changing his/her colour and name. Its a nice little touch and can be done at any time but as you can probably gather, you can’t customise every aspect of their appearance like you can with say Fallout 3. But you can’t have everything.

Graphically this game takes the cell shaded approach to its visuals. In one word it looks fantastic. It is very stylised and some what refreshing to see the FPS point of view taking on that graphical style. Sure XIII did it back on the original Xbox, but to see a game of this generation do it is nice to see. There is a lot of detail in this game visuals, and really reminds me of the drawing style that graphic novels such as Spawn and The Darkness use. You get bugs and glitches every now and then in this game, but I have come to realise that huge games such as this and fallout. Your not going to get every single bug and glitch out of there because quite frankly, it is just to big.

I never though I would see the day that and FPS and an RPG would get on so well and produce a game such as this. I tried to come up with an FPS, RPG idea in my game design module back in uni and miserably faild. So thanks Gear Box and 2K, This is awesome!

Garv.