The gothic horror story in 2007's The Darkness is about to continue in the upcoming and appropriately titled The Darkness II for the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, and PC. Publisher 2K Games sent over this launch trailer which shows protagonist Jackie Estacado wielding the dark supernatural force known as (again, appropriately enough) The Darkness against those who would harm him. I missed out on the original game and have never heard of the comic on which it's based, so now I'm playing catch-up regarding the events of that title and trying to find out what has led us to the events of the sequel. Wikipedia offers a concise summation of the story so far. Here's enough to get you started without thoroughly spoiling things:
The player takes the role of Jackie Estacado, with the story presented as a future-narrative on the present events observed by the player. On the eve of his 21st birthday, Jackie was targeted for assassination by the don of the New York mafia, "Uncle" Paulie Franchetti. While hiding in a cemetery bathroom, The Darkness, an ancient force that has inhabited his family for several generations, awakens within Jackie and slaughters the remaining mobsters, with the benefit of Jackie becoming the possessor of seemingly unholy demonic abilities that feed off the dark. Using these powers, Jackie is able to survive further assassination attempts and track down Paulie, but not before Paulie and the corrupt police chief, Eddie Shrote, kidnap Jackie's girlfriend, Jenny Ramano (voiced by Lauren Ambrose). They take her to the orphanage where Jackie and Jenny grew up, and then they murder her and escape while Jackie is unable to stop them or save Jenny due to The Darkness deliberately restraining him, forcing him to watch her die.
He commits suicide out of sheer emotional stress. He finds himself in the Otherworld, the realm of The Darkness with patchwork undead beings in World War I outfits fighting each other, and physical manifestations of The Four Horsemen.
Quite dark, yes? This seems to skew a bit darker than I typically enjoy, but it does seem interesting. Here's hoping that developer Digital Extremes can keep things moving and deliver a fitting continuation. Those who would rather play the first game before embarking on the second and cannot find a used copy out there somewhere should watch for it on Xbox Live Marketplace in the near future. Those who are up to speed on things or would rather just jump into the sequel can check out the demo now available for Xbox 360 and PS3. The Darkness II hits stores on February 7, 2012.
