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• Reviewed on: Xbox 360 (viewed on an HP PL4200N 42-inch Plasma Television in 720p mode)
• Also available for: PlayStation3 (where it looks just a tiny smidgeon prettier)
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• The Good: The paranormal powers we get to wield are both original and fun, and the world, with its gorgeously grimy visual design and fascinating underworld characters, is a dark delight waiting to be explored
• The Bad: The tacked-on multiplayer mode is either unfinished or just plain bad (my money's on the latter)
• The Verdict: Demonically possessed mobsters done right
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Thank goodness The Darkness, a cult goth/mafia comic from publisher Top Cow, was given the videogame treatment instead of being turned into another silly comic book inspired movie.

As a film—one was rumoured to be in the works a few years back—the story of a young mobster who frequently grows demonic, heart-munching tentacles from his shoulder blades likely would have come off as just another goofy, geeky, highly unbelievable bit of pseudo-entertainment destined to join comic-to-movie misfires like Spawn and Ghost Rider.

But as a game—a medium that more often than not plays host to the weird and inexplicable—it's a mature and compelling interactive experience with a darkly beautiful visual design, terrific acting, and an engaging story that grabbed me and never let go, from its stunningly cinematic opening car chase through to its gloomy, bloody, inevitable conclusion.

The devil mad me do it

The possession of Jackie Estacado by an entity known simply as the Darkness occurs without much in the way of an explanation.

Whenever our young hood perishes the screen flashes hellish images before the player's eyes to the tune of a devilish voice that growls its disapproval with and refusal to accept Jackie's death. Oddly, Jackie never says anything about these unexpected resurrections. In fact it's not until a good hour into the game that he officially acknowledges the Darkness' presence, apparently unable to ignore the snake-like tendrils with glowing eyes and big, pointy teeth that suddenly shoot out from his back to slay a group of goons intent on perforating him. But even then he doesn't dwell much on the origins of his strange new demonic powers.

And to be fair, neither did I. Once the Darkness showed up I was too busy exploring the demon's wicked abilities to question how or why it was there.

I called upon the creature to summon naughty little goblin-like darklings to rise from the ground and do my bidding. They hunted down distant baddies, pushed obstacles out of the way, and mowed down scores of villains with massive chain guns that weighed more than they did (one gunner darkling actually managed to stop a subway train dead in its tracks with an immense hail of lead).

Other Darkness perks include the ability to call forth a vortex that sucks up enemies, a scout-like tentacle that can solve simple puzzles (like wiggling through small windows to unlock doors), and a lengthy whip-like member that bludgeons and sometimes impales individual adversaries.

But the most common—and gruesome—thing I did with Jackie's demonic appendages was eat the hearts of fallen foes. A simple tap of the A-button would send my right tentacle down and into the chest of any nearby dead criminal to lunch on his pumper, thereby growing the power of the Darkness. (It's worth noting that the Darkness usually refuses to appear around innocents, and it cannot eat their hearts to gain strength. It seems developer Starbreeze possesses that rarest of things in the world of mature videogames: restraint.)

Grimy never looked so good

The combination of slinging guns and wielding demonic powers makes for plenty of frenetic and original action, but it's the presentation that ties everything together and makes The Darkness an unforgettable game.

New York's grubby streets are absolutely convincing, and more than a little scary under the cover of nightfall. The attention to detail—including realistic public signage in all the right places and unique shadows created by the structural frames of sconces and light standards—is nearly unparalleled.

The dank and dirty subways I used to get around were even more authentic—and dirty—than the roads and alleys above; I felt like washing my hands whenever Jackie opened a station bathroom door or made his way through filthy, abandoned tunnels.

Led by the talented Kirk Acevedo (a veteran television performer whose credits include Law & Order, Oz, and The Black Donnellys) who sounds amazingly like Robert DeNiro, the cast delivers their well scribed lines with a sincerity and gusto typically absent from games. After listening to Jackie's cool, crackling monologue as he threatens a would-be tough guy bullying a busker—the words and phrasing he uses wouldn't have been out of place coming out of Tony Soprano's mouth—I vowed never to skip the game's plot-driving movies.

In fact much of the satisfaction derived from The Darkness can be found in these little scenes. Whether it's Jackie donating cash to a group of break dancers to watch them bust a move or cleverly talking his way into a hive of hit men who are itching to pull the trigger on him, it almost always pays to take the time to pay attention to the story—and explore any non-linear avenues of action possible within it.

An example: when Jackie visits his girlfriend Jenny in her new apartment, you can either have him say a few words and beat it out of there to slay more turncoat gangsters, or spend a few relaxing minutes on the couch watching the tube with her. I suggest the latter. Not only will you get to hear some surprisingly genuine and affectionate dialogue — nothing dirty, just good casual talk between intimate friends — but when Jenny eventually puts her head on Jackie's shoulder and falls asleep you'll be awarded 10 Xbox Live Achievement points (that's accomplishment points for PS3 players) for being a romantic.

Multiplayer? Fuggedaboudit

The only thing dragging down this superlative title is multiplayer. It takes just one weak link to spell doom for online play in any game, but The Darkness has five: bad maps, boring weapons, little strategy, no original modes, and sometimes nasty lag. After so thoroughly enjoying the single-player portion of the game I was shocked and dismayed to be bogged down in an online quagmire.

My recommendation is to simply avoid multiplayer altogether; its existence is a detriment to the rest of the experience. Had The Darkness shipped with only the story mode I'd have walked away with nothing but warm fuzzies, but after spending a couple of hours online I'm left with a bittersweet aftertaste. As I say, just steer clear of it.

Make games, not movies

So let this be a lesson to the big entertainment corporations of the world: no more Ultraviolets or Punishers or Tank Girls. If you want to take a semi-obscure comic off the page and put it on the screen, make it the small screen—and be certain your audience members have controllers in their hands.

It boils down to the simple fact that, most of the time, comics and games are a better fit than comics and movies. I mean no disrespect to the bizarre creativity behind many comics (you're reading the words of one of the original fans of the Flaming Carrot, a comic protagonist with a burning vegetable for a head); I'm simply pointing out that the peculiar originality of many underground graphic novels is more at home in the necessarily contrived world of videogames—and perhaps more likely to be readily accepted by the kind of people who play them.

The proof is in the pudding. The Darkness will almost certainly be crowned both a financial and critical success for 2K, the studio that published it. How many movie studios can claim the same of their films based on underground comics?