RipTen Videogame Blog » digital-extremes

Darkness II Trailer Shows Off Sweet Executions

Justin Carter — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:30:03 +0000

A lot of games these days have some incredibly gory executions. Whether it’s snapping someone’s neck with a shotgun in Gears of War 3 or ripping off a god’s head in God of War III, executions have become the norm. The Darkness II is quickly earning a spot in that category with some awesome, cel-shaded executions. Check the trailer below to see what the Darkness can do to a guy who pisses you off. Yikes.

The Darkness II slashes necks on February 7 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. If you can’t wait another week, go on and download the demo. It’s awesome.

Darkness II Demo Available on Platforms Next Week

Justin Carter — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:35:12 +0000

If you’re excited for Darkness II, you’ll be happy to hear that the game’s demo is incoming. If you’re an Xbox Live Gold member, you’ll be able to download the game’s demo next Tuesday the 17. The following Tuesday, the demo will be available for Silver members, along with Steam and PSN users. Wednesday the 25, it’ll be released on the European, Asia, and Pacific PSN stores.

Darkness II creeps into stores February 7 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Check out our most recent hands-on to see what you can expect from the game.

via Game Informer

The Darkness II Has Co-Op and It’s Awesome (Hands On)

Dave Oshry — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:00:54 +0000

Guess what? They’re co-op modes in The Darkness II. Guess what else? I’ve played them and they’re fun as hell.

Let’s get right to it. It’s called Vendettas and if you’ve played any sort of Call of Duty Spec Ops you’ll feel right at home here.

Except this isn’t quite like CoD Spec Ops. Not only do you get to play as one of four very distinct and crazy characters with very distinct and crazy weapons, but each of these characters has their own backstory and they all tie into the main plot of The Darkness II. Thus making vendettas infinitely cooler than Spec Ops. It also supports up to four players. Word.

Before we go any further, check out this trailer to get a better idea of what I’m talking about:

Yes, I quite enjoyed that too.

Now let’s run down the cast courtesy of 2K, shall we?

First up:

Inugami (The Samurai)

Inugami is a very dark character, mentally unstable and driven only by his need for revenge. He names himself after a dog god of Japan that legends say was created from extreme suffering, trained to exact revenge upon the enemies of its master.

Inugami has the power of Swarm. His Swarm power resembles an attack of miniature Yokai demons of all kinds.

He wields Kusanagi – a mystical weapon that was said to have destructive properties. Historical documents dating from the 7^th Century tell of how the Emperor Temmu fell ill as a result of wielding the sword, and how Kusanagi was then removed and placed in a shrine. But even at that time, Kusanagi was already hundreds of years old. Its origins remain unknown.

Here’s my take: Inugami is the stereotypical Samurai Warrior. Silent but deadly and very skilled. Kusunagi controls like one of Jackie’s demon arms, meaning that you can swing the sword around with the thumbstick in any direction you choose while you spray bullets with whatever’s in your other hand.

Each character has brutal execution move that can be used on a stunned or nearly dead opponent. Inugami’s excution is a rather satisfying disemboweling. He pairs well with just about any other character, preferably a ranged character since he will have to get up close and personal to use Kusunagi.

Next we have:

Shoshanna (The Hebrew Hammer)

Shoshanna is an ultra-efficient agent for Mossad, a woman with the highest degree of training. She is highly unimaginative and utterly receptive to the orders of her superiors with the agency. She does not question her mission, nor does she question the existence of the magic she sees all around her. This makes her the perfect operative in New York.

Shoshanna wields the Arm of the Night, a powerful weapon fused with Dark essence. It’s been in her family for over 75 years, though everyone who has carried it before hasn’t lived to see their 30^th birthday. However, for her, the legacy of hunting and destroying evil wherever it hides in the world is worth the price.

She possesses the power of Gun Channeling. Interestingly, the Darkness has become entranced with technology – it knows that the newest weapons are capable of more efficient death and destruction.

Here’s my take: Shoshanna is a ranged character who works best if you fight with reckless abandon. I’ve spent some time with the IDF and I’ve known many a Shoshanna in my day but I’ve never met one as badass as this. Her Arm of the Night is a sawed off shotgun that actually feels quite similar to an 1887 in Modern Warfare 2. And yes, by that I mean it is uber powerful and has far too much range.

Your gameplay with Shoshanna will consist mostly of using an Uzi in one hand then using your Arm of the Night to finish enemies off with the other. You’ll literally hear all sorts of click click boom. As a ranged character who can make her firearms extra powerful via gun channeling, she pairs well with almost any other character. Her execution move involves shooting an enemy in the groin then shoving her shotgun down their throat and blowing their brains out. I want to marry her.

Next up is:

The Darkness II Limited Edition Pre-Order Bonuses Detailed

Dave Oshry — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:10:44 +0000

2K has just announced the pre-order bonuses for the Limited Edition of The Darkness II which you can get free by pre-ordering!!

From now until the title’s launch, gamers who pre-order The Darkness II will receive a free upgrade to the Limited Edition while supplies last. Launching on February 7, 2012 in North America and February 10, 2012 internationally, The Darkness II delivers a brutal and personal narrative as players take control of Jackie Estacado, head of a New York crime family and wielder of an ancient and ruthless force of chaos and destruction known as the Darkness.

The Darkness II Limited Edition includes:

Alternate darkling outfit: “Crazy Abdul”
Two character ability upgrades:
- Gourmet Hearts: provides bonus for eating hearts
- Relic Hunter: locates collectible items in the world
Custom illustration by Marc Silvestri
Free digital download of The Darkness Origins Volume 1 and Volume 2 comics

Sounds cool, but what does it look like?!

For more on the Darkness II check out the latest trailer as well as our interviews with Digital Extremes and Darkness creator Marc Silvestri

New Darkness II Trailer Shows Off Quad Wielding Combat

Dave Oshry — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:00:29 +0000

The last trailer we showed you for The Darkness II was all about the story.

Well, this ain’t no walk in the park made up of flashbacks, it also features intense combat wherein you use up to four weapons at once. Simultaneously fire two guns while ripping the world apart with your demon arms, Jackie – 2K calls it, “Quad Wielding”

For more on The Darkness II be sure to check out our interviews with Digital Extremes as well as Darkness creator Marc Silvestri.

What is The Darkness? This New Trailer for ‘The Darkness II’ Helps Explain

Dave Oshry — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:14:35 +0000

You don’t own the Darkness, the Darkness owns you.

In this latest trailer for The Darkness II we gain a bit of insight into just what The Darkness is and who is its host, Jackie Estacado.

Jackie may not own The Darkness, but you can own The Darkness II on February 7th, 2012.

For more on The Darkness II check out our video interview with Digital Extremes as well as Darkness creator Marc Silvestri

The Darkness II Pushed Back to 2012

Dave Oshry — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:45:41 +0000

Ey oh, what gives Estacado, where the fuck you think you’re goin?! You son of a bitch! Get the fuck back here!

Sigh, yes… The Darkness II has been pushed back to 2012. February 7th, 2012 to be exact.

The team behind The Darkness will be at San Diego Comic Con this week, I’ll be sure to ask them just what the fuck is going on.

In the meantime, check out our latest interview with Darkness creator Marc Silvestri.

Paramount Digital Entertainment Revealing ‘Star Trek’ at E3

Stephanie Gutowski — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 08:22:59 +0000

Digital Extremes, the developer behind Bioshock 2 and Unreal Tournament, is currently developing the next Stark Trek game for Xbox 360, Playstation3, and PC. Simply titled, “Star Trek”, this installment will pick up where the J.J. Abrams 2009 movie left off and deliver an “unprecedented co-op experience.” For the first time in the history of all Star Trek games, players will assume the roles of James T. Kirk and Spock. Finally, fans will have the opportunity to re-enact scenes from their favorite fanfiction.

The game will feature a standalone story from Marianne Krawczyk, the award winning writer behind God of War. Krawcyzk worked closely with writers from the Trek-verse, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Kirk and Spock are up against a supposedly legendary, yet-to-be-named race (coughborgcough), bent on conquering the galaxy.

“Star Trek challenges the boundaries of co-op gameplay with a galactic adventure that gamers and fans have never experienced…Working closely with the Star Trek filmmaking team throughout development, the game is sure to deliver AAA production values, a wide variety of gameplay and all the action you would expect from the hit franchise. This will be the definitive Star Trek gaming experience.” -Tom Lesinski, President of Paramount Digital Entertainment.

Paramount will be offering first looks at Star Trek during E3. Those of you unable to attend will just have to wait until 2012 to get your hands on this game.

Marc Silvestri Plays The Darkness II, Calls It “Insane” and “Bad Ass”

Dave Oshry — Mon, 09 May 2011 23:23:41 +0000

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Marc Silvestri is one bad motherfucker. In fact, standing damn near seven feet tall, he’s one BIG bad motherfucker. Back in 2007, RipTen first interviewed this renowned illustrator and creator of The Darkness prior to the release of the original game inspired by his work.

Now, four years later, we’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with the CEO of Top Cow Productions once again – this time right after he’d gotten his hands on The Darkness II for the very first time.

Better yet, we brought in 2K Games producer Seth Olshfski to talk with Marc as he gave us his impressions.

Seth’s reactions are priceless and you can tell that both he and Marc are extremely proud of what has been created with The Darkness II:

The Darkness II comes to life on October 4th. Can you handle the bad ass insanity?

RipTen Review: Homefront (PC)

Gavin Bard — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:42:20 +0000

War. War never changes- but only because it doesn’t need to in order to sell 14 million units.

I pen this journal on scraps of paper in my ~~parent’s basement~~ reinforced bunker, far underground. The bombs from battles above shake dust loose from the floorboards and give the entire room a dull brown haze. The pallet is quite familiar to me, as I’ve seen it dozens of times over the last few years.

This is because we are at war.

No, I’m not talking about the war the wealthy in America have successfully waged against the other 80% of the country, or the war the current iteration of the Republican party has waged against minorities, women, free speech, common sense, and decency. I’m talking about the war fought between gamers who want more from the first person shooter genre and the majority who are perfectly fine with the status quo. For those who want more, it is an uphill struggle against the shortcomings of game journalism, the de facto 7 to 10 scoring system, and even the majority of consumers who have come into the hobby during its current boom.

It’s a bleak world, a scary one. One where everything is a clone of Call of Duty, even when it isn’t. Where common talking points permeate game reviews deeper than memes permeate certain alphabetical image boards (“I herd u lyke mentioning the phrase AAA Title as often as possible all of a sudden”) and where the same opinions seem to breed and spread across websites faster than the Quiverfull movement through the red states. A terrible, destroyed landscape where nothing is good enough unless its got the advertising budget for it, and where arbitrary and nonrepresentational scores assigned by websites-that-will-remain-nameless have the power to make kings and tank stocks. A war-torn world where we’ve come to accept that the content of a review doesn’t equal its numerical value, and that anything between 70 and 80 may as well be a zero. A world made in shades of brown and browner where mediocrity is rewarded by people with huge sales and critical acclaim all while those same people complain that nothing is challenging or original anymore.

I fear nothing can save us from this plight.

November 5, 2007

The first volley of this horrible war seemed so mild. That is how these things always start. Modern war is very rarely an instant thing, it is something that happens slowly. It’s ugliness creeping into the crevices of a culture like tentacles into an animated Japanese school girl, until one day you look up and realize everything has changed without you even noticing. The color has drained from the world, your friends and neighbors have fallen lockstep behind something you don’t agree with, and all because the ugliness around you has become the considered norm. If we only knew then what we know now…

February 25, 2008

I have begun to stock up on copies of Half-Life 2 in the event of a FPS apocalypse.

Many of my colleagues begin to fall sick, infected by the illness of the 7-10 system of scoring games. Bad games get 7s because the numbers below them have stopped existing, eliminated in an attempt to minimize damage to publisher relationships everywhere and save publications the wrath of overly opinionated internet denizens. Games that actually deserve it get 7s and people decide not to play them because they have become so conditioned to it being a bad score. The amount of enjoyment lost to gamers because of the inherent weakness of the numerical scoring system is almost enough to make me weep, if I wasn’t too tough and manly to cry.

Worse yet is how an interesting story has been relegated to afterthought status. Campaign has become nothing more than a hollow minigame for those times when the internet isn’t working right and you can’t connect to the servers. I begin to hope that some company somewhere would realize the error of these ways and learn from their mistakes. It is my hope that someday, maybe a little over three years after their last game, a company would realize that story substance is even more important than graphical style and create something that is truly remarkable. Something that develops intelligently and emotionally, all while still offering strong gameplay. If this hypothetical company could create a hypothetical game that does that, I probably wouldn’t even care if it was only around six or seven hours long either. Hypothetically, of course, since I am writing this entry in 2008 and have no knowledge of the future.

The Sickest Game I Saw At The GDC Will Be Playable at PAX East!!

Dave Oshry — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:40:13 +0000

First of all, yes – I’m talking about The Darkness II. Sure, I just got done telling you all about my hands-off, eyes-on demo at the GDC, but I’ve already got even better news.

The Darkness II will be PLAYABLE at PAX East!!

Here’s what 2K had to say:

Due to the tremendous response from GDC last week, The Darkness II will now be hands-on playable at PAX East on the show floor, for the first time worldwide!

So pack your bags, get your ass to Boston this weekend, and find the 2K booth.

I recommend getting there early, you don’t want to get caught in a 5 hour line like those Duke Nukem players at PAX prime last year.

The Darkness II: If You Can Think It, You Can Do It

Dave Oshry — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:31:12 +0000

It goes without saying, even though I’m about to say it, that The Darkness II was my favorite game at the GDC… and I didn’t even get to play it.

Why does that go without saying? Because I’ve been telling everybody. I cannot believe how mind blowingly viscerally awesome this game looks. As a huge fan of both The Darkness comics and the original game (and the band), I am proud to say that Jackie Estacado is back – and better than ever.

There was so much win involved in the demo I saw at the GDC. Such a great art style, such great carnage, such great dialogue, such great storytelling… and even some great tits. As I watched Jackie once again transform into a beast controlled by The Darkness and decimate dirtbags in amazing new ways (thanks to the new and improved quad-wielding combat system) I was in awe.

Everything I ever wanted to do in the first game, was being done on screen. Anything I thought Jackie might be able to do, he did! Picking up weapons from across a room with demon arms? Check. Using demon arms to pick up objects and hurl them at bad guys? Check. Ripping off a car door with your demon arm and using it as a shield? Well, I’d never even thought of that… but yeah, Check. Better yet, you can now start firing two separate weapons while simultaneously slashing and grabbing your foes with those nasty, gnarly demonic arms of yours. It was all there. It all looked so seamless and easy. If you felt like a bad ass in the first game, your’re gonna feel like a mother fuckin’ god damned one man army in this game… because you are.

After the demo I just had to sit down to talk with someone about all the awesome I had just witnessed.

Luckily, Darkness II project director Sheldon Carter (from Digital Extremes) was on hand for an interview:

So, The Darkness II looks as if it’s definitely shaping up to be one hell of a sequel. You can bet that with guys like Sheldon on board to make sure that players get an amazingly brutal, visceral, creative and bad ass experience, I have no doubt that this game will certainly not be the last we see of Jackie Estacado and The Darkness.

The Darkness II is Alive and It’s Coming This Fall

Dave Oshry — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:04:11 +0000

If you thought Jackie Estacado was gone for good – think again. 2K Games has just announced that The Darkness II is alive and well, and it’s coming this fall.

The game is being developed by Digital Extremes and will feature simultaneous use of your demon powers while being able to use weapons – something you could not do in the first game. They’re calling this “quad-wielding” TD2 is also said to feature a hand painted art style – but judging by this screenshot it looks pretty much like an updated version of the original game – which is fine by me:

According to the press release:

The Darkness II breaks out of the sea of conventional first-person shooters with its fervid Quad-Wielding gameplay, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons. The game is layered with the use of dark versus light, steeped in deep and twisted storytelling, and engulfed in stylistic violence that is visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir technique that stays true to its comic book origins.

The Darkness II will also feature award-winning comic book writer, Paul Jenkins, who will provide a tightly integrated narrative that weaves dark humor with hardcore tenderness.

There’s also a bit about the story:

It’s been two years since Jackie Estacado, now the Don of the Franchetti crime family, used The Darkness to kill the men responsible for his girlfriend’s murder. He’s been unable to shake the memory of Jenny’s death since bottling up his supernatural power, and now The Darkness wants out. A sudden, unprovoked attack on Jackie’s life heralds the start of a full-scale mob war, which has clearly been orchestrated by some outside force. The botched attempt opens the door for The Darkness to reemerge, and sets Jackie on a journey to hell and worse, as he unravels the mystery behind the attack and the motivations of The Darkness itself.

So Jackie in the Don now? Interesting. Don Estacado. That’s got a nice ring to it.

The Co-Creator of The Darkness comics is apparently quite impressed with what he’s seen of the game already:

“Sometimes that whooshing sound you hear is that of comic fans holding their collective breath,” said Marc Silvestri, founder and CEO of Top Cow Productions and co-creator of The Darkness comics. “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. 2K Games hammered this one out of the park.”

There’s also a website (with nothing on it) – www.embracethedarkness.com

So, there you have it – The Darkness is back and I for one could not be happier. Jackie Estacado is going to make those mob bastards pay for shooting up his ride. Wait . . . wrong 2K reboot :-p

London, Ontario Thinks It’s Aboot Time They Build a Game-Based Technology Centre

David Oxford — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:52:13 +0000

Yes, “centre,” because that’s how they do things up here.

It is the goal of the Canadian city of London, Ontario to create a new technology centre which uses video games to do more than simply entertain, but educate. “A video game is a virtual world created to entertain us. There’s no reason we can’t use the same technology to answer scientific or medical questions or create interactive classrooms,” said Michael Katchabaw, a computer science professor from the University of Western Ontario.

Katchabaw goes on to note the potential applications, such as providing a realistic but risk-free environment in which fire fighters can train, such as learning to “handle hazardous materials using the HazMat Hotzone program set in a virtual version of a New York subway,” or allow history students to walk through a simulated medieval village (though no mention of whether or not they would get credit for initiating a “Leroy Jenkins” charge).

Michael Schmalz, the president of the London-based game developer Digital Extremes, notes that there is a “huge opportunity” to recycle the technology found in video games:

“You can make a game for $15 million and 40% of that will be pure R&D. It will be cutting edge technology with wide applications but it gets shelved because all we do is video games,” said Schmalz, whose company has created games such as Dark Sector and the multi-player version of BioShock II.

Schmalz notes that the “competitive realities” of the video game industry can make sharing such ideas difficult, since companies tend to work in secret on their projects until the time of a game’s release nears. However, he adds that this kind of centre of excellence could possibly bring together academics and video game companies in such a way that the technology is commercialized to other companies and industries.

So far, the bid has been backed by the city council with a $5 million commitment. The project is also being supported by local video game companies, Fanshawe College, and Western, while the city has applied to Industry Canada for additional assistance.

Of further note, the London Free Press points out that while the city has a “growing cluster” of video game firms, its presence is still “dwarfed” by those in other Canadian cities, particularly Montreal and Vancouver.

Source: London Free Press (via GamePolitics)

Image: GamerCreated.com

“PS3 Version Was Not Running As Well” – Dark Sector Almost Canned?

Dan Landis — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:06:11 +0000

Josh Austin, Producer for Digital Extremes’ Dark Sector, conveyed to us that the team struggled initially with developing the title for the PS3, so much so that they had “serious” conversations about what to do next . Was Dark Sector close to being scrapped? Read on to see his exact words.

“So, yeah, this is the PS3 version, umm… it looks just as good as the 360 version, which we’re very happy about. Towards the end we started having some serious conversations about what we were gonna do, uh, but we ended up pulling it off, so we’re very proud of that.”

I asked for clarification on what that meant, and he replied simply “It was just not running as well as the 360″. We continued the conversation about these problems, only we went off the record so I won’t discuss it further.

Just be happy knowing that you have more ammunition in the flame wars. Hooray! PS3 owners should also feel comforted knowing that some smart dudes got the game running on PS3′s superior hardware. Feel free to argue about it in the comments section.

Update: D3′s PR got in touch with me this afternoon and explained to me that Dark Sector was never officially “almost canned” for the PS3. My apologies to Josh if anything he said was taken out of context.

Seacrest out.

Hands-On with Dark Sector Multiplayer (Bonus Official Screenshot Gallery!)

Dan Landis — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:08:22 +0000

During GDC, the Ripten crew was privy to an exclusive invite-only shindig presented by the good people at D3Publishing. What did we do? Well, we sat down in front of some system-linked Xbox 360s and proceeded to tear the shit out of each other in a few rounds of Digital Extremes’ new game, Dark Sector.

Steve Sinclair, Project Lead for the game, ran through a bit of the single player with us first. He showed us what is essentially the tutorial, the events leading up to Hayden (Dark Sector’s main character) getting infected with awesomeness, and then skipped around to later levels to show us some upgraded bad-assery.

As you probably know by this point, Dark Sector is synonymous with “giant throwing star thingy that looks like it’s from Krull” — a reference to Hayden’s main weapon, the glaive. Later in the game, you can enter a bullet-time-like mode where the glaive flies through the air in slow motion and you get to steer it around like a UFO.

You can use this time to appropriately slice and dice your enemies, literally. Body parts are sent airborne in the process with a playful amount of gooey redness, just enough to make Jack Thompson weep for the children. Josh Austin, the game’s producer (and the guy holding the controller), said there is even an achievement for cutting off two heads in one throw! Slightly more understandable now as to why it’s banned in Australia, eh?

So after our appetites are adequately whetted (with the thirst for blood, no doubt), we are handed controllers and sent off to kill each other.

The game controls much as you would expect a third-person, over-the-shoulder shooter to control. It does feel slightly slower than, say, Gears of War, as if the character is a little floaty. Maybe I was just used to playing other games, but it didn’t matter — I got used to it in 5-10 minutes.

There were two multiplayer modes available: Infection and Epidemic. Infection pits one buffed-up Hayden character against a group of normals — regular old hazmat-suited soldiers. Whoever takes down Hayden becomes him in the next round. Epidemic is team-based, with one Hayden on each side. He serves as the team’s VIP — protect your Hayden while trying to kill the other team’s Hayden.

Both game types are fairly straightforward, but they offer something most other multiplayer games don’t: bots! Both game types can house up to 10 players, but if you don’t have (or want) enough actual people to play with you, you can fill out the remaining slots with AI-controlled fodder. This is a great feature, something I never understood why it wasn’t implemented in more games.

I was Hayden in the first round of Infection, and I got two kills before being gang-banged. After that it turned into an every-man-for-himself type of deal because everyone wanted to be Hayden. There was very little team play, but I think that’s just because everyone I was playing with was a selfish bunch of dicks. Then again, where’s the motivation to team up and take this guy down if your best bud becomes your enemy? It really is just an exercise in kill-stealing, but it was fun.

In Epidemic, my team was slaughtered repeatedly until I got my turn as Hayden. Once that happened, we won 5 rounds in a row before I was dethroned by a backstabbing insta-kill (sneaky bastards!). Steve showed me where to get a freeze power-up for my glaive, which I then used to “ice” one of my opponents. Ha, see what I did there with the words and stuff? Needless to say, Epidemic was the favored of the two modes.

Overall, the game looked fantastic and felt pretty solid. Steve and Josh both stressed that the single-player game will be constantly evolving, giving you more powers and more things to do. “Never stop learning,” they say. That’s what keeps people interested and driven forward. As for the multiplayer, it will ship with just the two modes, but more are being considered.

Dark Sector is scheduled for a March 25 release on the PS3 and Xbox 360, and I’m itching to play it again.

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