The folks at 2K games have been very, very excited for The Darkness. They were all over us to take a look at it at E3, and it seems like I get a new press release for it every day. “Hey guys, can I get some Bioshock press releases? No? The Darkness… well… ok.”
Here’s their newest, copy-pasted right out of my inbox. “2K Games announced today that The Darkness™ II, for all previously announced video game consoles and PC, is now planned for release on February 7, 2012 in North America and February 10, 2012 internationally. Currently in development with Digital Extremes and based on the supernatural horror comic book series created by Top Cow Productions, Inc., The Darkness II delivers a brutal and personal narrative as gamers 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.
Additionally, 2K Games announced their presence at San Diego Comic-Con and will co-host a special panel featuring The Darkness II™entitled “Spreading The Darkness: From Comic Book to Video Games and Entertainment,” in celebration of the 15th Anniversary of The Darkness. The discussion around The Darkness II will feature top talent from Top Cow Productions, including CEO and co-creator of The Darkness, Marc Silvestri, and President and COO of Top Cow, Matt Hawkins; developers from Digital Extremes; and in-game voice of the Darkness, Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Peeping Tom). The panel will take place on Thursday, July 21, 2011, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. PDT in Room 9 within the San Diego Comic-Con convention center.
2K Games will also have eight playable demo kiosks of The Darkness II in the Top Cow booth (#2629) on the San Diego Comic-Con show floor for fans to descend into the gritty and visceral mind of Jackie Estacado.”
So, why the push back into 2012 from the October release? Well, I think the above sums it up nicely, the fact that I’d rather copy/paste than type up a new article for this release. Darkness II looked like a fine game but, well, I just can’t get real excited for it. I’m not sure why, but it has a hard time discerning itself from the flood of mystical, gothic, FPS games out in the world.
With the October-December release slate being as crowded as it is, someone had to acquiesce. Darkness bowed to the superior releases, and slid a few months back in line. Honestly, this will probably help the game out tremendously. Plenty of solid B-List releases get lost amid the flood of CoD and GTA level titles around the holidays, best for them to come out during off-peak, and maybe find some appreciative gamers out there.
If you’re in San Diego this weekend, give ‘er a try.
