It's been a bad day for Jackie Estacado. He's been shot at, blown up, betrayed and murdered. Oh, and he just happened to have inherited a demonic presence that kills indiscriminately. And all on his 21st birthday, too!

So begins The Darkness, Starbreeze Studios' horror FPS with a twist - you are the horror! Infused with the terrible power of The Darkness, a malevolent force intent on controlling your actions and devouring your soul, you must seek revenge on those who have wronged you whilst simultaneously finding a way to control the immense powers of The Darkness. Although based on the comic book of the same name, the game does not require you to have read any of the comics, yet fans will immediately recognise key characters and locations.

From the outset the game is relentless - the opening car chase is reminiscent of a certain train ride, but with more bad language, explosions and mafia hitmen than Freeman could ever shake a crowbar at. Your mission is made clear through some rather good voice acting from Estacado's two colleagues. The lack of a HUD makes the game feel like a Hollywood action movie, although with bullets flying around you, near-death experiences with oncoming traffic and gun-toting builders, it would have to be a Schwarzenegger movie…

Following a lengthy shoot-out in a construction site, Estacado is forced to go on the run, at which point he inherits his dreadful power, and the game's 18 rating justifies itself. As a mafia hitman, Estacado has some pretty nasty methods of despatching his foes, including kneecapping them, shooting them in the throat, or peppering them with bullets. These execution moves are all performed with a simple button press, and are chosen at random, but the shortage of different moves quickly limits their appeal. The Darkness itself can be used to 'stealth kill' foes by tearing off an enemy's face before devouring his heart. Nice!

The inclusion of these stealth mechanics play very little part in the game's traditional run-and-gun formula however, and very often get overlooked in favour of long range shootouts. The weapon selection includes shotguns, pistols and machine guns and each can be used to good effect, but the small range of weaponry is a negative. The ability to fire both weapons independently is a nice touch though and makes gunfights seem that bit more intense somehow. In true action movie style, Estacado does not collect ammunition; he prefers to collect weapons. This makes reloading fast; he drops one gun and swaps it for one from his collection.

It is The Darkness itself that offers the greatest selection of death-dealing attacks, however. To begin with, it can only use the aforementioned stealth attacks, but by devouring the hearts of dead people it gains new attacks, such as a demonic arm that can impale enemies and lift heavy objects. Perhaps the coolest ability is the one that lets you open up a black hole in a room, which sucks enemies and objects into it before blasting them outwards like rag dolls. The Darkness also acts as a shield to absorb bullets and protect you, which makes it seem less like a gimmick and more like a necessary part of the game. Additionally, The Darkness can be used to summon Darklings, small demons that jump out of hell to do your bidding. Initially only one type of Darkling can be called forth, which attacks enemies with knives or its sharpened claws, but throughout the game three more flavours are discovered - one equipped with a minigun, one that destroys lights with an electrical generator, and my personal favourite, a tiny critter strapped to an explosive detonator that explodes itself and anybody too close to it. The antics of these Darklings are a constant source of amusement and their numerous quips provide comic relief throughout the game.

As its name might suggest, The Darkness is not too fond of brightly lit areas (light physically burns it and you can actually hear it cooking), so a lot of thought is needed throughout the game as to which power to use and when. Certain powers will drain most or all of the darkness absorbed by it and you must shoot out lights to create shadows where it can replenish its nightly nutrients. Enemies soon realise that the light is bad for you and use it in abundance, making your job that much harder.

Running throughout The Darkness are two storylines, both distinctly different. The first follows Jackie's attempt to gain revenge on his wrongdoers and the second follows his quest to tame the Darkness. Individually, both of these stories would make for a solid game, but together they create the impression of enormous scope and make the game feel a lot longer than it actually is. A strange point to note however is that none of the main characters seem to react to The Darkness' presence as you might expect. Indeed, Jackie's own seeming indifference to the beast can often seem confusing. The two storylines are separate and bear little connection with each other, only converging at a few points throughout the game.

Starbreeze Studios have created a real sense of atmosphere throughout the game. Locations look and feel as they should and reflect the New York streets and other environments (including a hellish vision of World War I) exceptionally well. The underlying musical score creates tension and pace without ever intruding upon the excellent voice acting or action, and the night-time theme gives the game a gritty, urban feel. A dark humour runs throughout, which is evident in the speech and various posters in the subways and stops the game from becoming too oppressively dark.

The Darkness features a huge amount of bonus content to unlock too, and this is achieved by finding secret phone numbers or letters that need to be telephoned or mailed. Each one of these you find can unlock (the obligatory) comic book pages or concept art and the discovery of every one of these items extends the length of the game considerably. Other bonus features include, bizarrely, the discovery of tiny costumes that your Darklings wear on their sojourns to the surface world. A tiny demon toting a minigun and wearing a miniature fireman's uniform is certainly a strange moment, but definitely one worth experiencing!

If you've got Xbox Live you can head online and blast your friends in the frenetic multiplayer mode. Up to eight players can do battle, choosing to play as humans or Darklings. The difference in the two play styles is interesting at first - humans are much tougher and tote all manner of weaponry, as found in the single player game (plus some new additions), but the Darklings are considerably faster and can climb walls. Multiplayer also gives you the ability to shapeshift 'on the run' from human to Darkling form, which is a nice touch. After a while this novelty wears off though and the multiplayer dissolves into a pretty standard deathmatch or capture-the-flag design. The small arenas feel cramped and don't really give the same sense of awe present in the single player, while the repetitive gameplay quickly becomes tiresome. Couple this with some awful lag and the multiplayer really does become an unattractive prospect indeed. It's the one area of the game that lets it down, which is a real shame.

Graphically, The Darkness does not disappoint. Character models are detailed and the animations are some of the most lifelike yet seen in a first person shooter. High contrast lighting and dynamic shadows enhance the atmosphere. The only bad point is the sometimes poor lip-synching. The control system is simple and makes controlling The Darkness easy, but at times it can feel a little sluggish, and Estacado's slow running speed can often make getting around a little tiresome, but all in all, this does not detract too much from the gameplay. Loading screens take the form of anecdotes presented by Estacado himself and offer additional insight into the back story of the game, which is a nice touch and makes the game feel seamless. The lack of a HUD can often make navigating the huge areas a little tricky, and the map screen's tiny font does not help much.

Starbreeze Studios proved with The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay that movie tie-ins can make great games, and now it seems that they intend to do the same for comic book licenses. Quality visuals, engaging storylines and intense action give this FPS the power to rip open the genre's ribcage and pump life into its formulaic heart.

Reviewed by John Barnes for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).