The Darkness II sees the return of Jackie Estacado, the mobster with gruesome supernatural powers. This demo requires the application Steamto run.

The game is a direct sequel, set two years after the excellent first game. Jackie has controlled his Darkness powers, but of course events leave him with no alternative but to use them again. Like its predecessor, The Darkness II alters the traditional FPS with the two Darkness tentacles that give you interesting abilities and gruesome killing moves.

In this demo you play a series of sequences and cut scenes that show you how the game has developed. Graphically, The Darkness II has more of a comic book style, but is still very gory. Controls are almost unchanged - they are well mapped for joypad play - although manipulating Estacado's own arms and the darkness as well means the game takes some getting used to. Thankfully, learning how to use the darkness is lots of fun. Your two supernatural tentacles perform dramatic death moves on enemies, and can be used to destroy the environment and throw objects around too. This violent gameplay is The Darkness' main draw, setting it apart from other first person shooters.

Story wise, The Darkness II continues the disturbing themes of the first game. Jackie has to live with a power that forced him to helplessly watch his girlfriend's death, and now an evil organization called The Brotherhood wants to take the power from him. The demo is great fun to play, but doesn't show us enough of how The Darkness II will be structured, and we haven't been able to test out any of the cooperative online multiplayer modes promised in the full release.

The Darkness II is a promising action horror game with great gameplay and an intriguing storyline.