The Darkness II takes place a couple of years after the original, and Jackie is still mourning the death of his girlfriend Jenny. He has managed to hold the Darkness within him at bay and is the don of the Franchetti crime family. He is trying to enjoy himself in a restaurant until he is attacked by a group trying to take the Darkness for themselves.

The demo starts off with Jackie being crucified and taunted by their leader, a limp and scarred old man who wants to persuade Jackie to give up the Darkness since the host has to do it willingly. Let’s just say instead of asking Jackie nicely, torture will do the talking.

One of the major aspects about the gameplay of The Darkness II is you can really mix it up how you deal out punishment. Quad Wielding allows you to use two guns and both demon arms at the same time. The Demon Arm on the left is reserved for grabbing items, weapons, and enemies. Jackie can even use it to throw objects when ammo is low, and car doors as a shield and projectile weapon.

The Demon Arm on the right is the mean one, and it is used to slash the environment and unlucky bad guys in half.

The gore comes in buckets when you use your arms to perform execution attacks. A couple that comes to mind are the “Wishbone” attack that rips your enemy in half by the legs and the “Anaconda” which will simply impale them through the heart.

The gunplay is pretty basic for a FPS, but I am not holding it against Darkness II because you have plenty of other ways to defend yourself. When combat becomes chaotic, that is when you will find that the Quad Wielding mechanic works extremely well in this game.

Dark Essence is collected from your victims and can be used to unlock powers. The demo introduces you to your first power, the ability to eat hearts. Feasting on hearts regains health, but stay out of the light because it impedes your ability to regenerate health.

The Darkness is usually accompanied by a group of small creatures called Darklings. They are deadly, mischievous, and were very helpful in the first game. This time around the focus is on one Darkling in particular who wears a Union Jack shirt and speaks with a British accent. The Darkling will help Jackie solve puzzles, interact with the environment, and attack enemies in some pretty funny ways. This simple change makes the game more story driven and now Jackie can share his dark journey with a companion.

Even Jackie’s dead girlfriend Jenny appears as an apparition in the game. I am not sure what role she will play this time around, but maybe Jackie will have a second chance in saving her?

This game has so much going for it, especially in the story department. The demo ends with a cliff-hanger as the Darkness lends a helping hand to Jackie as he escapes torture.

Starbreeze Studios originally developed The Darkness in 2007, but Digital Extremes has done a great job being handed The Darkness franchise. The demo has made me very interested in this adult story crafted by comic book legend Paul Jenkins, and the cell-shaded graphics are a perfect choice for a comic book game.

Simply put, Darkness II is a gory, bloody, action-packed good time with an engaging story.

I think you better sleep with the lights on tonight…

The Darkness II  arrives on February 7th for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Kotaku has reported that SNK Playmore may be getting back into the hardware business with a new device simply called the Neo-Geo Portable. The new handheld comes with a 4.3 inch LCD display, four face and shoulder buttons, AV output, an analog stick, SD card support and 2GB of storage under the hood.

You won’t just get the device alone, as the memory card is preloaded with the following titles:

World Heroes, Ultimate 11, Top Player’s Golf, Sengoku, Nam-1975, Mutation Nation, Last Resort, King of Monsters, Frenzy, Cyber-Lip, Fatal Fury Special, The Art of Fighting, Super Sidekicks, League Bowling, Metal Slug, Magical Lord, Baseball Stars Professional, Samurai Showdown, The King of Fighters ’94, and Fatal Fury.

The Neo-Geo Portable was apparently leaked on a Japanese blog, so the images could very well be a prototype.

SNK has not confirmed or denied if the Neo-Geo Portable actually exists.

If it does, let’s hope it doesn’t cost you the same as the original Neo-Geo console.

Where do I begin with this epic fail of a game? Before I get into it, let me tell you the back-story.

A long time ago I was a guest on the Warzone with Torrence Davis, Hip Hop Gamer and several of us were blown away when we saw the trailer and so on. Fast forward to now…and I have to say that this game is a@#! I deleted the game shortly after a few playthroughs.

Some of the specifics were:

• Developed by Cyberconnect2
• graphics were terrible, I mean Unreal Technology

You play as Asura of course. What I gather from the demo is that Asura is a God who has been set up/betrayed by another God, exiled to Earth, and they have captured his daughter.

I may be off with that description.

The game is a mixture of styles. Action Adventure, Anime, and Quick Time Events wrapped up in a big bag-a-sh#t. There are several elements of game styles presented in this game, and it fails at everyone. Capcom has put out some very nice looking games this generation, but when they let Unreal touch this…FAIL. I looked past this during the first load up phase, because I was anticipating this game.

The dialogue, sound, damn near everything about the game is so cheesy you wonder, “How can anyone sell this?”

I’m not going to put anyone on blast in my review, but I heard comparisons to God of War 3, which is laughable. Since I’ve heard ridiculous comparisons and the game does try to emulate many games, I will finish by giving the game an exact non-sensationalized comparison.

The Anime/Action Adventure Style probably best describes this game. If that is the style of game you are into I would highly pass on this and suggest picking up Afro Samurai.

There are two episodes in the demo; Episode 5 & Episode II. They both feature you free roaming like Afro Samurai, but there are more camera switches during boss fights not to mention QTE’s.

The difficulty in Asura’s Wrath is childish. It is the worst button smashing game to date.

The list of Action Adventure games that are better than Asura’s A@# with QTE’s (Asura’s A@# is now its official name) are; Heavenly Sword, Bayonetta, Castlevania: Lords of Shadows, and of course God of War 3. It’s not necessary to list every title, but it’s safe to say that this is probably one of the worst, if not the worst, game this generation.

The demo is 718MB, download at your own risk.

Guild Wars 2 is expected to release later this year, and select press will be invited to participate in beta testing. March and April will see the studio increasing the size of their beta test events so more gamers can join in the fun.

This is very good news to me, since Guild Wars 2 is one of the many reasons why I’m getting myself a new PC. Of course, playing it a couple years ago at PAX Prime pretty much sealed the deal too.

The studio is looking for a lead multiplayer designer, who will also be tasked in designing maps and mentoring the new studio’s other designers.

Visceral Games will be pretty busy if current rumors hold up because there is speculation that the studio is working on another Dead Space game, a Dead Space FPS, and a follow-up to Dante’s Inferno.

Source: VG247

- Does Star Wars: The Old Republic Interest you?

- Is Microsoft the ugly girl of the bunch?

- PS Vita sales vs. 3DS sales

- THQ Having financial issues

- Microsoft Or Sony to announce they’re dropping out of the console race at E3 2012

- PS4 and Vita to be similar

- DC Universe Online Money Exploit-Bans hackers for a year

- Microsoft website hack exploit

- As always we have a Step Ya Game Up and much more….

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://stepyagameup.podomatic.com/enclosure/2012-01-18T06_05_45-08_00.mp3

Day 2 & 3

So it’s true; CES is over for 2012.

Knowing this may very well be our last one…you know…seeing that the world is gonna end and all, it was a pretty good one.

To back up that claim, we could go through every little thing that made it great but, that’s no fun. That’s also time-consuming and, with this being the internet and all, you’re probably not going read all of that. Instead, why not just go over the things that I personally thought we’re awesome.

You may want to have a sit for this, it may get serious…or not.

First on our list is Skunk Juice.

No, not those old stink guns from the 90s that our parents regretted buying us for the months of mistakenly spraying ourselves, Skunk Juice.

It’s the newest thing in sharing music on one device.

You know when you come across someone who wants to hear the song you’re listening to and you do that awkward exchange of trying to share earbuds without playing Twister? Skunk Juice’s magnetic earbuds fixes that problem. With their magnetically functioning earbuds, you can connect up to four other sets so that everyone can listen to the same song without getting all tangled and butting heads like you would with just one set.

See, technology’s already making life easier for everybody.

While on the topic of earbuds, I happened to run into some pretty nifty guys from iHeadCase while down there. While their product doesn’t involve magnets or Twister (or does it), it’s something that I would use regardless.

They make smartphone cases. Not just any cases though.

The nice curved design of the case is made to conceal and hold your earbuds. 

If you are anything like me, you listen to music quite a bit. Many of those times, it isn’t in the most musically accepted settings. Having to reach around in my bag to find and put away my earbuds is a hassle and keeping them in my clothes can get awkward in the airport –don’t look at me like that, I’m not the only one.

As described by iHeadCase “The iHeadCase Hardshell is made of light yet durable Polycarbonate. The sleek design and curved back cover add only a couple of millimeters to the width in comparison to a standard leather flip case, whilst providing a more natural grip for the phone. Also the back cover when opened doubles as a stand for landscape handsfree viewing.”

iHeadCase also has their product coming in wallet and hardshell versions.

As far as music, cases designs, and sound goes, I could talk about that all day. Instead though, here is a quick gallery of some of the other amazing things that I came across.

Now for some stuff that we gamers will definitely be interested in. First on that list is something that anyone who loves the racing experience will indeed want.

Although the chair itself isn’t included, everything else can be purchased starting with Thrustmaster’s TH8 RS and RGT FFB Clutch Edition, the first wheel to let you choose your driving style.  It features a precise, realistic resistance via a motor which is certainly more macho than playing Mario Kart with a Wii wheel. This accessory certainly shows the pedal some love with its adjustable system, progressive action, and long range of travel.

You’ll also find a sophisticated button to switch between 4 and 5 axes (for progressive handbrake, clutch and interior left and right views). Who knows, you may spot a McDonald’s french fry stuck between the AC vent.

You plug and play fans will appreciate the recognized and preconfigured settings for most PC and PS3 car racing games such as F1 2011, WRC 2, Need for Speed The Run, etc.

Ever wonder if your sweetie is really reading in the park every day at 3:00 pm or if your teenager is indeed out back doing yard chores? Well, let me introduce you to the Parrot AR. Drone 2.0. This spy gadget won’t make you as attractive as James Bond, but it does allow you to be in two places at once.

It’s flying, sharing, and recording capability stands right at the crossroads where high-end technology meets Icarus’ dream. No worries if you’re afraid of heights. Now you can fly like an eagle, but not in a Seal kind of way. Then again, I do recommend that you create an ambiance for your first take off for dramatic effect—danger zone! As if there weren’t enough reasons to own a smart phone or tablet, the Drone 2.0 lets you control the HD 1280 x 720 camera in a 50m/165ft range with it.

Finally, the stabilization system gives it that Mission Impossible finesse often hindered by man’s inability to synchronize two lever movements simultaneously.

So that was about it for the things that really mattered at the convention. To check out a quick montage of the things I saw on my first day click here or to read about the things that I checked out click here.

That is all for this year’s Consumer Electronic Show though.

See you guys next year; hopefully then I can read a map properly.

Since launch, DCUO has seen:

• More than 3.5 million Heroes, more than 2 million Villains
• More than 1.8 million registered players on PC, and more than 2.3 million registered players on PS3
• 3.6 million days of playtime total by all players in-game
• More than 1,200 new NPC characters added since launch
• More than 200 new quests added since launch
• More than 2,500 new items added since launch
• More than 15 new zones added since launch
• More than 1,800 new encounters since launch

Going free-to-play definitely helped gamers make their choice on playing or not, and believe me they are spending a lot of time taking advantage on what DCUO has to offer.

SOE is celebrating the one year anniversary of DCUO by with a gift. Players will be receiving a cape with a number “1” on the back on January 11. Your character must exist on that date, but you don’t have to log in to receive it.

DCUO also introduced a Research and Development system in Game Update: 8 which allow both heroes and villains to create powerful items.

I honestly like this update because it makes exploring more fun, and now you are rewarded for your efforts.

Here is a statement given to IGN about the matter:

“Bashiok’s response on Twitter was intended as a confirmation that we’re actively exploring the possibility of developing a console version of Diablo III, as we’ve mentioned in the past. This is not a confirmation that Diablo III is coming to any console platform. Our focus right now is on finishing the PC/Mac version of Diablo III and making sure it’s a worthwhile successor to the Diablo series.”

Dang, and I thought I made up my mind on which platform to get Diablo 3 on.

Source: IGN

Ubisoft announced that they are delaying the newest addition to the Ghost Recon franchise until May 22 in North America, and May 24 in Europe. The PC version will be arriving at an unannounced date.

That doesn’t mean you have to wait until May to play it because in April a multiplayer beta will be arriving on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles.

Source: Game Informer