Well, there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to at least one guy that was posting on GSpot, he got an email back from his query to 2K tech support which stated that they are aware of the problem and have a liaise who will hopefully be contacting the devs and figuring out the problem so a potential fix can be worked out. So that's good.
Anyway, I finished the game tonight. It's actually a pretty beefy chunk of game. You can go through it pretty fast if you really skip all the side missions and don't try to unlock any of the extras, but if you're trying to get that other stuff, you can expect not only a pretty decently-sized shooter, but also some good replay value. I found an awful lot of stuff and felt I found some pretty tricky hidden items, and I only got like 60% of the hidden unlocks. I missed a ton of achievements too, though most of them are just combat-related ones. Still, if you like that extra stuff, there's plenty here. It's pretty decent stuff as well, like some comics (which look pretty great and are readable with only a little bit of eye strain, heh), some videos (I only got 2, and I suspect some of the unlocks I didn't find are harder to get and might have more video), lots of concepts, screens, etc. Not all of it is that amazing, but it's a decent selection, and I think the cooler stuff makes up for the passable stuff.
But... yeah. Wow. What a freaking game. It definitely isn't the best thing I've ever played from a raw shooter standpoint, though I have an extreme affection for it and loved every second. I think the main thing is that while there's a lot to do, one thing doesn't go to extremes to differentiate itself from other elements. So a lot of your combat options don't fall squarely into lots of different camps, they all sort of fall into the same constantly-usable pool of stuff. Obviously that has its ups and downs. The other thing some people may not like as much is that you aren't always totally directed into the next area or whatever. You do some wandering around, learning the lay of the land, that kind of thing. It's linear almost entirely, but it doesn't *feel* like it as much because you aren't always faced in the right direction and told to "go here!" with giant neon lights. Mostly that's just fine and causes no problems, but occasionally it can feel like somebody sort of put a blindfold on you, spun you around, and then expects you to figure out where to go. I personally had zero problems with this because I like to explore on my own, and the world isn't so ridiculously huge that you just get lost for hours on end, but I'm sure some people won't dig that quite as much (like how some people hated having to drive to each location in MAFIA).
Those minor design issues aside, this thing is probably game of the year for me right now. Which is, of course, the newness talking to some degree, so who knows if I'll stick with that in the end (especially given that Bioshock will probably be even more amazing), but yes, this is one hell of a game. The story is really something, the acting and the script are both top-fucking-notch, and the flurry of great interactive scenes and the occasional loss of control (which is proper - you're possessed by a demonic entity!) just doesn't stop from start to finish. There is definitely downtime, which I believe some people will hate, where you get to wander the subways helping a few people out, searching for the openings to new areas, doing some stuff that aims to immerse you in the world a bit more instead of forcing you to wade through a constant flood of combat, but I found it all very enjoyable and immersive, not something that killed the pace. Usually it was a nice break.
I was playing on HARD mode, which is the hardest (nothing else unlocked when I beat that), and it was definitely a challenge. Those saying that this game is easy are... sort of right, sort of wrong. In certain situations you'll find that the average enemy is a piece of freaking cake, and it's supposed to be that way. The idea is that The Darkness provides you with extreme power, and it does. On HARD, the opening few areas are really, really tough. On top of getting acquainted with the controls, you'll find the enemies are decently smart (I don't really get the AI complaints some have given here... the guys get the job done pretty darn well), and you die FAST. A few hits and you're fucked unless you back off and get your bearings. No health bars here. But then your little demon-buddy comes along and all of a sudden you're really dishing it back to the bad guys. But you still can't play like a jerk, and you have to watch yourself and your surroundings. Your "shield" draws from the same pool as the "ammo" for your special dark abilities, so if you start taking a lot of damage, you'll find you can't use your special powers, so there's a lot of give and take with that stuff. I thought it worked great, and the last few areas of the game were quite challenging. I think it was balanced perfectly. Had I been playing it on PC with a mouse/KB setup, THEN it would have been too easy, but it worked well for a controller as long as you don't crank the autoaim way the hell up. I found the default setting just about perfect. Hard sometimes, but just hard enough that playing skillfully would generally get you by for the normal stuff, and would get you by the harder spots after maybe 3 to 6 deaths.
Anyway, two thumbs up. Anyone who doesn't like the ending sucks. I thought it was beautiful and sad and.... just very fitting for the vibe of the game. In theory it could also open up a sequel, maybe. I don't know the lore well enough yet to say that for sure, but it seems to me another game would be possible. Time will tell. So yeah, anyone who wants to check this one out, I can say I felt it was worth every penny of my $60. I'm reluctant to spend that much these days, but I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this one. So much so that I think I'm gonna' head back and play it again!
Also, did I mention...
MIKE FUCKING PATTON IS THE DARKNESS, and that was the most brilliant move these people could ever have come up with. His involvement in the role makes perfection look inadequate. The only problem is he doesn't get to talk enough.
