The Darkness demo has gone missing from XBLM
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 20th 2007 at 8:00PM }
The Darkness has apparently gone dark on XBLM. The demo has recently disappeared from the network and we're attempting to verify the reason for its disappearance. Major Nelson states, "The operations team pulled this ... it will be back up later today." 2K Games is investigating the retraction from its end as well.The Darkness demo went live on XBLM and Europe's PSN a couple days ago, with the European PSN demo still being available for download. We'll update as we get more details.
[Thanks, Joe]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
serotoninzero @ Jul 20th 2007 8:44PM
So.. should I play through the version I have since it downloaded before this? Or is it going to give me a red ring of death in anger?
Seymore Skinner @ Jul 20th 2007 8:38PM
Cause it sucked?
Justin @ Jul 20th 2007 8:54PM
I was about to say the same thing.
Awful controls. Jerky at best.
This is from a game this is already realeased?
Arno @ Jul 20th 2007 8:55PM
Good thing I grabbed this earlier. Haven't had a chance to try it yet.
Big Ed @ Jul 20th 2007 8:58PM
When did it go missing? I just downloaded it an 2 hours ago.
razer @ Jul 20th 2007 10:23PM
Are we playing the same game?
The Darkness is a wicked game! Very well done AAA title.
Maybe the demo had some problems.. But the retail works great.
GiantHaystax @ Jul 20th 2007 10:43PM
Why do they constantly keep doing this lately. Seems everything they release now gets pulled down for reasons unknwon then, it's back again the next day.
sectionz @ Jul 21st 2007 12:05AM
anyone notice a theme here with XBL releases ;) .. Microsoft QA at its best.
Tim Braun @ Jul 21st 2007 12:03AM
I forgot to look for it to begin with! I'll download it once it gets put back up.
BananaBoat @ Jul 21st 2007 12:26AM
They should pull the thing >< 1.3gb for what amounts to watching a car chase, shooting a few mobsters, ripping out a few hearts and then burning some money. The bloat that is happening on some of these demos is just atrocious.
But in all seriousness, I hope there isn't some fatal flaw with the demo that is going to red ring me or something. I'll stop playing it just incase.
SPJglitches @ Jul 21st 2007 12:34AM
I downloaded the demo earlier today and have had no problems with it so far. I've never played the full version of the game, however, so I'm not able to compare the two.
ssuk @ Jul 21st 2007 2:50AM
1.3GB is a bit excessive for this game. All I can think of is the game has terrible compression for audio and textures. But even then 1.3 is about 10% of the retail game if the game spans 9GB of a DVD9 disc... Maybe the in-game engine is built so ALL common objects and sound banks must be included or it'll start giving off errors. Ways around that, but takes time and effort... So... "HERES YOUR 1.3GB DEMO~!"
Hope 1 and 2 are talking about the Darkness on PS3, 'cause there's nothing wrong with the control scheme on Xbox 360, infact it's pretty much like ever other FPS on 360's controls, which are also fine. Can't vouch for the PS3's control scheme though.
(P.S. 2K Games; where's our BioShock demo?)
Kritz @ Jul 21st 2007 3:30AM
Heh. Well, I just got the game today.
It's super-awesome fun. It's just the game I've been waiting for. The aiming is a little wonky, but once you get used to it, it makes the game feel more like an awesome action movie.
Though god damn, the second part of the game is annoying. I think I set the gamma too low, because I couldn't see a god-damn thing even with the darkness powers. Turned the brightness up a bit and was fine from there, though.
Protip: If you ever get stuck in the second part of the game -- in a small dark room, use the tentacle grab thing on the object blocking the way. Seriously took me 20 minutes to realise that second darkness ability did something besides kill lights.
Steve Decker @ Jul 21st 2007 6:26AM
What a horrible, terrible game.
'Ooooooh, I'm a dark, conflicted person. Ooooooh, I'm being taken over slowly by a demon presence. Oooooooh, but I want to keep control and not give in to the dark powers' Yada yada yada.
Seriously, what a lame, overused, boring concept. We've had variations on this storyline for 20 years or so. The first time the Darkness voice came on and said 'Soon........' I about burst out laughing at how cliche'd the game was.
Grant @ Jul 21st 2007 7:20AM
yeah, the demo was pretty weak sauce.
it even made my 360 freeze once.
but it was fine after a restart.
Yoshi @ Jul 21st 2007 10:04AM
I downloaded the demo and didn't think too much of it, the graphics and such are quite amazing, but the gameplay (mainly the shooting) leaves something to be desired.
Mike @ Jul 21st 2007 12:47PM
You guys who are blasting it don't have a clue. The full version is amazing and the character development is spot on once you follow the full game. It's got a lot of side quests and serious depth. Rent the full version and you will realize that this is a AAA title that should be bought.
konajinx @ Jul 21st 2007 1:43PM
No, it shouldn't be bought at all, but it should very well be rented. I loved this game, and did buy it when it came out, but the lousy online experience and the overall feeling of just not wanting to play it again after beating it on normal difficulty gave me cause to sell it to GameStop the same week it was released. Definitely a strong rental game though. I'll pimp my official review right here. Dig it.
http://www.bullz-eye.com/games/2007/the_darkness.htm
ssuk @ Jul 21st 2007 3:18PM
Oh, and the demo has been on the XBLM Europe all day, so not sure if it's just you yanks who are suffering....
refinedsugar @ Jul 21st 2007 3:25PM
I love how you contradict everything you said here in your pimped review, konajinx. Very nice, lol.
colin @ Jul 21st 2007 9:09PM
update ... its back
Mike @ Jul 22nd 2007 1:48AM
The big problem this game has is its so massive and there is so much backtracking, you will probably miss A LARGE part of the game. I only found a lot of side quests by following a collectable guide. I would have never known to check back to old chapters for new quests. You won't even know you missed a lot of the stuff either.. so if you don't spend a few days in the game, you won't even realize the depth of the game. Think DEUS EX folks.