Mind yer step partner, this ride might be yer last.
Welcome to Darkwatch, a society that hunts down the undead, also, the name of this very first person shooter set in the Wild West, albeit one that's infested by vampires and the such. Also, a game made infamous by a sex-scene that happens midway through the game, but trust me, the game is more than cheap titillation.You play as Jericho Cross, who's latest heist will make him a rich man... except that he happened to raid a Darkwatch train, carrying Lazarus the vampire, who thanks Jericho by siring him. Now Jericho teams up with Darkwatch in order to stop Lazarus and save himself. There's not a lot of story in the game, but it gets the job done of presenting you with a thread to connect your shootouts. The gothic art direction meshes relatively well with the western setting, albeit in their need of having fanservice, Tala's skin-tight latex suit doesn't really mesh well with the rest of the Western-styled uniforms.
You'll be raiding a few trains throughout Jericho's tale.
If you've ever played Halo 1 you'll be right at home here. Jericho can only carry two guns with him, and you've got a miserable amount of life points, but you're aided by a regenerating blood shield that works just like Halo's shield. There's a metal-cart-jeep-thing section not unlike Halo's own vehicle sections too. Hell, you also get a naked blue ethereal chick companion to guide you! Basically, Halo in a vampire western setting. That said, Jericho has something that Master Chief doesn't: Vampire powers. Defeated enemies drop souls that can either heal you or fill your blood powers gauge, if your life is full, once you fill this gauge you can use any of your acquired powers, about 5 of them, out of a possible 10.Y'see, throughout the game you'll be allowed simple moral choices 'Save the civilian or feed from him/her' which will eventually grant you powers. It's a very simple system and it doesn't affect the ending in any way, what does affect it is single a moral choice 3/4ths into the game. The game is overall pretty short, and has way too many turret sections but only a couple of sunlight sections. The two stages that involve sunlight are pretty interesting, since they force you to seek shadows, lest you lose your vampire powers, including your shield! As short as the game is, you can play the entire game in co-op and it also features a versus mode, with two different types of matches!
Nothing says Vampire Slayer like a crossbow.
Most of the game is relatively fun, although a few sections were a bit boring. Specifically a few shoot-outs that took place in very open arenas, but with few and sparse monsters. By the end of the game you'll be swarmed by enemies, which is better. The game could've done with more variety in the weapons department, but at least it's got the basics covered: Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Dual Pistols, Rocket Launcher and even a crossbow for good measure, sadly, Jericho's six-shooter is lost once he turns into a vampire.Darkwatch is a fun but brief first person shooter. It has a few overused tropes and a few underutilized mechanics that could've been better juggled to make for a more compelling overall game, but what's here is still pretty good. It was probably too much of a Halo clone to make much of a splash, since it put it directly in competition with that juggernaut of a franchise in its heyday, so now it's easier to appreciate it by itself.
8.0 out of 10
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