This review contains spoilers
Jackie Estacado is not what I expect of an FPS protagonist. My supposed "golden age" of the genre (1996-2004) houses very few comparable to him, and the era thereafter was by and large occupied by Dickhead McWarguys. Well then, what makes him so different?
He's a dickhead with depth.
For all this "vengeance for Jenny" talk, Jackie acts like one selfish bastard. I understand that the trauma of being exposed to abuse and mafia life so young molded his cold demeanor. I don't doubt that he loved his girl. I do, however, doubt the motive behind the bloodlust that he indulges in. Jenny seems to fade further out of sight as the killing continues, and never once does he stop to question if she even would have wanted this.
I'd like to pose a theory: the titular Darkness is a metaphor. As Chandler mentioned in his review, the only people who acknowledge its existence are its victims, Paulie, Shrote, and Jackie himself. It's plausible that it may be nothing more than Jackie's own self-righteousness, hatred, and hunger for power. Just look at how the game ends: Jackie slaughtering and destroying in a (literal, at points) blind rage and becoming the new mob boss. I don't think this scene is supposed to be any kind of triumph! It isn't "badass", it's an emotionally stunted and traumatized manchild with a gun killing a sociopath. I also find it interesting that the only main characters to acknowledge the Darkness are Shrote and Paulie, the other two whose selfish impulses - their own Darknesses, perhaps - propelled them into positions of power. In the end, all Jackie accomplished was making himself like the men he hated most. "War, your gift. War, your heritage. War, your burden."
So yeah, this edgy Xbox FPS based off a Garth Ennis comic is a precision takedown of mafia culture via an edgelord and his Mike Patton demon. Remind me again why this is sitting at a 3.5?
He's a dickhead with depth.
For all this "vengeance for Jenny" talk, Jackie acts like one selfish bastard. I understand that the trauma of being exposed to abuse and mafia life so young molded his cold demeanor. I don't doubt that he loved his girl. I do, however, doubt the motive behind the bloodlust that he indulges in. Jenny seems to fade further out of sight as the killing continues, and never once does he stop to question if she even would have wanted this.
I'd like to pose a theory: the titular Darkness is a metaphor. As Chandler mentioned in his review, the only people who acknowledge its existence are its victims, Paulie, Shrote, and Jackie himself. It's plausible that it may be nothing more than Jackie's own self-righteousness, hatred, and hunger for power. Just look at how the game ends: Jackie slaughtering and destroying in a (literal, at points) blind rage and becoming the new mob boss. I don't think this scene is supposed to be any kind of triumph! It isn't "badass", it's an emotionally stunted and traumatized manchild with a gun killing a sociopath. I also find it interesting that the only main characters to acknowledge the Darkness are Shrote and Paulie, the other two whose selfish impulses - their own Darknesses, perhaps - propelled them into positions of power. In the end, all Jackie accomplished was making himself like the men he hated most. "War, your gift. War, your heritage. War, your burden."
So yeah, this edgy Xbox FPS based off a Garth Ennis comic is a precision takedown of mafia culture via an edgelord and his Mike Patton demon. Remind me again why this is sitting at a 3.5?