Like its lead character, 2007 supernatural FPS The Darkness is coming back from the dead. 2K Games announced this morning that The Darkness II is now in development and scheduled for release this fall.

Based on the horror comic series by Top Cow, The Darkness II will once again put players in the role of Jackie Estacado, a former hit man turned wielder of an ancient supernatural power known as The Darkness.


"The Darkness II is a well of dark and imaginative violence, and it's a stylized and beautiful nightmare," 2K President Christoph Hartmann said in a statement.

The rundown from 2K:
The Darkness II breaks out of the sea of conventional first-person shooters with its fervid Quad-Wielding gameplay, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons. The game is layered with the use of dark versus light, steeped in deep and twisted storytelling, and engulfed in stylistic violence that is visualized through a hand-painted graphic noir technique that stays true to its comic book origins.
Digital Extremes (Dark Sector) is taking over development duties from Starbreeze Studios, and award-winning comic scribe Paul Jenkins (Hellblazer) penned the game's script.

"Sometimes that whooshing sound you hear is that of comic fans holding their collective breath," said Marc Silvestri, founder and CEO of Top Cow Productions and co-creator of The Darkness comics. "So often disappointed when a favorite character gives birth to a lame movie or video game, us fans have come to expect the worst. And sometimes we get it. But not with The Darkness II. Yeah, call me biased, but this second installment of Jackie Estacado's epic saga is – in my humble opinion – one of the most brutally cool games I've ever played. 2K Games hammered this one out of the park."

The Darkness II is being developed for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PCs.


Sharkey says: The Darkness was a great horror game and I'm glad a sequel is on the way. My only concern is that Starbreeze is no longer involved. Word is The Chronicles of Riddick studio is busy hammering out a Syndicate re-imagining for EA. Dark Sector was okay, but hopefully Digital Extremes will up its game for this one.