Developer: PBN Publisher: Ocean Release: 1991 Genre: Action
Ocean Software was a publisher that always seemed to be on the cusp of greatness. As the Acclaim of Europe they often created video games based on licenses that were big on ideas but lacking in execution. I can name any number of titles from both publishers that would have been great with a few more months of polish. Darkman is no exception sadly. It does a good job of incorporating the elements of the film that make it great but the sloppy controls ruin it.
Darkman is based on the cult hit film of the same name starring Liam Neeson as scientist Peyton Westlake who is attacked and left for dead by mobster Durant. This is retribution after his girlfriend; attorney Julie runs afoul of Durant’s associate Louis Stack. Peyton survives but is horribly disfigured in the process. An experimental process to treat his burns fails but leaves him with superhuman prowess that he decides to use for revenge. Darkman was the superhero movie we did not know we wanted but came to love after fact. While you can see the elements of the Shadow and Batman that were left after Sam Raimi failed to secure those rights it wound up a cool property in its own right in the end. The game not so much unfortunately.
Darkman is a platform action game with a twist. Although you begin the game as the titular character subsequent levels are different. In each following level you take on the identity of one of Durant’s men, each with unique abilities. As Pauly you have a baseball bat with slightly longer reach than your fists. Skip is slow as he has one leg but has gun for long range attacks. Smiley is basically a ninja who can jump farther and moves faster than the others. In addition you can pick up throwing stars instead of relying on fisticuffs. For the finale you play as Durant himself who plays like a mix of all the others.
It is a cool concept that works in any other game. But in Darkman the awful controls ruin the experience. It is astounding how similar Darkman is to Ocean’s Robocop games as they suffer from the same problems. The controls are sluggish and movement is slippery. Darkman slides around like he is on roller skates which is frustrating. He builds momentum as he walks but it feels inconsistent and will lead to so, so many cheap deaths as it affects how far you jump. The collision detection is wonky as well; I fell through many platforms that I clearly landed and unfortunately there is a lot of platforming. Hit detection is also an issue. So many attacks flagrantly miss even though you can clearly see that they connect. Playing this game is a god damn chore.
There are two minigames in between each pair of levels. In order to create the masks of Durant’s henchmen you must take pictures of them first. This plays out like a light gun game as you wait for the target to appear in random windows to capture his likeness. There are gunmen afoot as well but they are easily avoided. The number of pictures you take receives grades and awards more time in your disguise. But I will be honest I never ran out of time in each level and reverted back to Darkman. You also hang from a rope and avoid incoming traffic while collecting items but nothing about this game is fun and it feels like a waste of time. It is a cool level I will give it that.
It should come as no surprise that with all of its flaws the difficulty in Darkman is through the roof. The level design often devolves in to a confusing mess of platforms and instant death machinery. These deaths come swift and out of left field and are unfair. The inconsistent platforming controls mean you will fall to your death repeatedly. The cheap deaths come left and right as it feels like random things kill you instantly. Steel pylon? Death. Innocuous stray bullet that is identical to the others? Death. It’s like the game is making it up as it goes along and it is frustrating. The stupid hit detection makes every boss battle a war of attrition and I hate it. Some consistency would have been nice but Darkman would still be flawed and awful as a whole.
In Closing
What a mess of a game. Any good points in Darkman are drowned out by its myriad flaws. Shoddy controls, confusing level design, and ugly art direction leave Darkman a title you should do your best to avoid. The Untouchables, Robocop 2, and now Darkman, Ocean had a knack for ruining good licenses and this is another notch in their belt.
