The Darkness: The Official Thread

[SPEA]

----=="Happy Birthday Jackie!" ==----




Developer: Starbreeze Studios
Publisher: 2K Games
Release Date NA: Both Platforms: June 25
Release Date EUR: Xbox 360: June 29, PS3: July 20
Available on: PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: First Person Shooter, Action, and Comic Horror
Number of Players: 1-16
MSRP: $59.99
Features: 480p, 720p, Dolby 5.1, Xbox Live, Downloadable Content, Blu-ray, DVD-Rom
Rated M by ESRB

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General Information

From the Official Website, "The Darkness is Spreading..."

-Based on the best-selling Comic "The Darkness" created by David Wohl, Marc Silvestri, and Garth Ennis

-Game Story Written by Paul Jenkins, a seminal writer in The Darkness comic book series, but of course Marc S. and Garth Ennis contributed as well



-Devour enemy hearts to build up Darkness power that can be channeled into spectacular abilities such as:

Summoning Darklings: Estacado's main Darkness ability is the summoning of Darklings, and as such there are twenty different darkling types (kamikaze, interrogator, ceiling ninja, fetcher, and more). Essentially they are malformed hellspawn which spring from the tainted souls of the sickest, most inhuman individuals. Darklings have spindly, muscular bodies and pointed, animalistic faces with glowing eyes and wicked fangs, and serrated claws on the tips of their limbs. They attack in packs, swarming over buildings and through windows and doorways. Though they are deadly even when unarmed, these sickening beasts often carry fearsome close-combat weapons like hacksaws and pneumatic drills, ready to tear Estacado's enemies apart at close quarters. An added benefit of the Darklings is that they can draw enemy fire away from Estacado, allowing him to progress more easily through well-defended areas.

Summoning Dark Tentacles: Dark Tentacles are huge, incredibly strong appendages which grow from Estacado's back when summoned. They can lift and throw heavy objects with ease, allowing them to smash through barricades and tear down walls to allow Estacado access to difficult-to-reach areas, and of course they have no difficulty in crushing enemy characters to a pulp. Their tough, resilient surfaces mean they can also form an effective bullet shield in front of Estacado, protecting him from harm.

Summoning Maw Tentacles: Maw Tentacles are smaller versions of Dark Tentacles and are summoned in the same way, but are used more for close combat than moving objects. They consist of long, writhing tendrils with bulging eyes that can change color and gaping jaws filled with huge dagger-like teeth, capable of ripping through flesh and bone with ease. They can be sent snaking round doorways and through air vents, their eyes feeding pictures to Estacado's eyes like spy cameras, seeking out alternate routes and enemy strongpoints.

Creating Black Holes: One of the more devastating Darkness abilities, this allows Estacado to open whirling vortices in realspace, pulling enemies and objects out of reality and trapping them forever in Hell itself. A single Black Hole opened in a room full of enemies can clear the area in moments, making it an excellent weapon when assaulting defended buildings.

-Developed by Starbreeze, the team behind the best-selling and critically acclaimed "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay"

-Cast of Characters:
Celebrity voice overs include (from left to right) : Kirk Acevedo (Band of Brothers, Oz) as Jackie, Mike Patton (-ex lead singer of Faith no more, Peeping Tom)
as The Darkness, Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) as Jenny, and Richard Steven Horvitz (Raz in Psychonauts) as Beserker Darkling




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Story Summary:

"On the eve of his 21st birthday, the player takes control of Mafia hitman Jackie Estacado who is suddenly possessed by the malevolent powers of The Darkness, a family "Gift" (some family trait). Although this supernatural entity allows him to wreak havoc on his enemies, the Darkness also has a powerful will of its own and Estacado must now learn how to control it. The gameplay uniquely blends both modern crime drama and supernatural horror through both first-person and third-person perspectives. The environments are highly destructible allowing players to demolish the scenery of the New York underworld to wreak vengeance on his former Mafia employers and eventually defeat the terrifying creatures of The Otherworld, a parallel reality where the Darkness dwells."

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Information about the IP:

The Darkness is a series of comics produced by Top Cow Productions (TCP). The comic first appeared in 1996 and enjoyed an initial period of relative success during the TCP/Image Comics boom of the late 1990s. However, TCP were forced to "relaunch" the comic in 2002 after sales began to drop. The comic has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. The series was created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis, and David Wohl, other noted writers, including Paul Jenkins, have also worked on the Darkness.
The comic's central theme is the power known as The Darkness, and its wielders. It is an ageless power dating back beyond human history. It is linked with the Angelus and the Witchblade. The Darkness is passed down a family line from father to son, leaving the previous user (and taking his life) as his first child is conceived. The power then manifests in the child on his 21st birthday. Darkness users can create anything they desire with the darkness, even sentient beings, but anything they make will crumble to dust in the light. The Darkness powers are quite deadly, allowing the user to call forth darkling minions to aid them, and even survive gunshots. The power can also be used to maul and feed on people.
The Darkness powers do not function unless it is dark, but some users can also manipulate this by creating their own shadows/darkness e.g smoke grenades, being underground, turning off lights in a room, etc. Wherever there is light, there is always darkness.

About Jackie E. :

Jackie Estacado is the current wielder of The Darkness and Don of the Franchetti Family mob. He is a very violent and sexual man who, until gaining the powers of The Darkness, lived life in the fast lane. Of course, because of the possibility of impregnating a woman causing his own death through the mysterious ways of the darkness, Jackie tries to refrain from sex, to his great frustration. Though Jackie lives life on the wrong side of the law and can kill without remorse, he has a high set of morals he follows and always tries to protect those he cares about...



....and for those who are still interested in the series, but are new to it, be sure to check out:

"The Darkness: Compendium Edition"



(1248 pages long kids!)

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Gamestop Offer (....whewt?)

Purchase The Darkness and receive a GameStop Exclusive In-Game item: The 2K Sports Darkling! This evil little imp will aid you in your quest for revenge. You will be emailed a code and instructions on how to redeem your Darkling. Supplies are limited. Offer also good in stores.

<----- Elite Exclusive!!!!
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Interview Quotes and highlights:

IGN: Why did you get along (with Starbreeze) so well? Paul Jenkins(Writer): Well, they spoke my language. Not literally, because they're Swedish. Anyway, although they may be games developers, they're actually artists - and that's something we share in common. I think it's a shame that a lot of developers don't see what they're doing as creating art and that the games industry, as a whole, doesn't treat its games as art forms. Luckily, this is something that Starbreeze does really well. IGN: Does that cause any problems for Starbreeze though? Paul Jenkins: Well, they are incredibly creative but they're also slightly crazy Swedish people - which is an interesting mix. At the first meeting about the game they had some absolutely crazy ideas about the direction they wanted to take the game in. A lot of those things we just couldn't use because they were too bizarre or it would have been hard to set them up in the first game when you're really just introducing players to the Darkness abilities. However, we did manage to get some of those ideas into the finished game. IGN: Can you tell us about those crazy ideas? Paul Jenkins: Well, not really because I'd be giving too much of the game away. Let's just say that Starbreeze wanted Jackie to become incredibly powerful at one point. So powerful he could devour planets. That's something we've tried to include in the game and I was amazed that we were even able to pull it off a little bit

Patrick: To capture the emotions of its actors better, Starbreeze is using a technique it calls vo-cap, or voice capturing. Essentially, the actors' faces and bodies are motion-captured as they are delivering lines, which, according to Liu, "gives the characters a lot more personality".

Team Xbox: How does it feel, as the creator of the comic, to see The Darkness finally come to life in this way? Marc Silvestri: Oh, it’s awesome. It’s always the kind of thing where you go, “Wow, it’s a monkey’s paw.” You work and you work and you work to get to a certain point with something you created, and then you get involved with other media, which always means other partners. And that’s where you cross your fingers and that’s where the monkey’s paw comes in—be careful what you wish for. In this case…I wish I could say that it wasn’t rare, but it really is, that you find partners—both with Starbreeze and 2K…and Union, who kind of put the deal together with us for Starbreeze—their passion and their obvious skills (when you look at Starbreeze and the calling card of Riddick that just put these guys on the map)…the passion that they brought to The Darkness and the fact that they were fans of The Darkness and they got it, that’s just a dream come true. If this were the movie business, what we’d have is the perfect movie star and the perfect script and the perfect director and a perfect studio. For us, it’s like, wow, that happened for us in our first video game. Hopefully, it’ll happen again—and hopefully with these guys, because it’s been such a good working relationship. But you always get to that stage—once the deal is made, once the papers are signed—it’s like, okay, now I’m still crossing my fingers. And you cross your fingers all the way through until you see the actual game or the movie or TV show. It’s kind of a crapshoot. Team Xbox: You’re obviously happy with the way it’s turned out—carrying the vision of your comic. What kind of input did you have in the course of it, or did you sort of let them go off and do their thing, and then make some comments on it after the fact? Marc Silvestri: One of the first decisions that had to be made was what Jackie looked like. [In the comic,] he has a superhero costume—or his version of one, anyway—that’s made of the Darkness stuff, so it’s a little weird, but the decision early on that they approached us with was, “You know what? We think there’s enough going on with Jackie and the Darkness powers that we really don’t need to have him in costume.” He already looks bad ass as it is, you know? He doesn’t need a bat on his chest or an S on his chest…just him is all you need. Jackie is always Jackie. He’s not a billionaire by day or a mild-mannered reporter by day, and then a truth seeker by night. He’s Jackie. When the lights go out, he’s just more of what he is with his Darkness powers. Okay, we get it…no costume.

Shack: So obviously one of your great strengths is taking an established property and melding it to fit better within the confines of video games, and maybe better within your own style and vision. Do you ever seen yourselves going back to original material and creating original franchises? Jens Anderson: Definitely. It's more of a random thing that we have been working with licenses so much. Enclave was original, the thing we did before Riddick. Then Riddick was a great experience for us. Doing a comic license is very different, especially now working with Top Cow who is so open with giving us freedom to do a lot of stuff that we want to do. Of course, there's a great charm in doing original concepts as well, and we'll see with our next project.

Do you find while developing The Darkness you can employ unused ideas from the Riddick project as you're still using your own custom Starbreeze graphics engine? MS: We had a prototype up and running pretty early on the Riddick engine, and so this gave us a starting point. As both games use a first-person perspective, we could use animations from Riddick to test out the engine and get things going, steadily progressing towards what you are seeing now. It looks and plays a lot differently from Riddick, but there are common elements that we have been able to use so development can progress more quickly. JM: But there are some things you really can't take from Riddick, even though we and other people really liked them - like the melee attacks. JM: In Riddick we had this guy in prison and it didn't seem realistic that he was carrying guns. But being a hitman for the Mafia, you're going to have access to weaponry, that's just the way it is. So if you have access to guns all the time, you don't just walk up and punch people in the face. MS: We also have some storytelling ideas that we developed during the Riddick production that we pushed further. Because in Riddick we wanted to limit the number of cinematic cutscenes and bring as much as possible into the actual gameplay. In The Darkness we've gone even further. There are cinematic cut scenes, but all of them bar one are in the first-person. It's in the style of Half-Life, but far more dramatic. Were any of you fans of the comic before you started the project? Jerk Gustaffsson: I don't think anyone had read it! JM: Only a few of us were, because The Darkness isn't really available in Sweden. MS: I know when we started the project we had to order huge racks of the comic from America, because we went into town and had a hard time tracking copies down.

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About the multiplayer....

Finally, I was able to check out some of The Darkness' multiplayer mode in a four-person deathmatch. Multiplayer plays out much like a standard shooter deathmatch, with the notable exception of being able to toggle options such as allowing players to transform into Darkling berzerkers at will. This proves to be a great benefit to the multiplayer, as deathmatch would be fairly unremarkable without it. Playing as a Darkling of course gives players no ranged attack, but it does boost speed, confer a particularly powerful melee attack, and, best of all, allow players to scale sheer walls with great speed. Darklings also have the secondary bonuses of being much more difficult targets, thanks to their small size and quickness. All in all, The Darkness' multiplayer is unlikely to be an online staple, but it should prove a fun diversion, particularly early on as players experiment with the novelty of the Darkling.

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Eurogamer First Impressions: 6/12/07

So, the vital question; should you be quivering in anticipation of The Darkness' launch at the end of this month? In simple terms, if you enjoyed Riddick, or if you have ever liked first-person shooters, or horror games, or both, then yes, The Darkness is a fascinating prospect. In even more simple terms, quickly popping this game onto the Xbox 360 debug unit to check that it worked turned into a lost weekend, a remorseful 4am bedtime, and watching the credit screen roll past at some ungodly hour on Sunday night. This, believe me, doesn't happen very often around here. Call it the lure of the Darkness.

TeamXbox Preview: 6/13/07

But those are all sidelines to the main gameplay—and, interestingly enough, we found that the game’s story is actually a big draw instead of something you want to pass with a press of a button, which is another great similarity to The Suffering. Jackie’s story is compelling enough, but later it takes some dramatic twists that’ll make it impossible for you to skip. Among them is when Jackie ends up in the “Otherworld,” which 2K described as a permanent World War II scenario, though with zombie soldiers prowling the grounds.

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Reviews

PLAY UK: 91%
Gameplayer.com.au: 9/10
UK OXM: 9/10
AUS OXM: 9/10
1up: 9/10
Games Radar: 9/10
EGM: 9, 6.5(wtf?), 8.5
IGN UK: 8.5/10
Gamereactor: 8/10
Eurogamer: 8/10
IGN: 7.8/10
Get The Rest Here
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Moving pictures!!!

(Right click and save-as.........yes its that easy!)

"Gametrailers Video Preview"

"Bloody Executions Gameplay"

"New Trailer: The Heart of the Darkness"

"Hellish Otherworld Gameplay"

"Demonic Warzone Gameplay"

"Gamespot Gameplay Vid 1"

"Gamespot Gameplay Vid 2"

"Gamespot Gameplay Vid 3"

"Demon arm!"

"The Black Hole

"The Creeping Dark"

"The Thrill"

"GDC07 Trailer"

"Developer Walkthrough Part 1"

"Developer Walkthrough Part 2"

"Comic Creator Interview"

"Heart Eating Montage"

"Hit Squad Gameplay"

"Gun Fight Gameplay"

"A Producer interview"

"The 1up Show Preview"


And finally the infamous intro....though you might want to wait and see the final version...its that good(...not to mentioned it'll probably be optomized in the final build)

"The Intro..."

.....so with that..... its time to...Embrace....the darkness!
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*Thread credited to AgentOtaku. Thanks Again.

[belvedere]

This game shall directly affect my monthly kWh.

[Doom_Bringer]

Way to post an official thread with ancient pictures!! The game didn't have motion blur back then. Good work dude!

New pics that show WWI level








One of the best looking next gen games. StarBreeze owns

[The End]

please be good please be good

[beelzebozo]

it begiiiiinsssssssss

[ghostmind]

In Starbreeze I Trust.



My only decision is PS3 or 360 version? Thoughts?


Let me start (other than the obvious):

PS3 - slightly worse textures (?), more content on TV screens (?)
360 - downloadable content?

[Blimblim]

Way to post an official thread with ancient pictures!! The game didn't have motion blur back then! Good work dude! New pics that show WWI level ... One of the best looking next gen games. StarBreeze owns

That's not motion blur, that's just blur from an analog capture card plus compression artefacts. Yuk.

[SantaC]

this makes me very optimistic:

I've played the preview version. Almost finished build, a good couple of hours. While I can't tell any details (NDA until 12 june) I can say the game blew me away completely. Didn't have any expectations, but I think it's one of the biggest surprises of the year. The game did gave me the special feeling only a very few games give me, such as Mafia. It's not only perfect action but also a very, very good storyline. Please people, more hype. The game deserves it.

[purg3]

This game is going to kick so much ass. Any word on the 360 demo yet? I thought I remembered Starbreeze/2k saying there was going to be one in eary June.

[Doom_Bringer]

That's not motion blur, that's just blur from an analog capture card plus compression artefacts. Yuk.

I am just saying the pics he used are ancient. I remember posting them last year...but this game does have really really good motion blur though

[alr1ghtstart]

[AltogetherAndrews]

The Darkness is going to kick so much ass that it's borderline silly. Really.

[SPEA]

Way to post an official thread with ancient pictures!! The game didn't have motion blur back then. Good work dude! New pics that show WWI level One of the best looking next gen games. StarBreeze owns

Thanks for the appreciation dude! Like I said I'm still updating the thread. Give me time. If you were so concerned with the certain pics that were in the thread, you should've made it to begin with.

[Valkyr Junkie]

Moist with anticipation. I just hope there's a fair comparison out between the PS3/360 versions by the ship date.

[dankir]

Loved the comics, loved riddick so this is an instant purchase.

[XSamu]

BTW, it's not WWI.

GSUK: It's been revealed that about a third of the game takes place in a World War One setting. How does this relate to the contemporary New York environment? DG: Yeah, you travel to this other world for something that we can't really go into because we'd ruin the story. You get transported to this parallel world, and it's effectively a place worse than hell where Jackie gets to battle with his own personal demons. He learns more about the Darkness, he battles for control of his body with it, and it fills in a lot of gaps in the story. It's a good place for us to tell that. Like you say, it's kind of a WWI trench setting, and you have allies that fight on your side. It's very twisted, though, and very dark.

[Doom_Bringer]

BTW, it's not WWI.

I got my info from XPLAY.

[Valkyr Junkie]

BTW, it's not WWI.

That reminds me of the Hell stage in Painkiller. Easily the coolest Hell stage in a video game.

[Oneself]

I got the PS3 version pre-ordered in hope that it won't be a shitty port.

[The End]

Welp looks like Burnout got delayed until next year

I choose you Darkness!

[McBacon]

Looks cool, can't wait.

[jvalioli]

I eagerly await the reviews. Though, someone with the almost preview build was hyping this up earlier on the forums so maybe I shouldn't be so skeptical.

[belvedere]

In Starbreeze I Trust. My only decision is PS3 or 360 version? Thoughts? Let me start (other than the obvious): PS3 - slightly worse textures (?), more content on TV screens (?) 360 - downloadable content?

Starbreeze has confirmed on multiple occasions that the PS3 version would have more TV content, even movies in their entirety. I haven't heard the latest on the graphics (textures) though. Were you referring to the texture issue brought up a long time ago?

[newsguy]

I got my info from XPLAY.

You're forgiven for the info, you're not forgiven for watching xplay.

[szaromir]

Starbreeze has confirmed on multiple occasions that the PS3 version would have more TV content, even movies in their entirety. I haven't heard the latest on the graphics (textures) though. Were you referring to the texture issue brought up a long time ago?

It's not "texture issue" - a guy from Starbreeze said they have less memory to work with on PS3, thus textures on PS3 will be a bit worse.

As for the game, I'm not sold on it yet. I'd like to play a demo first. Any info on that?

[belvedere]

It's not "texture issue" - a guy from Starbreeze said they have less memory to work with on PS3, thus textures on PS3 will be a bit worse.

But wasn't that mentioned right after the game was announced? Has there been any recent developments on this "memory" issue?

[XSamu]

But wasn't that mentioned right after the game was announced? Has there been any recent developments on this "memory" issue?

Well I don't think Sony has added more memory to the PS3, so no?

[Emerson]

Absolutely cannot wait for this game. As for the demo, it's supposed to be out "the first week of June" I believe.

[XSamu]

Absolutely cannot wait for this game. As for the demo, it's supposed to be out "the first week of June" I believe.

That should be this week?!?!

[belvedere]

Well I don't think Sony has added more memory to the PS3, so no?

Actually yes, the Game OS now consumes less system memory.



Seriously, no need to start fantard nonsense. I was just curious to see if it was still an issue or if Starbreeze was able to conquer that hurdle.

[Blablurn]

WTF, these WWI pics looks amazing!

[SPEA]

Absolutely cannot wait for this game. As for the demo, it's supposed to be out "the first week of June" I believe.

Yeah. I remember reading that as well.

[ghostmind]

My info on the PS3 textures is rather old, so they may have fixed that... I guess we'll have to wait and see unless omeone has new insight...

[szaromir]

Seriously, no need to start fantard nonsense. I was just curious to see if it was still an issue or if Starbreeze was able to conquer that hurdle.

They didn't announce any breakthrough regarding this case, so I think t's still the same.

Absolutely cannot wait for this game. As for the demo, it's supposed to be out "the first week of June" I believe.

It won't be this week, but it's great it's coming. :)

[belvedere]

They didn't announce any breakthrough regarding this case, so I think t's still the same. It won't be this week, but it's great it's coming. :)

Thank you.

Any word on a PS3 demo?

[alu]

I can't wait to get my hands on it as well, looks brilliant. I've been anticipating it ever since I saw the first screenshots, but I'm also wondering which console is the better choice to get it for.

[XSamu]

Seriously, no need to start fantard nonsense. I was just curious to see if it was still an issue or if Starbreeze was able to conquer that hurdle.

I was just being serious here.... it's not like they can solve things like that easily now can they?

[szaromir]

Thank you.

A little explanation - I think 360 demo isn't coming this week, because we usually know long beforehand exact date with 3rd party releases on Marketplace.

I can't wait to get my hands on it as well, looks brilliant. I've been anticipating it ever since I saw the first screenshots, but I'm also wondering which console is the better choice to get it for.

So far all media are from 360 version, so it's safe to assume it'll be fine, but PS3 version reportedly was running fine at Sony Gamer's Day. If they both are running at the same framerate, I would go with PS3 version for extra video content. Of course there are nerd points on 360 if you care about that.

[homez99]

This is the thread I've been waiting for. Some Starbreeze devs demoed the game (360 demo only) for a few of our staff members in Leipzig, it spoiled the opening, but it's the sort of opening you don't mind being spoiled, as it will make you say wow in every sense of the word. Furthermore, we were shown the snake arm thing going up a wall and through a gap to attack a guard on the gate to open it, which was interesting, as you got to see how the powers the protagonist obtain affect the environment. In fact, a few of our staff were so floored by the demo that they forgot to ask questions, the lazy swines.

[belvedere]

The Gamers Day IGN preview indicates that there will be some form of PS3 accomplishments enabled.

we were told that managing to shoot every construction worker in those tunnels would result in an accomplishment for the PS3. That's significant because, apart from Lair, this is one of the very first titles for the PS3 that's actively acknowledged an accomplishment system

we were told that many of the other items that you could unlock would include full Top Cow comic books, cheats and behind the scenes movies with the developers of the game.

Interesting...

[Emerson]

Now I wonder if that extra content is also in the 360 version?

[jetjevons]

I got my info from XPLAY.

It's not really any world war.

[Guileless]

I like rumble in my shooters so the "extra TV content" would have to be very compelling. Isn't it like Popeye cartoons or something?

[Emerson]

I like rumble in my shooters so the "extra TV content" would have to be very compelling. Isn't it like Popeye cartoons or something?

Yes, it's all public domain videos.

I'm wondering about the unlockables, like the original comics and behind the scenes videos. PS3 only or what? Hope not.

[homez99]

Can't wait to watch Nosferatu in-game, love that film so much.

[Mesijs]

The Gamers Day IGN preview indicates that there will be some form of PS3 accomplishments enabled. Interesting...

Yeah, there are a lot of unlockables, a lot of great and also very funny accomplishments to complete.

Also, the game runs great on PS3.

About the 'WWI' level: it's not really WWI but an 'other place' that feels a lot like WWI.

I can say the atmosphere there was one of the most impressive I've ever felt in any game yet. It's a feeling of great respect towards the creators, which I also had with Mafia and RE4, that they can even create such an atmosphere in a medium like videogames.

The video stuff is kind of cool on PS3. It's just whole movies, cartoons, video clips. All real life stuff running on tvs in the game. But I must admit that I like the short Max Payne 2 videos more, because who would watch a film of an hour or more in a game any way...?

Talking about Max Payne, this game has some great dialog...

[newsguy]

when u guys say in-game tv, are you talking about the video that plays in the tiny little monitors like in waiting rooms while you're playing through the game? I own both systems but I'm not sure I'd sacrifice rumble and (possibly) better textures to watch low res videos in a videogame where my concern is to open a black hole and generally destroy people.

[MercuryLS]

One of my most wanted games this year. I cannot wait.

[D3MO]

Sleeper Hit

[Mesijs]

when u guys say in-game tv, are you talking about the video that plays in the tiny little monitors like in waiting rooms while you're playing through the game? I own both systems but I'm not sure I'd sacrifice rumble and (possibly) better textures to watch low res videos in a videogame where my concern is to open a black hole and generally destroy people.

Yeah, it's real tv on the ingame monitors in the game itself. For example, there's a television in a living room in the game and you can see real movies, clips, cartoons on it and switch the channels.