Darkwatch: Curse of the West is a secret strike-force that guards humans against evil incarnate since the beginning of time. Jericho Cross is their latest and meanest agent. He is an outlaw gunslinger who becomes a part of their team due to an unfortunate event that pits him against a vampire lord. The game is available on Xbox and PlayStation 2 (PS2).
In the game, Jericho must defeat the vampire who bit him through an American frontier. His undead minions took it over. Similarly, his goal is to save the West and his soul from damnation. He has advanced Darkwatch technology, gun-laden vehicles, and unique versions of Western weapons.
Moreover, he has many supernatural vampire capabilities and rides an undead horse.
Darkwatch is full of action in a 3D environment, has various missions, and a powerful enemy. The game uses a high level of artificial intelligence (A.I) for compelling gameplay. Moreover, it offers a player reputation system with pinpoint gun power and damage in a particular area.
Darkwatch Characters
1. Jericho Cross
Jericho Cross is the main character of Darkwatch. He is an American Civil War veteran who deserted it to become a gunslinger and train robber. During such an activity, he releases Lazarus Malkoth from his prison. That turns out to be a failed attempt to steal the contents.
Lazarus Malkoth is a vampire who bites and infects Jericho with his curse. Besides an accomplished shooter, his abilities enhance as a result. The bite gives him extraordinary powers similar to the vampire. For instance, he gets more stamina, fluid movement, and exceptional senses.
These are in the form of the bioluminescent red orb that he gets from his empty eye socket.
Jericho rides an undead horse named Shadow.
2. Lazarus Malkoth
Lazarus Malkoth is the main antagonist of the Darkwatch game. He is a Roman who has his origins in the first century. He founded the Darkwatch society in 66 AD to fight with the dark forces that led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
Later, Lazarus Malkoth gets possessed by a demon that converts him into a super vampire. As a result, he goes against the Darkwatch society that he brought into existence. He then takes charge of an undead army to attack the organization. The Darkwatch then follows the vampire in different parts of Europe and later America.
3. Cassidy
Cassidy is the primary female character of Darkwatch. She appears first in the opening scene while trying to stop Jericho on the train. Lazarus kills her soon after his prison witnesses an explosion, and she joins Jericho. Later, she returns in the form of a ghost who aides Jericho to stop Lazarus from his actions.
Cassidy had a difficult childhood. Vampires killed her parents, due to which she was raised an orphan as a ward in Darkwatch. She learned how to fight the undead there and became the most potent force in society. One of her key highlights is to turn into an angel during the fight with the last boss.
4. Tala
Tala is the second primary female character of the Darkwatch game. She is a Native American healer who seeks immense strength in the secret organization. As a young girl, she lost her oracle mother. As a result, her tribe banished her because of her mediumship abilities.
Tala then lost her father, who was killed by a group of fur traders. She also suffered at their hands as they enslaved and mistreated her. However, fate takes revenge as vampires killed them. Some Darkwatch agents then rescue her from captivity and make her a part of their team.
Tala’s experiences make her extraordinarily irritable and power-hungry as she seeks retribution for her parents’ death. Due to her commitment, sheer will, and brutality, she rises through the ranks of Darkwatch in a short time. She is the only character in the game that uses kicks to fight the enemy.
A key highlight of Tala’s Darkwatch ability is to turn into a demon while fighting the game’s final boss.
5. Clay Cartwright
Clay Cartwright is a vicious and strategic field commander of the Darkwatch society. Having fought as a brigadier general in the American Civil war, Cartwright nags Jericho and captures him. She then engages him in various tests before making him a part of the organization.
Darkwatch PS2
Darkwatch PS2 is a powerful first-person shooter for Sony’s gaming platform. It comes with picture quality in HD and an unusual storyline. Set in the dark-themed West, it is a vast and smooth 3D world. The campaign progresses in a non-linear manner. The gameplay responds as per your reputation and gaming experience.
In Darkwatch: Curse of the West, you play as a vampire slayer while avoid getting killed in the Wild West. It is an alternate universe of the West, where you will have to terminate the undead for fuel. Once you shoot them to pieces, you can wear their skin as a cloak.
Likewise, you can develop weapons to defeat their armies. Darkwatch offers numerous gamers to play online. It has many different maps and game modes to keep you interested.
You can use the latest weapons that have strange Darkwatch magic. These include shotguns, rifles, pistols, dynamite, rocket-launches, and melee attacks. It is possible to turn the undead to pieces by shooting at them. Besides, you can scare the pesky living by shooting off hats.
Darkwatch PC
The Darkwatch PC version was initially planned to be launched along with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox version. At the time, the creative director Emmanuel Valdez brushed off the idea of the Darkwatch PC version as there wasn’t enough in the GameCube market according to him.
Hence, gamers can’t play it on their computers.
Besides the Darkwatch PC version, the publisher also planned to launch it for the PlayStation Portable. However, the idea did not come into realization.
Darkwatch Game Modes
1. Single Modes
As a single-player, there are two options, i.e., story mode and Gunslinger mode. In the first one, you play as Jericho Cross and complete the missions one by one. The latter option lets gamers play any chapter unlocked from the story mode. You can choose to be either good or evil.
Once a chapter is complete, you can view detailed information about how many undead you killed and the accuracy percentage. If you meet a certain level, that will help unlock a few movies and concept art.
2. Multi-Player Modes
The Darkwatch game lets your play online using Xbox Live with up to a maximum of 16 players. Similarly, you can use the split-screen mode to play with up to 4 of them. For the multiplayer options, you can select between the Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, Soul Hunter, and Team Soul Hunter.
In the Soul Hunder type, the goal is to attack the enemy to collect Blood Clouds. The first to fill the Blood Bar will be the winner. It is possible to configure the settings of each game. Likewise, you can adjust the map, playtime, score limit, and kill limit.
With the main menu, you can select extras to view unlocked materials. These include the statistics and concept art that you received after the Gunslinger Mode. Similarly, you can also see the statistics and movies from Story Mode.
Review
Darkwatch is a modern first-person shooter title. All the aspects of the game are worth enjoying. The environments offer a refreshing gaming experience. Although the gameplay is nothing out of the ordinary, it still is one of the best action games on the Xbox and PS2 platforms. The controls are effortless to handle as well.
The Darkwatch game has generally received positive reviews from the critics. The concept of the game pits the player against a wave of the undead. Similarly, the storyline is inspiring and offers engaging gameplay. It is set in the background of the western, horror, and steampunk themes.
Its theme is also different from other first-person shooter games.
Darkwatch is sure to make gamers willing to play more. Players can use different weapons to kill enemies with state-of-the-art guns. It gets harder to defeat the enemies as the game progresses. When you fight an army of the undead, it is tough to take them down using the six-shooter.
Darkwatch uses the Havok physics engine. It is fun to play as the Psi-Ops. The gaming experience is crisp with a fabulous presentation. Players can switch to the split-screen mode for a change.
Darkwatch provides an ever-changing campaign during the gameplay. Players use various weapons to kill the undead, then ride the horseback and skeleton hammering buggies. It is fast-changing gameplay that does justice to the game with time worth spending.
About
- Published By: Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
- Developed By: High Moon Studios, Inc.
- Release Date: August 16, 2005
- Platforms: Xbox, PlayStation 2
- Genre: Action
- Perspective: 1st-Person
- Gameplay: Shooter
- Setting: Steampunk
- Narrative: Horror