The Darkness II Is Going To Be Late

Publisher 2K Games has announced a new release date for The Darkness II. In other words, the game has been delayed.

A bit of a primer before we get into the new details: The Darkness II is a direct sequel to 2007’s The Darkness. Both games are based on Top Cow’s comic book series of the same name, and feature Jackie Estacado, a semi-repentant mafioso who has been possessed by an otherworldly demon.

Also, the demon is voiced by Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton.

The original Darkness was an above-average first-person shooter, that most critics enjoyed, despite minor flaws. The sequel has so far attracted tremendous amounts of attention, and anticipation for the game is reasonably high.

Thus, it’s kind of a bummer that 2K would delay the game. Originally, The Darkness II was scheduled to see retail shelves on October 4, 2011. According to 2K’s press release however, the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC iterations of the game will now ship on February 7, 2012.

However, the press release also states that the game will be making a sizable appearance at this week’s San Diego Comic Con. To wit:

2K Games announced their presence at San Diego Comic-Con and will co-host a special panel featuring The Darkness II entitled “Spreading The Darkness: From Comic Book to Video Games and Entertainment,” in celebration of the 15th Anniversary of The Darkness. The discussion around The Darkness II will feature top talent from Top Cow Productions, including CEO and co-creator of The Darkness, Marc Silvestri, and President and COO of Top Cow, Matt Hawkins; developers from Digital Extremes; and in-game voice of the Darkness, Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and Peeping Tom). The panel will take place on Thursday, July 21, 2011, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. PDT in Room 9 within the San Diego Comic-Con convention center.

2K Games will also have eight playable demo kiosks of The Darkness II in the Top Cow booth (#2629) on the San Diego Comic-Con show floor for fans to descend into the gritty and visceral mind of Jackie Estacado.

There is no word on what caused the delay, though one hopes the additional four months of development time will serve to polish The Darkness II into a shiny onyx of hyper-violence and guttural Patton sounds.