Outside of cheap visceral thrills, emotional manipulation isn't usually something to count on from video games. First-person shooters especially tend to avoid the heartstrings, content in offering little beyond tried and true run and gun. So when a game comes along that not only delivers on the boom but successfully mucks with your emotions, it's worth taking note.

The Darkness, from the developers of the truly superb Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, treads the minefield of heartache. Set in New York, the game follows low-level mobster Jackie Estacado as he fights his way through a bitter gang war. Flunkies are gunned down. Explosions are survived. And along the way, Jackie celebrates his 21st birthday, takes a couple trips to hell, and grows fanged tentacles that devour enemy hearts.

Though its shiny graphics and twitchy play are on par with current-gen standards, what sets The Darkness apart is its story, which manages enough emotional wallop to overshadow the legion of clichés it employs. Whether it's simply time spent on the couch watching To Kill a Mockingbird with Jackie's girlfriend Jenny (an actual minigame, of sorts, complete with an achievement to earn on Xbox 360) or an extended torture sequence involving a power drill, few games are as capable of burrowing their way into the mushy parts of your brain. One second-act twist in particular is so brutal and heartbreaking to watch that it rivals most network programming in its effectiveness; once it was over, I had to step away from the game and gather myself for a moment.

If only the gameplay matched the heights of the story. As sharp and intricate as The Darkness's plot is, the letdown is in the game's mechanics, which are passable but far too linear. While harpooning enemies and creating black holes with your tentacles leads to some inspired moments, the game on the whole suffers from an inability to make its action reach what is achieved by its drama. If Half-Life 2 set the bar for storytelling in games, perfectly fusing the cinematic with the gigabyte, then The Darkness is a near miss. The heart is there, but in a surprising turnabout, this time the action suffers.recommended