Darkest of Days was a game sold to me on a concept alone: a man is sent back (and forward) in time to humanity's darkest moments and bloodiest battles. After being rescued from the battle of Little Bighorn, Alex Morris is zipped around to rescue individuals who died in the battles but shouldn't have, and whose preservation would be for the betterment of mankind. To save them, the player needs to return to events in World War I, World War II, the Civil War, destruction of Pompeii, and others using both classic and ultra-futuristic weaponry, finding and saving the individuals.

If that isn't a plot worth paying attention to I don't know what is.

Its blend of old and new weapons is admirable, and being able to use an artillery-powered rocket launcher to take down scores of Confederate soldiers is something of brilliance. Gamers have been asking for years to be able to play a game where they go back in time and use outmatched weaponry against more primitive forces, and that's finally an option. The concept alone is strong enough to sell it, and it's made better by the game's scale.



The "Marmoset" proprietary engine can support up to three-hundred characters on screen at once, and 8monkey Labs takes every chance it has to take advantage of it. In the opening scene of the game, dozens and dozens of Native Americans ride around the player, firing arrows and charging on horseback. It doesn't look as good as some other games this generation, but the scale and scope are wonderful, and a breath of fresh air from the typical corridor shooters.

Other mechanics were mentioned and never shown. Certain people weren't supposed to die during the battles, and if Morris kills them there can be repercussions. These individuals glow white, and will prompt enemy time travelers to pop into the past to take Morris down. This can actually be used to an advantage, and can earn him powerful weapons if he's able to take them down.

Darkest of Days looks like it's going to be a huge game. Most developers can afford to have many different levels because they're able to repeat weapons, enemies, and enviornments. 8monkey Labs can't, and everything needs to look unique. From what I saw, everything does, and it's amazing how much they've done with a title that's flown so low under the radar. Many of the mechanics sound fantastic, but Darkest of Days seems to be a massive undertaking for an unproven developer. Can they pull it off? I have no idea - only time will tell.