It's the middle of the afternoon and we're sitting in absolute pitch black trying to eat what feels and tastes like some kind of duck curry. The reason we're fondling round a plate in the dark is because we're about to get a long-awaited hands-on with The Darkness - 2K Games's upcoming comic-based supernatural shooter. Beforehand though, we're having lunch in a place called Dans Le Noir, a restaurant where you eat in absolute darkness, for larks. See what the event organisers did there? Those clever PR people.
Those black tendrils replace the HUB and show health/dark power.
Even with the crushing panic attacks, the numerous stains down our front - having blindly tackled a pudding - and the endless recurring flashbacks of stifling, claustrophobic horror every time we shut our eyes, it was still worth it. You see, The Darkness is shaping up to be one of this year's most imaginative titles - but then we'd expect nothing less from Starbreeze, developer of the excellent Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Despite only playing a three-level demo, we came away from The Darkness feeling suitably impressed.