2K Games has this week confirmed a sequel to its violent, supernatural horror shooter, The Darkness, which performed critically well in 2007, including in our HEXUS.gaming review where we praised it for its "movie-like production values, great storyline and innovative use of special powers."

This time, however, Digital Extremes, who has recently worked on Bioshock alongside Irrational Games and is currently developing HomeFront for PC, takes over the development duties from Starbreeze Studios.

Based on the supernatural horror comic book series created by Top Cow Productions, Inc., The Darkness II takes players down a brutal and personal path as Jackie Estacado, wielder of The Darkness – an ancient and ruthless force of chaos and destruction. The game will break out of the sea of conventional first-person shooters with its fervid Quad-Wielding gameplay, which will allow players to slash, grab, and throw objects and enemies with their Demon Arms while simultaneously firing two weapons.

The Darkness II will feature award-winning comic book writer, Paul Jenkins, who will provide a tightly integrated narrative that weaves dark humour with hardcore tenderness.

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This is what we know of the story so far...

It’s been two years since Jackie Estacado, now the Don of the Franchetti crime family, used The Darkness to kill the men responsible for his girlfriend’s murder. He’s been unable to shake the memory of Jenny’s death since bottling up his supernatural power, and now The Darkness wants out. A sudden, unprovoked attack on Jackie’s life heralds the start of a full-scale mob war, which has clearly been orchestrated by some outside force. The botched attempt opens the door for The Darkness to reemerge, and sets Jackie on a journey to hell and worse, as he unravels the mystery behind the attack and the motivations of The Darkness itself.

The Darkness II is said to be layered with the use of dark versus light, steeped in deep and twisted storytelling, and engulfed in stylistic violence that is visualised through a hand-painted graphic noir technique that stays true to its comic book origins. Judging by the screenshot above it also has more than a passing resemblance to Bioshock about it - that can't be bad.

The Darkness II is due for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in the Autumn 2011.