Line #13 VideoGame/DarkWatch


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Darkwatch_9247.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:256:[[DarkIsNotEvil He's on your side, we swear]].]]
3	->"''Evil... as old as time, spreads like a plague, corrupting the hearts of men. For millennia, there have been those who have stood against it. A secret organization to protect mankind. They are the frontline in an unholy war. They are...the Darkwatch.''"
4	-->-- '''OpeningNarration'''
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6	''Darkwatch'' (sometimes subtitled ''Curse of the West'') is a SteamPunk FirstPersonShooter {{Videogame}} developed by Sammy Studios in 2005 (now High Moon Studios, creators of ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'') and distributed by Creator/{{Capcom}} in the US and Creator/{{Ubisoft}} in the UK for the Platform/Playstation2 and Platform/{{Xbox}}.
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8	[[TheWestern It's 1876]], and an age of darkness has come upon TheWildWest. You are Jericho Cross: [[TheGunslinger Gunslinger]]. [[{{Outlaw}} Renegade. Outlaw]]. [[VillainProtagonist Behind you lies a]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge bloody trail of robbery and revenge]]. [[OneLastJob Ahead of you lies one last train to rob]].
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10	[[{{Retirony}} Except Jericho couldn't have picked a worse train to rob]]. This one's owned by the Darkwatch, and the train's cargo is not gold, but a prison cell containing a powerful vampire lord named [[BigBad Lazarus Malkoth]], [[FaceHeelTurn the original founder of the Darkwatch]]. YoungGun Darkwatch agent Cassidy Sharp tries to stop Jericho from blowing the cell open, but is too late, and Lazarus is freed--and with him comes a terrible curse, [[ZombieApocalypse unleashing all manner of undead horrors on the Old West]]. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Whoops!]]
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12	[[VampireRefugee In the process, Jericho is bitten and begins to turn]]. Now he must find the Darkwatch and help them [[FindTheCure hunt down and destroy Lazarus or be forever damned]].
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14	----
15	!!''Darkwatch'' provides examples of:
16	* AllThereInTheManual: The Darkwatch has been fighting vampires and zombies since the days of the Roman Empire. Promotional material includes images of Darkwatch Regulators from all across history, including both World Wars and the present day. The main characters' backstories is only ever alluded in the supplementary material rather than the game itself.
17	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Things go to hell for the Darkwatch Citadel after [[spoiler:Tala's FaceHeelTurn]].
18	* AncientArtifact: The Deadlight Prism, a [[PowerGlows glowing]] [[SicklyGreenGlow green]] [[EnergyBall orb]] that projects an aura of HollywoodDarkness around it.
19	* AntiHero: [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope How far down the slippery slope he]] [[KarmaMeter goes is your choice]], but the fact remains that Jericho was a notorious outlaw and remains unafraid to let bullets do the talking.
20	* AppliedPhlebotinum: How the Ghost Gates work.
21	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Cassidy in the "good" ending]].
22	* AttackItsWeakPoint: Banshees can take ludicrous amounts of damage, but can be taken out with several bullets to the head.
23	* AutomaticCrossbows: One of the weapons Jericho can use is a crossbow that can use several bolts, and each is tipped with dynamite. Jericho doesn't need to hit the target to do damage to it, which is useful in the cases of fast foes.
24	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Cassidy]] after being killed early on in the game.
25	* BadassLongcoat: Jericho, who trades in his tan duster for a Darkwatch-issue black [[HellBentForLeather leather]] one.
26	* BadassNormal: Jericho, very briefly before he gets bitten.
27	** Cassidy, [[spoiler:until she's killed by Lazarus early on in the game and comes back as a [[SpiritAdvisor ghost to guide Jericho]]]].
28	* BodyArmorAsHitPoints: The "good" ability Mystic Armor invokes this.
29	* BoringButPractical: The Blackfish carbine, a powerful repeating rifle with a generous ammunition capacity. It's found at the beginning of the second mission and is common from then on. It can easily become a SniperRifle when combined with VeinOVision, though it doesn't hit as hard as the actual SniperRifle.
30	* BrokenPedestal: While hitchhiking inside Jericho's head as a SpiritAdvisor, [[spoiler: Cassidy]] gets to see the shady side of Darkwatch she wasn't privy to as a Regulator, including breeding monsters for experimentation and using captured civilians in live-fire training exercises, causing her to realize that Darkwatch isn't the upstanding bastion of justice she thought it was. However, given the alternative is an army of the dead hellbent on bringing about Hell on Earth, the Darkwatch remain the "good guys" by default.
31	* BigBad: Lazarus, possibly of the entire setting. [[spoiler:Curiously, he is dispatched before the game's climax and Tala usurps his position in the good path, while Jericho becomes this in the evil path, with [[HeroAntagonist Cassidy]] serving as the FinalBoss]].
32	* BittersweetEnding / DownerEnding: Depending on how you play as Jericho.
33	** In the good ending, [[spoiler: Jericho stops Tala from reclaiming Lazarus' powers and continue his plans. The Curse of the West is lifted, he reverts to a normal human and Cassidy ascends to Heaven with her mission accomplished. However, the Darkwatch has sustained massive losses, their HQ has been razed to the ground and their future doesn't look very good.]]
34	** In the bad ending, [[spoiler: Jericho rids himself from his humanity, sides with Tala and kills Cassidy. Shortly after, he kills Tala and becomes the single vampire lord, riding off into the night to further spread his evil upon the world.]]
35	* ContractualBossImmunity: If you try to use the Silver Bullets quad damage during the FinalBoss fight, she'll fly up out of your reach after the first few shots, preventing you from doing any significant damage with it. She's also immune to your other special abilities such as Fear or Vindicator.
36	* [[DarkIsNotEvil Darkwatch Is Not Evil]]: But they're not too friendly and are [[IDidWhatIHadToDo fond of doing whatever it takes]].
37	* DeadWeight: The fat zombies (Oozers) come at you with [[DualWielding dual meat cleavers]] and [[ActionBomb explode violently on death]], so keep your distance.
38	* DeflectorShields: The first vampiric power you obtain is the "Blood Shield." How it works is not explained, but you essentially have a ''Franchise/{{Halo}}''-like regenerating shield on top of non-regenerating health.
39	* DoubleJump: Another beneficial side-effect of Jericho's condition.
40	* DrillSergeantNasty: General Clay Cartwright. He's fond of jabbing Jericho with his cane [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten and blames him for]] [[spoiler:Cassidy's death]].
41	* EliteMooks:
42	** Undead Darkwatch Regulators are much tougher and can survive a lot more damage compared to regular undead Gunslingers. They're typically only encountered in areas which had a large Darkwatch presence, such as the overrun outpost.
43	** "Spectral" enemies are noticeably tougher and hit harder than regular versions of that enemy.
44	* EmergencyWeapon: Every Darkwatch-issue weapon has wickedly-curved blades grafted on to it, expressly designed to cleave through the undead.
45	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Tala]] halfway through the game.
46	* {{Fanservice}}: A nude spread of Tala was printed in ''Playboy''. [[BlatantLies For advertising purposes, of course]].
47	* FinalBossNewDimension: The final showdown takes place in a PocketDimension which may or may not be Hell.
48	* GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath: Found on most zombies, [[EyelessFace except the ones that don't have eyes]].
49	** Jericho has this, as well; his scarred missing eye glows red, the source of his VeinOVision. [[spoiler:In the good ending, [[EyelightsOut his eye glow dies]], [[UndeathAlwaysEnds indicating he is human again]]. In the bad one, [[GlowingEyesOfDoom both eyes glow]], [[HeWhoFightsMonsters indicating he has embraced vampirism]]]].
50	* GunsAkimbo: The Warmonger pistols, a pair of small revolvers.
51	* HealThyself: Jericho can pick up [[ThePowerOfBlood canteens of blood]] to heal himself.
52	* HellBentForLeather: A majority of the Darkwatch wears clothing made of black leather.
53	* HellishHorse: Jericho's first (and only, if you're a nice guy) blood-suck victim is a horse, which then rises anew as his undead steed. It can be summoned and dismissed at will, and appears to feel no pain, as Jericho uses him to take cover from incoming fire during the horseback segments.
54	* HellOnEarth: Deadfall, the town Lazarus uses as his base of operations, has turned into this, complete with lava flowing through part of the town.
55	** Hangtown, earlier in the game, lacks the lava flows, but is still chock-full of the undead.
56	* HeroicMime: Jericho never utters a word during the entire game, but its implied he is capable of speech since one brief dialogue option is available.
57	* HubUnderAttack: The eponymous organization's desert citadel becomes a HubLevel once you start working for them, and you regularly return here to prepare for the next missions. Given that the only way in is via a single heavily-guarded portal, it seems pretty safe; however, in the climax, Lazarus attacks the citadel [[spoiler: with a little help from Tala]], forcing you to battle your way through the carnage in order to stop the undead.
58	* ICanRuleAlone: In the bad ending, [[spoiler:Jericho bites Tala and drains her of her blood rather than share Lazarus' power with her]].
59	* IDoNotDrinkWine: Jericho attempts to drink some stream water early on, but [[{{Squick}} immediately throws it back up]].
60	* TheImmodestOrgasm: Tala in the "Prom Night" cutscene. [[RightThroughHisPants Jericho is still fully dressed]]. KissOfTheVampire comes into play, which turns out to be a ''really'' [[FaceHeelTurn bad idea]].
61	* InjunCountry: One or two levels. The zombified braves come at you with throwing axes and the like.
62	* JokeItem: The normal revolver you start the game with is perfectly fine for fighting humans, but is massively unsuited for fighting hordes of the undead, with only 6 shots and a long reload. Fortunately, you only have to fight about 3 skeletons with it before a dying Darkwatch regulator gives you his Redeemer.
63	* TheJoysOfTorturingMooks: Its possible to dismember several of your foes by shooting off their limbs or their heads. In fact, you can easily kill your enemies by shooting out both their arms and their means of attack. Its not advisable to do the same to the Banshees, or else they [[TurnsRed become even more bloodthirsty]].
64	* KarmaMeter: Depending on if you choose the good or evil options at certain points, Jericho will either learn good spells or evil spells (and be [[WhatTheHellHero yelled at]] by [[spoiler:[[SpiritAdvisor Cassidy]]]]).
65	* LargeHam: Lazarus just loves to [[ChewingTheScenery chew up the scenery]]. {{Lampshaded}} in the first chapter after the first fight against Lazarus by the subtitles reading "Triumphant laughter that swells to over-the-top laughter."
66	* MadScientist: You speak to one between missions; he issues you your secondary weapon. You always start with the [[RevolversAreJustBetter Redeemer]].
67	* MarathonBoss: The final boss fights against Lazarus and [[spoiler: Tala[=/=]Cassidy]] are very long, as the bosses have insane health bars. You can use a damage boosting power like Silver Bullets to take out Lazarus more quickly, but this won't work on the FinalBoss as they just fly out of your reach after the first few shots if you try it.
68	* MeaningfulName: Lazarus gained his {{immortality}} by coming BackFromTheDead.
69	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Chapter 2's opening text, "Nice going, outlaw. Your soul is slipping away, and Hell's own horsemen nip at your heels."
70	* NightOfTheLivingMooks: Of all shapes and sizes and a variety of armaments: [[OurZombiesAreDifferent guns are no exception]].
71	%%* [[strike:NinjaPirateZombieRobot]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Zombie-Killing Vampire Cowboy]]
72	* OurBansheesAreLouder: Undead prostitutes that fly into the air and shoot energy bolts out of their mouth.
73	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They are the reanimated corpses brought back to life by the Curse of the West. They come in many shapes and sizes, some might be skeletical like the Reapers or morbidly obese like the Oozers.
74	* RealSongThemeTune: Sort of. Parts of the theme from ''[[Film/DollarsTrilogy The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]]'' can be heard in the menu theme.
75	* [[RedShirtArmy Red Bandana Army]]: The Darkwatch's Regulators, [[HellBentForLeather black leather-clad]] [[{{Cowboy}} cowboys]] with hats, [[LampshadeHanging spiffy red bandanas]] [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy and terrible aim]].
76	* RegeneratingShieldStaticHealth: One of the many influences from ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' in ''Darkwatch'' is a static health bar and a regenerating "blood shield". Unlike ''Halo'', small amounts of health can be restored from blood pickups dropped by killed enemies.
77	* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The Viper enemies are snake-like vampires with the power to teleport and a real pain in the ass.
78	* SilverBullet: Every Darkwatch gun that uses bullets, uses silver ones [[HolyHandGrenade with emblazoned crosses]]. The ones that don't have something comparable. There's also the "good" ability SilverBullet, which dramatically enhances the damage of your guns and temporarily gives them BottomlessMagazines.
79	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: And this one has ''four barrels''! And a nasty blade, besides. [[ShortRangeShotgun Its range is a bit poor, though]].
80	* SniperRifle: The Range Rifle is equipped with a sniper scope and can kill most basic enemies with a headshot or a couple torso shots. However, rate of fire and ammo capacity are lower than the unscoped Carbine.
81	* SoulJar: Occasionally Jericho comes across a damned soul that Lazarus has left nearly totally drained. You have the option to free them and send them to FluffyCloudHeaven, or [[MoralEventHorizon consume what remains]].
82	* SpinAttack: In one trailer, Jericho leaps into the air, firing two Redeemers wildly into a pack of zombies. [[CutscenePowerToTheMax You can only use one Redeemer in the game]].
83	* SpiritAdvisor: [[spoiler:Cassidy]] after [[spoiler:she is killed early in the game]].
84	* SpyCatsuit: Cassidy and Tala both wear form-fitting catsuits made of black leather.
85	* StandardFPSGuns: Crosses, blades/studs and nifty SteamPunk modifications aside, the line-up is as follows: [[RevolversAreJustBetter Revolver, Dual smaller revolvers]], [[BoringButPractical Repeating Rifle]], [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter Shotgun]], SniperRifle, [[StuffBlowingUp Rocket Launcher]] and [[StuffBlowingUp dynamite]] [[AutomaticCrossbows double-shot crossbow]]. It's like if ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' and ''Anime/{{Gungrave}}'' combined with each other and was in the past instead of the future.
86	* SteamPunk: The Darkwatch makes use of advanced weaponry, up to and including steam-powered, [[GatlingGood Gatling gun-mounted]] ''dune buggies''.
87	* StuffBlowingUp: Rocket launchers weren't exactly standard issue at the time, so what did the Darkwatch do? Stuff a bunch of explosives into a naval signal flare launcher! They added a studded maul to one end for good measure. More ordinarily, Jericho can throw sticks of lit dynamite at opponents. Used in one trailer to impressive effect. Oh, and the double-crossbow that shoots bolts with dynamite stuck on 'em.
88	* SuckOutThePoison: What Jericho does to Lazarus' still-living victims if you choose to be good. [[VampireBitesSuck Otherwise]]...
89	* SuicideAttack: The TNT Zombies.
90	* SuicideIsPainless: You know all those people who flee the infected city? If you follow them, you will see them run into piles of fire and kill themselves.
91	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: How many shots can you fit in a revolver? Six? Eight? Maybe ten if you're using a small cartridge? How about ''twenty-four'' via an under-slung helical magazine? Ladies and gents, [[RevolversAreJustBetter The Redeemer, pictured above]].
92	* TraintopBattle: But of course.
93	* TransformationDiscretionShot: Early in the game, Lazarus grows a huge pair of batlike wings in order to pursue Jericho and Cassidy across the desert, though the transformation is seen only in shadow. [[spoiler: Bizarrely enough, he undergoes a much more intense transformation scene on-camera after absorbing the power of the Deadlight Prism, so presumably the earlier ShadowDiscretionShot was a purely stylistic choice.]]
94	* UnflinchingFaithInTheBrakes: After tossing a stick of dynamite into a pack of zombies, [[UnflinchingWalk does he walk away]]? [[AvertedTrope No]]. He just stares down the ensuing explosion [[DramaticWind while his tattered duster billows]].
95	* TheVamp: Tala, figuratively speaking. She uses her feminine wiles to get her way and is a very bad girl. How bad are we talking about? [[spoiler:She tricks the vampire hero to turn her while they are having sex, just so she could become this trope literally, betray the Darkwatch and usurp the BigBad position from Lazarus]].
96	* VeinOVision: Jericho can use his vampire sight to easily spot the undead.
97	* VideogameCrueltyPotential: In Hangtown, the other agents are shooting everyone as a precaution to the undead uprising. You can come across a lone uninfected survivor in an alley who begs for you not to tell the other agents. Just as you get out of the alleyway, an agent comes up to you and asks if you found anybody. You can either tell him no and let the guy live, or tell them you saw someone and they go in and kill them. For added cruelty, you can say no (which Cassidy will praise you for), then go back into the alley and kill him yourself (and get chewed out by Cassidy).
98	* VideogameCrueltyPunishment: Go ahead and open fire against the other Darkwatch agents during the Hangtown level. They will come in endless waves and will not stop until you die. This is notably the only time in the game where you are instantly punished for an evil action.
99	* WeaksauceWeakness: You are WeakenedByTheLight. Although sunlight doesn't harm him directly, standing in it will drain Jericho's Blood Shield and prevent him from using any abilities, including his DoubleJump. Invoked in Cartwright's test and in the level where you retrieve the Deadlight Prism (standing within its aura allows Jericho to use his powers).
100	* WeCanRuleTogether: If you're good, [[spoiler:Tala]] offers this to Jericho during [[spoiler:the final boss fight against her]]. [[AntiHero Bullets deliver your answer]]. [[spoiler: [[ICanRuleAlone If not]], you fight Cassidy instead and [[VampireBitesSuck Jericho bites Tala to death anyway.]]]]
101	* WhatTheHellHero: How [[spoiler:Cassidy]] reacts if you have Jericho choose to do evil things.
102	* WeirdWest: Where the game is set.
103	* WingedHumanoid: Lazarus [[spoiler:and later Tala]].
104	* XtremeKoolLetterz: The Undead Ryders.
105	* ZombieApocalypse: The Curse of the West. If Jericho can destroy Lazarus and win back his humanity, he may prevent this from spreading.
106	* ZombiePukeAttack: Oozers, which are fat zombies that launch their puke at you.

Context VideoGame / DarkWatch