The demo will be available around the world to Xbox Live Gold subscribers on January 17, however it won’t hit the PlayStation Network, Steam or Xbox Live for silver subscribers until January 24, for some reason PlayStation 3 gamers in Europe and Asia won’t get access to the demo until January 25.

When critics reviewed The Darkness back in 2007 it was quite a hit considering the expectations, the Xbox 360 version currently has a metascore of 82 (based on 63 reviews), whilst the PS3 version received a metascore of 80 (based on 35 reviews). The storytelling and graphics were complemented by most, however IGN highlighted AI and gameplay mechanics as problem areas, therefore it will be interesting to see whether Digital Extremes can build upon the success that Starbreeze Studios brought to the original game.

We’re not sure why Starbreeze aren’t developing The Darkness II, however rumors suggest that other titles meant that they simply were too busy with other projects to take on the second installment. Looking back at previous games developed by Digital Extremes we think that The Darkness II is in safe hands – having worked on BioShock, BioShock 2 and Homefront in recent times there’s no question that Digital Extremes should be more than comfortable with this new first-person shooter – let’s hope we are not disappointed.

The Darkness II’s release date has been set for February 7 in the US and February 10 in Europe, we haven’t been told a great deal about what to expect from the demo, but to whet your appetite we have embedded a video below showing some gameplay footage.

Will you be embracing the darkness come February 7? Or will you decide once you play the demo? Let us know in the comments section below.

According to a recent article by Oliver over at el33tonline.com, the quad-wielding first-person shooter is due for release on October 4th in North America, while everywhere else will have to wait until October 7th. The Darkness II will be available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

As 2K Games mentions, The Darkness II comes with Quad-Wielding gameplay, which enables players to fire two weapons while simultaneously using the two destructive ‘Demon Arms’ to grab, slash and throw objects around. The publisher has also promised dark versus light gameplay.

The upcoming game sees players stepping again into the shoes of Jackie Estacado, who has tried coping with the death of his girlfriend by bottling up his supernatural power. However, an unprovoked and sudden attack on Jackie’s life opens the door for the Darkness to come back out.

You can view the new trailer below this post. Will you be buying The Darkness II in October?