Two new trailers have been released for The Darkness 2 that highlight the weapons and story of this comic book-inspired shooter. While, up to now, gamers have had a good idea of what they are getting themselves into with The Darkness 2, few have seen the plethora of abilities protagonist Jackie Estacado has at the ready.

On top of that, the second trailer for the game gives a brief explanation of The Brotherhood, one of the main antagonists in The Darkness series — a sinister cult that is bent on separating Jackie from the darkness. In this sequel, The Brotherhood is back, and may just have a way of achieving their goal.

First up is a pretty substantial look at the many abilities the darkness imbues Jackie with. Probably the most useful is the gun channeling ability, which essentially lets Jackie see through walls and even pick off enemies hiding behind cover. Think of it like the Auger from the Resistance series.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Darkling, a mischievous little fellow that comes to Jackie’s aid by being an all-around nuisance to his enemies. Don’t be fooled by his silly get-up, though, he’s quite the malicious little demon.

To see the Darkling, gun channeling, along with many of the other powers Jackie will have at his disposal, check out the trailers below:

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Next comes the aforementioned story trailer that delves briefly into the history of Jackie’s encounter and subsequent bonding with the darkness, as well as The Brotherhood’s obsession with controlling it. If you’ve yet to check out the first Darkness, a criminally under-looked cult title, we highly recommend you do. But if not, this and a previously released recap trailer should suffice.

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Our early encounters with the game have shown a deeply innovative shooter that allows varied use of not just the darkness abilities, but combat mechanics in general. The Darkness 2, having now been delayed into the less crowded early 2012 release window, should definitely be on your watch list.

Which of the various darkness powers are you most interested in playing around with? How does The Darkness 2 rank in your anticipated games of 2012?

The Darkness 2 releases February 7, 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.