The tale of a secret society of beings dedicated to protecting humans from the forces of evil seemed like an acceptable template for a videogame and it was made better when developer High Moon Studios added that its latest title Darkwatch would take place in the Wild West, which is uncharted territory in the games industry. In fact, early demos dazzled me with special effects and lightning fast gunplay, convincing me that this macabre FPS would turn out to be one of the Xbox's greatest games, standing next to Halo and Doom 3, but such is not the case. It's not that the final product is bad per se, but there's enough of it that was simply mishandled, and when coupled with the shockingly abbreviated single player campaign, Darkwatch winds up being the little first person shooter that almost could.

It's not that the actual game is bad. On the contrary, I haven't had this much pure fun with a console FPS since the original Halo, but what really disappoints me is the awful story and just bad transitioning. The game carries a sweet smell of big ideas that were just too humongous for its creators to handle. It's almost like they spent all of their time making sure the game played well and then came to the horrific realization that there were other parts that needed attention, but that dedication never came, resulting in a product that looks like a grade school diorama that wasn't worked on by the kid's parents, except that extra layer of polish would've been greatly appreciated.

If High Moon knows anything it's how to put together a kick @$$ first person shooter. Playing as the thief turned vampire Jericho Cross, you, as a member of a secret society known as the Darkwatch, must eliminate the vampire lord that bit you along with his legions of undead warriors, all of which have been wondrously designed. There are wailing banshees, skeletons, and fat gluttons, among other terrors, and the physics engine enables you to send them flying through the air after loading them up with dynamite, blow off their heads, clip off their arms, and perform other devilishly fun acts, and when this game's running on all cylinders it's an absolute joy to play. The engine never falters, there can be numerous enemies on screen at once, the weapons have a solid weight to them, and the special effects (such as undead warriors exploding from graves) completely dazzled the hell out of me. Now factor in semi destructible environments, the ability to swallow souls or set them free, slick on-rails horse riding, and one of the greatest handguns ever seen in a FPS, and what you've got is a game that really looks and feels like ninjas wrapped in bacon and on fire or whatever the hell Microsoft and Bungie said to make Halo 2 look and feel more intense than it really is.

Actually, where that game failed, Darkwatch succeeds, which makes it all the more puzzling why its developers dropped the cast iron ball when it came to its narrative, which is stupidly corny. Actually, botched is a better word because the writers fail in their telling of the story. To look at the box or to listen in on conference calls, I assumed the game was predominantly about Jericho's life in the Darkwatch but such is not the case. I spent more time just trying to get to the Darkwatch's secret base than being a member, and this is made worse by the fact that the single player campaign can be beaten in less than six hours, and that includes watching all of the awful cut scenes.

The FMV is just a complete waste. Either High Moon didn't know what it was doing or it went for a different sort of look, some comic book inspired appearance that mutated and got totally out of hand. Instead of Jericho being this macho tough guy he's actually quite a tool. He walks like he has a broom handle shoved up his @$$, and his nose is almost level with his shoulders. He's just an awkwardly designed character, but so are the Darkwatch themselves. Advertised as these super bad hombres that fashion clothing from the skin of their adversaries, I would have thought they'd be these monstrous undead entities, but they're just bald cowboys with bandanas over their faces, and the guy who forces Jericho to prove himself was taken right out of the Civil War, unless he came up with the KFC secret chicken recipe, which is totally possible.

Darkwatch also suffers from poor transitioning. I understand that the game needs to load, but what really angers me is having to sit through an FMV sequence every five to eight minutes. I wouldn't have minded as much if the actual cut scenes were good but they're painful to watch. It just sucks to be constantly ripped from the gameplay. I've got these dual pistols and a shotgun and I'm just waiting to kill things, then I have to sit through the writers' attempts to convince me that they knew what they were doing.

I don't have to watch the cut scenes, but doing this reassures me that my $49.99 (plus tax) was well spent, because the last thing I want to do is take a 6 hour game (and I'm being generous with that time) and strip minutes from it, lest I feel that Capcom's taking advantage of me, but I'm being rather hard on this game. After all, there are piles of shooters on the market that just plain suck, and evaluated solely for its gameplay (which is truly a title's most important feature), Darkwatch is quite good, especially when I play it on Xbox Live. Here, the game moves just as fast as it does offline, and the ability to double jump adds a unique layer of depth to the gameplay. The multiplayer modes don't put Halo 2 to shame, but what's here is pretty damn good. Also, while this game's length is its biggest Achilles heel, it's sort of nice being able to beat something outside of work, even if the story's imbalanced.

Another bright spot is how gorgeous the game is. The environments aren't much to look at, though the decor, which includes bodies hanging from nooses and busted up homes, is quite homely, but the character models are the real stars. Jericho and the Darkwatch aren't too hot looking, but the multiple enemy types are definitely eye catching, and all of the explosions are very cool. I once, while running backwards, shot through a grave stone and into the body of a menacing skeleton warrior, decapitating him at the neck. Then I chucked dynamite at his still walking body and watched as he literally flew through the air and into the wall. THAT, my friends, is bad @$$.

To be fair, Darkwatch has a somewhat troublesome history. It was supposed to be the shining gem in Sammy Studios' portfolio, but when the American office was shut down the title disappeared, only to resurface under Capcom's wing, and the more I think about it, it's no more mindless than stereotypical Hollywood summer action films, which are usually enjoyable romps through hell, fire, and feature insane weaponry. With that being said, if you choose to leave the old brain at the door Darkwatch will satisfy, but think too hard and you, like me, will just pick this game apart. Enjoy it for what it is, and don't ponder how amazingly spectacular it could have been.