The Darkwatch is a time-honored institution with the singular mission of eradicating evil. They have just recently been successful in capturing the vampire lord Lazarus and are now carrying him back to the headquarters so that he may be questioned. During this time, an outlaw attempts to hijack the train, but instead of finding riches, he releases Lazarus from his grasp. However, this does not happen before the vampire lord bites the outlaw. As Jericho Cross, a former bandit who has recently become the newest member of the Darkwatch, it is your responsibility to track down and eliminate Lazarus before you become a full-fledged vampire.
Darkwatch is a first-person shooter video game in the Wild West that features otherworldly monsters. Use Darkwatch equipment that doubles as melee weapons, such as a revolver, two-fisted pistols, a crossbow (with dynamite connected to the bolts), and a Rail Rocket, to fight your way past reapers, undead riflemen, banshees, and other enemies. You can also use the explosives you find along the journey to throw at the enemies and blow up the barriers they have set up. Along with more traditional weapons, Cross will also be able to acquire vampire powers, which will depend on the path you take through the story. If you decide to do what is right, you will be rewarded with abilities such as Silver Bullet, which boosts the damage of holy fire shots you take, and Vindicator, which brings chain lightning down on your foes. If you decide to take the path of evil, you will have access to two abilities: Blood Frenzy, which augments the potency of your melee assaults, and Soul Stealer, which allows you to steal the very souls of your opponents when they are at a distance. Whether you choose to be good or evil, you will always have access to the Blood Shield (which prevents you from losing health), the Vampire Jump (which allows you to access regions that are difficult to reach), and the Blood Vision ability (which causes adversaries, weapons, and other vital objects to glow). Your health will be replenished, your vampire powers will be restored whenever you kill a monster, and you will receive at least one Blood Cloud—and maybe more—in exchange.
In the single-player campaign, you have the option of playing either the story mode (in which you go through the plot of Jericho Cross chapter by chapter) or the Gunslinger mode (in which you can relive any level that was unlocked in the story mode as either evil or good). At the mission’s conclusion, you will be shown your total number of kills and accuracy percentage. You can unlock some movies and concept art if these are high enough.
You can compete against up to 16 other players online with Xbox Live or play with up to 4 others in split-screen mode. Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, Soul Hunter (battle to collect Blood Clouds and be the first to fill your Blood Bar), and Team Soul Hunter are the many types of matches that can be played in multiplayer mode. You can change the settings for each contest, including the game type, the map you want to compete, the total amount of time you have to play, the score limit, and the kill limit.
You can browse concept art unlocked through playing Gunslinger Mode, videos from Story Mode, and your statistics from both Story Mode and Gunslinger Mode by selecting Extras from the main menu.
