Dark Void - Xbox 360 (360), Playstation 3 (PS3), PC Previews


	Platform PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 Genre Action Publisher Capcom Developer Airtight Studios ETA Q1 2009
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Dark Void

I came away from the Dark Void demo trying to think of a good Gears of War reference. I settled on “Rocketeer of War” because that’s exactly how I would sum up Dark Void to anyone not familiar with the title.

The character you play finds himself in the Dark Void after piloting his aircraft into the Bermuda Triangle. He wants out but he eventually succumbs to doing “the right

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thing” by sticking around to help the natives defend against a robot army. Then he gets a jet pack. Suddenly, you have a much more nimble character. The game mimics the Gears of War cover system and even many of the controls but with the chance to get airborne and leap large gaps, the game manages to suddenly feel different.

The developers have

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also implemented something they call vertical combat where you’re traversing big cliff faces with short rocket jumps and firing an enemies from cover. As happened a number of times in the demo, your character can be knocked off the cliff. When he’s suddenly hanging on with one hand, you’ll have to hammer on a button to get a firm grip again. If you can manage to hop underneath an enemy perch they can be grabbed and flung off the edge.

The action changes again when your character hijacks a flying saucer mid-flight, no less, after acquiring an upgrade for his jetpack. A dogfight with other flying saucers ensues. Strangely, this doesn’t feel forced or even out of place. It actually feels exciting. This can likely be traced back to the fact that developer Air Tight Games has many of the key people from the classic Xbox series, Crimson Skies.

If the demo is anything to go by, the pacing mixes things enough to keep the action interesting, with something new to do every ten minutes or so.

There are some rough spots and sometimes it wasn’t always clear what path you should be taking, mainly because the game environs are quite dark, but with a Spring 2009 release timeframe there’s still plenty of time to iron some of these things out.

- Omni

(July 23, 2008)