With the popularity of 3rd person shooters it is quite hard to captivate gamers with so many games out under the genre. What makes Dark Void stand out from the crowd is the inclusion of the infamous jet pack. The main character Will finds it during his travels in the void and decides that it will make the battle against the watchers much easier. This is a game with a sci fi theme after all so the jet pack is the 1st of many surreal surprises.
In terms of game play it mostly sticks to standard cover and shoot mechanics seen in most 3rd person shooters, over the last few years. It attempts to change the formula slightly by enabling shooting while using the jet pack. The lack of automatic lock on to enemies while flying makes some tasks rather hard. This can clearly be seen when shooting while constantly flying to avoid enemy fire. The system works fine when firing at enemies while in the ground. It also contains sections where cliff sides have to be climbed. In conjunction with the jet pack it makes it seem more fast paced in terms of shooting, when engaging enemies while hanging from platforms.
The weapons available are many though and vary slightly from each other. They range from more traditional bullet types to futuristic versions of laser like weapons. Each of the weapons works more efficiently against a certain type of enemies. The weapons can also be customised to make them into even stronger versions and purchased by using earned credits. It makes the game seem more tactical and feel more rewarding when managing to defeat an enemy, by looking at what works best against it.
The levels in Dark Void can be quite bland at times with the same environment used throughout most of the game. There are a few exceptions such as a lush greenery filled forest, during the introductory levels, which makes it desirable to explore. The design for levels starts to become more interesting towards Chapter 3 taking on a sci-fi theme, but feels too short. In fact when finishing a level it gives the sense that it ended too quickly. It would be nice to be able to explore the environment more freely.
In terms of enemies there are quite a few types, which makes up for the bland environments, they are fought in. To ease the player into action the 1st few enemies found are simple robots which can be defeated easily. As the game progress their tactics change to the point that they start floating about with jet packs. The game has very few true boss battles but when they appear it does not prove to be much of a challenge. They are very impressive to look at with massive Greek titan like sizes though. When fighting in the air the enemies are put into UFO like round spaceships which cab be taken over by all action hero Will. In fact the game uses timed button pushing actions in order to take over or destroy certain enemies types. This is reminiscent of other games and seems to have become an idea that developers are quite fond of. It proves to be useful in some cases though as battling the UFO spaceships with an abducted spaceship makes shooting more accurate.
As for the story in the game it is very interesting, due to the character Will also being new to the world he is thrust into. It begins to fall short halfway through game, but still feels compelling to get through, in order to find out what is really going on. The characters presented all have their own stories, although the spotlight is put on Will the most. Some of these character stories can be read in diaries found throughout the levels. It adds depth to the story behind Dark Void, and answers many questions that would be left blank, by just playing through Will’s story.
In fact these diaries are one of the few reasons that Dark Void would have any replay value. It only takes around 7-8 hours to play through the main game and with only collectible diaries, there is not much else that can be done. There are different difficulty levels which are more challenging by making Will be able to withstand less hits. But besides that there is nothing too exciting to compel players to go for at least a 2nd play though, such as new weapons,costumes and so on.
As for the music in the game it definetly is one of the highlights found while playing. It always fits the location and adds a certain sci fi vibe to the game. There are a lot of tracks and none of them ever give the urge to turn down the volume.
To summarise Dark Void is a decent attempt at modifying an overused genre but falls short for reasons mentioned above. It could be a better experience with more diverse/longer levels and higher accuracy while shooting in air since jet pack is the main concept of game. In its current state though it is worth trying but just don’t expect it to be a mind blowing experience.
7/10
Tags: capcom europe, dark void, review
Tags: capcom europe, dark void, review