Review: Dark Void

What mysteries lie in the Bermuda Triangle? The famed region of the Atlantic Ocean has been the basis of many tales. What happens to the planes and ships that disappear in the Devil’s Triangle? Do they merely sink into the ocean never to be seen again? Or do they they become trapped forever in a parallel dimension? This is the question Capcom’s latest sci-fi adventure Dark Void tackles.

While I’ve had two opportunities to play the game over the past year, I have to admit I wasn’t overly impressed. The game froze and crashed at two separate events I attended. In fact I never did get a good feel for the game until I got my review copy last week. So how did the final product turn out? While it’s not the game I was hoping for, but it’s not nearly as bad as I had feared.

The Story

You take on the role of cargo pilot William Augustus Grey (voiced by Nolan ‘Nathan Drake’ North) who crashes his plane while flying through the Bermuda Triangle. Instead of plunging into the ocean you find yourself in a parallel universe known simply as “The Void”. But you’re not alone. Before long you realize there are others in this dimension. The call themselves “survivors”, essentially other people who fell victim to the Bermuda Triangle just as you have.

But all is not well in The Void. The survivors live in constant fear. A technologically advanced-race known as The Watchers also call The Void home and they are determined to reach earth. Destroy the Watchers and help the humans return home, that is your goal.

The Gameplay

Dark Void features two very different styles of gameplay. One is a third person shooter, while the other plays out more as an arcade style flight simulator, complete with in-air dogfighting missions.

The majority of early levels take place with you on foot. You roam around exploring areas, carrying out missions for the survivors, while searching out Watchers to destroy. Early on in the game you’ll obtain a booster pack which enables you to jump higher, and after that a jet pack which you will use to explore higher ground and ultimately fight flying Watchers and enemy aircraft.

Capcom takes pride in calling this a true 3D game. It is referring to the unique cover system. Not only can you hide behind objects on the horizontal plane, but also the vertical. If you grab onto a ledge on a cliff, you can peer over the top and fire straight up at enemies while hiding below the lip of the ledge. Think of it as though the face of the cliff becomes the floor and you can walk up the cliff and hide behind ledges as if they are walls. The new cover system can be quite disorienting at first. It took me quite a few tries to get the hang of it. Although I hated this new system at first I did grow to like it later on in the game.

Mixed in for good measure are the flying levels. These dogfighting levels have you flying through an aerial arena shooting down UFOs with your jet pack (which for the record has a gun mounted on it). While you can take down enemy aircraft with your jet pack alone, it’s not nearly as fun as hijacking UFOs and using them to take out your enemy. When you fly close to a UFO you can grab hold and play a minigame to take control of the aircraft. Watchers will try to shake you off by flipping the UFO, but if you press the right buttons on the controller at the right time you’ll maintain control and ultimately call the UFO yours.

The Controls

Controls vary depending on what type of level you are playing through. Third person shooter levels maintain a typical control scheme with the option of flight included. A double tap of the A (jump) button will send you up into the air and allow you to hover. Double tapping the Y button will activate your jet pack and give you the option for full flight. In theory this is ideal for situations where you come under heavy fire. Fly up high into the sky and kill your enemies from above. Only it’s not so easy to pull off. Aiming while flying is almost impossible and you’ll often resort to using your jet pack as an escape mechanism rather than a sniper tool.

The controls for the flying levels is where the game really falls apart. The right trigger acts as your gun while the analog stick controls your direction of flight. Sounds simple enough, that is until you try and target an enemy. The reticule is so sensitive that it’s hard, almost impossible to get a lock on your enemy. Enemy aircraft move fast and trying to track one down can feel more like a chore rather than a fun objective in the game.

The Graphics

Dark Void holds up fairly well in the graphics department. Facial textures are nice and environments are fairly detailed but the game does not break any new ground graphically. Some of the character animations could have used a bit more work as lips didn’t always match the voices. I couldn’t decide what the developer was going for, a cartoonish feel, or cell shaded look. Either way graphics are the least of this game’s concerns.

I do want to mention I did run into a couple of moments of slowdown during dogfight stages when multiple enemies appeared on the screen at the same time. One time it slowed right down to a crawl and I was sure a crash was inevitable. The game pulled through and in a matter of 15 seconds I was back on track kicking some ass. The other incident saw only minor slowdown which lasted between 5 or 10 seconds.

The Downfalls

The biggest issue with Dark Void isn’t the bizarre plot, or the cheesy love story but the controls themselves. On foot everything controls quite well, but as soon as you take to the sky things start falling apart. Flying is fine but trying to shoot while flying is downright frustrating. The opening level itself took me about 15 minutes to complete and all I had to do was take down 3 enemy aircraft. That’s a lot of flying around in circles let me tell you! I’ll admit the more I played the better I became, but remember I was forced to play the game for an extended period of time for this review. I doubt many gamers would give it the chance I did.

The Bottom Line

Dark Void has so much going for it. A unique story line, innovative gameplay and a main character with the gift of flight. How cool is that! A character than can fly whenever he wants! Yet the fatal flaw remains the controls. The ability to fly should have been fun. The game should have made me want to take to the skies, yet I found myself staying on foot as much as I could to avoid certain death and frustration.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate Dark Void. I actually enjoyed the strange story and unique concept of the game. It definitely stands out as one of the most unique shooters to hit consoles in a long time. All I can say is give it a chance. If you can get used to the flawed controls you will find there is enjoyment to be had in this title. If only a little more time had been spent polishing the controls I would have been able to score this game higher.

The Good

Unique story line
Outstanding music
Solid graphics

The Bad

Frustrating controls
Occasional slowdown when large numbers of  enemies are on screen