Capcom’s latest 3D action adventure, Dark Void on Xbox 360, asks players to rise up against an oppressive otherworldly menace but is this a rebellion worth joining? Make sure you consult our exclusive Dark Void review to find out.
Barry Manilow may have delighted housewives everywhere when he crooned about the Bermuda Triangle but for William Augustus Grey – the devastatingly handsome protagonist of Capcom’s Dark Void – the inner secrets of this infamous location are all too real.
After crashing suddenly whilst on a seemingly routine delivery assignment, Will is thrown into an alternative reality where a rag-tag bunch of humans – known as “Survivors” – attempt to free themselves from the tyrannical grip of the robotic Watchers.
The plot borrows ideas from several famous sci-fi inspirations – The Rocketeer being the most notable – but generally speaking Dark Void sees you engaging in both on-foot and in-air combat with a wide range of metallic bad guys.
Initially the game closely resembles Gears of War, with ground-based warfare being the focal point of the opening few hours. Dark Void incorporates a similar cover system to Epic’s popular action title, although the big innovation here is that defensive positions aren’t just confined to one plain of movement – “vertical cover” is all about climbing up and down structures and taking out the various assailants that bar your path.
To be fair this new mechanism isn’t quite as original as Capcom would have you believe, but it does at least lend the game a real sense of depth; levels stretch in all directions and feel genuinely epic in scope.
As enjoyable as the on-foot sections are, they soon become repetitive due to samey gun fights and slightly dim-witted opponents. Thankfully Dark Void is pulled back from the brink of mediocrity by the presence of the rocket pack.
The introduction of this unique accessory – ingeniously crafted by the Survivors from the parts of aircraft lost in the Bermuda Triangle – really opens up the game. It’s possible to take to the skies in order to rain down death on your enemies, and the transition between the two control systems is smooth enough to ensure you can mix up your offensive strategies without having to struggle with the joypad.
Add in some entertaining dog-fighting missions and gigantic bosses to pick apart and you’ve got a game that very nearly manages to live up to its lofty promise. It’s only denied true greatness by the often-plodding on-foot segments, some uninspiring enemies and occasional slowdown when there’s a lot of activity on-screen.
Despite these niggles, Dark Void remains an enjoyable action adventure which manages to bring something fresh to the third person shooter arena but sadly doesn’t break away entirely from the unfortunate clichés that plague the genre.
