Lawrence.com

Of the myriad games I’ve played in the current console generation, few have been as disappointing as Dark Void. The promise of UFO dogfights, adrenaline-fueled jetpacks and intense ground battles proves to me mostly an empty one. This game suffers from brain-dead A.I., sub-par graphics, a minimal (and, yet, still clichéd) plot and more.

Dark Void is set in an alternate universe, circa World War II. Hired to transport some cargo, your character Will, along with a former flame named Ava, crashes while flying through the Bermuda Triangle. Surviving the crash, they find themselves on a mysterious jungle island, where they are quickly attacked and separated. After trudging through the harsh wilderness, they find themselves in something of a crossroads dimension, where both an evil alien race and survivors of previously lost Bermuda Triangle traveler’s are waging war. With the help of Nikola Tesla, Will is outfitted with a jetpack and sets out to destroy the alien hordes.

The plot is negligible and feels severely undeveloped. The game’s loading screens and manual tell you more about the plot than the characters and cutscenes. There is very little character development, so you really don’t know the motivations of the characters and, thus, don’t really care whether they live or die.

The game is split into two distinct styles – third-person shooter and aerial combat. Fighting on foot is handled reasonably well, with both horizontal and vertical cover-based gunfights. There is nothing exceptional about the combat, although the vertical cover system, used while climbing or descending towers and mineshafts, is well-done and something I haven’t ever experienced. Unfortunately, there is a limited selection of weapons which, although they can be upgraded, are in no way imaginative. The enemies are borderline idiotic, making no real attempt to strategize against Will’s attacks.

In contrast, the flying portions of the game are much more exciting, once you become accustomed to the controls. For novices at aerial combat games, it will likely take a couple of battles to be comfortable. However, flying and gunning with the weapon-equipped jetpack is smooth, and the ability to hijack enemy ships in mid-air is handled well. There are a couple of downsides, though. First, there is little sense of speed with either the jetpack or the ships, even while mashing your boost button. Second, there is no auto-aim, which can make shooting down enemy aircraft more difficult than it should be.

In addition to the single-player campaign, you can also do…well, nothing. No cooperative play. No battles over Xbox Live or the Playstation Network. The game’s short campaign, coming in at roughly 10 to 12 hours, would be acceptable if there were multiplayer modes. Properly implemented, I think most gamers would have enjoyed strapping on their jetpack and taking to the skies, guns a-blazing. But, once you’re done, you’re done. Sure, you could go back through a find the little collectibles. But why would you?

The game’s graphics are a mixed bag and lack the overall attention to detail seen in most modern console games. Of the locations, the lush jungle and the warehouse-like open areas of the alien ships are rendered nicely, while the closed corridors and rocky canyons are average, at best. The character models and cutscenes, as well as the explosions and weapons fire, look like they could have been achieved last generation. The sound design is much more consistent, with well-acted (if somewhat corny) dialogue and a very good score. Background noise during both the ground and air battles frequently adds more to the experience than the levels’ designs.

If you’ve played the demos or read about Dark Void and think it might be up your alley, my advice would be to either rent it on a snowy weekend or wait for it to come down in price substantially. The short campaign, mediocre gameplay and graphics, laughable plot and lack of multiplayer do not justify the current $60 price.

Graphics: 6.5

Sound: 8.0

Gameplay: 7.0

First Play: 7.0

Replay Value: 2.0



Overall: 6.5