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Dark Void
Dark Void is an interesting premise
that aims high, however fails to deliver the vertigo inspired action in
this 360 degrees third person shooter. The story of Dark Void revolves
around a pilot named Will who finds himself trapped in The Void
due to a crash in the Bermuda Triangle. From there, he finds a group of
people called the survivors who must band together against an alien race
who are planning the ultimate invasion of planet Earth. Clichéd and
almost like a bad B-Grade science fiction, the story of Dark Void is
cute to say the least but misses that true blockbuster gaming feel.
In essence, Dark Void is a third person
shooter that has the player taking on a plethora of enemy combatants
from standard grunts to at times, challenging boss battles. Of course,
along the way, additional weapons and upgrades become available but the
selling point of Dark Void is the ability of flight and ever since The
Rocketeer, gamers have stared at the skies. With that said, this is the
most enjoyable aspect of the game, using your jetpack and flying through
the air which does offer the player some limited freedom.
In terms of flight, the game helps introduce the gamer to their jetpack
early on in the game, so those wanting to hit the skies will be pleased
with this aspect. Exploring the various environments actually works
quite well and the developers have successfully managed to create a
sense of vertigo, albeit forced. Your jetpack does get upgraded as you
progress which offers more freedom with flying and rather than just
hover around, you can actually fly!
Just like the aforementioned movie, using
the jetpack can be a little tricky at the start because just as easily
as you can leave the ground, you can also come back to it pretty damn
fast but once you've mastered it, you'll even be doing some impressive
tricks.
However at its crux, Dark Void is an
average third person shooter that does not really offer this genre
anything new in terms of content, it's competent but nothing too flashy.
The combat in the game is sturdy and the enemies AI can sometimes be a
little challenging as you attempt to blow them into the alien afterword by
bullet after bullet. This is quite reminiscent of those older first
person shooter games that had the player unleashing a full round of
ammunition into their enemies but the game does use certain hot spots on
your victims which does dispatch them quicker. Ironically, melee or hand
to hand combat is easier to use and is easier to fell your enemies which
does have us raising one eyebrow.
The game does use a decent cover system, provided you're on the ground
which adds some elements of realism to this third person shooter. Flying
does add a new element to the gameplay which for me, became reminiscent
of those classic arcade flight simulators but it's great to zip in and
zip out, provided you don't get blasted out of the sky. Apart from
combat and using your jetpack, Dark Void even allows you to control
certain vehicles in the game and if we spoil one aspect of this game,
it's the ability to commandeer and fly a UFO. If only they fleshed it
out more because Dark Void is a good looking game, however when it comes
to those "wow" moments in the game, it lacks that unique inspiration and
around half way through the game, you'll be thinking, where are the new
levels or enemies.
The control system on the PS3 is nicely mapped and as soon as you pickup
the controller, it's easy to get into that third person shooter zone.
The only tricky issue with the controls is the flight controls, however
if you've been in the gaming field for a minimum of two years, than
you'll definitely be combat ready. Difficulty levels are available for
those gamers who wish to be challenged which generally makes enemies
more bullet resistance with a higher level of accuracy.
Graphically and with the audio department,
Dark Void is a good looking game that has some impressive looking
character animations and gaming environments. Unfortunately it becomes a
tad repetitive which is the downfall of this title. The music sounds
like a science fiction film and the sound effects are a little tacky at
the best of times.
Final Thoughts? Dark Void manages to capture the experience of flight,
however unfortunately the third person shooter perspective is just a tad
stale when it comes to other third person shooter games on the market at
the moment. Graphically it's a well designed game with the attention
to detail on the environments, especially in terms of flight, however at
it's heart, killing aliens and saving the world has been done before and
unfortunately a little better in most circumstances.
This is not to say that Dark Void is a bad
game, rather it's an above average game that misses to deliver that
final knock out punch. Even so, if you wish to be Batman or Superman
flying through the air as you fight and perform some impressive
acrobatic manoeuvres, than Dark Void does deliver in these aspects. It's
also a shame that the multiplayer facet of this game hasn't been fleshed
out more but hey, it's a New Year and it may keep you busy for a few hours
or so. |
