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While at PAX, one of my main goals was to check out Capcom's area. They've always been a favorite company of mine, and while I was treated to some great games, one stood far and away my favorite game of everything I saw at the show. I'm a bit taken aback by the fact that Dark Void isn't getting more attention. It certainly deserves it.
The hustle and bustle of the show floor didn't really lend itself to sussing out story details. Thankfully, supplemental materials that were given at the booth flesh things out a bit. In Dark Void, you play the role of Will, a pilot dropped into a parallel universe called "The Void." In the Void, you are given access to a jetpack designed by none other than Nikola Tesla, ostensibly to help a rebel group of humans called "The Survivors." You're recruited to help defend against a mysterious alien race currently besieging the Earth. While that may sound slightly shallow, keep in mind these are bare bones details and the story is sure to go a bit deeper than that.
A story means nothing without gameplay though, and that is where Dark Void truly excels. Strap on your Tesla powered jetpack and hit the jump for the ride of your life.
I was given two levels to play, the first of which had been previously shown at E3. In this introductory level, you only have a rudimentary understanding of the jetpack and can only use it in short bursts. This may be a bit of a letdown for people (like me) who wanted to jump straight into some high flying action, but it does serve a greater purpose, and that is to show off the truly unique vertical cover system.
In this level, you find yourself in a moss covered valley. There is plane wreckage around the area, and you are surrounded by all sides with seemingly unclimbable terrain. Using the jetpack to boost yourself up the cliffsides, you find yourself grabbing onto outcroppings and using them as cover against the alien hordes as you scale upward. If you're a more hands-on player, you can just zip to a ledge where an enemy is and just chuck them over the side. The vertical cover works both ways, too. If you by chance missed an important piece of information and need to scale back down, you can just change your orientation and scale downward using the same system. As you do this, the camera switches around so it is always situated behind you no matter what direction you face. Gravity means nothing to a guy with a jetpack!
Speaking of which, a game featuring a jetpack as the center of gameplay would mean absolutely nothing if the aerial combat was lacking. Luckily, that is not the case here. The best way to describe the flight in this game is to compare it to the Crimson Skies franchise, and that is a very apt description, as the game's developer, Airtight Studios, features a number of team members from the Crimson Skies series.
This brings us to the second level in the demo, shown for the first time at PAX. This is actually the sixth level of the game, and it's all about learning to use that sweet, sweet jetpack. In fact, you start off the level learning to fly through a vast cavernous expanse. Littered throughout the landscape are a few luminescent blue structures that resemble a Star Trek starbase from a distance. Flight is incredibly easy -- you just point your reticule into open air, hit Y and you are off, literally like a rocket. Note I said point your reticule into open air. I didn't do this the first time and nearly turned my dashing profile into a fine red paste by dragging it across the floor at high speed. You have a partner in radio contact to help you out (or berate you if you mess up like I did). It pays to listen to him.
OK, you're in the air -- now what? If you've ever played High Road to Revenge you should know what you're in for. You use the dual sticks to maneuver and pull off the usual assortment of aerial moves -- such as the immelman and barrel roll -- only now, since you are just a man with a rocket as opposed to a bulky airplane, you are incredibly maneuverable. It take a couple seconds to get used to, but once you do it becomes second nature.
Combat in mid-air is very nice, too. You have your primary and secondary weapons which of course can be lined up using your reticule. The very nice thing about aerial combat is that, as you're approaching your target at high speed, you obviously don't want to overshoot. Thankfully you can just shift into hover mode and ascend or descend on the z-axis as you see fit. The transition is absolutely fluid and seamless as can be and flows very well.
Continuing my flight through this mission I came upon flying saucers which seemed to operate very much like the ones at the end of The Incredibles. You can opt to take them out with your guns, but it's much more satisfying to take the fight to the ship and commandeer for yourself. In what I like to call an "active version of a quick-time event," you have to actively move yourself around the radius of the saucer so you don't get shot, all the while trying to disable the computer controls. Once successful, you have access to new alien weaponry that is clearly devastating. Unfortunately this led to my only disappointment of the demo. As I reached the end of one section in the saucer, The screen faded out to transition to the next section of the level. I didn't understand this cut, because it didn't seem like I actually went anywhere. I just finished my objective. As I faded back in, it was just me in my jetpack again with no explanation as to where the saucer I was flying went. This is just a minor quibble and hopefully is just a side effect of being such an early build.
As I continued on this mission, I entered the glowing blue towers I mentioned earlier to take out its shield generators. To do this, you actually have to reach a small deck that leads inside the citadel, and then work your way vertically through the inside. Once you land, the game again seamlessly transitions into a third-person shooter. From the inside, the free-floating alien skyscraper shows a metal construction of brownish metal with otherworldly blue piping along it. While I am not terribly well-versed in cover systems and the like, I can say working my way on foot and using the scenery as cover and shooting over it was very intuitive. I can compare the combat/cover to the Mass Effect 2 demo I tried earlier in the day. While very similar, I need to give props to Capcom, as it seems they accomplished on the first try what took Mass Effect a sequel to perfect. It makes me very excited to see what the final build will be like.
I finished the demo by making my way through the alien stronghold, taking some enemies out with my gun, and just slamming some of their heads into the pavement. Doing this allowed me to grab the sweet plasma-like weapon they were carrying, which served me well in the next vertical cover section where I ultimately caused their complex to explode, ending the demo.
All in all, from the 20-or-so minutes I got to play the game, I can say I was thoroughly enthralled. I may be slightly biased, as I've wanted to fly like the Rocketeer since the movie came out in 1991. Even so, if the flying and/or combat wasn't up to snuff, I wouldn't blindly give it praise. You'll be doing yourself a disservice if you let this title pass you by.
Dark Void isn't due until January 2010, but will be available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. I played the 360 version. You can join the resistance by heading over to http://community.darkvoidgame.com/.
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