Dark Void Preview
Up, up and away.
UK, April 28, 2009 - You might remember our previous journey into the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. Well, fresh from Capcom's Captivate event in Monaco last week, we've had chance to delve deeper into the mysteries of Dark Void, developer Airtight Games' unique sci-fi shooter, and it's shaping up to be an interesting proposition indeed.
A brief recap - you're a pilot, known simply as Will for the time being, whisked into an alien universe following a detour across the Atlantic to speed a delivery. You find yourself in an otherworldly dimension, under the oppressive control of beings known only as 'The Watchers'. It's a nifty set-up, drawing on a handful of perennially popular real-world myths, and Airtight Games hopes to deliver an experience somewhat above the usual generic sci-fi fodder. In fact, we already know that Dark Void's pulp-inspired time-twisting storyline spins a yarn around mysteries as wide-ranging as Nikola Tesla, Amelia Earheart and even the Titanic. Told through a combination of cut-scenes, radio messages, in-game NPCs and hidden items, we're hoping for something significantly beyond standard space marine posturing.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/977/977375/dark-void-20090428000834971-000.jpg)
Beyond story, Dark Void ventures into unknown game territory too, with Will's trusty jet pack proving key. Coming into constant play during open-air, arena-style dogfights, it also lends a considerably unique vertical dimension to what would otherwise be competent, if overly familiar, standard cover-based third-person shooter mechanics. From what we've seen so far, these disparate game elements combine seamlessly, making for an incredibly fresh, genuinely exciting take on the shooter genre.
Going hands-on with the game, it's hard not to be impressed by the physics behind Airtight's game. As things kick off, with an open-air battle against silver '50s-style UFOs roaring over a dazzling alien landscape, there's a real sense of weight and realism to the 360-degree dogfighting - which shouldn't surprise too much given the Airtight's sterling work on Crimson Skies.
With the ground a mere memory, your main objective is to reach the Watcher's central prison camp below. However, progress is hampered by a handful of pesky anti-aircraft turrets littered around the area - targets that won't be there for long if you have your way. While your jet pack offers satisfyingly meaty maneuverability and fire power - with movement, shooting, rolling, boosting, braking and hovering all mapped sensibly to the control pad - you've other transportation to hand too.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/977/977375/dark-void-20090428000803940-000.jpg)
Boost toward enemy vessels and it's possible to grab on, shifting fluidly into a quick-fire hi-jack mini-game. Successfully leaping around the ship's perimeter, dodging bullets and grappling open the cockpit causes the alien pilot to leap out. Take him down and the UFO is yours, meaning you've got access to increased armour and intensified fire power. However you choose to tackle enemies and fight your way to your goal, it's a hugely satisfactory experience, thanks to pitch-perfect handling. Even more impressive though is the seamless switch to Dark Void's equally accomplished third-person shooter portions as you touch down at camp.
Whether you've played Gears of War, Uncharted or any other third-person shooter, you'll be instantly at home - Airtight having created a solid, fluid take on the basic cover-based shooter template. Admittedly, it's clear that our demo was built primarily to highlight Dark Void's three core components and it's hard to gauge the strength of the game's level design and AI based on what we've seen so far. Progress from the camp entrance follows a single linear path, offering a handful of enemy confrontations. However, Airtight is promising a diverse array of open-ended environments, totalling around 12 sizeable levels. What's more, the world is supposedly packed with eye candy, encouraging exploration and discovery where you mightn't ordinarily go.
While opponents on display during our demo weren't overly inspiring, they did provide opportunity to test out the game's weapon switching mechanic. On the surface, it's pretty familiar - you can hold two weapons at once, trading them out as you scavenge from fallen enemies. However, Airtight is introducing a locker system where you're free to grab any combination of weapons you've previously carried, meaning its much easier to test out new tactics. Indeed, the developer is touting Dark Void's focus on "high-end action versus hardcore tactics" for success.
Beyond that, Airtight is promising around ten unique weapons - split between real-world munitions and energy-based 'Tesla Tech'. Downed enemies drop 'Tech Points' and you can use these to upgrade your helmet, your jet pack and weapons - each having its own unique upgrade path. Supposedly, we can expect significant game experiences depending on our choices, with Airtight citing Bioshock's plasmid system as a similar example.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/977/977375/dark-void-20090428000748503-000.jpg)
Back to the demo, some cursory cover-hopping and alien-blasting out the way, the action opens out into a large arena, a formidable airborne 'Knight' doing its best to bring us down. While you can stay on foot, using surrounding cover to your advantage, you can also fire off your rocket boost and take to the air, deftly illustrating the kind of strategic options on offer. It's vital to use your boost cautiously though - too much enthusiasm and you'll hurtle unceremoniously, and fatally, into the nearest wall.
A little later and we're using our jet pack to float gracefully down an impossibly deep pit. It's the first indicator of Dark Void's emphasis on the ludicrously vertical and its quite dizzying. After some simple corridor stalking and gap-hopping, we reach the base of the Watcher camp's main computer terminal - our ultimate target for destruction. Not that you'd know what you were looking at initially - the whole thing a mere column in low room amidst a pool of deadly coolant. It's a wholly unassuming area but that's because the game expects you to think vertically. Close in on the centre of the room, glance up and you're greeted by an entirely mind-boggling sight: a huge chamber stretches endlessly away, intricate pieces of platform and machinery whirling and groaning around the vast column's perimeter.
Using the familiar button-tap cover mechanic you've experienced in more horizontal environments before, moving upward is simply a case of pointing toward a platform and hitting the corresponding command. You automatically glide and grip onto the base of whatever ledge is closest. From here, you've complete 360 vision, meaning you can look (and shoot) anywhere around you, Dark Void's solid third-person mechanics identical to those on the ground, albeit from an entirely new perspective. Moving up is merely a case of finding the next platform within your reach or swinging onto your feet, letting gravity regain control - you can even grapple enemies on the opposite side of your current cover, pulling them over the edge to their distant doom.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/977/977375/dark-void-20090428000755472-000.jpg)
It's the huge (often disorientating) scale and scope that really impresses, with Dark Void delivering a genuinely exhilarating take on tried-and-tested cover-based, third-person shooting during our hands-on time. In practical terms, Airtight's level design skills will need to match its undoubted ambition if vertical play is going to offer more than simple novelty. Encouragingly though, Airtight claims its decision to concentrate solely on single-player for Dark Void fundamentally ensures just that.
There's something wholly refreshing about Airtight's dedication to creativity on a core gameplay level and it's hard not to be excited by the way each element of Dark Void integrates seamlessly to create an experience that feels enormously satisfying - from its weighty flight controls to its tight cover mechanics. Ultimately, it's the trimmings that will make or break Dark Void and, provided the developer can pair Dark Void's well-honed individual components to inventive, engaging level design, Capcom could be onto a winner here.
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