Launched in Europe only a month ago, Capcom Entertainment and Airtight Games’ Dark Void is already available at many retail outlets for a heavily discounted price. The videogames industry moves very quickly these days, and a game that can fetch the publisher’s full Recommended Retail Price (RRP) beyond it’s first few months of sale are few-and-far-between, but to be promoted as a “bargain” so soon after release is a rarity indeed. While Dark Void was never expected to break any new ground, being developed along with a helping-hand from Capcom’s in-house team certainly raised a lot of interest in the title, and so a question has to be raised as to exactly why the retail community seems to have turned it’s back on Capcom’s latest high-definition release.

            In Dark Void, players take on the role on Will Grey, a cargo pilot lost in the Bermuda Triangle in 1938. What lies beyond is known as ‘The Void’, where many previously lost humans have gathered as a band and are eager for your assistance fighting against the oppressive force dubbed ‘The Watchers’, in a bid to return home. Obviously, things are never that straight-forward, and so your journey will bring with a number of twists and revelations in it’s Science-Fiction plot of jet packs and heroism. 

            Unfortunately, the twisting of the plot can be somewhat ham-fisted, and few would argue Dark Void stands as an example of compulsive storytelling in the interactive medium. The Watchers are an admirable if familiar foe, metallic and dull-witted and actually quite fun to fight against. Though the artificial intelligence (AI) of the general fodder is undeniably poor, it results in some more actively aggressive enemies than that of Gears of War while maintaining a suitable pace for a Third-Person Action title, something which Day 1 Studio’s Fracture ultimately failed to do. A well-implemented cover system and some imaginative weaponry make the on-foot combat an enjoyable yet shallow experience, but the real crux of the matter lies in the aerial combat.

            With a control system that is both well designed and easily adapted to, Dark Void’s aerial gameplay is a great deal of fun. Will Grey moves with far greater grace than Tony Stark in SEGA’s Iron Man, and is granted a considerable amount of freedom to do so. Players can engage in head-to-head dogfights with enemy aircraft, using all manner of nimble manoeuvres while maintaining aim thanks to a clever cruise control upon clicking the Right Analogue Stick, and being able to commandeer an opponent’s vehicle never becomes less than grin-inducing. Later levels become tightly structured series of control and combat challenges, mixing together lessons learnt through fighting both on-foot and in the air, and though it suffers occasionally from frustrating design and difficulty spikes Dark Void does possess a few standout moments and interesting set-pieces, especially when considering it’s boss battles.

            Dark Void isn’t the prettiest game around, by a long shot in fact, but it’s certainly far from poor. The animation during cut-scenes is generally of a good standard, but occasionally flounders with some bizarre eye-movement or awkward looking walking. The in-game graphics are typically of a reasonable standard, with Airtight Games obviously having taken the commendable route of settling for a target they know they can achieve, rather than overstretching and delivering a game full of visual inconsistencies. The voice acting is generally well presented, making each character genuinely believable, if not likeable.

            Far from being groundbreaking, Dark Void is generally an enjoyable game. Some early bad press and a poor demo have undoubtedly ruined it’s reputation, but hitting the league of bargains just after it’s first month on sale? The reason is simply that it doesn’t stand-up to the recent competition. In a market where your multi-million pound production has less than a month to prove itself, going-up against the likes of Darksiders, Bayonetta, Mass Effect 2 and BioShock 2 was never going to be easy, and a game that offers fun without excitement would never shine as brightly on retail shelves.

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