quote Play Magazine

Dark Void may be one of the quieter titles
churning through Capcom’s 2009 release
machine, but it’s not for lack of capable
potency. No one quite knows the blueprint for real
success, so maybe the fi rst thing Dark Void needs
to project is just how distinct its vertical combat
actually is. Producer Shana Bryant is quick to
point out that “vertical combat is kind of hard to
describe. It’s really better to see it in action.”
And she’s absolutely right. Combat is of the
duck-and-cover variety, easily identifi able to any
Gears of War-infl uenced third-person shooter
fan, but what really defi nes Dark Void’s enemy
confrontations is the jet pack you’ve got strapped
to your back almost from the start. Vertical combat
isn’t just shooting upwards, or paying attention
to enemies from above, or making long treks that
extend into the sky. With the thrust of your jet pack,
evolving from a gentle hover to all-out rocket ship,
you can fl y from cover point to cover point, assess
enemy positioning and zip through the air to your
desired position. The only real limitations are logical
strategy, your feel for the space and what makes
sense for a kill. It’s really cool, if simply from a visual
standpoint, watching the screen change positioning
as you drop into the Z axis and send spindly cyborg
creatures hurling toward their death while you
maintain safety with the burst of your jet pack.
“This is not a fl ight game,” Bryant explains, “it’s
a game for action fans. If he looks out of control, he
really isn’t.” This is a good point to note when the
game turns into more of an aerial combat routine;
the character is entirely hand animated, exaggerated
and far from stiff in his response to what you
might imagine fl ying open-air at 300-mph would
entail. One of my favorite moments was when our
rocketman hero dog-fi ghts with a saucer-like alien
ship, lands on the hull and rips out the pilot to take
over the controls. A grip meter is one mechanic
you’ll be faced with as you routinely get caught up
in scenarios where hanging on for dear life requires
frantic button tapping.
After crash-landing on a distant world, the setting
is at fi rst vaguely familiar, with cold, inorganic
alien technology mixed with the brightness of Earth,
but the scene will shift into continuing depths of
mystery. “It’s not an open world by any means, “
says Bryant, “but we want to give you freedom…
reward you for exploring these beautiful worlds
we’ve worked so hard to create.” When I compliment
her on how the ethereal orchestration worked
nicely to feed that beauty, I was told thanks go to
Battlestar Galactica composer and Mega Man fan
Bear McCreary.