The problems unfortunately don't just end with the ground combat either, while you're flying through the air on your rocket pack you do get a good sensation of flight, the controls are easy to understand and react quite well to your input, but again the combat lets it down. When you're attacked in the air you're forced to manually track your opponents, meaning that you must keep them within your sights to kill them. You might think this is all fair game but it can quickly become frustrating as you battle several of the aliens who fly past and at you forcing you to dodge out of the way and establish your target, it slows the game down and you can't help but think that someone should have at least invented some kind of heat seeking missile for the rocket pack to give you a fighting chance at some point. While I wish I could say the control method was the only problem with the game, it isn't, there are so many other flaws with it that it stops becoming funny, problems with the AI used by the watchers, on land they're not the most intelligent of opponents, nor are they the best shots, but get them in the air piloting the UFO's and they become air combat aces with a keen eye. When you're not doing battle you're normally making your way to the next section of the game, on occasion these can be some distance away and for some inexplicable reason there is nothing to do except run there, this can be quite boring with nothing to do but look out over the generic landscape.
Suffice to say that the gameplay is severely flawed, we don't want to wax lyrical about everything we think is wrong, it's just so disappointing when you start to add up all the problems as you play, the game idea itself is sound and would really have benefited from some more development time or more time in front of testers.
The graphics for the game aren't really up to scratch either considering it runs using the Unreal Engine, famed for making games look so good. The backgrounds are bland and repetitive, Will's main character animations are somewhat lacking and almost laughable in places, just watching him jump makes you cringe and as for the proportions his body parts sometimes take on, well, the less said the better. The Watchers don't fare much better either, they don't seem to do very much and you might be forgiven for thinking they are cardboard cut-outs on some occasions. Fortunately the same can't be said for the sounds in the game, the soundtrack is excellent and really well scored and suited to the game, Sci-Fi fans might recognise the name of the guy responsible, Bear McCreary, he's the same person responsible for the music on the recently ended Battlestar Galactica remake. And, if anyone wants to get in touch with us and let us know why the end music suddenly turns into an eight bit era soundtrack then we'd be all ears. The sound effects in the game are passable, they work just as well as the music and the voice acting on the main characters for the most part is exceptional as well, in fact it's Nolan North who voices Will, the same guy responsible for bringing Nathan Drake from the Uncharted games to life; it's almost a shame as well because with the game being so similar in many ways to the Uncharted games you can almost shut your eyes and be transported to a happier place in your gaming career as you hear Drake instead of Will, and if you squint and cock your head to one side you can just about convince yourself you're playing that game and not Dark Void.
It would be wrong to suggest that this title should be ignored, it shouldn't despite all its flaws, it's never totally unforgivable although at times the controls can become extremely frustrating, or after getting a Trophy for completing a particularly long chapter only to get the "Mission Failed" screen and the game crashing. Dark Void does have a lot going for it, if not alone the pulp fiction style of story is something that's not been seen in such a long time, and it's a good story for what it is, you almost expect each chapter to hang on the edge of a cliff before the next one starts but it's just such a shame that the game comes across as a rough cut and something that isn't finished. The campaign is relatively small, it won't take long for you to complete, there is some DLC for you to purchase as well which adds some extra life to the game should you want it but after completing the main game and experiencing its problems, it'll be your choice as to whether you want to invest your money into it.
For those who think they might quite like a go at it then there is a demo downloadable from the PlayStation Network Store or from Xbox Live, PC gamers will find it over the internet through many sites, you can make your own mind up from there. Many of the control flaws we outlined can be found in the demo so you will know what to expect from the full title. It's difficult to really recommend you go out and buy this game, or even rent it for that matter. All credit to CAPCOM for trying something different with the genre however, but please, next time make sure you're game is finished properly before releasing it.
