Pretend for a moment that you’re a pilot flying along the Atlantic seaboard on a routine operation through the Bermuda Triangle and the unthinkable happens. You find yourself transported to an alternate universe being overrun by robotic aliens and you only have your wits, your guns and quite possibly the world’s best jetpack about you.
This is exactly the premise for Capcom’s new IP entitled Dark Void. I got an exclusive in depth look at the game and play-by-play by Associate Director Shana Bryant at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in
Dark Void mixes a cover based third person shooter with fancy aerial combat systems flawlessly. On foot, you progress through levels that take you from cover point to cover point as the aliens present in the Void want nothing more than to see you vaporized into fiery particles from their handheld cannons. Go deeper into certain levels and you’ll find yourself experiencing a true 360 degree combat unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Dangle from the underside of a ledge while droves of enemies flood down from above and use your unique jetpack to navigate towards your objective. Should things get too hairy for you inside then all you need to do is ignite your jetpack and take to the air. Aerial combat is flawless and handles exactly as you’d expect flying an airplane or jet should be on your controller. This comes as no surprise as the same developers of the hit game Crimson Skies put their efforts into the controls of Dark Void.
Controls are something that need their own recognition. When in flight mode, you control the displaced pilot Will through feverish aerial maneuvers using both the control sticks. Standard aviation controls on a console are at play here and should come as no surprise to anyone. The only thing that can lead to either frustration or laughs depending on your stress level during combat is the sudden change of controls from third person shooter to in-flight control. While it doesn’t take much to get used to, it will make for some awkward moments where you send Will careening off into the side of a building. Once used to the controls however, you’ll realize just how brilliant they are. Pressing both sticks in also gives you the options for additional moves while in aerial flight. With both sticks pressed; pressing the left stick up and the right stick down will produce quite possible the best flight animation in the game. As the camera pans around your hero, Will crunches his body, spins and kicks off just as the jetpack bursts you 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Fantastic for those dogfight moments when you have to either surprise your enemy or retreat from them. Alternatively, pushing them both to the left or right will produce a barrel roll and pulling them both back will produce your standard loop de loop.
I was shocked to learn that the game was in a pre-alpha phase judging by how tight the graphics and animations were throughout the game. At one point, Shana had commented that there was a bug in the game that she noticed during my playthrough but quite honestly I didn’t detect it as there was nothing that impaired me from playing the game at all other than my own abilities. That just goes to show how concerned they are with the fit and finish of this title. The environments weren’t as lush as I may have liked and seemed a bit stark, but that can also be attributed to the current state of the build.
Details of the gameplay itself were sparse but the demo that I was allowed to play starts off with Will in what appears to be a hanger and it is up to you to move your way out and take flight. Flying becomes instantly recognizable to anyone who’s played any flight sim game. From the hanger, off in the distance on the ground is a base of some sort covered by a force field which appears to powered by a floating platform in the distance. Navigating to this platform will take you into your first bit of real combat. Taking cover behind obstacles quickly becomes part of your forte as you try and make your way deeper into the control center. Hiding behind storage containers or hovering with your jetpack allow for multiple ways to trick and dispatch your foes as you head towards your goal. Tackling this part of the control center proves to be tricky but once you get to the center, you’re informed that there is another platform on the bottom of the structure that provides access to the main control board powering the force field. Here is where you get your first taste of vertical combat. Clinching onto the bottoms of platforms while the alien forces are descending down from above you is an experience that doesn’t happen in many games. This inclusion was a very cool feature indeed as jumping and jetpacking from platform to platform all while firing in a true 360 degree field of vision was remarkable and surprisingly fluid. Disable the control center and its time to take flight against the alien airships. Another inclusion in the game that I felt was worth its weight were the UFOs. Flying behind them with your jetpack, you can choose to shoot them out of the air or fly close enough to hop on board, wrestle the pilot out and commandeer it for your own use. Other games allow you to carjack. None allow you to skyjack. Pure gold.
Should you make it through all of this; you’ll inevitably unleash the demo’s boss. The sheer size of this robotic salamander shaped monstrosity cant be put into mere words. The scale that the game gives it is fantastic. From the air, the boss doesn’t appear to be all that formidable. Get up close and you’ll find that you’re in for a supersized treat. I was informed however that this goliath is in fact the smallest boss in the game and others that would not be shown that day make the boss I was playing look like nothing more than a child. Taking down the giant takes a mix of aerial shooting and grappling as you land on its back and make your way to several weak spots situated on the monster’s back.
While the demo only showed one level, it was enough to show that the game has solid potential. I can say that during the entire Capcom event which featured many of their upcoming titles, Dark Void was the one that kept me thinking about it long after I left their hotel suite. Amidst all of their other great titles on display, Dark Void stood out to me, and that speaks volumes up against the likes of Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter 4. Although we’re still at least a season or two away from release, if the game keeps up at the pace it’s at now, it will definitely be an IP to keep an eye out for. In a market full of sequels, its nice to see a fresh and formidable face amongst the crowds. Keep an eye out for this title and keep your eyes peeled here as we cover more of its development when the information is available.
No comments:
Post a Comment