Carbonox_Ratchet
28-04-09, 16:57
Dark Void has been pretty under the radar recently, especially with the releases of Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5. However, this has enabled the development team to work on the game in peace and quiet, something quite difficult to come by.
Morgan Gray, Senior Producer, was able to show us a build of the game that we were enabled to play later on. He talked about how the jetpack was a pivotal part of the game, and how not many games emphasised flight on this scale. Initially however, your jetpack can only hover, but in time will obtain the ability to fly fully.
When I played the game for myself, the instant reaction I got was that this game (on foot) plays pretty similar to Gears of War. However, with the Unreal Engine used, this was going to be inevitable. With basic shooting/running mechanics, the controls and gameplay were competent. There is also a cover system (where you can even hop between cover and jump to and from), with a zoom up angle of your gun not too dissimilar to Resident Evil 4.
In terms of the biggest highlight however - the flight - the game was still somewhat competent, but I felt that there was a lack of seamless change between flying, hovering and getting on the ground. Pressing X to jump and then X again to “hover jump” worked well, but in order to get in to proper flight, you had to press Triangle so that Will (the main character) can propel himself in to the air at speed. The downside to this however, is that if you’re in a tight area, propelling yourself could result in your death. There is no way (that I could find) to easily go from hover to flying, without having to press Triangle.
In open space however, it was easy and relatively safe to hit the fuel button. You can rotate your character with the right stick, do somersaults with the left stick (pulling back for example) and you can even do an acrobatic half turn which works wonders for getting to and from an enemy.
The one annoying thing about flying, is that you’ll have to press X to switch to hover mode, and then press X again to freefall, before pressing X again at the right time to land safely on the ground through hover. If you time it wrong, you’ll die a violent death.
In terms of the enemy variation, you fought generic robot-like enemies, Watchers piloted by said enemies, and a powerful enemy known as the Knightsman. All of them could be defeated with your guns, although the Watchers’ pilots could be defeated using a QTE. The result is enjoyable, but I feel that QTEs are becoming far too lazy and reliable in today’s generation. But hey, it’s still incredibly fun to blast an enemy in the brains after disabling his ship.
The best part about this though, is that after defeating the enemy, you can take his Watcher and pilot it yourself. Apparently there will be a variety of ships to take, on top of using your jetpack itself.
One of the biggest things emphasised by Morgan, was what he called “vertical combat”. It’s where you are literally looking forward but vertically in essence. You can hop between walkways and propel yourself upwards to the next one. If an enemy is nearby, you can hang and grab the enemy, before disposing them. You’re also able to return to a normal angle by climbing up, but vertical combat is quite a unique and enjoyable way to do it.
The build we played was just past the half-way mark of the game and the general goal was to kill enemies, destroy anti-aircraft cannons and get to the center of some holding area, before defeating the Knightsman.
Dark Void is great, no two ways about it, but it feels that the jetpack is a little too loose and that there was not enough thought gone in to how you can go from hover, to the ground, and to fully fledged flight.
Yet, it’s still a solid and competent game. Being a new IP, many eyes will be on how it can bring new ideas to the Action genre. Personally, it has massive amounts of potential and I can’t wait to play it. Unfortunately, it’s strictly single player, despite the game suiting multiplayer so easily.
I can’t wait to play more!
Morgan Gray, Senior Producer, was able to show us a build of the game that we were enabled to play later on. He talked about how the jetpack was a pivotal part of the game, and how not many games emphasised flight on this scale. Initially however, your jetpack can only hover, but in time will obtain the ability to fly fully.
When I played the game for myself, the instant reaction I got was that this game (on foot) plays pretty similar to Gears of War. However, with the Unreal Engine used, this was going to be inevitable. With basic shooting/running mechanics, the controls and gameplay were competent. There is also a cover system (where you can even hop between cover and jump to and from), with a zoom up angle of your gun not too dissimilar to Resident Evil 4.
In terms of the biggest highlight however - the flight - the game was still somewhat competent, but I felt that there was a lack of seamless change between flying, hovering and getting on the ground. Pressing X to jump and then X again to “hover jump” worked well, but in order to get in to proper flight, you had to press Triangle so that Will (the main character) can propel himself in to the air at speed. The downside to this however, is that if you’re in a tight area, propelling yourself could result in your death. There is no way (that I could find) to easily go from hover to flying, without having to press Triangle.
In open space however, it was easy and relatively safe to hit the fuel button. You can rotate your character with the right stick, do somersaults with the left stick (pulling back for example) and you can even do an acrobatic half turn which works wonders for getting to and from an enemy.
The one annoying thing about flying, is that you’ll have to press X to switch to hover mode, and then press X again to freefall, before pressing X again at the right time to land safely on the ground through hover. If you time it wrong, you’ll die a violent death.
In terms of the enemy variation, you fought generic robot-like enemies, Watchers piloted by said enemies, and a powerful enemy known as the Knightsman. All of them could be defeated with your guns, although the Watchers’ pilots could be defeated using a QTE. The result is enjoyable, but I feel that QTEs are becoming far too lazy and reliable in today’s generation. But hey, it’s still incredibly fun to blast an enemy in the brains after disabling his ship.
The best part about this though, is that after defeating the enemy, you can take his Watcher and pilot it yourself. Apparently there will be a variety of ships to take, on top of using your jetpack itself.
One of the biggest things emphasised by Morgan, was what he called “vertical combat”. It’s where you are literally looking forward but vertically in essence. You can hop between walkways and propel yourself upwards to the next one. If an enemy is nearby, you can hang and grab the enemy, before disposing them. You’re also able to return to a normal angle by climbing up, but vertical combat is quite a unique and enjoyable way to do it.
The build we played was just past the half-way mark of the game and the general goal was to kill enemies, destroy anti-aircraft cannons and get to the center of some holding area, before defeating the Knightsman.
Dark Void is great, no two ways about it, but it feels that the jetpack is a little too loose and that there was not enough thought gone in to how you can go from hover, to the ground, and to fully fledged flight.
Yet, it’s still a solid and competent game. Being a new IP, many eyes will be on how it can bring new ideas to the Action genre. Personally, it has massive amounts of potential and I can’t wait to play it. Unfortunately, it’s strictly single player, despite the game suiting multiplayer so easily.
I can’t wait to play more!