Dark Void

E3 2008 Preview

Boba Fett was a bounty hunter. He earned his respect by taking money to hunt down anyone the client wanted to find or have wiped out. He will always be considered a classic Star Wars character. But his jetpack -- it may no longer be the coolest thing around. That's because of the new game Dark Void, an unusual shooter with Gears of War basics and several gameplay elements that have never been done before. The game is at least a year away, so the build was very early. But the concept behind it all was absolutely brilliant.

Fly High

The Dark Void demo ended with the best part, so let's start there. Using the main character's jetpack, which could fly infinitely without some silly "low fuel" warning (or any other pathetic restriction), players can jump into the sky and fly like a fighter jet. The controls here were excellent, mirroring that of Crimson Skies. You could fly anywhere around the environment and, instead of merely attacking enemies -- which looked like futuristic UFOs -- jump on an enemy ship and take control of it. You do this first by pressing the B button to initiate contact. Your character zooms in, lands on top, and can climb around it as if he were walking along a stationary platform. After dodging an attack or two, press the B button once more to come in close contact with the ship's pilot -- a creature who is reportedly part alien and part robot. After kicking the crap out of him, the ship is yours. These controls are very similar to the jetpack flying but are faster and more appropriate for aerial combat. Your next move is to shoot down the enemies, bringing the demo to a close, something I regrettably allowed to happen.

The last scene revealed a group of bug-like robotic creatures that began to swarm all over the place. You'll have to fight them in the final game.

Going Up?

Jose Perez, Lead Game Designer of Dark Void, started my demo by talking about "Vertical Cover." At the time, with a controller in my hand and the anxiety of wanting to shoot something flowing through my blood, those words all but flew over my head. It didn't matter how much relevance they had -- the words just didn't click. Then, when I finally saw what Vertical Cover actually was, those words meant everything.

In simple terms, you'll use your jetpack to fly underneath a rocky/mountainous surface. You grip the bottom tight and can peak over the sides, almost as if you were playing Metal Gear Solid or Gears of War. Then, with your weapon armed and ready, you can take out the enemy from this covered location. As all of this is going on, you have a breathtaking view of a world that completely bends the rules of shooter game logic. Think of it as rock climbing: you're looking up the whole time. The top is 50 to 100 feet (or more) away, and you've got to reach it. The gameplay feels very natural at this point, minus the difficulty I had in trying to reach the beginning of each Vertical Cover point. More on that shortly.

Dark Void's graphics are, as you can imagine, very dark. Not so much in violent content (which really isn't that bad) but in the color style. The Vertical Cover views are cool, detailed and gorgeous. You won't believe what you're looking at. It gives the game an entirely different dimension.

Gears of... You Know

Nearly every shooter on the planet has that Gears of War feel. Keeping with that trend, Dark Void may be initially viewed as a Gears of War clone. As you can tell from the details above, this game is far more exciting than that. Still, you can't escape the feeling of familiarity: everything from the duck-and-cover system to the way the character feels when he runs and even the way he fires a weapon is nearly identical to Gears of War. The jetpack adds some variety to the mix, since you can hover around in the normal third-person view before jumping into full flight mode. All three gameplay features will be used throughout the game to hopefully create a more immersive experience. It has thus far.

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