Shucks, looks like we have another rental on our hands brought to you by Airtight games and Capcom. Amanda seems to possess a real knack for selecting less than average titles to Demo, but I’m a pro at pointing-out “UR  DEWIN’ IT ‘RONG.” So you’re probably thinking I’m chuggin’ this here hatorade right about now, but my initial judgment is correct more often than not. I’d say it’s just another WET: enjoyed by the minority, flawed in important places, and another 7-7.5/10  to be buried under the sequel monster that is Mass Effect 2.

Dark Void is a third-person shooter that may be given a lowly sequel for fun, but even the lowsy fun-factor I experienced in mid-air combat is hardly the right amount of amusement to overcome the rest of the 2010 line-up; I can already hear the melodious piano echoing T.I.’s “Dead and Gone.”

The whole sha-bang centers around the Bermuda Triangle—that urban legend that never seems to go away in popular culture. Mr. Will is our “hero” figure with a highly recognizable voice-actor who (congratulations to cutie, Nolan North and everything) has been done to death, and back. North is an obvious and choice cast for playing the smug heroic type, but come now, yer just getting lazy devs. FACT, playing this demo is like watching a crew-cut, generic “drake-like” protagonist number ten all good n’ ready to be your next suave action star and a flatly modeled one at that; the graphics aren’t poor enough to make me punch your puppy, but they are poor enough to force a heavy sigh.

Jetpacks are generally awesome and Will’s jetpack is Airtight’s way of allowing players to hover around an alternate universe in style, which is likely as much squee as Dark Void is going to allow. The aerial combat is, for the most part, simplistic and slightly more time consuming than the ground combat, but both do a spectacular job of making my spidey senses tingle in agitation thanks to the lackluster and mega-dimwitted, extra-terrestrial mob who seem to pose no real challenge. In other words, the enemies are bland, stupid, and easy aliens who are solely there to provide punchable fun. It looks as if the tactic for winning shall be strictly covering your butt behind space cargo—wash, rinse, cutscene, repeat.

Why, you ask, do I refuse to utter at least one thing nice about this steaming pile  (Oops, crossed the “meanie line” here) and alas! There is but one thing I cannot smear further–the score is seriously epic thanks to Battlestar Gallactica composer, Bear McCreary. Though, it’s drumming action really made me feel like Pocahontas aching for a ledge dive. That’s cool, I suppose?

I whole-heartedly commend Capcom and Airtight for bringing something fresh to the table because, after all, how many “flying” games are really in existence? Well, quite a few, but most of them involve simulation, mustached men in overalls, or they simply do not make good use of combat mechanics and nifty, swiveling moves. Gaining the ability to fly in any game is a worthy experience in itself, but after floating around for seven minutes in a continuous loop of delightfully crashing Will into cliffs, I wanted to land in hopes of discovering something with an inkling of rarity. My last words after playing the ten minute demo were “…this wasn’t that good” and I actually can’t summarize the quality of this game any better, but I wont be purchasing this here title to find out. For your enjoyment, watch me play the Dark Void demo for the XBOX 360 in HD  courtesy @sleebs:

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