Recently, GamingAngels has brought you both a video review of the Dark Void Demo on the Xbox 360 and a review of the PC Demo.  Now, Vespaa has a full review for the PS3 version of PS3.  Read on to find out what she thought of the game.

Developer: Airtight Games
Genre: Action, 3rd Person Shooter, Platform
ESRB: T (for Teen)
Number of players: 1
Publisher: Capcom
Release Date: January 19th, 2010

RENT

Capcom has published many renowned games for decades now and has introduced us to countless successful game franchises. Mega-man, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, the list goes on. They’ve consistently had success in many different genres of gaming, and I’m sure they hoped their latest title, Dark Void would be as well received as the previously mentioned games. While I certainly wouldn’t describe it as a bad game, I don’t believe it’ll achieve this level of popularity for several reasons. This third person action/adventure shooter borrows too many ideas and concepts from other games in this genre to really standout on it’s own.

Dark Void opens with our protagonist Will Grey, a pilot, who’s plane goes off course and mysteriously crashes in the “Void.” The Void is another world parallel to our own, where The Watchers, a robotic alien like race are at war with the survivors, humans are have survived their onslaught. The prologue is set in 1938, and we learn that the Watchers have come to earth in search of a new home, as there’s was destroyed.You briefly start off with the full powered jet pack in during thefirst portion of the game, which is a brief glimpse into what will happen later into the story. While flying around and attempting to destroy Watcher air crafts, the controls tend to be rather capricious here, the camera working against you a bit. The environment is rendered really exceptionally, and the lighting and atmosphere is really enjoyable while flying around, the game mechanics were a little disorienting here. You are always propelled in one direction or another, and cannot stop flight in this section of the game, making it a bit reminiscent of rail shooters, but more expansive.

After taking down several Watcher air crafts with the assault gun attached to the jet pack, the story advances when a Scorpion Mech ambushes you and at the moment of impact, we are taken back to Will’splane crash at some point earlier on. Episode I opens with Will, and his love interest Chloe–I mean Ava lost in the jungle while searching for a village. Now, while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Dark Void takes this a bit too far in that the entire first chapter is like playing Uncharted. Right down to Will looking quite a bit like, and sharing a voice actor with Nathan Drake and Ava being aesthetically similar to Chloe. The atmosphere right down to the music, and the wayyou interact with it is extremely similar to Uncharted in this portionof the game. The control scheme fully adheres to this as well. If notfor the jet packs you and Ava are given and the fact that your enemies are Robotic Aliens, I would say Capcom may get slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit from Naughty Dog. It even includes the vertical cover system, along with vertical combat, which is battling enemies above and below you.

That being said, the game is actually decently fun. But the combat overall feels very “Been there, done that, and done it better” to anyone who’s played Uncharted. Yet it feels slightly less polished. Most Watchers you encounter are agile robotic soldiers with an interesting variety of advanced weapons that you can pick up and use. (With names like the Uberator, and the Oppressor which are pretty cool.) You can also upgrade these weapons via Weapon Lockers using Tech Points dropped from downed enemies.

You’ll find journal entries throughout the game which inform you more about the world of Dark Void and the game’s universe and time line. It even includes some historical references as well, like making allusion’s to Amelia Earheart’s plane also crashing into the Void. You also meet Nikola Tesla early into the game, who’ll give Will and Ava their first jet packs. The game is slightly linear, but with large environments that are fun to explore and navigate, especially with your jet pack. Shortly after finding a sect of primitive survivors (who abruptly tell you to leave) the village comes under attack by the Watchers, and they suddenly have a change of heart. The flight system in the game can be pretty fun, and will make players feel like there’s no where in the game, vertically or horizontally that they can’t explore. However, during airborne combat the frame rate gets a bit erratic, and some screen tearing is present.

After fighting off the Watchers and launching an attack on one of their home bases (Which is very similar stylistically to areas you may see in Halo) Will encounters one of our first bosses of the game. A very large Lizard like Watcher, which you must defeat before it reaches a certain point on the beach. After fighting the boss for a bit, you can initiate a quick time button sequence ala God of War to finish it off.

Overall, I thought Dark Void was a decent game. It’s real problem is that in a generation of gaming where shooters are being released in spades, Dark Void borrows too much from other games to really stand out. It just didn’t really feel unique, and a shooter with a lack of online multi-player just won’t offer much in the replay value department as well. The concept of flight in a third person shooter is a really bold idea, and can actually be pretty fun, but they could have executed it a bit better. It may appeal to some gamers, but it doesn’t warrant a buy in the face of other games in this genre.

In Airtight Games’ first release, you play Will Grey who arrives in the Void through mysterious circumstances (crashing in the Bermuda Triangle may have that effect). Befriending the survivors you will establish relationships with various characters including the eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla who reverse engineers the alien technology into weapons and transport including a very handy jetpack for your own personal use.

The in-air combat using the jetpack is the feature of the otherwise standard action/shooter game – it will be interesting to see how this is implemented across different situations and whether the developers can keep the game mechanic fresh and interesting.

For those not used to flying, mastering the jetpack can be difficult at first. I should know – I’ve crashed every PC helicopter I’ve flown! But with a few adjustments to the mouse settings, I was flying like a natural. The dogfight element is by far the most exciting feature of the game (once you lose all regard for gravity and be one with the sky). Interaction with the setting adds to the immersion, with objectives located within environmental features and the scenery testing the pilot’s flying skills – both player and enemy.

Back on solid ground the player is armed with standard weapons including rifles and grenades, and has the ability to pick up victims’ weapons as well as upgrade using a points system. The Watchers’ weapons are a better choice being of superior technology however I found the melee combat the most efficient way to take down an enemy – once you were close enough to do so without suffering serious health damage. I will admit the leaping creatures that were interested in my seemingly delicious jugular had me yelping and enduring flashbacks from the famous Call of Duty 4 dogs.

The third-person shooter angle is great for the ground combat elements, allowing character to duck and shoot from behind cover. This will allow you to fire strategically and get in close for hand-to-hand combat. However the game, which was built on the Unreal Tournament 3 graphics engine, left me feeling nauseated after only a few action sequences. The UT3 engine like many third-person view engines is notorious for its rolling and blurring momentum as the camera adjusts to follow the player’s actions. My advice? Take regular breaks.

The difficulty weighting seems uneven, with ground combat being very easy compared to drawn-out air combat sequences, requiring precise actions to unlock goals. The console to PC port is apparent here; I’d imagine these scenes would be much easier with a stick controller and lock-on targets given the tendency to oversteer using a mouse.

The rousing music score, composed by none other than Battlestar Galactica’s Bear McCreary tended to be somewhat distracting at times, rising and cutting suddenly between sequences. However McCreary’s credentials pave the way for my high hopes for the game’s official release.

Dark Void’s in-air combat element may be enough to establish its name in the market however it does not make up for the generic combat sequences which are done better in other games. Something tells me this might be a rental game.
Dark Void is available now on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

–Check back with GamingAngels.com soon when we’ll have a full review of the PS3 version of Dark Void.–

Happy Sunday everyone! It’s the playoffs so there won’t be much game playing for me Sunday morning (Let’s go Vikes!), but I want to make sure to gather all the best sales where you,the gamer, can save money on your games this week. Next week is a huge week in games, but you may want to check out what’s new this week first:

New games this week:
Glory of Heracles (DS)
Bejeweled Twist (DS)
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PSP,PS2)
Dark Void (360,PS3,PC)

Where to save money:
Toys R US – MLK sales:
Save $15 on Guitar Hero 5 or DJ Hero bundle for PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii
Save 40% Bakugen Battle Brawlers
Save $10 on Your Shape for Wii
Save $10 on Guitar Hero on Tour for DS

Regular Toys R US sales
Dark Void Free $10 gift card
Free $60 gift card when buy two: Army of Two 40th day, Bayonetta, and Darksiders
40% off Wii games:
Sonic Unleashed
Wario Land: shake it
Rubik’s World
Bakugan: Battle Brawlers
Sim Animals: Africa
Shaun White World Stage
Scene it? Bright Lights, Big Screen!
Dead Space Extraction

Best Buy
Resident Evil: The darkside chronicles $29.99
Resident Evil Archives $19.99
Medival Games $14.99

Target:
nothing

Frys:
Army of Two 40th Day $59.89
Tekken 6 $48.24

There you go! See you next week with all your game savings goodness!

Capcom is partying it up in Vegas this week at CES but it’s a reward for all the work they’ve done. At the Consumer Electronics Show they held a launch party for Dark Void, featured new games and announced Dark Void in 3D!

Let’s start with some game announcements. Final Fight: Double Impact will be represented at CES with a new art piece from famed Udon artist Alvin Lee. MotoGP 09/10 will be there for press to try-out. Lost Planet 2 screenshots were released. The new trailer below came out for Super Street Fighter IV that shows new Ultra combos!

The big news of CES is 3D entertainment. Capcom was early to 3D gaming last year with Resident Evil on the PC using the NVIDIA glasses and they are back again this year with a new announcement! The PC version of Dark Void will be using the NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision technology. Which should add plenty of jetpacking and shooting nausea. Here is the video from CES:

The demo will give us the chance to try out this jet-pack fueled third person shooter. Capcom promises that this teaser will give players the chance to try out the areal dog-fighting and on-foot combat as to entice them to try the full game which is being released on January 19th. The Dark Void demo will hit Xbox live tomorrow January 6th and PlayStation Network Thursday January 7th.

On Friday, Capcom invited GamingAngels to check out three of their upcoming titles, Dark Void, MotoGP 09/10 and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. What better way to end the week than to preview and play games? Many thanks to Capcom and here is my preview:

MotoGP 09/10

The first game I played was MotoGP 09/10 which is coming out in March 2010 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Moto GP09/10 is actually more like two games in one. The title will include the 09 season with a free upgrade for the 2010 season. I’m not very familiar with motorcycle racing, but the title will use the real people and tracks that are involved in the races. Adding to the realism, weather conditions will vary and affect the physics of the game.

In career mode, players will earn money that they will use to hire pit staff, but not only the typical stuff like bikes or bike parts, but players will also have to make choices about PR staff and other things that are all about promoting image.

A cool feature in MotoGP 09/10 is the use of dotted lines that trace the best path to take. The patch changes from red to green to let the player know when they should slow down or accelerate. Players will be able to download the dotted lines from players that are in the leaderboards to learn what they did to win.

For my hands-on I raced on two tracks. I was surprised that I was able to handle the bike well. I watched two other journalists previously wipe out consistently but I was able to keep the bike on the track. My strategy was to make sure I followed the dotted lines. The controls felt good, but I definitely never really got enough speed to be competitive. On the second track I held in there in 19th place (out of 20) but I also knocked computer player number 20 on the ground when I passed him.

Players that love motorcycle racing games are going to enjoy the features in MotoGP 09/10 and will be competitive. I definitely feel that this title could appeal to people that aren’t familiar with motorcycle racing games, but they will need to be patient as they take the time to learn controls and get familiar with the gameplay. I’m not sure if there are any females in professional motorcycle sports racing, but Brian from Capcom was unsure if any would be included in MotoGP 09/10.

Dark Void

We’ve seen Dark Void a few times at this point and I am incredibly happy to report that it just keeps getting better each time. Dark Void is being developed by Airtight Games for Capcom and is set for a January 19 release. Morgan Gray is the lead producer on the project and lead the demo.

In Dark Void, players go through the game as Will who crashes in the Bermuda Triangle. He then joins the Survivors in this world to beat the aliens. Nikola Tesla assists through the game to help with weapons to beat the aliens. Will is also equipped with a jet pack which means plenty of flight combat.

It’s obvious to use the jet pack for air combat, but players will also find using the jet pack useful for ground combat as well. Hovering above your enemy can result in a quick takeout rather than shooting from cover. Morgan did suggest that there might be achievements or trophies in the game that will encourage the player to use the jet pack or certain weapons throughout the game.

Dark Void composer Bear McCreary was at the demo to talk about his experience on the project. Mr. McCreary previously worked on Battlestar Galactica which Capcom felt was the exact feeling in the music that they were looking for. This is the first game that Mr. McCreary has worked on and because of this he threw tons of ideas at Airtight Games. Some were more possible than others. The music deliberately never repeats.

At the end of the demo, I was able to try out the flying controls for myself. In my previous two hands-on appointments flying left me dizzy and was almost impossible to control. I’m happy to say that the team definitely improved the flight controls. It still is true to flight sims so if you aren’t used to those you will definitely have to pay attention to the tutorial. But Airtight Games has done a great job fixing the controls.

TATSUNOKO VS. CAPCOM: ULTIMATE ALL-STARS

Seth Killian took me through a demo of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars for the Nintendo Wii. I was not about to show my lack of skills in front of Seth, so we mostly spoke about the title. Tatsunoki vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars is created out of fan demand to see these characters in one game. Humor is definitely a major part of the title as many of the special moves are a mix of comical and serious.

The lineup from the Capcom side is made up half of fighting characters and half from other Capcom titles. While they had an awesome prototype fighting stick that players could play with, Seth let us know that players could use the Wii-mote and nunchuk and be just as affective.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars will also have online features on the Wii. There are ranked matches or you can play friends with an abbreviated friend code. Let’s hope it’s easy to remember and that way this may be the first Wii title that you can actually play online with friends.

Overall a great day, getting some early looks at upcoming Capcom titles.

Hi everyone! Welcome to the Thursday edition of the 5@5! I have the top five news items for you today plus, I had to fit a little Twilight: New Moon in since tonight is the opening! Also look for a re-enactment of my own in the cast. I think I’m a bit loopy from not eating yet. So I’m off to the store. In the meantime, enjoy and see you at 1vs 100!

xoxo
Trina

What does video game Dark Void and actor Brad Pitt have in common? Movies! That’s right, Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B Entertainment is teaming up with Reliance BIG Entertainment, and Capcom to create a film based on the Dark Void video game. The movie is being created as a sci-fi action flick that may even see Brad Pitt star in it.

The game is due for a January 19, 2010 North American release and European release on January 22, 2010.

“As a game, Dark Void was developed with a wide-screen mentality – a world full of adventure presented in cinematic scope and scale,” said Germaine Gioia, senior vice president, licensing, Capcom Entertainment. “Plan B recognized the potential of our newest property and are as excited about bringing Dark Void to life in cinemas as Capcom is to bring the interactive experience to home theaters.”

Plan B seems to be embracing geek culture with one of their other projects being the upcoming comic book to movie adaptation, Kick Ass.

Capcom has announced a pre-order incentive for Dark Void as the title goes gold. Early buyers will received an in-game golden jetback. Everything looks better with a bit of bling right?

The jet pack is a featured part of the game. But gold doesn’t just make it pretty, it has a purpose. The golden jet pack will feature infinite thrust in hover mode.

Here’s a video showing how the jetpack is used in the game:

Dark Void is set for a January 15, 2010 release for PS3, 360 and PC.