Overview
Graphical comparison between Dark Void and Dark Void Zero.The story of the game's development, as put forth by its creators is that in 19XX the "original" Dark Void was to be one of the first games to be made for the "Playchoice-10" a dual screen arcade machine by Capcom. However, the Playchoice-10 project was discontinued and thus the game never saw the light of day. In the year 20XX, Capcom stumbled upon the project in their vault and were inspired to make Dark Void (2010) for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, and re-released the original Playchoice-10 Dark Void under the name "Dark Void Zero" on Nintendo's DSiWare service, PC via Steam and iPhone/iPod Touch.
Story
Similar to the story in Dark Void, an alien race called the Watchers are stuck in a limbo zone between their world and Earth. Called "The Void", many unstable portals have been the only way in or out in the past, however there is one portal, called "Portal X", that the Watchers have stabilized. So far, human survivors trapped in The Void have been unable to destroy it.
In Dark Void Zero, the player controls a test pilot named Rusty. Guided by Nikola Tesla, Rusty must travel to three Watcher compounds, collecting the three "portal control codes" that will allow the destruction of Portal X.
Gameplay
Initially, Rusty can only walk, jump, and shoot in eight directions. If he finds a jetpack, he gains the ability to hover by double-tapping the jump button, and to fly straight up by jumping, pressing the jump button again and holding it.
Rusty will encounter many kinds of enemies on his mission to destroy Portal X, including turrets, patrolling soldiers, and mines. Many enemies later in the game may be similar to their early-game counterparts, but may shoot missiles instead of bullets, or have better armor. Additionally, new enemies are continually added into the mix.
At the end of each level, Rusty will encounter a Watcher in a armored ship called a Dark Guardian. Each time Rusty faces-off against the Dark Guardian, the guardian gains new abilities, such as shooting homing bombs. Additional "stages" are also added to the guardian fight. For example, the Mark II guardian gains a weapon that is able to shoot Teleforce Lance-like lasers in multiple directions.
Weapons, Powerups, and Items
Scattered around the world are weapons, power-ups, and items that Rusty can use to fight the Watchers.
| Name | Description |
|---|
| Liberator | Blue. The starting weapon. Can shoot rapidly, but has low damage. |
| Disintegrator | Green. Slow rate of fire, short range, but high damage. |
| Pulverizor | Orange. Rocket Launcher. Slow rate of fire, but high damage. Can destroy weak walls. |
| Teleforce Lance | Pink. Slow rate of fire, but can shoot through walls and enemies. |
| Hypercoil | Purple. Very high rate of fire and high damage, but can over-heat with continuous use. |
| Jetpack | Allows Rusty to hover and fly. |
| 1up | An extra life. |
| 2x Shots | Doubles Rusty's rate of fire. |
| 3x Shots | Shoots two additional shots at 45 degree angles above and below the regular shot. |
| EM Pulse | Deals damage within a short radius of Rusty when he fires. |
| Force Field | Protects Rusty from enemy fire and collisions, but not lava or radioactive goo. |
| Electrified Field | Like the Force Field, but in addition to protecting Rusty, it deals damage to enemies that it touches. |
| Blue Key | Allows Rusty to pass through a specific locked door. |
| Portal Control Code | One of the three items Rusty needs to shut down Portal X. |
Collectibles
In each facility are five collectibles that Rusty can collect (or destroy as the case may be) to fulfill a side-mission for extra points.
| Name | Description |
|---|
| Journals | Details a lost patrol, led by Jimmy Fallon. |
| Watcher Scientists | Ugly green guys in lab coats. Kill them with fire (or bullets)!! |
| Watcher Incubators | Pink-purple vats containing Watcher slugs. |
PC System Requirements
- OS: Windows® XP (SP2 or higher) / Windows Vista / Windows 7
- Processor: 2.5 GHz Pentium 4 / 1.6GHz Core2Duo or higher
- Memory: XP: 512 MB minimum, 1 GB recommended; Windows Vista / Windows 7: 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended
- Graphics: DirectX 9.0c compatible video card with 256 MB
- Display: 800x600 minimum resolution, 1280x720 or higher recommended
- DirectX®: Direct X 9.0c
- Hard Drive: 200 MB available disk space required
- Sound: DirectX®9.0c compatible
- Input: Windows-compliant keyboard. Gamepads with analogue sticks may also work, though are not officially supported.
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