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    Dark Void

    Game » consists of 10 releases. Released Jan 15, 2010

    Rocket out of the void and save a group of stranded humans from an alien force in Dark Void.

    Short summary describing this game.

    Dark Void last edited by fezz on 08/27/19 06:05PM View full history

    Overview

    Dark Void is a single-player, third-person action game that combines a cover system influenced by Gears of War with flying segments reminiscent of Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, which several members of the Dark Void development team had worked on previously. Taking a queue from The Rocketeer movie, Dark Void also allows the player to fly with the aid of a jet pack.

    Story

    The Watchers
    The Watchers

    Set not long before the outbreak of the Second World War, Dark Void follows the story of Will Grey, owner of a cargo delivery operation. At the beginning of the game, Will is seen at an airfield in Nassau, waiting to begin his transatlantic flight over to Britain. He learns that an old flame of his, Ava, will be accompanying him on the flight. Will and Ava then take off in their plane, along with another friend Coop Williams, across the Atlantic ocean.

    The flight goes according to plan until Will points out that they are flying over the Bermuda Triangle. After joking about this to Ava and Coop, Will exclaims that he has seen a UFO. The bright light of the UFO then fills the cockpit and the plane begins to spin out of control. The cockpit's instruments start to go haywire and the plane then begins to lose altitude. The cabin then tears at the seams as Coop falls out of the plane to his death. This leaves Will and Ava crash landing into a foreign land.

    Nikola Tesla
    Nikola Tesla

    Several hours later, Will wakes up in the midst of a dense jungle. He travels for some time until he meets up with Ava once again. Near them, a Survivor fighter hiding from a Watcher patrol. Will and Ava manage to escape from the alien creatures into the safety of a cave, which collapses leaving them separated once again. Ava then remembers that see saw a village in the plane before they crashed and tells Will to meet her there to figure out where they are.

    Will travels to this strange village, fighting off The Watchers with weapons he has salvaged. He meets Ava once again at the entrance of the Village. They arrive to see the village inhabitants gathered around the village leader. The leader tells Ava and Will that they are not welcome in their village and will be forced to leave. When leaving the town, a villager quietly calls them over to his hut, whose name is Tavi. Tavi then tells them to follow him to a nearby cave to meet someone. There, Will and Ava meet the infamous Nikola Tesla. Here, he gives Will his newly invented hover pack and tells him and Ava to go search for some supplies.

    Will's helmet
    Will's helmet

    When they return to Nikola, Will and Ava discover that the town has been invaded by The Watchers. The villagers in the town see the Watchers as gods. Will then enters the village and begins battle with the aliens. Ava is captured by one of The Watchers, known as a Guard. Will chases the Guard down and battles with it save Ava. When Ava is free, she decides to chase after The Watchers and follows them into the unknown, leaving Will behind.

    Back in Nikola's cave, Will spends all night trying to fix up a plane. He eventually gets frustrated and throws his wrench at the wall. The wrench hits a strange device. Will asks Tavi about the devices and Tavi tells him that it is an experimental rocket pack. Will then convinces Tavi to let him use it. Using the rocket pack, Will then travels outside around the area. Once outside, however, Will hears distress signals from some nearby soldiers asking for help against a Watcher patrol. Will then dispatches the patrol and makes his way into the Watcher base in the bottom of the canyon, by going to nearby towers and destroying the shield. When Will enters the base, he appears to be going through a strange tunnel. He then emerges through the far end of the tunnel to find himself in the Void.

    Will with Ava
    Will with Ava

    Once in the Void, Will meets Atem. Atem is part of the Survivors living in the Void.

    Their duty is to fight against The Watchers. Atem explains to Will that The Watchers were an alien race one lived on the Earth, enslaving the human race. The humans eventually rebelled against them and locked the Watchers into the Void, with no way back to Earth. Atem reveals that The Watchers may have found a way back to Earth. Will then escorts Atem back to the base camp, fighting off the hordes of Watchers.

    In the camp, Atem shows Will the Arc. The Arc is a large, flying metal building which houses the survivors. Atem then sends Will to the barracks and gives him an ancient Watcher helmet to help Will to fight against The Watchers. Will then sets off again to help more of the Survivors battle against The Watchers.

    After the battle, Will, Atem and some Survivors return to The Arc to see that Ava and Nikola Tesla have returned. Will demands that he have a talk with Ava about what happened to her and to discuss some things that happened several years before. Before Ava can explain, a large amount of The Watchers launch an attack on The Arc. Ava tells Will that she have a personal talk with him after the oncoming battle. Will then uses his rocket pack and an energy cannon given to him by Tesla to stop The Watchers destoying The Arc. Will then gives The Arc enough time to fly away from the dangers of The Watcher attack. The Arc is then piloted over a long river to safety.

    When save again, Atem begins to explain to Will about the meaning of why he is in the Void. Atem explains that Will is the

    "Prophesied One" and must continue to help The Survivors battle against The Watcher aggression. Atem then brings Will on a mission to save a number of imprisoned Survivors from a Watcher prison. During the mission, Atem reveals to Will that The Watchers are the ones who put the fascists in control of Germany. They will be responsible for the impending World War.

    The villagers bowing to a Watcher.
    The villagers bowing to a Watcher.

    Once, these Survivors have been set free from their prison and returned to The Arc, The Arc is then attacked by a very large Watcher creature known as The Collector. The Collector traps The Arc, forcing Will to use his rocket pack against the massive creature. He shoots a number of it's weak spots and then makes it lose grip of The Arc by shooting it's massive boils. This leaves The Arc save once again. Will and Ava return to The Arc to celebrate when a Watcher creature attacks Will and brings him to a Watcher prison.

    Will is left trapped in a room until Atem and some Survivors burst into the room. They give Will a rifle to battle against a large number of Watcher forces that they must fight through to escape the prison. They fight until they get to the exit. Here, Atem returns Will's helmet and rocket pack back to him. Atem and Will then return to The Arc where Will meets up with Ava once again. Will is then told of his prophecy. He, along with Ava and the rest of the Survivors, must travel to a large tower that the Watchers use as their base. There, Will must destroy the link between the Earth and The Void so The Watchers must not travel through it.

    When Will, Ava and the Survivor forces get to the tower, they are met by a huge dragon-like creature. Will then battles the creature by shooting it's weak chest and then pull each of it's three eyes out. Once Will removes two of it's eyes, the creature smashes into the tower, along with Will. Will then throws his rocket pack to the creature's third and final eye and shoots it, causing a large explosion that kills the creature.

    Ava
    Ava

    Ava then lands on the tower to congratulate Will. Before they can speak to one another, the head of The Watchers appears. It tells them to leave the portal alone and to leave this place. Once Will says no, the Watcher throws a knife straight at Will. Ava then jumps in the way of the knife, taking the fatal blow. Will reacts angrily to this, by firing a few rounds into the Watcher's chest, killing it.

    Will holds Ava in his hands as she begins to say her final words. She tells him that the only way to close the portal back to the Earth is if they both hold each other's hand while Will stands in the portal. This will sacrifice Ava and will close the portal. Will rejects this at first but Ava convinces him otherwise. Will enters into the portal, holding his hands against Ava. Just before the portal closes, Will tells Ava that he loves her. The portal is then shut and Ava is left to die in the Void.

    Back on Earth, Will goes to London. This is the city where Ava was born. He is seen sitting on a park bench. When Ava was alive, she told Will of this bench that was near Westminster that overlooked the River Thames. She told Will that she would bring him there if they got out of The Void. While Will sits there, Atem appears behind him. Atem says to Will that there is some business to be done. We see Will then get up from the bench and walks away with Atem as the game fades out.

    Gameplay

    Dark Void is primarily a third person, cover based shooter, with a few mechanics not often seen in other games.

    Flight using the rocket pack.
    Flight using the rocket pack.

    One of these new elements is rocket pack flight; while the player is initially only able to make extended jumps with the hover pack, the game gradually introduces full flight capability, when the player finds the fully-powered rocket pack. While the rocket pack can be used at any time, it is primarily used for either extended jumps or continual flight; while a hover option does become available, it only provides a very slow descent instead of the ability to actually hover in place. The rocket pack also enables the player to fly over enemy cover and shoot them for the sky.

    This leads to the other mechanic used in Dark Void; vertical cover. This involves the player moving their way either up or down ledges, that act as cover, through the environment. Most commonly this will be a canyon wall, although there are also some internal environments as well. While traversing these environments, the player will hang from a ledge, or crouch and peek over a ledge depending on the direction they are moving.

    Dogfighting is another feature commonly seen in Dark Void's gameplay. Often, the

    Navigating the skies.
    Navigating the skies.

    player will have to take to the skies to destroy Watcher ships. The guns mounted on the rocket pack allow the player to shoot down these ships. The player is also able to "skyjack" enemy or friendly ships. When the player flies close to a ship, the game will prompt the player with a button to take over the ship. If the ship is friendly, this process is automatic. If the ship is controlled by an enemy, the player will have to beat a mini-game to take control of the ship. The player can also do special moves with the rocket pack. If the player push a specific button and moves Will in a number of directions, he will do a flip or a barrel roll to dodge oncoming enemy fire.

    Weapons

    Will has access to four different weapons which he can use and upgrade. Here is the list of those weapons;

    Guns

    Liberator

    • Calibre: 7.92x33mm Kurz
    • Weight, Loaded: 5.6 kg
    • Length: 800mm
    • Rate of Fire: 15 rounds per sec
    • Operation: Can kill multiple enemies at close range using a high rate of fire and large clip.

    Oppressor

    • Calibre: 8.2x50.8mm
    • Weight, Loaded: 4.1kg
    • Length: 800mm
    • Rate of Fire: 10 rounds per sec (semi-auto)
    • Operation: Highly accurate mid range weapon.

    Reclaimer

    • Calibre: 7.62x54mmR
    • Weight, Loaded: 3.8 kg
    • Length: 1120mm
    • Rate of Fire: 1 round per sec (semi-auto)
    • Operation: Long range weapon with a scope for aiming.

    Watcher Disintegration Gun

    • Calibre: 55.88mm
    • Weight, Loaded: 8.6 kg
    • Length: 960 mm
    • Rate of Fire: 1 rounds per sec (semi-auto)
    • Operation: Fires a projectile that disintegrates anything it makes contact with.

    Grenades

    Tesla Dynamite

    • Type: Gun Powder Based
    • Weight: 1.4 kg
    • Length: 32 cm
    • Explosive Radius: 5 meters
    • Operation: Once armed it has a delay of about 4 seconds before exploding.

    Watcher Fusion Grenade

    • Type: Energy Based
    • Weight: 0.7 kg
    • Length: 16 cm
    • Explosive Radius: 8 meters
    • Operation: Once detonated, creates a slowly growing energy field that will disintegrate anyone inside it.

    Upgrades

    Using a Weapons Locker or before the beginning of a mission, Will can upgrade his arsenal. The upgrading is done by using Tech Points. Tech points are earned by killing enemies and finding them in hidden areas of a level. Upgrades can be used to boost accuracy, increase damage, change clip size and other things. Each weapon has three levels and can be upgraded twice. The rocket pack can also be upgraded.

    Voice Cast

    Will Grey, the protagonist of Dark Void, is voiced by prolific voice actor Nolan North.

    Nikola Tesla is voiced by Paul Eiding, also known for providing the voice for Colonel Roy Campbell from the Metal Gear series.

    Reception

    Dark Void was met with a very mixed critical reception. A majority of reviewers gave the game a very middling score and call the game "average." IGN gave the game a 5 out of 10, Game Informer gave it a 7.0 (the highest score that Dark Void received) while GameTrailers gave it a 6.8.

    Dark Void is also considered as a "flop". As of May 2010, the game sold only 520,000 copies. Capcom, the game's publisher, originally pegged the game with expected sales of around two million units. Dark Void only sold a quarter of Capcom's sales target.

    PC System Requirements

    Minimum

    • Processor: Intel Pentium IV at 2.4 GHz or AMD 2.0 GHz
    • Video Card: 256 MB VRAM – nVidia GeForce 7900 or ATI Radeon HD 3850 with support for DirectX 9.0
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Hard Disk: 10 GB of free Hard Drive Space
    • Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP / Windows Vista
    • Sound Card: -
    • Direct X: 9.0
    • Installation: DVD-ROM Drive

    Recommended

    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo at 2.4 GHz / AMD x64 at 2.0 GHz
    • Video Card: 512 MB VRAM – nVidia GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 4830
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Hard Disk:10 GB of free Hard Drive Space
    • Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP / Windows Vista
    • Sound Card: -
    • Direct X: 9.0
    • Installation: DVD-ROM Drive

    Games for Windows Live Support

    At least as of September 2010, PC Achievements through the Games For Windows Live system are only available for the Games on Demand version of Dark Void purchased through Games For Windows. While there have been many requests for an update to the game, or a change to this policy, it is unknown if this will ever change.

    Soundtrack

    The score for Dark Void was composed by famed Battlestar Galactica composer, Bear McCreary. This marked McCreary's debut into the world of scoring video games as he was mostly scoring television at the time. From then McCreary has gone on to score the likes of SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, Moon Breakers and upcoming MMO based on the SyFy original series, Defiance.

    The score was praised among critics and added a lot to the game in terms of atmosphere and tone. McCreary also remixed the main theme into an 8 bit rendition for the downloadable promo game, Dark Void Zero for Nintendo DSiWare.

    Official Soundtrack cover art
    Official Soundtrack cover art
    1. Theme From Dark Void
    2. Prologue and Main Title
    3. Village Attack
    4. A Mysterious Jungle
    5. Altar Sacrifice
    6. Archon
    7. Ava and The Rocket
    8. Tesla's Laboratory
    9. The Prophesized One
    10. Taking Flight
    11. Crash Site
    12. Void Requiem
    13. Ava and Tesla Return
    14. Above The Canopy
    15. Hieroglyphs and Betrayal
    16. Defending The Ark
    17. The Collector
    18. Survivor Camp Combat
    19. The Watcher Airship
    20. Watcher Prison
    21. The Imperator
    22. Will and Ava
    23. The Dweller
    24. Ava's Sacrifice
    25. Will At The River
    26. Dark Void End Credits

    Additional Content

    After the game's release, Capcom announced plans to add a wave-based mode to the game in a DLC pack called "Survivor Missions". This DLC content was released on 02/10/2010 for Xbox 360 and PS3, and added a survival mode, similar to many contemporary games on both systems. Particular to Dark Void's implementation are bonus multipliers for headshots, and a specific goal of surviving ten rounds of enemies.

    ESRB Information

    The ESRB gave Dark Void a "Teen" rating for Animated Blood, Mild Language and Violence.

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