Hands-on: Dark Void

Disclaimer: This preview is based on the Xbox 360 version of the game. Developers have told us the PS3 version will be identical to the Xbox 360 version.

In a room that featured Resident Evil 5, Mega Man 9 and Street Fighter IV, how is that Dark Void managed to become Capcom's greatest game at E3? Perhaps no other game at Capcom's already-stellar booth quite captures the intensity of combat quite like Dark Void. It's Gears of War meets Rogue Squadron meets a jetpack. It's the kind of game that makes PR catchphrases like "skyjacking" seem appropriate. It's not one single element that makes Dark Void so much fun. Rather, the game's ability to make all of the game's varied features feel so thorough and complete that makes the experience of playing Dark Void more than a simple meshing of its inspirations.

Unfortunately for Will, the game's main character, his flight gets accidentally detoured through the Bermuda Triangle. Apparantly, that's not a very smart thing to do. He ends up in a parallel universe called "The Void" and must join the Survivors to stop an alien race's plan to invade and destroy Earth. Guess it's up to you, player, to save the universe -- again.

The on-ground combat will be familiar to anyone who's played a third-person action game this generation. Yes, you will be running, gunning, taking cover, and performing some gruesome melee attacks when close to an enemy. However, once the jetpack is thrown into play, we get to walk into some uncharted territory. Being able to jump into the air while firing at enemies below gives us fond memories of Tribes. The verticality isn't simply limited to jumping around, though. The new vertical cover system takes the gameplay we've become so accustomed to and turns it on its side. Strangely, simply changing the perspective of combat makes it that much more thrilling. As we climb these massive structures, enemies will attack from all directions, and our tactics must change. Thrusting upwards, grabbing an enemy and throwing him down simply feels fun.

If that weren't enough, Dark Void offers full flight combat experiences as well. As seen in the Lair debut trailer, expect some "skyjacking" as you jump from one vehicle to another, struggling to remove enemies out of their vehicles. The struggling is animated in such a cinematic way -- we can't help but wish more games featured such compelling drama.

Dark Void is still early in development, as evidenced by the sluggish framerate of this build. The game isn't scheduled for a release late in 2009, so this early look has us quite hopeful for more robust builds (on the PS3) in the future.

PS3Fanboy

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