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419 lines
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Plaintext
Executable File
technology
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video-games
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6998057
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-----
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# Dark Void video game review
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## Dark Void has all the right ingredients for an engaging tale of high
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adventure, but it's let down by bad design and lousy presentation.
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![Dark Void video game review][1]
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Hitting the ceiling: Dark Void promises so much and delivers so little
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![Dark Void video game review][2]
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Image 1 of 10
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Don't apply any logic: The game's plot, involving Nikola Tesla battling aliens
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in the Bermuda Triangle, is delightful pulp nonsense
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![Dark Void video game review][3]
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Image 1 of 10
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Terror from outer space: The Watchers are a race of aliens who hope to rule
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mankind by using the Nazis
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![Dark Void video game review][4]
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Image 1 of 10
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Old hat: The game's pop-and-cover system has been done before and better
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![Dark Void video game review][5]
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Image 1 of 10
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The aerial combat is intially engaging, but suffers from some poor design
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choices and bad interface
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![Dark Void video game review][6]
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Haven't I seen you before? With one or two variations, the game's enemies seem
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borrowed from other games and films
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![Dark Void video game review][7]
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A lot of the foes in aerial battles have lethal accuracy and can kill the
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player in seconds
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![Dark Void video game review][8]
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Image 1 of 10
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Grand Theft Spaceship: Players can hijack flying saucers, but the way in which
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they do this gets repetitive and annoying very quickly
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![Dark Void video game review][9]
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Image 1 of 10
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Guns, guns, guns: There are some aerial battles in which it's just easier to
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hop inside a ship and use its anti-aircraft guns
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![Dark Void video game review][10]
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Image 1 of 10
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Hit and miss: Dark Void, for the most part, feels like a missed opportunity
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[![Nick Cowen][11]][12]
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By [Nick Cowen][13] 12:01AM GMT 18 Jan 2010
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[Comments][14]
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**Format:** Xbox 360 (version tested), PS3 and PC
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**Developer:** Airtight Games
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**Publisher:** Capcom
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**Released:** 22 January 2010
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**Score:** 5/10
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Rumour has is that, at the time of this writing, Brad Pitt's production
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company is on track to turn Dark Void into a movie. Usually news like this is
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our cue to remark that films based on video games are about as rubbish as
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video games based on films. But in this one instance, we're prepared to risk
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looking silly by saying that Dark Void would probably work very well as a
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Hollywood blockbuster. The game's high concept pitch sounds like the sort of
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thing Jerry Bruckheimer comes up with in his sleep, and even the more
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discerning moviegoer would find it hard not to admit that it at least sounds
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entertaining. In any event, a Dark Void film couldn't be any worse than than
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the game it's based on. Dark Void's premise, which is essentially The
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Rocketeer meets War Of The Worlds, is unfortunatley, the most appealing thing
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about it.
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The game is set during World War II and follows the story of William Augustus
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Grey, a charter pilot for hire who finds himself tricked into flying into the
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Bermuda Triangle. There, he finds a parallel world known as 'the void' which,
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apart from containing all the missing vessels that mysteriously disappeared
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near the Straits of Florida, is home to a race of nasty aliens called The
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Watchers. It emerges that The Watchers were trapped in 'the void' and are
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seeking to return to earth and rule humankind by taking control of the Nazis.
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Luckily, Nikola Tesla happens to be trapped in the void too, and it's not long
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before he's armed Grey with a rocket pack and a couple of guns and turned him
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loose on the nefarious extraterrestrials. Hilarity ensues.
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Dark Void's entire premise feels like a delightful throwback to the pulp
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science fiction tradition of the 1960s. This is the sort of story you'd read
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in vintage comic books in which square-jawed, blue-eyed heroes take on the
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universe armed only with a Luger (taken off a dead Nazi, naturally) and a
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devil-may-care smile. It's retro science fiction in the classic sense; you're
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not supposed to ask how Grey's rocket-fuelled jetpack avoids burning his
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backside, nor are you to query how Nikola Tesla ended up in the Bermuda
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Triangle. Grey's only objectives are to get the girl and kill the baddies. As
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a rollicking story of high adventure, it's reminiscent both in tone and
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humour, of [**Uncharted 2: Among Thieves**][15]. Dark Void also borrows the
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vocal talents of Nolan North (who did amazing work as Nathan Drake) for its
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hero, and it lifts the pop-and-shoot cover system from Uncharted 2 as well.
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However, this is where comparisons end, because whereas Uncharted 2 is
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unarguably one of the best games ever made for this generation of consoles,
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Dark Void is a thin, disposable offering hampered by bad design and lousy
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presentation.
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The game's action is split between ground-based third-person-shooter (TPS)
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action and aerial combat. The former is divided again into earthbound sections
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and vertical platforming, in which Grey vaults up or down sheer drops fighting
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enemies. After a couple of missions, Grey is given a jetpack which allows him
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to extend hang-time between jumps or navigate down from lofty heights without
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landing with a splat at the bottom. This opens up a couple of new combat
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mechanics and tactical elements - Grey use a boost to reach higher vantage
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points or leap over oncoming enemies - but not enough to keep things
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interesting. Throughout the entire game Grey only gains access to only six
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guns which are all variations on standard TPS weapons; the one exception is
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the Magnetar, which briefly suspends foes in a magnetic field so the player
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can use another weapon to blast their helpless enemies to kingdom come. All of
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the weapons and the jetpack can be upgraded (in terms of ammunition or damage)
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by collecting glowing orbs that fallen enemies leave behind. Grey also has
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access a melee attack, but using it is problematic and fiddly.
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## Related Articles
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* [Darksiders video game review][16]
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08 Jan 2010
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* [Bayonetta video game review][17]
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04 Jan 2010
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* [Most anticipated video games of 2010][18]
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21 Dec 2009
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* [Uncharted 2: Among Thieves review][19]
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07 Oct 2009
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* [Gears Of War 2][20]
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03 Nov 2008
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* [Prince Of Persia review][21]
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02 Dec 2008
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The ground-based combat works for the most part because it's highly
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derivative; all of the heavy lifting with regards to its pop-and-cover
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gameplay has been done by earlier, better games. The only new element that
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Dark Void brings to the table is the vertical battles, and this isn't
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challenging or inventive enough to maintain interest. The Watchers' foot
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soldiers are unimaginative in their design - they look like the love-children
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of the Geth from Mass Effect and the Trade Federation droids from Star Wars -
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and the game's enemy AI won't win any awards for intelligence. Occasionally
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Dark Void throws up a bigger, stronger enemy, but most of these battles can be
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won through attrition.
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The aerial combat levels are a little more rewarding at first. The controls
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are well mapped; the jetpack guns are fired with the right trigger and (once
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the upgrade has been bought) the left trigger fires rockets. The face buttons
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control the thrust, break, hovering capability and on/off switch. The left-
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bumper locks onto the nearest target, which is handy for gaining some
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positional awareness in a dogfight, and by using the joysticks, players can
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execute 180 degrees turns and barrel rolls. There are, however, some downsides
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to the flying sections, and these seem mainly down to bad design choices.
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First off, when Grey switches from hovering to flying forward, the sudden
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thrust changes his direction and jogs the screen a little. This is acceptable
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during the first level in which the jetpack is used but by fourth or fifth
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level it has become very annoying; unless the camera is facing directly
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upward, players run the risk of bouncing off an number of horizontal surfaces.
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As far as the dogfights are concerned, Dark Void is let down by the fact that
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there is no way for players to lock onto any flying targets. The whole
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experience feels like the developers have taken standard TPS mechanics and
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bolted it onto an environment in which enemies can come at the player from
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anywhere in a 360 degree arch. With nothing but a small reticule to direct
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their fire, they need the hands of a surgeon to draw a bead on a target, who
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is more than likely to take evasive action the moment the player scores a hit.
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The enemy spaceships, by the way, have crack pilots at the controls who,
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unlike their foot soldier comrades, are deadly accurate shots. Unless players
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bother to learn a couple of flying tricks, they'll find themselves blasted out
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of the sky in short order.
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Players can leap into the cockpit of friendly aircraft and have the option of
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hijacking (or skyjacking) enemies. However, the friendly planes are badly
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designed and nowhere near as manoeuverable as either Grey's jetpack or the
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evil UFO's. The enemy flying saucers handle well, but hijacking them kicks off
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a mini-game which is durable for the first couple of times, but boring beyond
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belief by the tenth time it happens. The other problem with the dogfights is
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that a lot of them take place in restrictive spaces such as enclosed canyons;
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when not penned in by sheer walls of rock, players will encounter an invisible
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barrier if they stray too far from the action. This sensation of flying around
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in a box doesn't do the gameplay any favours, and in some instances, actually
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prompts the player to abandon the air-to-air combat altogether; we defeated a
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lengthy series of dogfights by simply jumping in a ship's gun turret and using
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its anti-aircraft battery to blast our way through.
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However, Dark Void's ultimate low points are apparent in some level design
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choices likely to tip the player's frustrations into control-smashing
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territory. In one mission, for example, Grey has to defend a ship against
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three four-legged tanks. This is done by knocking out the leg-joints of each
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tank, one at a time, and then defeating a mini-game to blow it up. The player
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needs to accomplish this before the tanks destroy the ship and all of it takes
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place in a canyon surrounded by rock outcroppings which require steady hands
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and breakneck reflexes to navigate. Oh, and did we mention the area is filled
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with enemy spaceships which descend on the player like a swarm of angry
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hornets? And the four-legged tanks can blast the player out of the sky unless
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they are approached from a 90 degree angle? And that the target area they're
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supposed to hit is roughly the size of a thimble until they're almost on top
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of it? As bad as all that sounds, it's nothing compared to the game's broken
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checkpoint system. In more than one instance, the game loads a checkpoint
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during a mission in which the player is guarding a ship or a person,
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respawning them so far behind the object in their charge that it is destroyed
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before they are able to catch up to it.
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Away from repetitive gameplay and poor level design, Dark Void also suffers
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from its plot being too poorly written to live up to the promise of its
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fantastic high-concept premise. The ideas that kick start the game are great,
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but the plot's progression is stilted and uninvolving. While the voice actors
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work hard to make us care about the characters, the dialogue isn't really all
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that inspiring, and the sequence of events that occur as the story unfold
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start to seem less and less cohesive. (At one point, for example, a pivotal
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character is murdered by a double agent, and when Grey hears of it, his
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reaction is to express shock and then carry on as though nothing has
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happened.) Nolan North seems like a natural fit for the hero in a high
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adventure story, but his work here lacks the impact it did on Uncharted 2 and
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he does nothing to make Grey a compelling character.
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Dark Void's visuals leave a lot to be desired; a lot of the environments feel
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generic and, with the exception of a few set-pieces, a lot of the scenery in
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the void starts to feel repetitive. Grey, for his part, is badly animated; his
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long arms and broad chest make him look like a caricature and whenever he
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leaps from cover he looks like a dead body that's been booted out of moving
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vehicle. The game's soundtrack is good, although not exactly standout in
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quality. The game's music, however, is faultless; Bear McCreary, who composed
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the score for the recent reboot of the Battlestar Gallactica franchise, does
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some brilliant work here. The passages behind the cut-scenes and lulls in the
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action are lush without being intrusive, and the battle scenes are a mix of
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hammering percussion and duelling strings. If the rest of the game matched its
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epic, cinematic score, we'd be standing in the presence of greatness.
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As it is, however, Dark Void is a game we wanted to like more than we did. Its
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retro sci-fi concept is so appealing it initially makes it tempting to excuse
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some of the game's rougher edges. In the end, however, no amount of nostalgia
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can absolve the game of its ropy gameplay, patchy plot, substandard
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production, generic (and sometimes poor) level design and thin content; the
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campaign takes around eight hours to complete and that's the only mode on
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offer. A lengthier development time, more testing or some fleshing out the
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game's unrealised plot could possibly have worked wonders. As it is, Dark Void
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feels like a missed opportunity and this is a real shame, because we get the
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sense that somewhere, lost in its disjointed mess is a better, deeper and more
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entertaining game trying to get out.
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[What are these?][23]
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* Share: [Share][22] [ ][24] [ ][25]
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[Tweet][26]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6998057/Dark-Void-video-
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game-review.html
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Telegraph
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## [Video Games][27]
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* ### [Technology »][28]
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* ### [Microsoft »][29]
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* ### [Sony »][30]
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* ### [Technology Reviews »][31]
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* ### [Nick Cowen »][12]
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In technology
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[![Brink hands-on preview][32] ][33]
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### [UK video game chart 16 May 2011][33]
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[X][22] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][23]
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Share:
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* [ ][22]
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* [ ][24]
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* [ ][25]
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* [Tweet][26]
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* Advertisement
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![][34]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][35] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][36]
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[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][37]][38]
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sponsored features
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## [VIDEO GAME TRAILERS »][39]
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[![Renegade ops game][41] ][40]
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Renegade Ops puts players in a mobile commando unit sent behind enemy lines to
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defeat Inferno, a madman intent on global domination.
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### [Exclusive: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean - official trailer][42]
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### [Call Of Duty: Black Ops - Escalation DLC Trailer][43]
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### [LA Noire - new trailer][44]
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### [FEAR 3 - 'Ides Of March' Trailer][45]
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### [Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Reverie DLC Trailer][46]
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### [Forsaken World - launch trailer][47]
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### [Star Wars: The Old Republic - Fate Of The Galaxy trailer][48]
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### [Spanking video game pulled from UK][49]
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### [LA Noire Gameplay: Investigation and Interrogation][50]
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### [Call Of Duty: Black Ops - 'Berlin Wall' DLC trailer][51]
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TECHNOLOGY ADVICE AND REVIEWS
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### [Samsung Galaxy Tab: Review][52]
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[![Samsung Galaxy Tab][53] ][52]
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Slick, well-designed and highly usable - it's clear that Samsung's new Galaxy
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Tab tablet computer represents a real challenge to Apple's iPad
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### [Photoshop Elements 9 review][54]
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### [Just Dance 2 video game review][55]
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Advertisement
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* [Cars][56]
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* [IT Jobs][57]
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* [Events][58]
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