Dark Void Preview

Will's able to seamlessly transition from in-air to on-ground combat

On the ground, big boxes provide obvious cover as Dark Void turns into something of a Gears of War clone. You're able to snap to cover, peek out and shoot, hurdle, melee, everything you'd expect from a third-person cover-based shooter. Once the area is cleared you're able to enter the prison - Watcher architecture reveals itself to be Forerunner-esque, with a sanitised, clean look and dark blue neon lights. This, Airtight reveals, is intended to contrast with the garbage heap that is the human rebellion.

Further in, Will comes up against a floating, serpent-like Watcher that looks like a robot version of a Naga from the World of Warcraft - easily dispatched. Then Dark Void displays its most interesting mechanic: what Airtight calls its "Vertical Cover" system. Will eventually reaches a part of the prison that spirals upwards. Rotating platforms prevent him from simply flying all the way up, as do many Watcher guards. What you need to do is fly, latch onto cover and fight your way up. Gravity doesn't shift depending on where your feet are planted, and you have full control over your perspective. It's an initially bemusing experience - I died at least 20 times trying to complete it. I would activate my jetpack by pressing Y, speed off into the air and crash into a platform, dying a horribly annoying death. I discovered that you're able to do a sort of double jump, or enter hover mode, by pressing the A button, which gives you a slight burst, but actually trying to move from cover to cover upwards and out of the area proved nigh-on impossible.

Again, let me say that my issues with the controls were undoubtedly exacerbated by a lack of a tutorial, but I can tell even at this stage that they're going to be incredibly fiddly for a lot of people. It's great in theory to be able to change the way you're tackling a fight - even inside, confined by ceilings, Will should be able to dig himself out of holes by flying and changing his point of attack. But actually doing it looks like being a complicated process.

Still, my main concern with Dark Void isn't the frustrating controls, but the general lack of oomph. The interior environments and even Will himself don't look interesting or unique enough to stand out from other games with a sci-fi setting. The Watchers, which look like a slightly creepier take on the robots from Will Smith sci-fi flick I Robot, didn't set my world on fire either. The third-person shooting especially feels underwhelming, like we've seen it all before. Admittedly we've only seen a snippet of the game so far - fingers crossed that overall, the rest of Dark Void provides a more spectacular, less generic experience.

Darl Void's got a lot of potential - fingers crossed it realises it.

Thankfully, the same concerns can't be labelled at the in-air combat. Here the Unreal Engine-powered graphics are at their best, with impressive draw distances and highly-detailed ships zipping in and out of captivating environments, giving a real sense of being in the thick of an epic dogfight. Once you get the hang of the controls, flying about and shooting with the jetpack turrets is a joy, and slowly floating towards a platform as you spray distant Watchers with assault rifle fire before landing and hugging cover is an undoubtedly cool thing to do. When Airtight says most of your time with Dark Void will be spent in the air, it comes as a big relief.

We're hoping that Dark Void doesn't turn out to be one of those games that's better in theory than it is in execution. The vertical cover sections remain a concern, but outside, in the air, the game's great fun. The fact that it's single-player only might put some off, but Airtight revealed at Captivate 09 that if it gets the opportunity to make a sequel, multiplayer jetpacks would be awesome. We agree. Right now though our fingers are crossed that Dark Void's got something special up its sleeve to make it more than just a clever idea.

Dark Void is due out for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC later this year.