Dark Void Zero: First Look and Hands-On

By now, everyone should be familiar with Capcom's upcoming Dark Void for the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360. The action game is being developed by Seattle-based Airtight Games and casts you in the role of the unluckiest cargo pilot in recent memory by the name of William Grey. Grey is going about his business flying around the Bermuda Triangle--admittedly not the smartest thing to be doing--when he's pulled into a parallel universe ruled by a race called the Watchers. When Grey shows up, he finds that he's not the only human to get pulled into the world as there's a sizable population of folk on hand. Unfortunately, the Watchers aren't very good hosts and have made a practice of enslaving newly arrived humans to do their bidding. Obviously, this doesn't sit well with Grey who opts to fight his way back home.

As laid out in the game's backstory, humans arriving and even rebelling aren't necessarily a new thing in Dark Void's universe; case in point, the upcoming Dark Void Zero. The original game is being developed by Emeryville-based Other Ocean exclusively for the DSi as a downloadable DSiWare game and tells a tale set before the upcoming Dark Void for consoles. Now, given the hardware disparity between consoles and Nintendo's handheld, Other Ocean and Capcom have made a smart move into left field with Dark Void Zero's presentation by going retro to make the game an 8-bit NES-style 2D action game. We got the chance to play around with the bite-sized game, and we have to say, it's charming and tough.

So when we say Dark Void Zero has a retro look to it, we need to point out this is consistent across the board. Capcom has crafted an authentic and old-school experience that will make veteran gamers smile. The moment you fire up the game, you're asked to "blow" on your virtual cartridge in order to get it to work. Once the microphone detects some air, you'll get an animation of an onscreen cartridge plugging in to the bottom screen of your DS, which launches the game. When you launch the game, you'll be filled in on the story by an awesomely dramatic cinema, and by "cinema," we mean a series of blocky still images. You're cast in the role of Rusty, a character actually seen in the upcoming console game--one of the first freedom fighters in the parallel world. Famed scientist and electricity enthusiast Nikola Tesla is on hand to offer support and guidance as you set out to fight for humankind.

The game's story follows Rusty's attempts to fight the Watcher overlords and liberate the humans from their rule. The action will take place over three good-sized levels that will be set in different environments. Each locale will have its own boss, as well as primary and secondary missions to complete. Gameplay will be displayed on the DS touch screen with a map of the area you're in showing up on the top screen. Your revolutionary journey will play out in side-scrolling run-and-gun style with some platforming tossed in for good measure. You'll take on assorted enemies, which reappear after a set amount of time, and many of them are based on the foes in the console game. While you're obviously outnumbered, you'll find six different weapons and various pickups, such as fire-rate boosts and force fields that will offer a bonus for a short period of time. In addition, you'll find keys and other items you'll need for your various quests. But, most importantly, you'll find jetpack pickups that will let you fly around.

The game's control scheme is a solid two-button scheme that is pretty perfect for the running, jumping, shooting, and flying you'll be doing. Shooting is pretty straightforward: You'll just hit the button to fire and aim with the D pad. You'll be able to shoot around you, even below you on certain platforms, which is handy for dealing with foes that will come at you from different directions. Jumping has some depth to it once you factor in the jetpack. When you start the game, you won't have a jetpack and just jump. However, once you pick it up, you'll be able to mix up your button presses to take advantage of the jetpack. Holding the jump button will let you boost upward while a double-tapping jump will let you hover indefinitely. Obviously, the D pad will let you steer around and access new areas while flying.

Now, while we mentioned Dark Void's excellent old-school sprite look earlier, we also need to call out the game's audio. You can expect to hear an oddly comforting array of simple sound effects that represent the magic of 8-bit sound hardware. We're also pleased to hear that Bear McCreary has also gotten into the act as the veteran composer, who is doing the score for the console game and has done the music for Dark Void Zero. McCreary apparently got his hands on some old sound equipment to ensure the material would sound authentic and went to town for the DS game's music, which surely sounds of the era.

Based on what we played, Dark Void Zero is shaping up to be a funky little homage to the 8-bit era. The visuals and gameplay are almost pitch-perfect for an old-school NES game. And, the difficulty is about right in the "beat you up and take your lunch money" vein of many of Capcom's old-school classics. Look for Dark Void Zero to hit the Nintendo DSi Shop for 500 points in January.