Awesome Averageness.
The story starts with a pilot transporting some cargo through the bermuda triangle with his ex gf in tow. During the flight, the two encounter a major storm and end up crash landing on what seems like a very out of place jungle, which is soon revealed to be 'The Void'. Little is explained at the start of the game and you soon find that any substance is tossed out the window to make room for the games action. You journey does take you through a number of locales and you will meet (Thats not the best word to describe it, but you have to play the game to understand what I mean) a number of different characters such as Nicola Tesla, but these encounters rarely delve deeper into any of the characters, apart than an intial introduction. The game does has a story though, but overall, its nothing orignal or special.
The action on the other hand is where this game shows it colours. Upon first arriving in the void, the game has that distinctive Gears of War run and cover flavour, which it does a fair job at, but its by no means impressive. The weapons you utilise throughout the game feel slightly weak at first, but this does improve over the course of the game as you attain uprgades through kill points. The action is soon enhanced though as Tesla lends you his unfinished prototype 'The rocket pack'. From here the game, adds a vertical layers to its combat system, enabling you to utlise the high ground and be a little bit more creative with how you approach a confrontation with the watchers. The game also features a number flying sections, enabling you to show off your Top Gun prowess against in the enemy in a number of quite heated dogfights. In summation, if Dark void relied solely on one of these gameplay aspects, you would feel conned, but the combination of the two make for a very satisfying and unique experience keeping the game fresh and fun.
The game does have some very predictable AI though; Whether it be your the enemy or the games friendlies, don't expect any to see any tactics been shown on either of their behalf. Overall, It doesn't detract from the fun but don't be surprised to see groups of enemy standing around, with a intense firefight raging around them.
In the sound department, the game is well endowed. The music is scored by the guy who did the new battlestar galactica and the sound effects are top notch for the theme of the game. I really enjoyed the imagination put into some of the futuristic effects especially. One thing though: Alien lizards from another dimension seem to have english as their first language???
Graphically: the game does not stand out at all and looks dated in some sections. But, if you take into consideration the scope of some of the games sections and the battles this scope creates these minor infractions can be overlooked. The character models also utlise the Unreal engine and although not impressive, they have a cartoony coolness that I thought stood out. The Watchers and their characters on the other hand are quite impressive and you can tell that the creators had the new battlestar galactica in mind when it came to their design.
Overall
Gameplay: 8. Pretty cool with the commbination of the two action styles. Heated battles and silly story make for a fastpaced adventure.
Sound: 9. One word. Awesome.
Story: 2. If you want a better story, buy a porno.
Graphics: 6. the finer details have given away to allow for the scope so don't expect anything amazing. The game also exhiits certain character sticking and screen tearing.
Overall: Cool game, although flawed, which prevents it being great. Worth noting that Brad Pitt has bought the rights to make a movie out of this, so I'm stoked.