Dark Void: Captivate Preview

You've always wanted a jetpack. Now you have one.

Welcome to Dark Void. The worst place to be for a simple cargo pilot such as myself, but a playground of exploratory wonder for gamers like you. My name is Will and I will be your tour guide through "the Void." What is the Void, you ask? To be honest I'm not too sure myself. As far as I can tell, it's a parallel universe hidden inside the bowels of the Bermuda Triangle, a.k.a. the Devil's Triangle. Yes, that infamous region off the Atlantic coast of Florida where a number of aircraft have mysteriously disappeared due to "reasons unknown." At least that's what the reports say...

The jetpack introduces a new level of combat not restricted to the horizontal X-axis.

The jetpack introduces a new level of combat not restricted to the horizontal X-axis.

Lost in Void

How I got here is not important. Well okay, I crash landed a routine flight, but as I said that's not important. What is important is how I'm going to get the hell out of here. This is why I need your help. I need a third-person gamer with a steady hand to shoot, climb, and fly me back to the real world. I figured it would be best to keep the on-ground and in-flight mechanics relatively familiar; think Gears of War and Crimson Skies, respectively. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

You'll lead me through the Void from a third-person over-the-shoulder camera view with a tight focus on shooting, that is until I get my hands on a trusty jetpack (more on that in a moment). Anyhow, this is probably a good time to mention the "Watchers," an alien race of technoheads who don't like humans such as, well, me. Luckily, I ran into a group of human survivors before the Watchers found me, who equipped yours truly with a standard arsenal including a pistol and assault rifle, but I noticed some of them carried strange robotic weapons...probably Watcher technology.

Peel off the power panel and destroy the shield generator to hijack UFOs in mid-flight.

Peel off the power panel and destroy the shield generator to hijack UFOs in mid-flight.

The Sky(box) is the Limit

In the real world I may be your everyday cargo pilot, but in the Void I am Will the Rocketeer, a classic film in my opinion. Once you help me find a jetpack, I can take flight, scale cliffs, and hijack UFOs. I don't know why we're given a janky "hoverpack" at first, but I guess it's best to walk before run-or hover before fly in this case.

When you get around to it, however, I'd prefer a "rocketpack" which enables me to take to the skies and fly freely around the Void. The Watcher technology is alien to me, but this stuff upgrades surprisingly easy. The same goes for weapons. As we progress through this dark adventure together, more and more Watcher technology will become available to discover and upgrade equipment.

Did I mention that I like to rock climb in my free time? I'm talking massive vertical cliffs of madness. Here, the jetpack makes it ten times easier. If you position me just right, I can climb any vertical cliff by jump-boosting from underneath rock protrusions. It's just like taking cover on-foot, but I'll be scaling a treacherous cliff face instead. You can aim me to propel at enemies, or I can simply grab and pull them off. I prefer the later-it saves ammunition.

Will the cargo pilot can take cover anywhere in Dark Void, be it on the ground or scaling a cliff. Get up underneath enemies to reach up and pull them off.

Will the cargo pilot can take cover anywhere in Dark Void, be it on the ground or scaling a cliff. Get up underneath enemies to reach up and pull them off.

Skyjack

There are also these pesky UFOs with anti-me guns and energy shields that like to come around at the most inopportune moments. We're not going to put up with them, are we? Fly me close enough to the UFO and I will grab hold of it. Dodge me around the anti-personnel gun and help me pry open the control panel so I can stomp the alien pilot and hijack his ride. And whoa, you'd be surprised at how easy it is to fly one of these babies. It's just like playing that Crimson Skies game. I can boost to mach speeds and it even has photon cannons so I can blow things up.

My creators have also implemented a "grip system" inspired by Shadow of the Colossus. The grip system indicates how long I am able to hold on when blasted by too many bullets. If the grip meter reaches zero, I'll plummet. Luckily, I've got a jetpack to catch my fall. The grip system is more mini-game, button-combo based than strength based and allows for some interesting last-minute saves.

I think you gamers are really going to enjoy this Dark Void adventure starring me, Will the cargo pilot. It's got guns, jetpacks, killer robots, and UFOs. What more could you ask for? I'll try and update you on the fly, but this may be the only time I write before our adventure begins in early 2009. If this is the last time we speak, then I'll see you on the PS3, Xbox 360, or PC.

Dark Void is developed by the same people that brought aerial fighter Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge to the original Xbox.

Dark Void is developed by the same people that brought aerial fighter Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge to the original Xbox.

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Comments [17]

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ViciousSid

Surprisingly cool, huh? It's like a vertical version of Gears of War...with jetpacks. Hard to describe, but cool.

ps360fan

ViciousSid Posted at: 06/03/08 at 4:01 PM PST Surprisingly cool, huh? It's like a vertical version of Gears of War...with jetpacks. Hard to describe, but cool.
i completely agree.

GOBLOXXX187

sounds cool & interesting... it would be insane if you could play from a an FPS perspective too.

BlackMidget8

I am glad some company thought "Tribes" was an awesome game! I wish there were more game like "Tribes". Finally someone out there is thinking. Or stealing ideas. HAH!......... If you take our right to steal ideas, Where are they going to come from? HAHA!

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