Game reviews: Dark Void PS3

Perhaps we have just become used to playing exceptionally good games, but Capcom’s latest title, Dark Void, seems a flawed and amateurish affair compared with some of the things we’ve seen lately. A third-person shooter, Dark Void resembles the stunning Uncharted 2, but with clumsy and unnatural character movement, inferior graphics, a badly written and clichéd story, and a healthy dose of supernatural goings-on.

You play as Nick, a down and out rogue who meets up with his hot ex-girlfriend for a flight across of the Bermuda Triangle. Inevitably, that doesn’t go well and lands them in ‘the void’ – a place full of bad-guy robot/slugs, average animation and more plot holes and unanswered questions than you can imagine.

The game is amusing enough, with jet packs, the usual arsenal of weaponry and even the ability to hijack enemy ships mid-air. However, the single player campaign took only a few hours to complete and – shock, horror – there is no multiplayer, a cardinal sin in this day and age.

There are some redeeming features, however, including a unique vertical cover system. Dark Void takes the traditional third-person shooter cover system and flips it on its head, allowing you to peek over a ledge to shoot enemies below. This works well with the jet pack feature, allowing you to get very high above the action, slide your sniper rifle over a ledge and have some fun.

But that feature isn’t really enough to recommend the game. By all means, if you have money to burn, go buy Dark Void – it’s not great and it will irritate you, but it’s still fun enough. However, be warned: unless you are a truly terrible gamer, don’t expect to be still playing this game in a few days’ time, let alone a few months. PETER KELLY

2.5 stars