Dark Void is Clearly Western Developed, Because it Sucks

[pwnophobia]

http://evavhost.com/i/news/DarkVoid.jpg

As expected, Capcom was certainly setting Dark Void up for failure when they announced dumping Western developers (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103234). VG247 (http://www.vg247.com/2010/01/19/dark-void-review-round-up-not-so-great/)has once again compiled a list of reviews, this time for Dark Void, and it's not looking good for this Geth infused dogfighter.

D’Toid (http://www.destructoid.com/review-dark-void-160756.phtml)– 3.5
CVG (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=231887?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-Reviews-RSS)– 6.2
Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/dark-void-review)– 5
IGN UK (http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/106/1061690p1.html) – 5.0
play.tm (http://play.tm/review/28549/dark-void/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+playtm+%28play.tm%29&utm_content=Google+Reader) – 66%
Videogamer (http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/dark_void/review.html)– 6
jv.com (http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0001/00012086-dark-void-test.htm) – 11/20
Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/19/review-dark-void/)– N/A

[drakkarim]

dang, the ps3 demo looked nice, well, then again i didn't bother to finish it, got zapped to death in the skies by some flying robot thingies or something and turned it off. but it did play smoothly and looked nice, will pick this up someday in the bargain bin, apparently sooner than later.

[Saracen Pariah]

I can't say I'm surprised. I played the demo, and the graphics looked like the game was made for the original Xbox or PS2. The controls were good, but the initial aerial combat seemed like it was too hard to maneuver behind an enemy aircraft.

I'll still probably look to pick it up, once it drops below $20.

[bean19]

I'm surprised the reviews are so low after the fun demo. Read a review, in short the biggest problem is that the combat is easy and repetitive.

[Spacebear]

I didn't think it would score this low. It felt very average in the demo. The dogfight controls were really mediocre, but maybe it could of been a decent game as long as it stayed grounded. I guess not.

[Saracen Pariah]

I haven't read any of the reviews yet, but I'll list my pros and cons from the demo:

Pros:

- Smooth controls in flight (reminded me very much of Crimson Skies
- Paradigm of swapping between an arcade flight combat game, and a third-person shooter is cool
- In-game tutorial lets you get into the action as you learn the controls

Cons:

- Main character graphics were current-gen, but terrain and textures were last-gen. The game looked like it was ported from the original Xbox.
- Third-person ground combat is reminiscent enough of GoW controls that you keep trying to roadie run between cover, but you can't (even though there's a rudimentary cover mechanic.
- Ammo seemed to be too limited.
- Aerial enemies were much harder to avoid than enemies in crimson skies, and were much more difficult to move behind.


I dunno. It's possible that the reviews are a tad bit on the harsh side, but I've recently had to lower my personal "acceptibility bar" from only playing 8/10 or better games to around 6/10 or better. Going just by the demo, I'm putting this on my interest list, but only as a rental, or when I can buy it on the cheap.

[DeluxE]

Well, at least I don't feel like something's wrong with me anymore!

From the very begining this looked like a turd to me, a feeling the demo just cemented. Craptacular!

Honestly, I don't get how they managed so much hype in the first place. First of all it's coming from a totally unknown company with no track record to speak of. The graphics and character designs were generic at best, and the "world" that the game presented was totally barren and bland. It seems that everyone was excited because this was the game with a jetpack.

Whoop-dee-doo!

Not the first time we've seen that mechanic before! Then after playing the demo I found out that the story and cutscenes were dismal too.

Well. Certainly seems like a 3.5 to me. At least these reviews prove there's still some honesty left in games journalism.

[drakkarim]

seems like i need to replay that ps3 demo again, i don't recall having any issues with the ps3 graphics in the game, and i tend to be a graphics whore, looking down on all console graphics from high up on my PC cliff.

[92miata]

i thought the demo was terrible. years behind what the current games offer. how about lay this studio off since they don't know how to program?

looks like it was a high school project.

but remember, this is built for NVIDIA physx, so the game will suck, but the physx will rule.....:)

[Venkman]

Pros
- flying with the jetpack is cool.
- awesome idea

Cons:
- poor character and enemy animation
- poor texture work
- uninspired sound
- stunted, boring ground combat
- poor cover mechanics
- poor melee attack when in close quarters with an enemy (essentially a small cutscene)
- aerial combat is weak. You shoot enemies for a while until they start to smoke, then just press a button to land on them (another one button triggered mini-cutscene? exciting!)
- mini game for taking over enemy aircraft is boring and too time consuming (hold down a button to peel back some metal, then tap one button to fight the pilot)
- even fails at QTE's. usually a person would have to press more than one button with some sense of urgency
- ground enemies can pick you up and choke you- basically taking control away from you while you flail around for a while. About as much fun as getting hit with a stun grenade in Gears of War 2 (read: not fun)
-weak enemy AI

Not even the voice of Nathan Drake could save this game. Too bad, the concept is cool.

[EvilBob46]

As expected, Capcom was certainly setting themselves up for failure when the decided to dump Western developers (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103234).

Huh? Airtight Games games (the developer of the game) is an American company. So if anything the failure of Dark Void speaks FOR Capcom's decision to drop Western devs.

[modeps]

Huh? Airtight Games games (the developer of the game) is an American company. So if anything the failure of Dark Void speaks FOR Capcom's decision to drop Western devs.

That was my edit, I wasn't clear enough... They were setting Dark Void up for failure. My bads.

[automaton]

I think that is what he was trying to say. They were setting US up for THEIR failure when they dumped western devs.

WARNING!!! Dead Rising 2 may suffer the same fate as Dark Void as it is also being made by a western developer.

[Zeal]

this is honestly he worst thread title ever, considering some of the best games for the past 5 years have been western developed. the game sucked because the developers sucked, not because they happened to be western developers.

[Shela Monster]

That was my edit, I wasn't clear enough... They were setting Dark Void up for failure. My bads.*GASP*

~Shela Monster

[modeps]

I think that is what he was trying to say. They were setting US up for THEIR failure when they dumped western devs.

WARNING!!! Dead Rising 2 may suffer the same fate as Dark Void as it is also being made by a western developer.

Exactly. Still, I clarified anyway.

[modeps]

this is honestly he worst thread title ever, considering some of the best games for the past 5 years have been western developed. the game sucked because the developers sucked, not because they happened to be western developers.

zeal fails (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103234).

[Duskfire]

Am playing through it at the moment. It is okay. Not great, its probably deserving of the reviews. The jetpack parts are pretty cool, but other then that its basically a generic subpar gears of war clone.

[alienchild]

The game looks extremely uninteresting to me. Why do I want to fly around in "random generated geometry with brown rock texture" and shoot stuff? I want interesting locales. This scenery could be used for any other generic game. Where the FUCK is the creative people at Capcom?

[Apex]

I really didnt think it was that bad, the jetpack flying was a lot of fun. The design for the demo level just sucked. If the level design in later levels is good then I could see it being fun.

[Hellstorm]

Kim Swift to the rescue.

[Kragg]

I heard that in the Capcom building the developers of Dark Void and Dead Rising 2 have to drink out of separate water fountains from the rest of the staff.

[brandonjclark]

Well this is disappointing, cause I really wanted to see a good game outta this one. I'll still have to pick it up on Steamers once it drops. By the sounds of it, that could relatively soon.

[Zeal]

honestly, the only thing bad about the game was it's non-ending. i mean it was made by the crimson skies team. do you remember how epic crimson skies was on xbox live? exactly.

this game is getting slammed far more than it deserves.

[shadow763]

I had never heard of this, and the demo didnt see intriguing enough to download. I watched the quick look on Giant Bomb and it looked terrible. So I guess I made the right choice.

[brandonjclark]

....... So I guess I made the right choice.


How will you know unless you experience it firsthand? This isn't a clear cut case of "shitty game" if you ask me.

I'm reserving judgment until I've played it.

[Venkman]

Where the FUCK is the creative people at Capcom?

Japan, apparently.

[blackzc]

This japan makes better games bullshit has really hung in there. How long has this not been the case? 10 years? Other than sony japan makes shit anymore. SF4!!>! OMFBFG.

[Zeal]

This japan makes better games bullshit has really hung in there. How long has this not been the case? 10 years? Other than sony japan makes shit anymore. SF4!!>! OMFBFG.

truth.

everyone who knows anything about the industry knows western developers are the only thing keeping it alive. out of the past 10 or so years, how many games of the year have been western developed? well over half.

in fact, you have japan flat out STEALING US game development now. Youtube Quantum Theory and tell me that is not a shameless Gears of War clone. Epic should flat out sue.

[Anenome]

There's an untold story of the fall of the state of the Japanese games industry. What happened? Just their economy tanking or what?

[Johan]

I really need to play a terrible game some time soon. Sometimes it can be a real hoot to play a horrible game, or watch a terrible movie, just for kicks and giggles.

[shadow763]

How will you know unless you experience it firsthand? This isn't a clear cut case of "shitty game" if you ask me.

I'm reserving judgment until I've played it.

With all the games I already have to play and with all thats coming out, its hard to care much for something that already looks bad and reviewers are saying are bad. I tend to be pretty good with my instincts on titles as far as whether or not I will like them. If at some point in the future I hear something about this game that really hooks me, then I will take another look. Otherwise with all thats coming out, I don't feel like its a loss. Plus Capcoms track record as of late for me has not been very good. RE5 has left a bad taste, and that was made in Japan where supposedly all their greatness comes from. That game could have used more western influence.

[Zeal]

the fall of the japanese game industry is almost comical in its simplicity. japan ran out of ideas and america took up the torch. they simply couldn't keep up.

they made final fantasy 93 and we created Halo.

[Anenome]

Sounds more like the Japanese industry crumbled under strong competition from American companies more than anything. They'd perhaps gotten complacent.

[Apex]

I know a handful of people working on/worked on Dead Rising 2, the picture I've managed to gleam from them is that there is no need to worry about the quality of the game. But then they would say that :)

[Syl]

...wow you guys forgot nintendo quickly.

I guess you can't see them all the way on top of their MOUNTAIN OF MONEY.

[Bryyce]

I played the demo and was seriously disappointed, it all sounded good on paper but lacked execution. Anyway, there are allot more aspiring games coming out this year to let this one let me down.

[Wyrm]

I was really looking forward to this one, and I've been down lately, so I picked it up, despite the reviews.

Unfortunately, they're right. I finished it in one sitting, and by the time it opens up and gives you access to all of its mechanics, it ends abruptly with a boss fight that makes no sense, and doesn't seem related in any way to the rest of the game.

Seems to me they had the glimmer of a great game in there, but it never got the chance to come out. The flying around jetpacking parts are great, except that the jetpack has no degree of speed control, and going from stopped on the ground to flying at breakneck speed is kind of silly.

Oh, and there are only 6 weapons, all of which are upgradable twice, but you'll only probably be able to upgrade one or two all the way on your first playthrough. Why you would want to play through it again is beyond me, however.

It's a shame too, since the jetpack mechanic is done well. It's essentially if someone said "lets take Gears of War, add a jet pack, and an extremely barebones story, release it in the same engine, and not make any gameplay innovations at all!"

Yeah, it's fun to jet pack around, but the game's pacing is just awful. There are shooting sections that go on far too long including a section where they take away all your guns and jet pack toward the end of the game, great design! Except, not., flying sections that are over quickly, and multiple levels that could have been awesome, provided there had actually been some sights to see, or some places to fly other than your linear, boring objectives. There is a mission toward the beginning of the game, the first one you use your real jet pack on, that glimmers of something great. If there were more sections like it, the game would have at least been an entertaining ride. As it stands, there are lots of other games that do what it does, and do it better.

What the hell is the fun of a jet pack if you're not going to let the player explore anything? Few enemy types, few weapons, utter lack of content.

This thing got pushed out the door too soon, and it shows. Too bad, because it might have been great. As it stands, it's an average shooter with a fun jet pack mechanic that is over before it starts.

[bean19]

the fall of the japanese game industry is almost comical in its simplicity. japan ran out of ideas and america took up the torch. they simply couldn't keep up.

they made final fantasy 93 and we created Halo.
Bad example. Final Fantasy (and many JRPGs) are still very successful.

Also, it isn't as dire as you guys are painting it. There are many Japanese franchies (especially Nintendo's huge line of first-party games) that are profitable: Dynasty Warriors series, Ninja Gaiden, Dead Rising, Resident Evil, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, MGS, Lost Planet, and the Persona series come easily to mind.

You can argue that they are not coming up with new ideas, but in that list there are many games that are highly innovative and the ones that aren't are because they are sequels to games that were innovative when the original was released and they now define the sub-genre they inhabit. Resident Evil actually reinvented itself fairly well in RE 4 and is frequently criticized for the innovations (co-op) in RE 5.

So while I think you could argue they have not innovated and grown as much as western developers, it is inaccurate to state that Japanese developers have been left behind or that they only produce unpopular, derivative crap. That's simply not true.

[Venkman]

This japan makes better games bullshit has really hung in there. How long has this not been the case? 10 years? Other than sony japan makes shit anymore. SF4!!>! OMFBFG.

If we're just talking about Capcom, then I'd say their talent is their Japanese dev teams- not their outsourced western developers (although I hope Dead Rising 2 is good).

...wow you guys forgot nintendo quickly.

I guess you can't see them all the way on top of their MOUNTAIN OF MONEY.

We didn't forget Nintento- we're just talking about companies that make games - not rehabilitation tools for old farts.

[alienchild]

May you rest in peace... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Silent) best talent ever to come out of Japan as far as I'm concerned (though they should have stopped at 3).