Dark Void is a missed opportunity.

Man.

Dark Void was awesome.

For like the first 1/3 of the game.

Once you get the jetpack, all the unique aspects are thrown out the window for generic flying and shooting with a by the numbers predictable plot. What it needed to do was keep the mysterious island exploration feel the first third of the game had, with the proto-jetpack for a boost jump. It had plenty of fun vertical shooting, interesting platforming, and was all around fun. I was all about to name it this years Bionic Commando...

But then you get the jetpack and it isn't used very uniquely. In fact after the first set piece with it (flying through bases and through a deep tunnel), it quickly loses it's charm because it becomes overused fast.

The second third of the game becomes a generic shooter with little to no vertical shooting or platforming, the story gets bogged down, and the stupid escort missions begin. While that's all very generic, it's not really bad. In fact, that's one thing I can say positively about Dark Void is that it never gets bad.

But it does come close in the final third. When you have to protect this flying Death Egg known as The Ark which soaks up bullets like a dry sponge and you basically dogfight over and over for giant stretches of time without even a hint of level design. Thankfully it quickly changes so that you are stripped of your jetpack, or it would get real monotonous real fast. It all ends rather deserving. A final boss fight that's kind of cool but fizzles out as it is simply too easy (even on "Hardcore" mode), which is a nice summation of the game.

Dark Void is a fun game but makes some really dumb design decisions tat hamper the experience. Why not make the jet pack change modes for levels? Like in Star Fox, make it have a free range mode for simple flying and a simple "boost jump" for platforming in areas. Why not keep the mystery of the location a secret for a bit longer? It helps the story and keeps the game from looking less brown and gray (which is a real issue in the rest of the game) How about NOT giving the escort missions at all? Or at least removing the stupid health bars. How about limiting flying and shooting like the first 1/3 of the game and making them feel more welcome when they happen? It really helps the pacing.

Like I said, it's a fun game that has so many head scratching decisions that I just can't recommend it unless you're buying out of the bargain bin. It's too bad Airtight won't get a second opportunity to expand on the concept, if given the chance they could make a classic out of Dark Void. As it is right now, it just screams of a missed opportunity to me.