Rocket-fueled, alien-busting arcade combat

Dark Void is a bold and bright third-person shoot ’em up set in an alien dimension in the 1930s. Cargo pilot Will, on Earth makes a detour through the Bermuda Triangle, and ends up in a dimension where aliens rule and there are a handful of humans that have got stuck and are trying to escape. They also need to stop the aliens, called ‘observers’ from traveling to earth and enslaving humanity.

In this dangerous dimension, Will comes across a jet-pack, designed by legendary scientist Nikola Tesla. From here the game is a mixture of air combat and traditional third-person shooting. Controls are introduced in-game, and are well designed. Flying the jet-pack is easy, and Will is excellently animated, while on the ground everything is rendered pretty well.

There are stationary targets as well as flying aliens to occupy you in the air, and lots of infantry to fight with on the ground. It’s certainly an action-packed experience, and is helped by the charming 1930s setting. You’ll need a fairly high-end machine to get the most out of the excellent graphics, but it still looks good with the video settings turned down on older PCs.

Despite the name, Dark Void plays like a light-hearted comic story. It’s unsubtle, but fun to play and never gets dull or pretentious.

With its mix of spacious air combat and and close up third person shooting, Dark Void offers a lots of arcade action which is more about fun than realism.