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Editor's note: I don't understand all the flak that Dark Void has taken in the press. I thought it was a pretty good game. Mark does, too, and after avoiding it for several weeks due to bad press, the title has him reevaluating whether or not he should place his sole faith in game reviews. -James
I learned an important lesson this weekend. It is a lesson that I sadly should have already known, but I guess I never truly grasped the true concept of it: My opinion on video games should matter more to me than someone else’s.
First and foremost, we’ll set the scene: I’m a huge fan of Capcom. Mega Man is, to this day, one of my favorite series, and it was one of the games that actually got me in to the hobby in the first place. As I’ve aged and my opinion on video games has matured in to what it is today, Capcom has always been the company that I've given more leeway than any other. The reason I've done so, with the exception of a couple games, is because they have introduced and published mostly quality titles.
When Capcom announced Dark Void, I was extremely excited. Aerial combat with a jet-pack, the ability to climb and shoot from cover at the same time, Tesla making your weapons, and a crazy story involving the Bermuda Triangle during World War II? Sign me up!
After the typical media blackout I put myself prior to the release of a game, January finally came, and the game arrived. Unfortunately, the week it came out was also the same week I came into some difficulties with money -- I love you, student loans -- and I was unable to purchase the game. Then I made my first crucial mistake: I read a review. Where I read the review, I don’t remember, but critiques like “unplayable” and “a good idea done horribly wrong” resounded. Suddenly, I was reading every review I could find on the subject and most, if not all, echoed the same sentiment: Dark Void is decent at best.
The emotion I felt was probably akin to someone telling your ten-year-old self that your favorite Ninja Turtle is a “doody head." That kind of criticism sows the seed of doubt in your mind, and it cultivates the idea within your mind that maybe, just maybe, you have bad taste.
Ok, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration of how I felt, but needless to say when I finally did get some cash, I never bought Dark Void.
As money have become more scarce, I’ve acted under two guiding principles: I’m no longer allowed to trade games in (by time you finish the game, the money you get isn't worth it), and I can not purchase a new game until I’ve beaten the last one I bought. I’m proud to say that these two rules have helped me save a considerable amount of money. I've vanquished Darksiders, Bioshock 2, and even Dante’s Inferno all in due time.
Fast forward to earlier this week. Because my copy of Borderlands is AWOL (apparently my brother thinks I'm a Blockbuster store), I can’t dive into the new downloadable content and give it a shot. I found myself at a loss for entertainment and ended up at my local rental store perusing the available titles. At first I passed over Dark Void in the hope that something more appealing would present itself. It soon became apparent to me that wasn't going to happen, and nervously I picked up the box, paid my dues, and went home. Deep down in my mind, somewhere in the sub-basement area where bunnies like to frolic, I wondered if I had just made a terrible mistake.
