The jet pack is the real star of the show in Dark Void Zero, allowing you to zip around to just about any point in the level very quickly. Pressing and holding the B button will send you rocketing skyward, although this is fairly difficult to control precisely. The better alternative to this involves double-tapping the B button, which will put Rusty's pack into hover mode. In this mode, you don't have to fear plummeting into enemies or hazards and are free to just maneuver around using the D-pad. However, there will be points in the game where you'll lose the ability to utilize the rocket pack, but they just make you focus more on platform jumping and are few and far between.

There is also a good variety of weaponry to be had in Dark Void Zero ranging from your standard gun to the bazooka. Each weapon has its own properties that make it distinct and grant different advantages that can come in handy in various circumstances. For instance, there is a gun that can fire through most platforms, making it quite useful when venturing into more vertically-oriented terrain. You can only handle one weapon at a time, so going out of your way to pick up a certain weapon may not seem worthwhile all the time, but sometimes it may just be the best option.

This is partially due to the game's extreme difficulty. When starting a new game, you are given the option of three difficulty levels. Easy is just that, providing little to no challenge to get through. However, Medium and Hard difficulties are almost obnoxiously difficult. Not only are the enemies you face stronger and more adamant about taking you out, you can only save your game once you've started a new level. There are checkpoints scattered around every level that allow you to continue your adventure from them as long as you still have lives, but if you run out, you'll have to start out from the beginning of the level again with only the amount of lives that you came in with. So if you make it to a level with absolutely no lives left, then you either have to find some very scarce and hidden 1-ups, somehow try to make it through an entire level without dying (a nearly impossible feat when playing on medium or hard), or start the entire game over again in order to try to do better. While this does fit with the retro feel of the title, it would have been nice to have been able to start a level with at least three lives if you've already made it there.

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Although Dark Void Zero can at times feel like a series of spiraling fetch quests placed back to back, it is still rather fun to play through. The only real problem I have with the title is that it is only three levels long. These levels and the obligatory boss battles found between each can take awhile to get through, usually somewhere between a half hour to an hour each, but even at five dollars it seems like the adventure is over far too soon. I mean, did Capcom forget how the rest of the game was supposed to go after the first three levels, since it has been so long since the original copy's destruction (wink)? However, even with its short length, it is still an enjoyable game full of challenge and a ton of retro goodness.

By Adam Brown
CCC Staff Contributor