Dark Sector Game Review
This is a review of Dark Sector, a third person action game for the Xbox360, Playstation3, and PC. The game was developed by Digital Extremes, and released in North America on March 25th, 2008.
Story
Dark Sector’s storyline is definitely the game’s weakest link by far. It takes place in a fictional Eastern European nation called Lasria. You play as Hayden Tenno, a CIA agent tasked with taking out a terrorist who is planning to release a biological infection across the planet. Unfortunately, the storyline seems to flag behind from this point forward. Hayden is soon infected with the virus by the man he is trying to kill. The infection turns its victims into mutated creatures with metallic skin which hardens over time. There is really no coherent explanation given as to why he was infected in the first place. This symptom continues to bog down the remainder of the games plot. Characters come and go, with plenty of hints about their background with Hayden and the storyline; the problem is that the hints are never followed by revelations. This leaves most of the game’s dramatic moments feeling more than a bit flat.
While the cut scenes are well done and the voice acting is fantastic, the plot itself is so ill-paced that you tend not to care, as the motivations of the characters—including Hayden Tenno himself—are usually only hinted at, instead of being clearly shown. This is too bad, because the ideas the developers were playing around with had a lot of potential.
Audio/Visual
Dark Sector is a fantastic looking game. The levels are dark, gritty, and intense. The lighting in the game is the real stand out though, with subtly employed effects adding intensity and depth to fairly standard environments. Shadows are dark enough that you’ll want to avoid them when fighting. Being in a poorly lit room has a significant impact on the gameplay; and the developers obviously designs several of the combat scenarios around that.
The audio is decent, with firearms sounding appropriately powerful, and the pleading cries of enemies on the business end of your glaive make finishing moves and “finesse” kills feel much more visceral and satisfying. The music is nothing special, but doesn’t get in the way, either.
Mechanics
Hayden is a certified badass, no doubt about it. He stalks Dark Sector’s levels like a hunting panther. While only starting with a pistol and some attitude, Hayden quickly receives his most important upgrade; what amounts of a giant throwing star called the Glaive. Battles are well paced and strategic, forcing you to use the environment and number of enemies to determine your tactics.
Hayden uses a combination of firearms—which can be purchased and upgraded through the game’s “black market” system—and the glaive to defeat his foes. You’re presented with a range of pretty standard guns to choose from, including handguns, assault rifles, and shotguns. The black market works well enough, but can also feel somewhat clunky. The firearms feel satisfying and appropriately powerful. That being said, the glaive is where the real action is at in Dark Sector, and is one of the more unique aspects of the game. Early on you’ll receive an upgrade which lets you control the glaive once you’ve throw it, allowing you to perform some awesome multiple kills. You can also dish out some brutal melee finishers when fighting in close.
The combat is definitely Dark Sector’s strong suit. It feels like you’re given an ever expanding tool box, with each of the tools feeling useful at different times, depending on the situation. The upgrades in the game generally work well, because they improve your capabilities without constantly forcing you to learn new weapons and powers. Each upgrade is basically a natural progression of what you can already do. By the end of the game, you’re combat prowess has grown by orders of magnitude.
The gameplay in Dark Sector is executed well enough to fuel your progression through the main storyline. Yet that doesn’t make the lack of a well told story any less of a bummer. While there is a multiplayer component in Dark Sector, I haven’t really spent any time with it and feel no interest in doing so. Based on other reviews and my own experiences with the game, the single player experience is definitely what the developers put their time and energy into.
In a Nutshell
Dark Sector is far from a perfect game. It suffers from some pretty bad pacing issues. What could have been a decent story comes across so disjointed that you end up feeling apathetic about it. The movement controls for Hayden can be kind of sticky sometimes, and there is also some occasional bad level design to content with now and again. However, none of these flaws are deal breakers for the game. When Dark Sector works, it works extremely well. It has some of the best third person combat this generation; with each of Hayden’s skills and weapons remaining useful and satisfying throughout the game. It has a great visual style to it, as well as some very creepy atmosphere. If you’re a fan of games like Dead Space or Gears of War, you’re going to be in familiar territory with this one.
It would have been great to see some kind of “instant action” mode where you can experience more of the game’s terrific combat without having to subject yourself to the main storyline a second time. Dark Sector does have enough original charm to remain a decent and memorable action game in its own right. If you have the dough to pick it up used, you should definitely give it a shot. Happy hunting!
C+
