It’s rare that I disagree with critics when it comes to video game reviews but with the release of Dark Sector I have no choice. Currently (March 30th) Dark Sector holds an average of 71 on Metacrtic, which is a perfectly fine score albeit a little low in my opinion. But then I noticed that some reviewers gave Dark Sector 50s and one even gave it a 40 and 2 out of 5. Now I know it’s far from me to question great gaming publications such as Xplay, Gameshark and Official Xbox Magazine (like damn, the last one even has official in its name) but I don’t understand how Dark Sector deserves such low scores. Now this game is no Resident Evil 4 or Gears of War but its game play is fun and addictive especially in combination with the achievements but apparently these days fun game play isn’t enough unless your game comes out on the Wii.
It seems the biggest complaint people have with this game is the story which is weird considering it is one of the best stories written by Digital Extremes. The story of Dark Sector revolves around a CIA-employed badass by the name of Hayden Tenno. Hayden is on a mission in the fictional eastern European country of Lasria to assassinate fellow agents Viktor and Mezner, the man responsible for infecting Lasria with a disease that turns humans into metallic primal beasts. After delivering a bullet into the skull of Viktor he confronts Mezner and his large metallic bodyguard but during this confrontation he becomes infected. After that, Hayden basically goes through a series of rather unfortunate events but thanks to the infection he develops powers to aide him; a comfort the Baudelaires never had. Is it the greatest story ever? No, but the fragments of back story sprinkled throughout the game, especially those elaborating on Hayden’s past, make it more interesting. Frankly I don’t know why reviewers expected such a deep story considering Dark Sector is made by the people who co-developed the Unreal Tournament and Championship series. The only other Digital Extreme game that actually has a relatively deep story line is Pariah which doesn’t even come close to the fun offered by Dark Sector. Dark Sector’s story is perfectly adequate; it does what it supposed to do which is to progress the game and in that regards it succeeds. By the way, Hayden is supposed to have a disease that prevents him from feeling pain but the game makes no mention of it. That or I completely missed it.
The graphics in this game is some of the best in the industry. The texture work is amazing; the detail on Hayden’s infected arm is some of the best metallic texture I’ve ever seen in a game. Also worth mentioning is the fire, water, and ice effects; they are incredible and very believable too. Don’t believe me? Head over to Game Trailers and see an HD video. Graphically this game can stand it’s own with the big boys in the industry but there is a trade off however, the environments aren’t destructible. Boxes don’t break unless specified by a glimmer indicating there is an item. Statues don’t react to gun fire; initially you will see a glowing hole indicating where the bullet hit but after a while the statue returns to its former self. Artistically speaking this game is pretty drab; there isn’t a lot of colour and the environments look like stereotypical interpretations of Eastern European cities during the Soviet occupation. Overall, the graphics are pretty spectacular if you can stand all the brown and grey.
The music and sounds in Dark Sector are good. The weapons sounds are believable and there is a satisfying gushing when you deliver a head shot. The reactions of soldiers and monsters as their limbs are being cut off or as they are being set on fire is quite enjoyable in that “you might be sick” type of way and the sounds of your glaive slicing thought wind and limb are pretty cool. The music is best described as atmospheric, frankly half the time I didn’t even notice it play. The exception however was in the sixth chapter where some truly eerie music was playing; also there was this sound resembling a spring being slowly twisted and pulled that really worked in adding to the creepiness in the sixth chapter. The voice acting is petty good and does a good job of making even the most ridiculous lines sound serious and appropriate. Michael Rosenbaum from Smallville and Justice League voices Hayden and he does a pretty good job portraying Hayden as he evolves throughout the game.
Gameplay in Dark Sector can be described as fully reliant on the glaive mechanics. What I mean by that is that the game would be another generic third person shooter based on the cover system introduced in Gears of War were it not for the glaive. Thankfully Digital Extremes had the sense to spice up the Gameplay to allow this game to have a unique identity. Initially you start off with just your handgun but after the infection you get your glaive, which is a much more enjoyable weapon. The shooting mechanics in Dark Sector can be described as doing the job. It works fine but you’ve experienced it in many other games and by now its standard. The guns used by the enemies are either a machine gun or a shotgun and while they can be used by Hayden they can only be fired for a limited time as they possess computer chips called “Governors” which recognizes Hayden’s infection and lock up. The only way to get machine guns and shotgun for permanent use is when you enter the black market. The black market is reminiscent of the shop used by the merchant in Resident Evil 4 and here you can buy new side arms such as variations of your standard handgun or two handed guns such as the different variations of shotguns. These guns do not possess Governors so they can be used continuously. The weapons can be modified using upgrades found within the game; these upgrades include firepower (better to go with Effron Shells), Effron Shells (which makes your shotgun extremely powerful), accuracy (best used with the Micro-Uzi), etc… These upgrades do a good job in making the weapons feel different and are necessary if you’re playing on Brutal difficulty. The game’s central mechanic - the glaive - can be used in a lot of different ways. It can be thrown at certain objects in order to pick up electricity, freezing, and fire properties that can affect the environment and enemies. It can also be “power” thrown for extra damage, and After Touch, an extremely fun option that allows you to control the glaive’s path to create some dramatic slow motion deaths. The glaive can also be used as a grenade as after you absorb an element you can make the glaive explode and hit numerous enemies in its radius. Hayden can also use a force field or shield to deflect enemy attacks, and eventually become invisible.
All-in-all, Dark Sector is an extremely satisfying game offering a well selected mix of established gameplay tropes, along with an interested new mechanic in the glaive system to keep things fresh. It definitely deserves your attention, and is a great example of major review sites needing to see beyond the hype surrounding other games to see the hidden gems like it. 80/100
I'm a mod, come to me if there's mod'n to do.
Chrizum is the best thing to happen to the internet, Period.
Serves me right for challenging his sales predictions!
Bet with dsisister44: Red Steel 2 will sell 1 million within it's first 365 days of sales.
