Available
on: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Developed by Digital Extremes
Published by D3Publisher
INTRO:
Welcome to Dark Sector, as
you assume the role of Hayden Tenno, an elite black-ops agent sent on a
dangerous assassination mission into Lasria – an Eastern European city on
the brink of ruin that hides a deadly Cold War secret. Attacked by an
unknown enemy, he awakens to find part of his body altered by an infection
that has granted him inhuman abilities. These aren’t just any abilities, but
inhuman abilities, like the ability to become invisible, generate shields
and grow blades from his hands. In his newfound responsibilities, Hayden
must learn to evolve along with his powers, to survive and to become a hero.
GAMEPLAY:
This one’s been a long
time coming, and I wish it had just a bit more originality, but it still holds
up on its own. This one kind of borrows from cover games like Gears of War, and
takes its aiming system from Resident Evil 4 (sort of, way more sensitive).
Although it is very satisfying to throw the glaive, the boomerang thing our hero
holds on the cover of the game which happens to be the best feature this game
can boast. You can pick up stuff that levels it up, and the effects are very
devastating as you go along. I dig the aftertouch feature, which is accessed via
holding the right button, which allows you to slow things down and aim where the
blade goes.
Other than the glaive,
there isn’t much to this one, it’s sort of a standard shooter which won’t
surprise you. You run back and forth from cover to cover and shoot the bad
dudes, which are monstrously infected beasties. Also, dig the boss fights which
are just massive, you get ten of them and they can get pretty hard. Admittedly
though by the end of the game you’ve had enough of the bosses.
Gameplay: 7.5/10
GRAPHICS:
The graphics here are
pretty near top notch, some of the best textures and lighting I’ve seen on
the 360 yet. You’ll see fluid character movements here, although the whole
art direction of the game is a bit dark and uninspired as the game
progresses. They’ve created the Evolution Engine, which really shines, wait
until you see the fire effects in this one. The facial animations aren’t
always perfect, but this one looks gorgeous for the most part.
Graphics: 8/10
AUDIO:
Sound is decent, with
lots of weapon and gore sound effects, and some decent (albeit hammy at
times) voice acting from Smallville star Michael Rosenbaum. Nothing to
really blow you away, but your interest will definitely be held.
Audio: 7/10
FINAL VERDICT:
Ultimately, Dark Sector
is a well put together game that has just enough to make it worth a play
through. You’ll beat it in around 8 hours, which is pretty short, and I
don’t really see much reason to play it again unless you simply need to kill
every difficulty level. The graphics are great the gunplay is decent, but
the game just ultimately feels a bit familiar and will likely end up not
making much of a mark. Don’t let that stop you from playing it once through
though.
Final Score: 7.5/10
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