Before I began playing Digital Extremes new horror shooter Dark Sector, I couldn’t help but think back a few years. Being a reader of Game Informer, I was amazed at the 2004 cover story about Dark Sector- the first great next generation title.  Originally, Dark Sector was more of a stealth based game, with its main character having incredible super powers.  The closest thing I could compare it to was Metal Gear in outer space.  Almost as quickly as I became excited, I was disappointed to see that the game virtually disappeared- there were no previews or screenshots of the game anywhere and many people believed the game was cancelled.

Fast forward four years, and we have ourselves a COMPLETELY overhauled third person action/horror shooter.  In Dark Sector, you play as Hayden Tenno, voiced by Michael Rosenbaum (of Smallville fame).  Tenno is an American Operative during the Cold War, and he is sent to Lasria, a fictional European city.  He is there to investigate a hull breach done to a native submarine, which is where the game immediately grabs your attention.  The damage done to the submarine is not from a missile or chemical attack, but rather from something ripping it open from the inside…ya, I know you’re excited.  From that point, the intrigue continues, as the games first level plays entirely in black and white. Soon into the action, you will realize the Digital Extremes has created a very effective cover system, much like Gears of War. As you roll into cover, and pop out with machine gun fire, the game is tense and exciting- but this is only the start.  At the end of the first level, Hayden becomes infected, leading to possibly the coolest game invention in years (and also sadly removing the nifty black and white effect).

In front of your very eyes, Hayden’s right arm mutates into a ghastly, alien-like hunk of muscle of metal. Along with this transformation comes the bladed glaive- think of a ruthless boomerang.  From this point forward, the games main entertainment comes from ducking behind a wall, and hurling the glaive at enemies from a distance.  It’s a blast to try and decapitate an armed soldier, or slice the leg off of an incoming alien monster.  Since you have been infected with the unknown virus, the guns that enemies basically become useless to you. After a short period of time, the weapons basically self-destruct, leaving you left with your glaive and pistol.  The game does a nice job of including rubles (the form of currency) and black market locations to purchase rifles you can always use, but the fun with the glaive is really unparalleled. 

After the first three levels (all of which are relatively short) you may think of this game as the offspring of Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War.  The game truly does develop nicely over time, as the glaive becomes even more powerful.  Later in the game, you are able to throw the glaive into electrical currents, fire, or ice and use those elements to fry, burn, or freeze your enemies.  About halfway through the game, you also develop the power of aftertouch with the bladed bringer of doom.  With aftertouch, you can basically slow down time and steer the glaive wherever you want to deliver all sorts of damage.

This is again, mildly entertaining, but after the sixth of seventh level, you begin to see just how obsessed with the glaive the developers became.  Throughout the ten levels in the game, I used guns about 30% of the time, partially because ammo is scarce, but also because the enemy AI seems to never learn. No matter how many soldiers you tear up with the blade, their comrades keep on running right at it.  The enemy AI was the least of my complaints with the game though, so I won’t dwell on that too much. As I said, the game is ten levels long, and it can be completed in about 8 or 9 hours.  I personally don’t spend too much running around levels, but in this game I did, and I was surprised to see how small many of the environments were.  This was a great design for some of the game play, as Dark Sector featured some truly fun boss battles, but for the most part, it left a lot to the imagination.  I don’t know if Digital Extremes plans a follow up to this game, but I hope a sequel doesn’t have such rail-like paths for level design. 

The targeting of melee attacks in this game is also befuddling.  Simply put- the melee attacks in this game are awesome.  They usually involve slitting a throat here and there, or the occasional lopping off of the right arm using the glaive.  This fun is hampered by the fact that you will constantly swing and miss.  And I am not just talking at enemies- if you are standing over an ammo box, chances are you will have to try and kick it three times before shattering it.  For some reason, the collision detection in this game seems to falter when you need it most.  The ammo is so scarce in this game, that finding an ammo box amidst a fire fight is like feasting after a month of fast food- very satisfying. This feeling is soon over as you will probably get killed trying to kick that darned box open.

I usually play games for sheer enjoyment and not story (one of my favs is Unreal Tournament 3), so I don’t go into a game looking for much dialogue or cut scene action.  If you are into story, I would advise that you read this very carefully: after watching a buddy play through most of this game, and after completing it myself, I still don’t really know what this game is about.  The story of this game was put on a backburner to the glaive so much, that I am still puzzled after finishing it.  And here is the main problem- the game wasn’t compelling enough to warrant a second play through.  Don’t get me wrong, Dark Sector is a very entertaining game, but with the lack of story and repetitive duck-and-chuck game play, it got old fairly quick.  Some levels in this game were amazing; others were kinda boring.  Some people will undoubtedly play this game and LOVE it; others will have the same feeling that I did.  It was a blast in the beginning, and the middle wasn’t too entertaining, which led to a satisfactory ending. 

For review purposes, I took the game online to give it a test. The game only features two modes- Infection and Epidemic.  In Infection, one player starts out as Hayden and the gamer to finish him off with a melee attack wins the round.  In Epidemic, two teams of five square off with the goal of eliminating the other team’s leader who is, you guessed it- Hayden.  The matches are all relatively short, and only include up to ten players, so they just aren’t on par with the other great shooters.  The multiplayer is not bad, but with co-op hits like Army of Two and Vegas 2 out now, and Halo 3 and COD4 still dominating Xbox Live, I can’t recommend it.  

Overall, Dark Sector was a decent game.  In my opinion, the game deserves a rental from anyone who is a fan of the shooter or action/horror genre.  Heck, gamers should rent it just to see the glaive in action.  After four years of waiting, this review may show that I am a little disappointed with the final product.  I think Digital Extremes has a gold mine on their hands if they figure out how to balance the gun play and glaive combat system.  I am sure that the melee targeting can easily be ignored, but for me, it was very annoying.  The online felt a little tacked on, as most developers are doing their best to deliver an all-around balanced game.  With the terrible story and sometimes wonky controls, most gamers will probably remember this game solely for the glaive, which may or may not be a good thing.

Overall Score: 8.0