User Review : Dark Sector

You can infect me with that virus anytime

Dark Sector was one of those games I wasn't sure about. It seemed like a cool idea and premise but more often than not I have seen games like this fall completely on their face. However my curiosity got the better of me so I decided to pick it up and give it a try.

Dark Sector follows some kind of special operative named Hayden. Hayden is dropped off at a Soviet military facility in order to assassinate a prisoner (or so it would seem). After completing his first objective, Hayden's superiors decide to send him after Dr. Mezner who is apparently running the facility. Upon finding Mezner Hayden is infected with a virus that slowly starts to mutate his body and from there he sets off to find Mezner and finish his mission. To be honest all you need to know about the story is that although it has an interesting premise, poor story telling and gaps in the narrative will make the story an after thought five minutes after you finish it. All the components are there but Digital Extremes failed to put it all together.

As an action game Dark Sector puts up a strong experience. I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The best part of Dark Sector is easily the glaive. The glaive is your most important weapon throughout the game and is definitely the most fun to use. The glaive is a disc like weapon that is attached to your hand. It can be thrown or used in hand to hand combat, but its appeal is in the variety of ways in which it can be thrown. You can do everything with the glaive from charging it for a power throw to entering a slow motion mode and actually guiding the glaive exactly where you want it to go. Easily my favorite glaive feature is the ability to combine it with different elements and watch your enemy’s burn to death or freeze and shatter as the glaive flies across the room. Dark Sector also implements some decent puzzles as well, which was nice to see in a game that is clearly so focused on the action elements. Now these puzzles are not on the level of a God of War or Resident Evil but they are woven into the game well enough to break up the action from time to time. These puzzles are also implemented in with each boss fight, ensuring that there is a little strategy.

Dark Sector; for all that it does right will frustrate you enough to diminish the experience. First off the hand to hand or melee combat is horrible. I don't know if it's because Hayden moves like he is wearing a full body cast, or if it's because the melee and finishing moves are border line broken or a combination of both; but the up close and personal combat of Dark Sector is pretty crappy. I was never sure whether Hayden was going to perform a finishing move or whether he was going to flail around until he accidentally beat his enemies to death. And I appreciate the developers attempting to add a little flare to the boss fights but you will end up either spending 30 minutes on a fight that should take 5 or dieing multiple times before you figure out exactly what you are supposed to do. Boss fights aren't so much a matter of strategy as they are a trial and error demonstration.

As a whole package, Dark Sector is a solid action game. Although you will question some of the developer’s decisions in respect to the story telling and gameplay, it will not stop most players from enjoying the game. Any fan of action games should definitely check out Dark Sector. I don't think it's worth $60 but it is definitely worth the $8 to rent it.