Wed 05 Oct 2011
Playstation
Dark Sector Review
Now what separates this game from GOW is although only a few mechanics, these few seemingly minor mechanics amount to something completely fresh and new that really help to distinguish it from GOW. This dynamic is an infected arm that your character has which grants him a vast arsenal of weapons and abilities, one of these abilities is the brilliantly integrated Ninja blade that you can throw like a Boomerang and decapitate your enemies with. This mechanic is really well implemented, you can power throw the boomerang which is a one hit kill, you can do finishing after touches which look cool. You can even kill multiple enemies with the blade using a guiding system that puts you in control of the blade. The metal arm also gives you the power of invisibility and a shield, not only does he look awesome with the arm, it grants him a number of different abilities. I know what you’re thinking, this is a disease? It’s a pretty cool disease, but yes it is.
If there’s one thing Dark Sector succeeds at, it’s making you feel extremely powerful from start to finish while still giving you competent enemies whose AI is believable and realistic. How does it make you feel powerful? By allowing you to do things like breaking your enemies neck, cutting their head off, and slicing enemies in half from top to bottom, is it any wonder that Dark Sector was banned in Australia? Yes this game is bloody, gory, grotesque and makes no apologies for it’s over it, the violence is over the top. Now you’re probably thinking, well this is the perfect game. Don’t head off to EB games just yet, this game is not without its flaws and it is far from perfect.
Its problems start at the story. It’s not very cohesive and doesn’t really make much sense. There’s an old man and girl who have a history with Haden (you) and it makes references to his back story, but not much is really understood about the character. The game also quickly runs out of steam, as you progress throughout the game you are awarded with new abilities which keep you invested early on but eventually you reach a point where you don’t progress anymore and the game just gives you a bunch of linear levels and a bunch of moving targets to dispose of in a myriad of ways. Unfortunately by this point the game levitates on a plateau of redundancy that the overwhelming amount of ways to kill your enemies simply can’t save you from boredom. While it does have a multiplayer mode, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and is not well integrated enough to add any longevity to the game.
The game can be a lot of fun but it’s anything but perfect. If you’re looking for a deep action experience this is probably not the game for you. If you’re just looking for a good time by all means give this game a shot.
Rating: 86% “Fun, but not for long.”
Pros:
The special powers in this game are really unique and it contains elements you won’t see anywhere else
The amount of ways you can dispose of enemies is very fun for a while
Cons:
The game runs out of steam at the end
The story is incoherent and doesn’t really make much sense
If there’s one thing Dark Sector succeeds at, it’s making you feel extremely powerful from start to finish while still giving you competent enemies whose AI is believable and realistic. How does it make you feel powerful? By allowing you to do things like breaking your enemies neck, cutting their head off, and slicing enemies in half from top to bottom, is it any wonder that Dark Sector was banned in Australia? Yes this game is bloody, gory, grotesque and makes no apologies for it’s over it, the violence is over the top. Now you’re probably thinking, well this is the perfect game. Don’t head off to EB games just yet, this game is not without its flaws and it is far from perfect.
Its problems start at the story. It’s not very cohesive and doesn’t really make much sense. There’s an old man and girl who have a history with Haden (you) and it makes references to his back story, but not much is really understood about the character. The game also quickly runs out of steam, as you progress throughout the game you are awarded with new abilities which keep you invested early on but eventually you reach a point where you don’t progress anymore and the game just gives you a bunch of linear levels and a bunch of moving targets to dispose of in a myriad of ways. Unfortunately by this point the game levitates on a plateau of redundancy that the overwhelming amount of ways to kill your enemies simply can’t save you from boredom. While it does have a multiplayer mode, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and is not well integrated enough to add any longevity to the game.
The game can be a lot of fun but it’s anything but perfect. If you’re looking for a deep action experience this is probably not the game for you. If you’re just looking for a good time by all means give this game a shot.
Rating: 86% “Fun, but not for long.”
Pros:
The special powers in this game are really unique and it contains elements you won’t see anywhere else
The amount of ways you can dispose of enemies is very fun for a while
Cons:
The game runs out of steam at the end
The story is incoherent and doesn’t really make much sense
