Dark Sector Review, Continued

What makes the glaive particularly entertaining is that you don't just throw it; you direct it. That's right. With the PS3, you can steer it through the air using the SIXAXIS technology. If you wanted to tip the disk right and angle it around a corner, then all you had to do was pivot the controller right. Did the glaive need to angle upwards? Just pivot the controller up. This wasn't always the case though; Hayden "leveled up" so to speak as he progressed through the story, gaining extra abilities as the infection became one with his system. Called Aftertouch, the player acquired this ability in chapter three (out of 10). To perform the trick, the player was required to tap the R2 button to launch the glaive, and then the R2 button again to activate Aftertouch. Once initiated, the camera zoomed in and focused on the spinning glaive in slow motion, allowing the gamer to turn or tilt the weapon when needed.

There was nothing more thrilling than to watch it slowly lop off an arm, a leg or slice away the top portion of an enemy's head. Sure, that sounds sadistic in a way. Demented even. Listening to the screams of the amputated victim was both sickening sweet and appalling. And if that wasn't enough, the glaive could be charged with electricity, fire or ice. In chapter four, Hayden learned about the "energy pulse," which took the elemental charges one step further and made the glaive an explosive device by tapping the right thumb stick.

The glaive just wasn't a weapon, either. You could also consider it as a tool of sorts, getting Hayden out of complex situations officially classified in this review as "puzzles." More than once the player was required to charge up the glaive and then throw it through a narrow fence opening or through several doorways, using the Aftertouch to direct it through those tight places, only to hit electrically locked (or shorted) doors and discharge its energy load. Fire worked in the same manner, and Hayden could even use a frozen glaive to freeze a body of water so he could walk across. The glaive's use of elements generally was a key factor used to defeat the many bosses scattered throughout the game as well.

Dark Sector's graphics are sometimes too dark, which makes the visuals and game setting difficult to see.

Ah yes, the bosses. This game put up a good fight when it came to the boss battles, especially at the end. In fact, Blacksite: Area 51 should have ended this way rather than throwing players up against some lame dude with a gun (sorry, we're still not over that one). No, these beasts didn't play around, and by the end of the game, you actually think you have the super-duper powers licked until the antagonist gets all beastly and gives you a run for your money. Needless to say, if you didn't walk away from the game feeling that you were emotionally drained from the drama, then at least you can walk away feeling that you kicked ass and took names.

What probably made the journey most difficult was in its presentation. Digital Extremes did the right thing by yanking out the HUD altogether, hiring on an external CGI animation house to generate the game's cut-scenes (over 13 minutes according to Pendulum), and even signing on "Smallville's" Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luther) to voice Dark Sector's infected hero. DE even generated the Evolution graphics engine from scratch, and overall it did fairly well.

But the major problem Dark Sector endured was towards the beginning, where the scenery was so void of color it seemed like there was something physically wrong with the monitor, the output cables or the PlayStation 3 unit itself. The visuals were literally black and white, and if this was on purpose to visually dictate Hayden's transformation from hitman to man of mercy, then it utterly failed. Fortunately, color seeped into the environment after awhile, but the quality of the visuals ranged from vividly appealing to utterly depressing.

However, the soundtrack made things more exciting, especially when the plot heated up. The music helped provide the ideal mood when the level design fell short. There's a definite thumbs up here in the audio department. Another positive would be the use of weapons. In fact, gamers could upgrade their pistols, shotguns and whatnot at designated places throughout each chapter. Called Black Markets, they were located under manholes and provided means to buy or sell weapons and upgrades. Applying the upgrades didn't cost any money (Rubles) whatsoever, and an assortment could be found scattered throughout the game. Hayden thus became a formidable opponent, able to carry two weapons in addition to the glaive. At times, it just made sense to forgo using the glaive altogther, especially when dealing with the crazed, zombie-like infected, and to just blow their heads off by getting up close and personal. The glaive was a great one-on-one weapon as well, but proved most deadly when spinning in the air. DE came up with a brilliant idea of not allowing the gamer to pick up weapons on the fly, but rather forcing them to buy what they needed in the Black Market.

Join our discussion on this topic