I cant tell you how refreshing it is to play an actually good game after all the trash I've been playing recently. Dark Sector is a fun little third-person action-adventure horror shooter game. The best way I could describe it is if you took the guy from Prototype, scaled him back a bit, and placed him into Resident Evil 4 you would get Dark Sector. It's even a little bit Arkham even though this game came out one year before Asylum did.
The game plays well and is very smooth. The combat can be very satisfying at times and the controls work well to bring all your abilities and tools together. The levels are very atmospheric and creepy. However this game falls victim to its time where everything is swathed in that ugly brown/green/yellow shade that dominated the era. Another victim of its time is the lead character design. He looks like he is more suited for a 30 Seconds of Mars or Panic at the Disco music video circa 2007 instead of the lead action hero of a video game. I do think this game looks good for 2008. I think the graphics hold up pretty well and look a lot better than plenty of things that have came after it.
The story is forgettable but the action is fun and there is enough enemy variety to keep the game from feeling stale or repetitive. There are some interesting and creative boss fights. The game can be challenging without relying on your character simply dying from one or two shots. The levels have some weapon upgrades and credits scattered throughout so it gives you a reason to explore the game a little. There are a few remedial puzzles you have to solve to open doors but the game didn't need better or more puzzles because the rest of the gameplay was so fun and satisfying.
What the game could have used was more upgrades. Perhaps an XP system and skill tree for your abilities. It would have been nice to upgrade the glaive (the spiky frisbee he holds on the cover) throwing distance or shield duration etc. The running could have been fine tuned. It was really hard to corner while running. Trophies would have put this game over the edge for me. This would have been a really fun platinum. Weapon respecs would have been nice. The store felt like a total RE4 ripoff and sort of pointless. I only ever bought 2 things from it the entire game. There is a mechanic where you throw your glaive to retrieve weapons and ammo. This mechanic could have been a little bit more polished. I could have used a bit more finisher animations. These things aren't complaints but simply constructive criticism. I really liked this game and had I played it in 2008 I would have loved it. I would probably put this into my top 5 games of 08.
It's interesting to note that apparently the original idea for this game was Warframe but they were limited by technology at the time so it turned into Dark Sector. Warframe is sort of considered a spiritual successor I guess because the same people were responsible for both games. Don't quote me on that I haven't done my research. The Warframe connections can clearly be seen through a few character designs.
The game plays well and is very smooth. The combat can be very satisfying at times and the controls work well to bring all your abilities and tools together. The levels are very atmospheric and creepy. However this game falls victim to its time where everything is swathed in that ugly brown/green/yellow shade that dominated the era. Another victim of its time is the lead character design. He looks like he is more suited for a 30 Seconds of Mars or Panic at the Disco music video circa 2007 instead of the lead action hero of a video game. I do think this game looks good for 2008. I think the graphics hold up pretty well and look a lot better than plenty of things that have came after it.
The story is forgettable but the action is fun and there is enough enemy variety to keep the game from feeling stale or repetitive. There are some interesting and creative boss fights. The game can be challenging without relying on your character simply dying from one or two shots. The levels have some weapon upgrades and credits scattered throughout so it gives you a reason to explore the game a little. There are a few remedial puzzles you have to solve to open doors but the game didn't need better or more puzzles because the rest of the gameplay was so fun and satisfying.
What the game could have used was more upgrades. Perhaps an XP system and skill tree for your abilities. It would have been nice to upgrade the glaive (the spiky frisbee he holds on the cover) throwing distance or shield duration etc. The running could have been fine tuned. It was really hard to corner while running. Trophies would have put this game over the edge for me. This would have been a really fun platinum. Weapon respecs would have been nice. The store felt like a total RE4 ripoff and sort of pointless. I only ever bought 2 things from it the entire game. There is a mechanic where you throw your glaive to retrieve weapons and ammo. This mechanic could have been a little bit more polished. I could have used a bit more finisher animations. These things aren't complaints but simply constructive criticism. I really liked this game and had I played it in 2008 I would have loved it. I would probably put this into my top 5 games of 08.
It's interesting to note that apparently the original idea for this game was Warframe but they were limited by technology at the time so it turned into Dark Sector. Warframe is sort of considered a spiritual successor I guess because the same people were responsible for both games. Don't quote me on that I haven't done my research. The Warframe connections can clearly be seen through a few character designs.