Dark Sector Review

As promised, my review of the game Dark Sector.

I recall hearing about Dark Sector a year or so ago, but didn't pay too close attention to it. The game looked nice, and its hook (you have evil powers that take the form of a bionic glaive)seemed promising so I was intrigued when J decided it was finally time to rent it. Of course, he knows far more about the game then I do, and showed me that it was, in fact, one of the first games to be developed for next-gen consoles but when through a whole hell of a lot of retooling. So much so, that the only similarity between the original trailer from E3 2005 and the most recent one is the main character's name (Hayden) and his suit design. Take a look:

2005


2007


To be fair, Hayden's super suit doesn't actually show up in the 2007 trailer, but here it is:



So, what's the storyline and why was this game halted for so long?

Well, the story takes place in made-up Lasria (it's Russia, we all know it's Russia), where we find ourselves in the middle of a biochemical war. An American Agent, Hayden, is sent in to destroy the creator of this horrible infection (known as Technocyte) Mezner. Within his first encounter with the bearded super-villian, Hayden has his arm evily jabbed by Mezner's right hand man, The Nemisis. Ouchie!


Hayden on the lefthand side, Nemesis on the righthand side

Hayden's arm transforms into a slimy, metallic, biofantabulous...arm that holds a glaive. This glaive is, of course, Hayden's power. He can kill enemies with it, pick up weapons, explode things, carry elemental power, open locks, grab bananas, slice watermelons, and open 3 letters at once. It really is the go-to tool for the everyday mutant!


Look at it burn! A dangerous weapon and convenient source of heat!

Anyhoo, Hayden progresses through Russia Lasria, looking to kill Mezner and halt his plans to expose the virus to the rest of the world, successfully creating a planet of pissed off zombies and mutants. Along his journey, Hayden fights through tons of fat biohazard-suited humans and creepy Silent Hill/Resident Evil style mutants and zombies.

So, why the drastic difference between 2008's Dark Sector and 2005's? According to the developers, the shift in focus by other gaming companies and publishers contributed to a story change, as well as adding a realism element that they hoped fans would enjoy. They wanted Hayden to be more like a superhero, and therefore more relatable. He stands out in a modern setting, whereas he might blend in, in a sci-fi setting.

To be honest, I don't see what was wrong with sticking with the space idea. Mass Effect (takes place in space) was also released this year to quite a bit of success. I don't really see how making Hayden a superhero is the same as making him relatable to fans. I suppose his mental conflicts do make the story a tad more believable, but he could have just the same amount of mental anguish up in space. Oh well, onto the pros and cons

Pros: This game has some fantastic settings and the graphics really do look better than their original 2005 concept. The concept art for the locations is quite stunning and accomplishes the goal of "don't play this game in the dark."

The glaive itself is a pretty cool idea, and I like all of the powers that centers around it.

Cons: Hoo boy, the cons. The story is somewhat confusing. I found myself asking J "what's going on?" more than once, only to be met with "I don't know". The reason I didn't play through this game myself is because I felt the controls were kind of awkward and just found myself panicking over having fun. It is a good game to watch though, and I was perfectly content doing that.

Hayden....I hate his character design. My tablet's not working again (another story for another time), so here's what I hate the most about him in awkward touchpad format:


It may not be obvious in that image, but he has a really tiny face positioned on a large, round head on top of a neck the same width as his ROUND HEAD! I hate his stupid tiny face. When he has the suit that doesn't really do anything apparently but look cool and hide his stupid face, he doesn't look too bad. But when that mask comes off...grrrr....
Also, what the hell is up with his shoulders and arms and why are they disconnected from his torso so much? I did a bit of "2-minute Photoshop plastic surgery" to show how I think he should have looked:


I just realized I didn't give him a large enough chin, so just imagine this with a proper chin attached.

Yeah, what the hell Digital Extremes?

All character bashing aside, there's some massive repetitive-level failure during one part of this game. You just keep walking into room after room, mindlessly killing throngs of mutants without much of an explanation.

Also, I'm not going to ruin the ending but I will say that this game does feature slimy, green gas spewing....tentacles...

Yep.

So really, overall this game is pretty...meh. It had some good concepts, great background art and creepy potential but the story just doesn't draw you in enough to care about a mutant infection escaping the soviet union. Also, Hayden has a stupid tiny face, that's not the head of a hero to me, not even an anti-hero. That's the face of a glaive-wielding jerk.

It is worth a rent though, just not a buy.