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Dark Sector
Dark Sector
may be the sleeper hit of 2008 and is the creation of Digital Extremes,
the developers responsible for Unreal Tournament. Featuring a storyline
steeped in science fiction mythos, the tale of Dark Sector is quite
sinister at times and actually suits the genre perfectly as it engrosses you into
this interesting mystery.
Set in the fictitious European country of Lasria,
gamers takes the role of Hayden Tenno, an elite black ops agent who has
been sent on a dangerous assassination mission. Unbeknown to him, this
European country contains a dark cold war secret that will challenge the
very fabric of Hayden's reality.
Features
The lead character is also voiced by
Michael Rosenbaum who played Lex Luthor from the TV series Smallville
and truly lends himself quite well to the character. The twist of the
main character is that he suffers from a type of neurological condition
that prevents him from feeling pain and in turn makes him the perfect
the soldier, although there is a catch as you delve deeper into the
game.
As you become involved in this cold war
secret, so does your character's powers evolve which offers some
interesting gaming twists as opposed to your stock standard third person
shooter.
At times, the game
is quite reminiscent of Microsoft’s Gears of War in the way the action
takes place during the game which adds to the atmosphere of the title
and gives you a real sense of urgency as you interact with the gaming
world. Those XBox owners had it, so why not PS3 owners? The title
contains enough challenges
and varied mission objectives to keep you entertained from start to
finish thanks to the carefully scripted storyline.
In relation to gameplay, Dark Sector plays extremely well on the PlayStation 3 which
perfectly uses the controller and nothing seems too forced or
complicated with the control system. The combat of the title is
surprisingly refreshing for a almost first person shooter like experience
as the AI at times can be quite challenging and equally frustrating.
With that in mind, the AI does adapt to the way you play so you cannot
rely on the same on old tactics.
Weapon-wise, the title contains a variety
of different weapons which although doesn’t add much to the genre is
still quite entertaining as you discover new weapons and when the odds
are down, the traditional gun always works wonders. The Glaive, your
main weapon is a bladed weapon that is a cross between a Klingon battle
axe and something the predator would use as it can also be used to throw
at your enemies for some entertaining results.
For those wanting some multiplayer
excitement, Dark Sector also delivers in this aspect and although it
offers your standard multiplayer options, the gaming engine and weapons
available creates quite a polished result. At the time of the review,
there was a lack of players, however for the servers we did find, Dark
Sector had us all blasting our way to victory.
Graphically, the title is quite impressive on the PS3 with exceptional
graphics, especially the lighting effects that looks amazing. As
mentioned earlier, the voice acting is brilliant in the game and match
that with a great ambient soundtrack and this is one good sounding game.
In conclusion, Dark Sector is a good game
and although it doesn’t offer the gaming world anything new in terms of
innovative gameplay, it’s a good old fashioned third person shooter that
is quite slick in terms of presentation, gameplay and story. Definitely
one for gamers who crave this genre and even if you don’t, you may be
pleasantly surprised. |
