XBOX Reviews

Dark Sector

A new kind of weapon for a new kind of hero.

Dark Sector is a third-person Action/Shooter that thrusts players into a sci-fi flavored nightmare scenario set in the post Cold War era. Playing in the role of Hayden Tenno, an unscrupulous covert operative sent on an assassination mission into Lasria – a fictional Eastern European city on the brink of ruin and rumored to be contaminated by a mysterious and frightening plague, Hayden takes out his mark, but before he can escape is attacked by an unknown enemy. Not killed outright as expected, he is instead infected with the virus that is causing the plague.

New weapons, a new hero

Hayden Tenno and his glaive. View larger.

Hone your skill with the glaive. View larger.

Take on enemies the old-fashioned way. View larger.

Duel-wield glaive & gun. View larger.

The Technocyte Virus and Hayden’s Evolution
Just as with the other victims swarming the street of Lasria, the Technocyte Virus imbues Hayden with powerful, inhuman abilities. These abilities are not static and as they progress they cause severe, accelerated pain; pain that eventually drives their hosts insane, turning them quite literally into monsters of superhuman power. Hayden possesses an unexpected resistance to this maddening pain, but his body is not spared the mutations caused by the virus. The first of these are metal armor that grows from his body and a three bladed, throwable weapon called a “glaive” which explodes from his right arm and can regenerate if lost. But these are only the beginning. Eventually players may also gain the power of limited invisibility, the use of a bulletproof shield and an assortment of deadly melee attacks.

As Hayden slashes his way through the mutants overrunning Lasria he stumbles upon a plot by a rogue operative and his private army of henchmen to harness the power of the strongest of these mutants for some dark purpose. No longer entirely human, but not a mindless mutant Hayden must make a decision whether to use his own new powers to stop this plot or look the other way. But regardless of his choice, he has become the target of both the blind rage of his fellow mutants and a shadowy paramilitary group that seeks to control them.

Weapons: Glaive, Guns and the Black Market
Dark Sector is far from the traditional third-person shooter. The glaive is the game’s signature weapon and as players gain experience they will come to see that it is not only a stylish weapon, but also much more versatile than the traditional firepower available in-game. It is of course deadly as a slashing weapon and can be thrown great distances, but as Hayden’s powers evolve the glaive can be used in unexpected ways, ranging from siphoning and focusing elemental features like fire and freezing cold on enemies, to opening doors and retrieving items from inaccessible areas. But this doesn’t mean that players can shun the conventional weapons scattered throughout the game, quite the opposite.

To be successful players must successfully journey underground to the game’s `black market’ where they can purchase new weapons with scavenged rubles and also upgrade their existing weapons. Some of these upgrades include increasing a weapon’s firing rate, larger ammo clips, the ability to fire two simultaneous rounds and a `puncture ability’ that allows you to shoot through any enemy to hit another standing behind him. Finding the entrances to the black market are important because firearms in the game are biologically sensitive to mutant powers and unless altered to ignore the existence of altered DNA are useless to the mutated Hayden.

Gameplay Modes and Features
Not only does Dark Sector contains a deep singleplayer story mode, but in addition it features multiplayer functionality allowing players to harness Hayden Tenno’s mutant powers in two different ways, both in awesome 10-person online multiplayer combat. The two modes include:

Infection Mode: Think of this as `tackle the guy with the glaive.’ In this timed mode one player assumes the role of a fully-powered Hayden Tenno, complete with shield, invisibility and melee capabilities, while the other nine play as human operatives trying to kill him and take his place. The player in the role of Hayden receives a single point for each kill made, while the soldier that takes him down gets 2, plus the right to wield the glaive in the next go around. Players making assists in the slaying of Hayden receive one point as well. The player with the most points at the end of the round wins.

Epidemic Mode: In this team-based mode, with a set number of rounds per match, two teams, each made up of one Hayden and a group of soldiers, battle to kill the other team’s Hayden. A single point is awarded to each team per kill of the opposing Hayden. Each Hayden begins at full strength and the team with the most points at the end of the round wins.

Other features available in both multiplayer modes include voice chat and global leaderboards.

The Birth of a Superhero
Whether in singleplayer or multiplayer modes the developers of Dark Sector have endeavored to link every action of the player to the mutant evolution of Hayden Tenno. This means that as players progress through the game defeating bosses as well standard enemies they increase Hayden’s mutant abilities and advance his disease. It’s a catch-22 that with every victory Hayden becomes less human, but one that the game’s storyline relishes as the one-time hitman slowly and unsurely morphs into a hero.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Dark Sector Review
Dark Sector is most definitely a diamond in the rough, however this diamond could have used a bit more polishing prior to release. First allow me to highlight the games strengths. Most obvious are Dark Sectors environments, textures, lighting(!), and graphics; they are superb. The game is set in a decaying, industrialized not to distant future that takes equal cues from biotech-anime and the recent film “Children of Men”. When the game is flowing along I felt myself quite immersed in the hauntingly beautiful atmosphere of this game. Whoever directed this game obviously worked hard to ensure that the camera highlighted the excellent environments. Similar to a film, shot composition/camera orientation wise this game rivals that of an actual movie. Though not affecting game play, the water/lighting effects may be the best I have seen on the 360. Next, the mechanics of game play/combat are for the most part solid. Combat wise the “glaive” (i.e. the supped up ninja star, krull, boomerang)is actually quite fun to use. It is especially rewarding when targeting multiple foes along the same “line” then watch it soar through the air and watch limbs from multiple enemies go a flying. Very cool. The “glaive” can also be controlled mid flight, where the camera tracks its trajectory and you can steer its course to take out as many enemies as possible, a unique and rewarding experience. You can also use the “glaive” to pick up weapons from fallen enemies at a distance, which you can only use for about 30 seconds then the weapon self destructs, this timed element of using your enemies weapons is very strategic and requires some thought when in a heated fire fight. By the 4th chapter you can purchase a secondary weapon (shotgun/assault rifle) while convenient, as there is less need for depending on your fallen enemies weapons, I would have preferred the strategic element of artfully utilizing/acquiring weapons. The combat itself varies from “cover based” (Mass Effect, Gears of War) and “walk based” (Resident Evil, Deep Space). The shift between these two combat types provides some nice variety, and for the most part they are well executed. The enemy A.I. is “smart enough”, they flank, they run from grenades, they change positions. Now Dark Sectors flaws. Similar to other games of this type it is easy to be confused as to where to go next, without the help of a walkthrough/strategy guide you will get stuck. Paths of progression are not linear, often times you will have to figure out how to simply move on in the game, can be a headache. You can not crouch, though not a deal breaker this does hinder the efficiency of combat and how you use cover. Melee is weak and often times misses target when they are certainly within striking range. Similar to Resident Evil you have to run to a safe distance and then engage. The story is vague and suffers from a muddled plot. Though this is not much of an issue to me, as thankfully none of the cut scenes are very long and you are quickly back into the game. Overall Dark Sector is an excellent “slept on” title that action fans should find rewarding. If you are even somewhat interested in this game I suggest you check it out, and at the bargain price of btw $10-$20 new it offers excellent “bang for your buck”. Three and a half stars.

5 Stars Dark Sector (360): 5/5
For all purposes of this review, I rate this game 5/5. For your money, it is well worth the buy. I disagree with most who say it is a Gears of War clone. I found the gameplay style to be a lot closer to Resident Evil 4. But aside from this game being an obvious clone, that never stopped other clones from being great games, e.g: Saints Row 1 & 2. The graphics are very, very nice. And the way the game plays and the fun you’ll have playing it is pretty solid. But there seems to be something missing… unpolished. Despite this though, it is an extremely fulfilling and diverse experience. Guns, glaive, melee or all three. There is a lot to this game. And for only $20 bucks, it’s one of the best reduced-price games for the 360. I bought my new and factory sealed copy for only $7.99. It won’t disappoint. 5/5.

1 Star A Good Review
I got the game very quickly and am really pleased with the shipper. I’m not a big fan of the game, but that is not the shipper’s fault.

4 Stars Interesting and fun
Though parts of it are cliche` and parts are just amazing- The story is very cool. I really enjoyed this game. At first I thought I hated it. But then I got to figure out the glave- Once I had that down some of the tougher spots became really easy! Id recommend the game as fun and visually excellent!

2 Stars Short, fun, no replay value
Dark Sector’s mediocre graphics and paltry story can be overlooked for its concise, linear gameplay, and engaging combat. While the game can be completed in under 8 hours, you’ll find yourself eagerly awaiting each new ability, and enjoying using those abilities in combat.

There is little to no replay value in this game however, so it’s a good thing that the price point has fallen so low.

Definitely worth one play-through though, in my opinion.

Buy/More Info