PlayStation 3

Dark Sector

Now I will tell you that when it comes to scary and creepy games I definitely can’t handle them. I played BioShock for about 10 minutes and I wanted to quit because I was freaked out and really couldn’t get into that game. When I found out that Dark Sector was going to have a horror twist to it I got a little worried. All of that was quickly dismissed when I started to play it. Dark Sector has some of creepiest music and level designs out there but I couldn’t help but want to keep playing. If I can do it trust me you can make it through too. D3 did a masterful job of getting you all freaked out in the underground levels but then reeling you right back in by bringing you back up to the surface and allowing you to relax for a little bit and get you wanting more and more.

Lucky for you, there aren’t too many great console gaming choices out there (portable gaming is another story) in the months leading up to the summer gaming season, so you shouldn’t have much of a problem finding time to hurl that Glaive at - and through - the scores of enemies Dark Sector throws at you. In a quarter filled with crappy games like Turning Point, Turok and, public enemies number one and two, Lost Odyssey and Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Dark Sector proves to be the most explosive, blood-drenched action experience of the moment.

In the end, the game was about the right length, certainly more so than Gears of War's pitifully short story. However, the gameplay stayed the same all the way through - towards the end, it felt like going over more of what you just finished. The combat is enjoyable, particularly against the government soldiers, but the game would have definitely benefited immensely from a more solid melee mechanic and a bit more variety here and there. Then again some stylish and innovative ranged combat mechanics more than make up for this, so I heartily recommend this game for anyone waiting for Gears of War 2.

Selten erlebte ich ein Actiongame, dass so brutal wie Dark Sector ausgefallen ist. Dieser Titel wird in Kürze sicher nicht nur in Deutschland, sondern auch in Europa bzw. auf der ganzen Welt indiziert sein. Die Entwickler von Digital Extremes machten aus diesem Spiel einen richtig brutalen Titel, welcher einigen anderen indizierten Titeln in der Vergangenheit auf alle Fälle das Wasser reichen kann. Das Gameplay, aber auch die künstliche Intelligenz wirkt in dem Spiel weit fortgeschritten und macht einen soliden Eindruck. Genauso die Grafik, welche schick aussieht, aber leider von einigen Fehlern begleitet wird. Das Konzept des Mehrspielermodus ist zwar gut gelungen, bietet aber zu wenig Abwechslung. Als Highlights des Spieles würde ich die Atmosphäre und den Sound bezeichnen.

Based on the brevity of Dark Sector's single-player component and its stunted multiplayer element, I can fairly score this game only somewhat above the nominal average. It is, however, a highly recommended averagely scored title that is well worth a short stretch of your spare recreational time.

So what if the three map multiplayer mode is a little throwaway? Dark Sector's unique take on third-person action is worth the price of admission.

Dark Sector should definitely be rented, at least, by shooter fans. The chance to control the Glaive in combat has a nice feel to it, but I'm not sure it's quite worth the purchase since I found very little desire to play through the entire game just to see what happens in the story. There is enough here to inspire a (inevitable) sequel, so maybe some of the minor issues will be tweaked out by then.

Um jogo de pura ação, com direito a muitas balas e membros decepados. Se é isto que você procura, "Dark Sector" é o jogo ideal. Os combates são divertidos, principalmente pela versatilidade da arma glaive e pelo poder de fogo do protagonista. Só peca por não ter uma história melhor trabalhada e opções para tornar sua mecânica mais profunda e duradoura, seja na campanha principal ou no modo multiplayer.

Das von vielen erwartete Highlight ist Dark Sector leider nicht geworden. Die Story ist zum Vergessen, der Protagonist völlig austauschbar und trotzdem hat mich Dark Sector bis zum Schluss vor die Mattscheibe gefesselt. Grund dafür ist neben den fordernden Bosskämpfen zweifellos auch die düstere Atmosphäre, welche einen von der ersten Minute an in ihren Bann zieht. Ausserdem macht es einfach unheimlich viel Spass, seine Widersacher mit der Glaive auf immer wieder andere Art und Weise ins Reich der Toten zu befördern. Selbst wenn die Entwickler es mit dem Gewaltgrad teilweise schon fast ein wenig übertrieben haben. In Kinderhände gehört das Spiel daher definitiv nicht. Volljährige Action-Fans, welche sich an den vielen Brutalitäten und den Unmengen an Blut nicht stören, können hingegen ruhig einen Blick riskieren.

Dark Sector's had a long development cycle and at times we were more than a little worried about how it'd turn out, but Digital Extreme's debut next-gen release has been well worth the wait. It's not going to set the world alight like Gears of War and it doesn't revolutionise survival horror like Resident Evil 4, but its thrilling combat and sensational visuals make it well worth adding to your collection.

Dark Sector may not be original and it may not have a great story, but if you are looking for a solid action game to spend a dozen or so hours with then you can't go too far wrong. Digital Extremes may have taken liberally from a collection of superior games, but thanks to Dark Sector's robust game engine, top-notch presentation and solid multiplayer, it is certainly worthy of your time. Oh, and there's also that glaive thing, which, in case I forgot to mention, is terrifyingly awesome. Now, if Digital Extremes can only show enough bravery to create something unique to match their undoubted talents as a development team then their next release could turn out to be something very interesting indeed.

Dark Sector is the type of game you into expecting nothing and coming away highly impressed. It would have scored 9+ easy with a fleshed out story and engaging multi-player, but as it stands you get a truly visceral and enjoyable single-player action romp that will satisfy any fan of the genre. The idea of the glaive is incredibly well represented and makes me hope for a sequel; let's just hope it doesn't take another four years. As it stands Dark Sector is an incredibly brutal thrill ride that is worth checking out. If you are a fan of the genre you will be hard pressed to find a better offering this Spring.

All in all, despite a number of problems, Dark Sector is quite an enjoyable game and one that I don't mind recommending. Fans of Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil 4 should enjoy the game quite a bit, as should fans of the action genre, altogether. Dark Sector's various ways of combat are nice, even if one of them (hand-to-hand) is broken. Visually, the game runs at a solid framerate, without many plagues that cause image problems. And with an adventure that'll last between 10-15 hours, as well as online gameplay, Dark Sector makes for a pretty good experience.

Overall however Dark Sector is a very playable game and will appeal to the gore mongers amongst you who like to cut people up into little chunks and like to use a lot of fantastic and powerful weapons within a first person shooter environment. The graphics are very nice and the sound is also highly polished with Michael Rosenbaum providing the voice of our hero. The game however can become quite tedious and repetitive and I was quite pleased to get it over due to a lack of variety in level design. Recommended, however it will not be for everyone, especially if you found F.E.A.R. boring.

On the whole, while a few elements of combat fall short, a decent story coupled with consistently delivered “Wow!” moments make Dark Sector enjoyable. Rather than creating anything explicitly unique, Dark Sector borrowed elements from games like F.E.A.R, BioShock, Resident Evil, and Pariah, tossed them in a pot to boil, and produced a game that will sate any player's hunger. We do wish, though, that it had stayed in the broth a little longer so that Digital Extremes could deliver on a few more of their promises.

Pelin suuremmat ongelmat liittyvät kuitenkin juuri siihen, että se on jo nähty, ja moneen kertaan onkin. Jos on pelannut MGS:ää, Gears of Waria ja muita viime vuosien kolmannen persoonan toiminta- ja räiskintäpelejä, tuntee olonsa pimeällä sektorilla kovin, kovin tutuksi. Se ei toki ole huono asia, jos tällainen toiminta ilman maailmaa syleileviä tunnin välivideoita maittaa - itselleni maittoi - mutta innovaation puutteesta on pakko rokottaa pisteitä.

Digital Extremes has set out to create an original 3rd-person, action-shooter powered by next-gen hardware, and in that respect team from London, Onatario has done an incredible job. The graphics and audio also help remind us why the next-generation of gaming looks and sounds so good. Dark Sector is definitely an under-rated workhorse and one of the early highlights in 2008. For gameplay, Dark Sector isn’t a revolutionary title that will be remember in years, but it offers the new twist of the Glaive into the mix creating an interesting way to play a shooter.

Dark Sector's fun. Hearing guards scream for help just before they take a glaive to the face, marching around in this Metal Gear-looking Jackal tank while rocketing bad guys into the air and wielding a pimped-out shotgun make the experience something any action fan can get behind. However, when the really similar levels and waves of opponents get too repetitive towards the end of the game, Dark Sector's weak storyline might not be enough to carry the more fickle fan to the finish line.

As it stands, this is a stunning technical achievement, a dark horse, a must-rent and almost a must-buy, but it lacks the variety, pacing or innovation to make it truly essential. Still, when a game this off-radar comes good, you've got to smile.

Noch nie waren Videospiele so hübsch anzusehen wie auf XBox360 und PS3. Und noch nie war die Diskrepanz zwischen technischem Hochgenuss und spielerischen Mängeln so hoch wie heute. Dark Sector ist meines Erachtens ein Paradebeispiel dieses Trends: Es sieht verdammt gut aus und macht anfangs auch richtig Spaß, verkommt aber nach einigen Stunden Spielzeit zu einer monotonen Metzelorgie, bei der man entweder das Hirn oder die Konsole abschaltet. Mit etwas mehr Feinschliff hätte man sicher mehr aus Dark Sector machen können. So bleibt es durchaus solide, aber leider völlig belanglose Action-Kost.

Dark Sector se pose en bon petit jeu d'action, beau, plaisant et particulièrement intense. Melting-pot d'idées allègrement pompées sur la concurrence, il parvient néanmoins à assembler convenablement celles-ci pour former un tout cohérent. Au final, on se retrouve donc avec une aventure qui ne laissera pas de souvenirs impérissables, mais qu'on pourra parcourir avec plaisir.

In an industry where complete originality is rare, Dark Sector seems like an amalgam of greatest hits in game design. From the cover mechanics, the gritty art design, the black market arms dealers, the shaky-cam running effect, after touch effects, melee finishing moves and quick time events, you can tell that Dark Sector has all of the makings of a great game. Unfortunately it just lacks that certain unsaid element that just makes everything work really well.

With Dark Sector you're not going to get the perfect action game, or the best next-gen duck and cover experience like we were promised so long ago in that issue of GI. What you will get is-in my opinion-the funnest combat of any action game this generation, and the most badass weapon since the gravity gun. The good news? You get the glaive from the get go, so you won't even notice the obvious shortcomings.

There’s a lot to like about Dark Sector for the PlayStation 3 and it’s actually fun enough to see through to the very end but it is far from perfect. That being said, those who don’t mind a weak story or some repetitive combat will get a kick out of the game’s awesome glaive weapon or the intense moments that pop ever so often to show off the game’s true colors. It’s not a next-generation instant classic but this one is fun enough to be the ultimate weekend rental ... or purchase if you want to fulfill that long overdue Krull fantasy on a regular basis.

So it's not for multiplayer fans or story fans or innovation fans, but Dark Sector is certainly a good game. When it all comes together and you're ducking in and out of cover while shooting and throwing the Glaive at groups of enemies, it's a lot of fun, and the visual spark and A.I./pacing/combat polish make it worth playing. Don't head in expecting a game that overachieves or pushes too many boundaries, but don't lower your expectations too much either.

As negative as I have been, I still feel that Dark Sector is worth checking out. The glaive is something that every action nut has to wrap his or her hands around. Like the BFG or the cerebral bore, you’ll remember this weapon forever. Sadly, you’ll remember the weapon more than the game itself.

Dark Sector isn't the next Gears of War, and it isn't a game that you should go into looking for a compelling story. You could certainly do a lot worse if you're looking for 10 to 12 hours of single-player action and some multiplayer kicks, though.

Dark Sector can best be described as a game born out of a formula. To create this game, you will need 2 parts Gears of War, 1 part Resident Evil, and a dash of X-Men. It is totally easy to rip this game to shreds based on this description. But as you play this game, something unexpected happens: you find yourself having an amazing amount of fun. Even though this game pulls largely from pre-existing material, it seems to have pulled everything that was enjoyable about these series and compiled it into a game that is unexpectedly fun. To its credit, it does produce some type of originality with the glaive weapon. But that's not enough to make this a great game. A fun and amusing game perhaps, but if you're looking for a whole lot of substance, this isn't the game for you. But if you like beheading foes in slow-mo, then you'll have a great time with Dark Sector!

Dark Sector bedient sich schamlos bei vielen Top-Titeln der letzten Monate. Dieser Cocktail schmeckt allerdings nicht so gut, wie man meinen könnte. Viele Fähigkeiten des Protagonisten sind nur halbherzig umgesetzt worden und die Geschichte enttäuscht auf ganzer Länge. Nach einem tollen Anfang, geht es plötzlich steil bergab. Dazu kommt ein knallharter Schwierigkeitsgrad, der Einsteiger nach wenigen Stunden überfordert. Andererseits ist das Spiel stellenweise technisch eine Wucht und die taktisch agierende KI eine echte Herausforderung. Wer frustresistent ist, volljährig und kein Problem mit detaillierter Gewaltdarstellung hat, der darf einen Blick riskieren. Der Rest greift einfach zur besseren Konkurrenz.

It really is a shame that Australia gets a cut-down version of this game. Certainly the more violent aspects were one of the highlights of the overseas versions - not that we would know... Anyway if you're not comfortable breaking the law and importing this title then you will be pleased to know that this Australian game is still quite entertaining with the some great graphics and sound and solid gameplay.

Overall I enjoyed the ten or so hours it took me to complete Dark Sector. I wasn’t so sure about it before I played it, and even after an hour or so I wasn’t completely sold, but once I had gotten used to the Glaive and made sure to ration bullets the game became a great experience. Forget the story, it’s ridiculous, just sit back and enjoy what the game for what it is; a dark, violent action shooter that plays almost as good as it looks.

En dépit de défauts importants, Dark Sector demeure une bonne surprise. En puisant dans le contenu d’excellents jeux, le titre de D3 Publisher s’est doté d’une base solide rendue encore plus convaincante par l’utilisation sympathique du Glaive. Malgré tout, l’histoire déplorable proposée, ainsi que des combats au corps à corps assez mal réalisés, ne permettent pas de placer le titre au même haut rang que les aînés auxquels il ne cesse de reprendre les concepts et idées.

In the end, Dark Sector is bipolar rollercoaster ride that tops out at gorgeous, innovative, and striking (glaive, visuals, virus powers) and bottoms out at a bland, unoriginal, and buggy (gunplay, storyline, melee attacks). The extremes are both high and low, but at least Digital Extremes has a solid base moving forward to the inevitable sequel. Until then, we will always wonder what might have been with Dark Sector.

What does possibly make Dark Sector worth considering as a viable option for your entertainment is that as gimmicky as its calling card is, it is actually pretty fun to toss around for a while. For a shooter fan it’s not completely inconceivable that some entertainment might be derived from renting it for a couple days. That the novelty of the powers quickly wears thin in the overwhelming miasma of all things been-there-done-that which permeates the game is less burdensome if you didn’t have to shell out $60 to learn that first hand. Who knows, it might actually grow on you. You might get three days of amusement out of it instead of only two. Wouldn’t that be something? Not too shabby for game built around a prop from a twenty five year old movie that nobody’s ever heard of. Not bad at all.

Dark Sector is a good game that has some great hooks, such as the wonderful glaive and a powerful shotgun. It's unfortunate that other elements, such as unpolished combat and some very generic NPCs, undermine its ambition (though they don't render the game unplayable). Online is both fun (Epidemic) and infuriating (Infection), but neither are going to replace other multiplayer titles in your library. There are certainly better action games than Dark Sector, but there are also some significantly worse ones.

Unoriginell, uninspiriert, langweilig – das sind die Worte, die einem beim Spielen von ’Dark Sector’ bezüglich des optischen und spielerischen Designs in den Sinn kommen. Schade dass die Entwickler hier dermaßen gepatzt haben, denn die von ’Gears of War’ inspirierte Action ist durchaus brauchbar, die Grafik, vom technischen Standpunkt her gesehen, sogar streckenweise höchst beeindruckend. Es bleibt ein passabler, aber tendenziell öder Actiontitel von der Stange, auf den ausgehungerte Genre-Fans aber einen Blick werfen können.

At the moment, however, being the beginning of a potential franchise it is definitely taking its baby steps while going through a few teething pains. So, here’s hoping it uses that glaive to sharpen its teeth more for next time.

Sans complexe, Dark Sector propose donc une aventure sympathique, simple mais efficace, que l'on traverse avec un certain plaisir. Restent cependant des soucis bien présents comme la maniabilité trop rigide, le level design qui a tendance à lasser et l'ambiance globale emprunte d'un certain classicisme. Si Dark Sector a réussi à se démarquer quelque peu de la concurrence, sa fragilité sur certains points l'empêche donc de briller outre-mesure. On le retiendra en tout cas comme un jeu qui sait trancher.

At least you can enjoy the visuals if not the narrative. Digital Extremes' proprietary Evolution engine churns out impressive graphics. Environments look phenomenal thanks to beautiful dynamic lighting effects. Some of the human characters appear a little funny at times, although on the whole they look good as well. Generally speaking, the same can be said of Dark Sector--it's initially quite good, until the horrible story and unnecessary puzzles drag it down.

Si Dark Sector est un jeu au design très travaillé qui peut se targuer d’être beau et fun, il est aussi un titre qui souffre d’une jouabilité peu précise et d’un gameplay trop simple. Plus on avance dans l’aventure solo, plus on se rend compte que le soft est limité et ne tient pas ses promesses. Sous-exploité de bout en bout, Dark Sector est en définitive plutôt décevant et bien trop moyen pour marquer les esprits. Comme quoi, une belle plastique ne fait pas nécessairement un bon jeu.

So that’s it really. Positively, the game is awash with colour filters and some truly splendid graphics at times - if you can see them. The Glaive works well and is rather satisfying to use but this is offset by the old school use of ammo crates and parts of levels being sealing off, making it as linear as they come. The game doesn’t bore you but its only saved by Hayden’s main weapon and that’s really not enough. It is certainly worth a rental if you like third or first person shooters but you’ll certainly feel short changed if you buy it.

Dark Sector feels OK for the first two chapters, but there are eight more to slog through after that, and if I wasn’t working on a review of the game, that’s probably where I would have stopped. The occasional variety of a boss battle or vehicle sequence doesn’t break things up enough to make the campaign an interesting one, either. Between the dreary action, the sluggish movement speed, and the seemingly tacked-on multiplayer, you’ll probably want to pass on the whole thing.

The game isn’t fun at all - including the pathetically limited multiplayer options which aren’t worth going into. It’s just frustrating that Dark Sector, with all the trappings of a good game could squander nearly every single one of them with bad level design, poor logic, repetitive combat, and no attention to what made its inspiration so…inspiring. I will be haunted as to how this is the end result of many years of effort, but take it from me, you don’t need those ghosts.

Dark Sector asks you to give it the benefit of the doubt at every turn. Every aspect of this game is horribly average, derivative, unpolished, or worse. Half-assed, floaty, imprecise character movement. Half-assed melee combat. Half-assed cover mechanic. Half-assed weapon upgrade system. Half-assed sound design and mixing. Quarter-assed story. No-assed AI. By my count, that should be three-and-a-quarter asses, but in Dark Sector’s highly derivative world, they add up to just one big, enormous half an ass. One or two of these issues is forgiveable, but taken altogether, they’re definitely not.