Dark Sector

PC review by Dan Liebman, published on Tuesday 24th March 2009

After nearly a decade in developmental limbo and a whole year after its console debut, Dark Sector has finally been released on the PC. While its sci-fi space-hopping image has been replaced with a more organic, red-army-zombie-smashing one, it’s really the gameplay that defines Dark Sector. Unfortunately, the seemingly brilliant innovation takes the form of a pointy little boomerang. The rest is just about shooting baddies.

Not unlike Casino Royale, the game’s monochromatic introduction begins with a slick spy named Hayden in a black bodysuit. He seems to have some rather unprofessional reservations about his present mission, but like any decent solider, he does whatever the mysterious voice tells him to do. Navigating the Russian base requires no actual stealth, but it does serve to teach the mechanics to the player at a reasonable pace. Hayden ducks, fires, dashes, takes cover, and repeats. His health recovers very rapidly when he’s not under fire, so using cover is always preferable when in combat. It’s not something we haven’t done before, but Hayden controls reasonably well.

After fighting his way through the base, something strange attacks him, and Hayden is partially “infected” with a weird organism. Shortly after his infection, he begins hearing new voices, and a metallic glaive springs forth from the infected half of his body. This glaive is surprisingly weak as a melee weapon, but it can be used to execute finishing moves on unsuspecting foes from behind (rare) or any enemy Hayden successfully charges without getting himself killed (also rare). These finishing moves generally work best against zombies, who are always vulnerable to attacks from the sides and back right after they slam their weapons into the ground. In fact, the zombies are disappointingly easy to kill this way; one can simply wait and dodge, or constantly strafe and then melee to instantly kill the sluggish zombies one at a time.

As a projectile, the glaive is a bit more interesting. The lethal boomerang requires at least two hits to kill most enemies, unless the player utilizes expert timing to pull of a “power” throw. It can also be slowed down during its flight, and partially steered into enemies that might be moving, hiding, or obscured by other objects. A lethal hit results in a bloody death for one’s foe, so expect to see a lot of severed limbs and sprays of blood in this game. Despite its rather short range, the glaive also comes in handy for certain tasks such as breaking open heavy locks, charging electricity to disable electrical systems, or holding fire to burn through walls of zombie goo. One little puzzle forces Hayden to use the glaive to gather electricity from a damaged power conduit, then toss it into a fallen light fixture to smash it. This ignites a nearby gas leak, allowing him to toss the glaive again and gather flames to incinerate an aforementioned zombie wall. It’s not terribly strategic, but it does help to break up the pace a bit.

While the pistol can be used reliably, most enemy weapons are constructed with some sort of magnetic locking device, so the gun disables itself within a few seconds of Hayden picking it up. Luckily, you won’t need them very long to finish off distant foes, and you can launch the glaive to gather the guns of fallen enemies and bring them directly into your grasp in the heat of battle. The enemies themselves are not especially smart and are very predictable. One soldier carrying a massive shield can get you into a heap of trouble if he gets too close. Hayden can simply use the glaive to make him stagger backwards and expose himself, then quickly pop off a few pistol rounds to take him down. There are larger foes as well, but they are generally taken down easily with some solid cover and good use of a rocket-propelled grenade.

Jumping into an innocuous sewer gives Hayden access to an underground black market, where the Russian salesman happily greets him with a “Hey, it’s my favorite half-man half-monster customer” or “Hey, it’s Yankee Doodle! He came to town!” The black market allows the usual selling and buying of armaments, along with application of upgrades acquired throughout the game. This could enable anything from improved accuracy on your pistol to firing extra rounds on a shotgun, but beware: once an upgrade is installed, it cannot be removed. Most purchases can be made by using money, found in little spots throughout the levels. It is generally easy to find such items because, like weapons, they will flash every four seconds to alert you to their presence.

Most of the game runs perfectly on a maxed-out setup, with exquisitely bump-mapped textures and ultra smooth animations giving the game a great level of superficial polish. The sound effects are equally effective; the glaive sounds just as expected, like a metal blade cycling through the air, and the shotgun sounds inexplicably cooler than any other weapon available. The music and voice acting are also pretty good, though the enemy’s speech tends to get a bit repetitive.

After completing the campaign, there isn’t much incentive to really go back and play again. There are achievements to unlock and a multiplayer LAN mode, but this offers a fairly limited thrill. While the game didn’t end up doing anything amazing and new, it manages to stand firm as a solid shooter. Since Hayden isn’t a half-naked woman, you don’t have to feel guilty about any of the fun you have playing Dark Sector. It’s a simple, stylish, enjoyable romp that will satisfy most anyone looking for something new to shoot. Or throw boomerangs into.