Dark Sector Demo Review:

First off, I have to admit that when I heard about this game I had almost no intentions of considering it for purchase. The concept seemed a little drab and I didn't know if it was going to be that interesting.

Judging by the demo, I can admit I was wrong.

First Impressions:

The first thing anyone notices about any title is the graphics. This is just a given, as the graphics are there before you really get a chance to do anything. This title did not disappoint! It has a stylized appearance that kind of meets up with subtle gritty undertones reminiscent of Gears of War (sounds like I'm reviewing wine.. I know).

Seriously, the graphics do NOT disappoint. Everything from the dark hallway, to the rainy coastline,
to the destructible cathedral you fight the boss in looks great. The action has a great feel and the
lighting adds mood in all the right places. The animations are above par too.

The controls are easy to learn and you gain abilities along the way that let you use the button layout a bit differently in different situations. I must say that I like the visuals and the physics on the grenades especially!!

GAME PLAY:

Here's the real "MEAT" of the game. Firstly I would applaud the use of what seems to be a "hand held" camera effect that is especially noticeable when you run. I know comparing a PS3 Demo to Gears of War gets redundant but thats the feeling one takes on sometimes and it can make battle sequences seem uber-realistic and it definitely immersed me more as I played. If you haven't played Gears of War, then think of a Saving Private Ryan type of wabbling camera when you run and duck for cover.

That brings me to this point, the COVER system. It is great to see a game that lets you utilize the environment to shield yourself and take crack shots at enemies. I'm pretty sure EVERY corner and crate and basically ANTYTHING you could duck behind or around can be used to time you attacks on your enemies. This adds a sort of strategy to the action-packed game play you tear through in this demo.

ATTACKS and ENEMIES:

Speaking of the sort...

The story isn't abundantly clear from the demo, other than you are infected with some sort of.. well disease.. or bug I suppose that makes you basically super-human (I know you can Google the story, but I'm trying to tell this from a purely DEMO-based experience). You start with a pistol, and an item called the GLAVE. If you are unfamiliar with a "GLAVE" then think of the throwing disc the predator uses in AVP.. or just look at the box art for the game. The GLAVE is a useful tool and not just a weapon. YES it lets you throw a spinning disc of sharp-pointy doom at your enemies when they are targeted, but it also allows you to pick up hard to reach items like ammo and Russian rubles (which are used to upgrade/buy guns) that are hard to reach.
You also develop the ability to control the glave's movement by either using the SIXAXIS or the joystick should you chose to turn the motion sensing off (I did). This is really cool as time slows down and you can aim the discs flight right into the head of an enemy without too much difficulty!

Enemies vary from what appear to be other "infected" people/creatures and soldiers who have automatic weapons. What I liked about fighting the soldiers particularly, is that your bullet placement in their bodies was fairly particular in that an arm wound only wounded them... while a direct head shot took them down instantly. I know this isn't a "new" feature by any means, but its nice to see that some time and effort was put into the amount of damage done by a weapon based on where an enemy is hit.

UPGRADING

The last feature I will touch on is the upgrading system. There seem to be points of the game (in this case a manhole cover) where you can use items and rubles (money) that you have collected along the way to upgrade your existing weapons and buy/upgrade new weapons. It is important to note that picking up an enemy soldier's weapon will only be a temporary fix as they self destruct after about 10 seconds due to an "infection" sensor built into the gun. Good for a quick kill on some impending doom... but it won't last. The two upgrades available in the demo are found in the form of briefcases and upgrade the rate of fire for a gun, and the other upgrades the "firepower" or the damage inflicted per bullet. I like this system as it gives you options as to how you are going to fight. Do you upgrade your pistol?.. or the new submachine gun? you get to chose and lets face it.. despite the linear map of the demo this choice gives even this small piece of the game some replay value.

So in summary, I would recommend this game to almost anyone based on the demo alone. I was throughly impressed with nearly every aspect of the 500+ meg download and I am expecting to pick it up. So the next time you log onto the PSN.. do NOT download the Iron Man demo (at nearly 1 GIG!!),
instead save yourself some time and disappointment and download the Dark Sector Demo to get your own opinion.

My score (if I need to pick a number) would be a SOLID 9/10.

Tags : Dark Sector : Demo : PlayStation 3 : Review

Comments

By: Dragonfly On: 06:12 May 6th, 2008 Online	Dark Sector is a title that, I have to say, surprised me a lot. Considered the hackneyed premise, the game really shouldn't be as good as it is. It's a rather short game mind, but the experience is a blast while it last. Definately go for a rental over buying.