Dark Sector
From D3 Publisher
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Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #704 in Computer & Video Games
Brand: D3 Publisher
Released on: 2008-03-25
ESRB Rating: Mature
Platform: Xbox 360
Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
Features
Battle your enemies with incredible superhuman powers - like the deadly bladed glaive - that evolve and become more powerful throughout the gmaes
3rd-person action-shooter - witness Hayden's transformation from killer to hero
Cinematic and immersive experience - Through the use of no HUD, intuitive controls and a 3rd person over the shoulder viewpoint; everything is designed with the goal of keeping the player immersed in the gmaes at all times, focused on gameplay and not gameplay management
An innovative and exciting multiplayer gameplay that will allow you to use the skills you have learned in the single-player gmaes to excel in a competitive environment
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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.
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-gmaes . 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 gmaes , quite the opposite.
To be successful players must successfully journey underground to the gmaes '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 gmaes 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.
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Customer Reviews
WOW WOW WOW
I can't believe this gmaes is not considered one of the game's of the year. Other than COD4 , I can't think of another gmaes that I have enjoyed as much as I enjoyed this Masterpiece.
It has everything.
Graphics are as good if not better that GOW. When the game goes from a cinematic scene to the action, you don't even realize it's time to play until you wait for a minute or two and realize that the in-game graphics are just as "cinematic." (You have to see it, to believe it .. Unbelievable)
Action is the best there is. Shoot, Glave limbs off, bombs, etc.
Puzzles are very challenging and fun to uncover. You feel proud when you actually unlock a gate or burn down the monster skin using a secret fire glave. (without giving it away)
Story is great.. Long Single player (worth the $60)
Great online
I havebeen playing FPS's since the original XBOX and this is THE (fourth)BEST FPS game I've played
1. COD4 and COD3
2. GOW
3. Rainbow Vegas 1
Just Buy it
Great gmaes... weak story
The gmaes itself is a blast to play with plenty of suspense and action. Only complaint is that the gmaes has a very weak story with very little explanation or real purpose behind the action.
Well done, but a lot of frustration...
I'll say this... Dark Sector reminded me heavily of a very popular game and movie franchise combined with a little known anime franchise.
Of course I'm referring to Resident Evil, and the anime is The Guyver.
The creators of the game seemed to have both of these in mind when they put it together.
The story is pretty basic. You play Hayden, a secretive special operative working for the CIA. You've been tasked with finding a fellow operative in a fictional country in Eastern Europe.
The prologue sets the scene for the rest of the gmaes. After finding and `liberating' your fellow operative, you're set upon a strangely armoured figure (very reminiscent of the Guyver), and upon the orders of a man named Mezner, the figure infects Hayden with a disease that begins to mutate him.
His right arm, shoulder and part of his torso becomes metallic, and he gains a three bladed throwing disk called a glaive, which is an extension of his own body.
Ok, enough spoilers regarding the plot. If you want to learn more, you'll have to search online or play the game yourself.
The gmaes is cut into ten specific chapters, each one of varying degrees of difficulty and length. Some I found very easy to play through, others were far more difficult and even considerably longer than others.
Believe it or not, that was one of the highpoints of the gmaes for me. Most of the gmaes I've played since I got my 360 back in Christmas of 2007 have been very short. Five to seven hours is what it typically would take me to beat most of the gmaes I've played.
So, when I come across a gmaes that takes longer for me to beat, I'm quite pleased.
Anyhow, as the gmaes progresses, you learn to utilize your newly discovered powers in a varying of ways. Your glaive can absorb different types of elemental energy when it's encountered, such as fire, electricity and cold (is cold a type of energy? I thought it was lack of energy - sorry, I digress).
You can use this stored energy for a limited time and it will affect not only the enemies you encounter, but the environment as well. In fact, it will be necessary to use the elements around you from time to time to progress through the gmaes .
The gmaes does involve a little bit of puzzle solving. There are times throughout each level you'll have to figure out how to open certain doors, cross water, put out fires, or even keep the elemental power of your glaive on long enough to get to the next area.
It could get a little frustrating at times, especially when you have to do the whole `bullet' time with your glaive in order to control it's trajectory in flight so you can use it to unlock doors or absorb elemental energy.
Still, this whole bullet time where you can radically control your glaive has its uses, especially when you want to get the decapitation achievement.
You will also get a variety of weapons to use through the gmaes , and you'll be able to pick up the weapons your enemy drop after you defeat them. This, however, has a major drawback. The weapons that you pick up from your enemies will last only a short period of time before they short out because of your condition and you'll be forced to drop them.
However, it is a great way to conserve ammo. Grab dropped weapons and then you can empty them, without burning through your limited supply of ammunition. And there are times you'll find yourself running out, and it can be very frustrating.
So, speaking of weapons, you can choose from a variety of handguns, assault rifles and shotguns.
You'll start out with a basic handgun to use in conjunction with your glaive, but as the game progresses you'll discover Rubles lying around in various spots on the map. You can pick the money up and use it occasionally in the underground black market to purchase different types of handguns and rifles.
Which brings me to weapon upgrades. On top of finding money, you'll find weapon upgrades (which appear as metallic attaché cases through the gmaes ) that you can use to modify your weapons in the black market. These range from increased fire rate, magazine capacity, stopping power and reload time. I know I'm missing a few, so please forgive the lack of complete information.
Oh, and lets not forget that you find grenades quite often. Perfect for forcing your enemies out into the open, or getting past them when they're hunkered down behind cover.
Before I forget, your glaive has one very handy feature. It can be used to snatch up items such as ammo, money or dropped weapons at a distance. Use it well, use it often. I loved that particular feature.
As for the enemies you encounter, it breaks down into four types... the mutants, the soldiers, the armour and the bosses.
Each and every type of enemy has its strength and weaknesses. Soldiers have the advantage of tactics and ranged attacks, where as the mutants can swarm and stun you. Bosses... the bosses are an exercise in both frustration and futility. I won't lie to you, I had to go online each time I ran into a boss to figure out how to defeat it.
Once you learn how, it's not too difficult, but good luck trying to figure it out on your own. And be prepared to spend at least an hour defeating the finale boss in the game.
The graphics were standard for what I've come to expect from Xbox 360 games. They were very well done. The lighting was terrible in places, and it only helped heighten the mood and feel of the gmaes.
The environment looked exactly as it was supposed to... dirty, worn down, dark, old... it was perfectly done and suited the gmaes wonderfully.
And, since I'm on the subject of graphics, I'll tell you right now, some of the kills you made with your glaive are very gory. You will lop off limbs, decapitate your enemy and the blood will fly.
If you're squeamish, this gmaes won't be for you, I can tell you that right now.
Some of the games I've played recently had really good soundtracks. This gmaes, there was nothing at all that struck me as memorable, so I can't really say anything about it other than it was simply there.
Oh, and I almost forgot, the ever present cut scenes. They definitely were well done, and I was quite surprised to see that the actor who did the voice for Hayden was none other than Michael Rosenbaum. You know, Lex Luthor from Smallville?
One last thing about the game play that I forgot to mention earlier. You do get to pilot a vehicle at least twice in the gmaes, and unlike many of the gmaes I've played where you pilot a car, tank, helicopter, boat, etc... this gmaes vehicle controls were easy to handle and use. Kudos to the programmers on that aspect!
Ok, overall it was a slightly better than average gmaes for me. I liked it, although it definitely lost marks for the bosses and the frustration that ensued in trying to defeat them.
Pros
- Longer than normal game play. Ten levels in total
- Really cool kills with the glaive.
- Lots of checkpoints.
- Well done cut scenes.
- The Glaive and the powers you gain as the game progresses.
- Easy to control vehicles.
Cons
- Extremely frustrating boss battles.
- Very little in the way of enemies to fight.
- No real destructible environment.
- End battle very long and frustrating.
Overall 3 out of 5
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