Initial "Dark Sector" Impressions

     I went ahead and completed the first 3 sections of the game which basically is comprised of a short introduction and then 2 chapters.  I will start by saying that this is a game that clearly should have come out sooner.  For those who don't know, Dark Sector was actually the first "next gen" title to be announced back in the day when the Xbox360 and PS3 were just the hopes and dreams of countless gamers.  When it first began, it started as a science fiction, 3rd person, action-adventure title.  The game was eventually scrapped and basically started from scratch with a new setting.  Now, instead of dark, metallic, claustrophic environments, we get Lasria, a fake, European country that is plagued by a horrible virus that  turns living beings into vicious, metallic, killing machines.  Digital Extremes basically opted for a more realistic environment that resembles games such as Gears of War and Half Life 2.  This is definitely a welcome change in my opinion.  But how does it play?  I can't help but feel that the game would have been a tremendous success if it had come out a lot earlier in the "next-gen" life cycle because the gameplay elements are very much "old news".  That isn't necessarily a bad thing but with games like Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Uncharted revolutionizing the way we play third person, shoot em ups, Dark Sector really doesn't have much to bring to the table.  Don't get me wrong, the gameplay that is there is solid but it has definitely been done before.  So lets get started.

     The game opens with a brief, black and white introduction that introduces the main protagonist, Hayden as he begins a mission to infiltrate Lasria.  His orders are to stop a man named Mezner from getting his hands on contaminated material which would ultimately plague the entire world.  It definitely doesn't tell you much upon starting which is probably to suggest a deeper story that will come to the surface later in the game.  After getting the hang of the controls, the games lets you shoot some stuff which looks pretty but actually left me wanted more.  Im not sure why but some games just do something that creates a greater sense of satisfaction when you shoot enemies (I know, it's sick).  On another note, having seen several enemies stay in one spot while I shoot them repeatedly in the torso, I can say that the enemy AI is not the greatest.  With such a long development cycle, it definitely could have been better.  Of course, shooting is not the focus of the combat system as we all know.  At the end of the introduction, Hayden "acquires" a Glaive that he can throw much like a boomerang in order to cause "massive damage" or to acquire out of reach objects and such.  So far, it seems like a cool idea but I really hope that there will be upgrades in the future to make it a bit more satisfying.  Graphically, the game looks ok but there are times when the game looks a little "behind the times".  Surprisingly, this game is not running on the Unreal Engine 3 but in fact runs on DE's own Evolution Engine and still manages to maintain that same graphical "high bar".  At times, there are some annoying blurring effects and the fact that you can't interact with everything on screen by either hitting it or shooting it is kind of disappointing.  The gameplay itself is fun but nothing revolutionary and I am scared of seeing whether the story maintains momentum or ultimately crashes and burns.  But so far, it is a game that is definitely worth a play.  Im sure the guys at Digital Extremes are finally happy to be finished with this ridiculous long development process and will be happy to move onto bigger and better things.   Ill post a full review upon completion of the game.   

-Nick