Dark Sector has great gameplay and visual design, but lacks horror and a overall polish.
User Rating: 8 | Dark Sector PS3
Dark Sector is yet another 3rd-person shooter game, but this one does have something a little different about it which I'll go into in a second. In the game you play as a reluctant assassin type soldier called Hayden as you infiltrate an old fortress in Russia to destroy a weaponised virus. Unfortunately, in the first level, your right arm gets infected by the very virus you're trying to stop and you get a very cool power which you'll you'll use for most of the rest of the game. Combat is straight forward. You press a button to take cover, then pop out and fire at enemies as you advance. Even running is simple as you hold a button and steer left and right as you dash for cover. As well as using a pistol, machine guns and shotguns, your fancy new weapon is a razor-sharp disc which grows out of your hand called the Glaive. You can chuck this at enemies to cut off arms, legs and heads complete with lots of lovely claret splashing all over the place. It's a real good, and easy control system that can be learned off my hand within a few seconds. The gameplay is smooth, and feels right. Shooting is solid and doesn't feel clunky, or boring. Soon into the game you can also apply after touch and steer it towards frightened enemies, taking down more than one at a time. You can use the sixaxis to steer it and for once, it's suited here. You can even throw the thing into fire, ice and electricity to give it neat new powers, then use it to solve puzzles and fight bosses, and enemies.
That's the really clever thing about Dark Sector, it uses the enviroment around you to make the game, a game. You don't feel confined to one area either, as the areas are really spacious, and give you a feeling of freedom. The game's fun but inconsistent. You may get bored of running through similar levels before you reach the end of the game and the graphics vary from eye-bleedingly great to mediocre. Also, there's no real sense of progression as you play. You can upgrade some weapons but strangely these aren't available from the off if you want to replay the game. The weapons are not that great either, there a tad bit boring actually. Dark Sector has interesting enemies. From invisible foes to foes that make good use of cover, and good use of you. They attack left, right and centre, and the enemies never get old. There ugly, and make you blink at the sheer horrible faces of them.
It's good, simple and very neat and tidy. A good little rent, or a cheap buy would be great. Dark Sector won't last you very long, but the experience is really interesting. 
