Dark Sector: Hey, You Spilled Some RE4 Into My GoW!
June 18, 2008 12:30 am Games for Fun, Gaming
Dark Sector (DS) is the first project created by Digital Extremes (DE). The release of DS sort of came and went without much fanfare; I didn’t hear much about online and only a few people around the office played it. I heard some pretty mixed DS experiences, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.
To say that DS tries to mimic Gear of War would be an understatement. Most of the core mechanics are lifted right from GoW, down to the “chase cam” while holding A to sprint, to moving from cover while engaged in third-person cover. The look of the game even feels like GoW, so when I heard that the people at DE made their own engine, I was completely surprised. I actually didn’t believe it at first, and had to go verify it on my own. Sure enough, DE claims their engine was written from scratch.
In any case, DS only feels like GoW for a short while. Eventually some unique elements are introduced that make DS feel separate from another GoW experience. The “glaive,” a sort of three-bladed boomerang quickly becomes the star of the show, making players forget that Cole Train and Baird won’t be joining you anytime soon.
It’s obvious that DE really wanted players to use the glaive. They give players all sorts of neat glaive abilities, like “after touch” which slows down time while the glaive is flying and allows players to aim the glaive with the analog stick. However, regular firearms in DS are much more effective at taking enemies down. I often found myself torn between wanting to use the glaive for the cool factor and using firearms to get to the next event quickly. The glaive takes some effort to kill someone with and usually requires two or more hits unless you charge it up for a power throw (hold down RB and time it just right, very similar to the reload mechanic in GoW). Plus, the glaive is often out of the range of enemies, so in many situations you’re forced to use a gun. On Brutal, I’m actually getting through the game much faster than on normal because I’m using my pistol 90% of the time. Even for all it’s macro-design faults, the glaive is still a unique and entertaining weapon to use.
I wasn’t a fan of the level design in DS. Most of the levels were uninspired and pretty plain. A majority of the combat contains cover set up at 90 degree angles, all facing the same direction, evenly spread apart, all roughly the same height. You can almost feel the triggers get hit as you press forward; the AI stream out from predictable places and move to the chunk of cover you’re expecting. The cover felt artificial and too set up. If you’re going to copy GoW, at least copy some of the cooler level designs like the battle that takes places inside that fountain, or fighting on a moving train! The graveyard level stands out as one of the more interesting levels, as players have to transfer fire to various gas torches throughout the level. The enjoyment of this concept is offset by the sheer number of annoying zombie AI throughout the level which offer no real challenge and just get in the way.
The boss battles in DS are a mixed bag. I can’t stand “ammo waster” bosses. You know, you’re shooting and he’s playing a pain animation, but he’s not dying. DS suffers from a few ammo-waster bosses. In most cases, the player is expected to use the glaive to pick up some electricity, fire, or ice and use the energy-packed weapon on the boss. I’m all for using the sweet weapon you guys created and taking advantage of it’s cool abilities, but please don’t trick me into thinking I’m doing the right thing when I shoot the boss with a different weapon. I wonder if DE really focus tested this game? I think a lot of these design issues would have came out if they had. The final boss battle is memorable and well executed though, even if it feels a lot like a certain Resident Evil 4 boss.
Speaking of RE4, it appears DS lifted a few pages from the RE4 design doc as well. The “guy in the sewer” feels like a copy of the RE4 merchant, complete with sassy one liners when you go to buy and upgrade weapons. The main character in DS even looks like a bit like Leon.
The weapon upgrade system feels clunky and inflexible. New weapons become available as you progress through the game, so even if you’ve saved up lots of cash, you’ll have to wait to the next level to buy the really good weapons. Once you upgrade a weapon, you’re locked into the updagrade. Wanna change it? Too bad! Obviously, it would have been better if the DS weapon upgrade system allowed you to try out different configurations. My guess is that DE wanted players to focus on glaive use instead of firearm use.
The story in DS was thin but there was a plot twist at the end I wasn’t expecting. However, after the game was finished I never quite fully understood my connection to Mesner, old Man McOldy (he is a survivor), or even that chick with the suit… err, I mean crazy feather outfit. It felt like there was this huge back story I was missing out on, but I think the back story was just missing.
I really liked driving and blowing up shit in the Jackal, which is basically a four legged drivable tank with a cannon, machine guns and countermeasures against incoming missiles. Driving the Jackal around was a nice change of pace, I only wish there was more of it. It was nice feedback to see AI rag-dolling and coming apart from large cannon explosions. I wish the gibs were more visible, but blowing up enemies and sending them across the level was satisfying nonetheless.
The mini-gun you can pick up from the elite soldiers is pretty sick as well. Even though your move speed is slowed, you’ll get to mow down tons of enemies(unlimited ammo ftw!) and use a rocket launcher that simply owns. The mini-gun is full of good times, especially towards the end of the game. Now that I think about it, DS did a good job with weapon feel overall. Shooting AI in the head and getting that juicy crunch sound with a huge blood particle effect is very rewarding.
I need to mention the AI. DS has some of the most offending ninja AI in any game released recently, maybe even beating out Army of Two. The AI tend to get become confused as well, and sometime they don’t fire at you. I saw the AI also try to shoot through walls as well- just standing behind cover shooting at a wall, multiple times. Overall, the AI in DS aren’t bad and they do their job well enough, but DE definitely has their work cut out for them on the next game in the AI department.
For a first game in a brand new engine, I’m fairly impressed with DE’s technical capabilities. The design of various elements leave something to be desired, but DS is still a decent game. DE has a solid base to start their next project from and hopefully they’ll learn from their mistakes (like not including co-op!).