Dark Sector is a game that does not attempt to conceal its inspirations. Revealed in 2005 as a science fiction shooter, these concepts were eventually scrapped (which were later used in Digital Extreme's latest effort, Warframe) and replaced with assets and designs heavily inspired by the popular shooters of that time. Taking place in the fictional country Lasria, the player controls Hayden Tenno, an agent who slowly becomes infected with a virus known as Technocyte, which externally turns Hayden's arm into a metallic weapon. With the ability to spawn a boomerang-like weapon known as the Glaive, Hayden must travel through derelict towns in order to subdue the infection from spreading further.
The plot appears to be a focus for the game, as lots of exposition regarding the current state of Lasria and the virus is a large chunk of the game. This actually hinders the game, though, as the narrative of Dark Sector is confusing and the characters have no depth or emotion to display. Lasria provides nothing to the overall experience, as the setting is uninteresting and coated in dull colours. The cities are drab and decrepit while the sewers are dimly lit, and most of the game takes place in these two variations. The virus, however, stands out as the hard exterior the enemies and Hayden's arm possess is quite distinct. Visually, I think it's one of the most unique aspects Dark Sector has to offer.
Dark Sector clearly looks up to games like Lost Planet, Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War like older, wiser siblings. Unfortunately, the vehement and unsubtle love for these games makes a comparison unavoidable. Simply by comparison, Dark Sector feels extremely sluggish in most departments of gameplay. The cover system isn't smooth, the shooting mechanics feel weak and the artificial intelligence is pretty bad too. The structure of the combat scenarios along with these issues can sometimes make the campaign feel more like a horde mode. What saves the combat from falling into total mediocrity is the Glaive. It's evident that Digital Extremes had put all of their efforts in ensuring that the Glaive is satisfying and tight, which it executes well. Severing limbs and death animations allocated to specific limb removal adds to the powerful feeling of using the Glaive. Also, the ability to slow down time and manually control the Glaive adds a lot more impact to eliminating an enemy. It's can be entertaining when curving it around corners or ricocheting it off walls for less repetitive kills. The Glaive is so much more polished than any weapon in the game that the guns available are rendered useless. I never felt the need to use the pistol or scavenge for ammo, and having a small amount of time to use enemy weapons before the weapon is destroyed didn't help. These weapons can be bought in the black market, though it doesn't make too much of a difference. With the Glaive never running short of a particular resource, there isn't a reason not to use it.
The Glaive is also used for some of the puzzles in the game. To access blocked areas, you may have to throw an electrified Glaive at a conduit, use fire to burn a black ooze or freeze water to traverse across it. The puzzles are way too simple to be enjoyable, and their only purpose is to prevent the constant bombardments of combat from becoming too stale. Apart from that, there are also boss fights, but they are quite underwhelming as they are reduced to nothing other than throwing the Glaive powered by an available element in the vicinity until the boss is dead. Two other specific abilities are acquired near the end of the game and while they would appear to be useful the game isn't too difficult as it stands.
The Glaive gives the game a few hours of enjoyment, so take that as you will. One solid aspect of a game that's around eight hours long just isn't enough to hold it together. Honestly, the game plays like most other shooters of last gen. It just doesn't play as well as the aforementioned games.