For our hands-on preview of the game, we were given some time with one of the earlier levels. In Dark Sector, players assume the identity of special forces soldier Hayden Tenno and are sent into a European city that harbours a deadly virus. Hayden himself becomes infected with the virus, gaining several unnatural powers in the process – the most obvious being the ability to control a glaive, a three-bladed disc that can be thrown at enemies.
Electricity is another element that can be captured with the glaive.
In the level we played, Hayden came equipped with the glaive and a pistol. The controls for Dark Sector are quite adaptable. Indeed, we found the gameplay very precise, and most importantly, unproblematic. Tossing the glaive at enemies simply entails aiming – as you would in any third-person shooter – and then pulling the right trigger. This feature worked smoothly, and most of the times we threw the weapon it connected with the enemy. Depending on where the AI is hit by the glaive, arms or legs may be dismembered, which is somewhat amusing. Another nifty addition with the glaive is the ability to collect elements such as fire and ice, which can then be turned against enemies. The result of doing this could be a burnt or frozen foe.
There are wide variety of weapons to choose from in the game. Some of the guns we came across included shotguns, assault rifles and pistols. Players are allowed to equip a primary and secondary weapon, in addition to the glaive. We found that the guns were very authentic in terms of their accuracy and damage. Though the blade is a prominent feature of the game, situations still call on the use of firearms sometimes, so it is not overused.
Your character's infected, meaning he's also in the hit list!
Another interesting feature that was evident during our play through was that the game had no heads-up display. Like Halo, if you take damage in Dark Sector you must wait for you health to recharge by staying in cover. Players enter cover by pressing against a well, similarly to other games such as Ghost Recon. The cover mechanic worked well, and because some environments are destructible, you cannot remain in the one place for too long.
The enemy AI we played against in Dark Sector displayed some intelligence, hiding behind cover and retreating when appropriate, making the section of the game we played somewhat challenging. Initial enemies are human, but as you progress in the game, foes will become more zombie-like as a result of the virus.
Dark Sector is promising around ten hours of gameplay as well as some post-release content. The D3 Publisher representative we spoke to at eGames said that the development team was aiming to include a further level in future downloads, as well as some extra weapons. Dark Sector is scheduled for release early next year on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and is certainly a game that is on our radar for 2008.
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