Dark Sector

Guide Note

Dark Sector is a third-person shooter for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Fast Facts

1. Developer: Digital Extremes
2. Publisher: D3 Publisher of America
3. Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
4. Genre: Third-person shooter
5. Modes: Singleplayer, multiplayer
6. ESRB rating: Mature
7. Release Date: March 25, 2008

Set in the near future, the game follows Hayden Tenno (voiced by Michael Rosenbaum of Smallville) as a CIA operative on assignment in a fictional Soviet-bloc country. Hayden suffers from congenital analgia, a disease that prevents him from feeling pain. While on assignment, Hayden is exposed to a mysterious biological compound that causes his right arm to acquire the ability to spontaneously grow a three-bladed throwable weapon called a glaive. As part of his body, the glaive mutation is also used to generate light, and is remotely controlled by the player. On his travels, Hayden encounters others affected by the compound; however, the pain involved in the mutation process drives its victims mad. Hayden's congenital analgia inadvertently protects him from this aspect of the mutation.

Gameplay revolves primarily around the use of the glaive, a three-pronged boomerang-esque weapon which zooms back to Hayden after each throw. The glaive can be used for long-distance dismemberment, solving environmental puzzles, and picking up various items. When approaching an enemy, context-sensitive actions may display.

Environmental puzzles typically focus upon the capture of various elements, e.g., fire, electricity, ice. The glaive in Hayden's right hand is used in conjunction with a gun in his left. This allows for powerful attack combos, allowing you to kill multiple enemies. The glaive feature is controlled via the PlayStation 3 six-axis and/or the Xbox 360 analog stick.

Gun play is similar to the duck-and-cover variety of Gears of War, while the weapons upgrade system is similar to that seen in Resident Evil 4. Weapons may be taken from enemies, but will only function for a short time. There is no blind-fire capability.

There are two online multiplayer modes:

1. One randomly selected Hayden character in a deathmatch against many soldier characters
2. Two Hayden characters on separate teams with one team attempting to kill the opposing team's Hayden first

In both modes, Hayden has superior powers to those of the soldiers. Hayden will be able to become invisible and use the glaive, while the soldiers cannot.