Dark Sector Member Review for the Xbox360

“I have this idea for a game. Remember that cool boomerang, ninja star thing from that goofy movie in the ‘80s?”

“What, like a Nerf boomerang?”

“Yeah, sort of. It had knives on the ends, and the guy could control it with his mind. I think it was called a ‘glaive’.”

“A ‘glaive’? Sounds like some sort of infectious disease.”

“Yeah, but we’ll have some dude use this glaive to fight off an infectious disease.”

“Wild. Here’s a few million for development. Throw something together, but make sure it plays and looks like that space marine game.”

“You mean Halo?”

“No, the other one, with the chainsaw gun.”

“Right. And speaking of chainsaws, how about we also make it like that other game with the chainsaws.”

“You mean Timber?”

“Uh, no. The one with the evil Spanish peasants.”

“Right. But let’s kill Eastern Europeans this time around. Our legal staff tells us it’s not PC to kill Spanish speakers anymore.”

And Dark Sector was born.

Admittedly, there’s a fine line between “homage” and “rip-off”, but trust me, if you’ve played Gears and RE4 and enjoyed each of them, you’ll see a lot of painfully familiar material in Dark Sector. Yes, the game industry is driven by its recycled material, too-similar sequels, and borrowed ideas. And if Dark Sector had taken parts of those games and created a better, different, or even fun game, I’d be the first to defend it against accusations of theft. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

Expect a game every bit as bland and generic as its title. Even after playing through the game