Dark Sector Preview

You wanna see my arm up close?

 

So last time you heard about this game from us, it was pegged as a “Japanese Shooter”. Well, as it turns out, nothing could be further from the truth. But, hey, JP_Hurh was just working with what little information was available at the time.

Dark Sector is being developed by the Canada-based Digital Extremes, making it a little more American (well, North American, at least) than Japanese. Their name might sound familiar; these are the same guys that made Unreal, one of the best online frag-fests of all time. This time around they’ve got the all new Evolution Engine and some innovative ideas.

Not everything in the last preview was misconstrued. You are a secret agent who becomes infected with a virus that gives you a monster arm. That arm does have a three-sided boomerang blade, a Glaive, that pops out of it. And you will use the Glaive to kill things and solve puzzles. But that’s not all it will do. As the game progresses, you get upgrades such as the ability to control its direction of flight, a la Heavenly Sword. Guiding the blade underneath a bench and slicing off an enemy’s leg looks to be quite rewarding.

And just what kind of appendages will you be slicing off? A lot of the combat takes place between you and groups of enemies in haz-mat suits. Some come at you with riot shields and machetes, and most try to blast you away with semi-auto rifles.

There are also a good amount of virus-infected Zombies. And who doesn’t love Zombies? The ones I saw were in the early stages of the mutation. Apparently, they’ll take on all sorts of shapes and sizes by the end of the game. There’s one big monster you face in the second level that will knock your socks off.

This Klingon-esque Glaive is useful, but it won’t be your only arsenal for all of the bloody action that takes place. Throughout the game, you’ll be able to find upgrades for your guns or purchase them from the “Black Market”. If you’re a trigger-happy psycho you might go with extended clips. More of a “one bullet, one kill” guy? Stronger bullets will be more to your liking. There looks to be a healthy amount of customization in this department.

The game is very reminiscent of Gears of War in a lot of ways, with over-the-shoulder action and epic gunfights all set in a disheveled urban background with large monsters out to kick your ass. It all looks just as good as Gears too. Whether you’re taking in the scenery or chopping through commies with you blades, the game looks great.

So while Dark Sector does have that weapon-arm theme that Japan seems to love, this is definitely looking to be a more America-oriented game. Because if there’s one thing we love here in the good ol’ U.S. of A, it’s handing out the pwnage in a manner as violent and action-packed as we can get. Will Dark Sector be the next Gears? Only time will tell.