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Dark Sector

EMAIL PRINT ps3

8.2 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 47 critic reviews
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Based on 36 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: D3 Publisher of America

Developer: Ditigal Extremes

Genre(s): Third-Person Shooter, Action

Players: 10

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: March 25, 2008

Summary

An all-new and original action-thriller designed exclusively for next-generation consoles, Dark Sector thrusts players into the role of Hayden Tenno, an elite black-ops agent sent on a dangerous mission into a decaying Eastern European city that hides a deadly Cold War secret. Attacked by an unknown enemy, he awakens to find part of his body altered by an infection that has granted him inhuman abilities and he must learn to evolve along with his powers, to survive and to become a hero. A dark, gritty experience packed with fast action, incredible superpowers and an engaging story. [D3Publisher of America]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website Predict this Metascore

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Gamers' Temple

Dark Sector is by no means a fresh, original game. It copies from a lot of source material, from games to movies to, well… everything.

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Game Chronicles

You have the coolest weapon to date in the glaive. When you incorporate the music, graphics, and game play style it is really hard not to get into this game and want to keep playing even if you can’t handle horror games, although I think of this game more as creepy than horror.

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Pelit (Finland)

A very good FPS:esque shoot 'em up. The enemies are interesting and the glaive even more so. The surroundings are a bit too monotonous, though. [Apr 2008]

Play.tm

The combat is enjoyable, particularly against the government soldiers, but the game would have definitely benefited immensely from a more solid melee mechanic and a bit more variety here and there. Then again some stylish and innovative ranged combat mechanics more than make up for this.

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Maxi Consolas (Portugal)

It’s the culmination of a very long development that presents itself as one of the first good surprises of the year. It doesn’t have the intention to innovate, especially when compared to Resident Evil 4, but its solid gameplay mechanics, alongside with some great visuals, make for a great experience. Especially for those who like visceral action. [Apr 2008]

Worth Playing

Dark Sector is a very good game; the off-world, strikingly science-fiction oriented FPS demonstrated years ago bears very little resemblance to what has been shrink-wrapped and shipped off to your local game retailers — and that's a very good thing.

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MEGamers

It is a fast and fun shooter with a weak story; but who needs a story when you can have tons of fun putting your glaive at work dismembering your enemies.

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PSX Extreme

Fans of "Metal Gear Solid" and "Resident Evil 4" should enjoy the game quite a bit, as should fans of the action genre, altogether.

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GameDaily

This action opus provides buckets of blood-spilling entertainment, especially once you utilize the raw power of the Glaive weapon.

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ZTGameDomain

It would have scored 9+ easy with a fleshed out story and engaging multi-player, but as it stands you get a truly visceral and enjoyable single-player action romp that will satisfy any fan of the genre.

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AceGamez

Dark Sector may not be original and it may not have a great story, but if you are looking for a solid action game to spend a dozen or so hours with then you can't go too far wrong.

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VideoGamer

It's not going to set the world alight like Gears of War and it doesn't revolutionise survival horror like Resident Evil 4, but its thrilling combat and sensational visuals make it well worth adding to your collection.

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Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

Although it's extremely linear, occasionally irritating, and lacks the crap-your-pants scariness that its eerie environments and grotesque enemies suggest, Dark Sector is still an enjoyably intense shooter with a lot of unique twists. [May 2008, p.70]

PTGamers

Dark sector is a good action game, mainly thanks to the entertaining Glaive. However, it has its flaws, especially the close combat, short lifespan and weak online mode.

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Gamer 2.0

On the whole, while a few elements of combat fall short, a decent story coupled with consistently delivered “Wow!” moments make Dark Sector enjoyable.

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Extreme Gamer

Digital Extremes has set out to create an original 3rd-person, action-shooter powered by next-gen hardware, and in that respect team from London, Onatario has done an incredible job.

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IGN

When the really similar levels and waves of opponents get too repetitive towards the end of the game, Dark Sector's weak storyline might not be enough to carry the more fickle fan to the finish line...It's fun, but it's not perfect.

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PSM3 Magazine UK

This is a stunning technical achievement, a dark horse, a must-rent and almost a must buy, but it lacks the variety, pacing or innovation to make it truly essential. [Apr 2008, p.18]

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GameSpot

Dark Sector lacks the compelling storyline that it alludes to early on, but offers plenty of enjoyable combat nonetheless.

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Game Informer

The glaive is something that every action nut has to wrap his or her hands around. Like the BFG or the cerebral bore, you’ll remember this weapon forever. Sadly, you’ll remember the weapon more than the game itself.

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1UP

So it's not for multiplayer fans or story fans or innovation fans, but Dark Sector is certainly a good game. When it all comes together and you're ducking in and out of cover while shooting and throwing the Glaive at groups of enemies, it's a lot of fun, and the visual spark and A.I./pacing/combat polish make it worth playing.

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Kombo

Dark Sector is a great experience and worth a playthrough, but perhaps the largest issue with Dark Sector lies in that much of it is all too similar to what has come before it.

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GameZone

It’s a fun thrill ride that plays up the action well and throws you head first into some truly spectacular moments. Then again, weak boss battles and repetitive gameplay simply hold back what could have been an unforgettable action gem.

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GamerNode

If Dark Sector were a student, he'd be expelled for plagiarism. Thankfully, the Glaive more than makes up for the rampant copying of mechanics and ideas.

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Gaming Age

While it sure isn't a AAA game, it's hard to fault Dark Sector for anything past the seriously broken melee attack.

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GamingExcellence

Overall Dark Sector is a good investment if you’re just looking for some good mostly mindless fun.

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DailyGame

So much effort went into replicating the glaive's flight and awe-inspiring kills that every other aspect of Dark Sector took a noticeable hit in quality and polish, save for the visuals. Remove the glaive, and this game's appeal drops below mediocrity into a rinse-and-repeat nightmare.

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Cheat Code Central

Dark Sector can best be described as a game born out of a formula. To create this game, you will need 2 parts Gears of War, 1 part Resident Evil, and a dash of X-Men. It is totally easy to rip this game to shreds based on this description. But as you play this game, something unexpected happens: you find yourself having an amazing amount of fun.

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GameTrailers

Dark Sector goes for gore and glory, but does better spattering blood than it does applying polish. Despite a number of original elements and a fairly solid gameplay core, the game isn’t able to add substantially to the formula and mechanics it’s borrowed from other games in the genre.

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The New York Times

Outside of the glaive, the game boasts little that feels original, although Hayden’s sprinting ability is intentionally difficult to control, which adds makes the simple act of running more challenging.

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Electronic Gaming Monthly

The first few levels drag a bit, but by the time you hold your full suite of special abilities, the combat really clicks. [May 2008, p.80]

Play Magazine

Shooter fans may not respect it, but they will enjoy it. [May 2008, p.54]

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

Worth weathering the doldrums for the good bits, but don't rush through or you'll miss them. [May 2008, p.103]

Gamer.nl

The game has some nice action, original weapons and funny endbosses. The game isn't very original though, and it's more of the same. So if you are bored to death and have some money left, then Dark Sector could be a nice solution. But don't expect an earthquake in this genre.

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GameTap

Dark Sector is bipolar rollercoaster ride that tops out at gorgeous, innovative, and striking (glaive, visuals, virus powers) and bottoms out at a bland, unoriginal, and buggy (gunplay, storyline, melee attacks). The extremes are both high and low, but at least Digital Extremes has a solid base moving forward to the inevitable sequel.

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GameSpy

Dark Sector is a good game that has some great hooks, such as the wonderful glaive and a powerful shotgun. It's unfortunate that other elements, such as unpolished combat and some very generic NPCs, undermine its ambition (though they don't render the game unplayable).

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Wired

It does exactly what a game is supposed to: It entertains throughout its duration, it flexes the muscle of both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and above all it squeezes your testosterone gland just enough to make the gaming experience enjoyable.

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Game Over Online

You might get three days of amusement out of it instead of only two. Wouldn’t that be something? Not too shabby for game built around a prop from a twenty five year old movie that nobody’s ever heard of. Not bad at all.

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Playstation Official Magazine UK

It does, on occasion, achieve brilliance. [May 2008, p.110]

Gameplayer

It’s one of those out-of-nowhere games that really does get cooler and cooler the more you play it. It’s so much fun in fact, that if you told us to pick a fun activity for the afternoon and our only choices were between: chucking a Dark Sector disc into the PS3 for a play, or chucking a metal Frisbee at our annoying neighbour’s greenhouse – we’d almost certainly choose both.

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Gameplanet

Dark Sector just has so much unfulfilled potential. The ideas are there, they just aren’t executed well.

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Play UK

Dark Sector is plagued not only with mechanical issues but user-unfriendliness. Some exciting battles, atmospheric lighting and mere intrigue for the Glaive can't nearly make up for that, but that's all it has. [Issue#165, p.84]

GameShark

It's initially quite good, until the horrible story and unnecessary puzzles drag it down.

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DarkZero

The Glaive works well and is rather satisfying to use but this is offset by the old school use of ammo crates and parts of levels being sealing off, making it as linear as they come.

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Giant Bomb

Between the dreary action, the sluggish movement speed, and the seemingly tacked-on multiplayer, you’ll probably want to pass on the whole thing.

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G4 TV

The game isn’t fun at all (including the pathetically limited multiplayer options which aren’t worth going into)...It’s just frustrating that Dark Sector, with all the trappings of a good game, could squander nearly every single one of them with bad level design, poor logic, repetitive combat, and no attention to what made its inspiration so…inspiring.

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Game Revolution

Every aspect of this game is horribly average, derivative, unpolished, or worse. Half-assed, floaty, imprecise character movement. Half-assed melee combat. Half-assed cover mechanic. Half-assed weapon upgrade system. Half-assed sound design and mixing. Quarter-assed story. No-assed AI.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 36 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Caleb Monday gave it an8:
I just bought this game and I know it late but the price was worth it. The graphics and gameplay are great the only thing I have to complain about is the story. I understand whats going on it's just not to captivating or interesting like DMC 4 or GTA 4. The glaive is what makes the game. If it wasn't for that the game would more than likely suck. Must-buy especially since the price is so cheap.

Enoch C gave it a9:
I really don't see why everyone calls this game 'overly mediocre' or 'ripoff of others'. It has similar elements, but the glaive and art style completely makes it unique - i don't know of any other game that was 75% Russian enemies w/ zombies, and all killlable with a guy in a bio-metal suit with a huge weapon called a glaive. This is underrated severely, and needs more respect. It's a fun game, and definitely, GO BY THE USER COMMENTS. They know more than the critics do, they own/play more often than them and can appreciate it more.

Michael S gave it a7:
At first I was shocked at how unapolagetically the game ripped off Resident Evil 4, and how oafishly it played. But then I started to use the glaive, and had a hell of a good time. But when the glaive wore it's welcome, I was left with I game I didn't really feel motivated to play through too the end. Worth a rental... and not much else.

Jeff A. gave it a9:
This is one of those games that was announced a long time ago and just suddenly appeared on the shelves without much fanfare. If ever a game was a sleeper hit, Dark Sector is it. The Glaive alone is worth the price of admission.

Thomas R. gave it a7:
Dark Sector is one of those games you're not really sure you like or dislike. In my own personal opinion, I find killing enemies with a glaive rather tiresome, and also the fact that you can't only hold a weapon that isn't your default pistol for any more than 10 seconds. I found the game to be rather repetitive, and the boss fights not as good as i'd thought they'd be. The game is fairly easy considering Hayden heals so fast. With my own personal experience with Dark Sector I found ammo hard to come across and almost always had to use my glaive on numerous enemies at once. When all is said and done though, the game is much better than the majority of games, and is worth at least a rent.

Bobby S. gave it a1:
Oh no! nothing new Copyed game plays badly with gliches so I had to give it back.

Erika P. gave it a10:
I'm giving this game a 10. It looks great. The story is awsome. It doesn't feel fresh, however it borrowed ideas from only great games and came out with the great blend that is Dark Sector. Must give it a try. You'll regret you didn't, it's a sleeper hit. I hope a sequel is on it's way.

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Dark Sector

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