| 90 |
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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| 90 |
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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| 85 |
Ferrago
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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| 85 |
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]
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| 83 |
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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| 81 |
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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| 80 |
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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| 80 |
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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| 80 |
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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| 80 |
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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| 80 |
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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| 80 |
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]
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| 80 |
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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| 79 |
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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| 77 |
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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| 77 |
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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| 76 |
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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| 75 |
GameSpot
Dark Sector lacks the compelling storyline that it alludes to early on, but offers plenty of enjoyable combat nonetheless.
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| 75 |
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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| 75 |
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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| 75 |
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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| 75 |
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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| 75 |
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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| 75 |
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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| 74 |
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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| 74 |
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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| 73 |
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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| 72 |
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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| 72 |
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]
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| 70 |
Play Magazine
Shooter fans may not respect it, but they will enjoy it. [May 2008, p.54]
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| 70 |
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]
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| 70 |
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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| 70 |
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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| 70 |
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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| 70 |
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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| 70 |
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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| 70 |
Playstation Official Magazine UK
It does, on occasion, achieve brilliance. [May 2008, p.110]
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| 65 |
Gameplanet
Dark Sector just has so much unfulfilled potential. The ideas are there, they just aren’t executed well.
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| 62 |
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]
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| 58 |
GameShark
It's initially quite good, until the horrible story and unnecessary puzzles drag it down.
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| 50 |
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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| 40 |
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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| 40 |
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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| 33 |
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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