Disappointing

[MulliganMullet]

http://xbox360.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/16/3636036.html


That`s the LINK to my X-BOX360 blogsite and the REVIEW for what I honestly thought of DARK SECTOR.

I`ll give you jist of things and i`m NOT holding anything back. Needless to say, I am not a fan nor will I ever be of this game. I`m NOT going to sugarcoat it for you, nor am I going to lie to you - I was NOT that impressed by the game! DARK SECTOR is among a huge list of NEXT GENERATION games, and a pretty huge list in a genre already swamped with half DECENT 3rd person shooters, this ranks at the bottom of that list.

DEVIL MAY CRY
GEARS OF WAR
METAL GEAR SOLID
ONIMUSHA


The trouble with DARK SECTOR is that it felt rushed. How long did you guys take to develop this game anyway??? I heard that it look 4 years to complete!?! Is that true, because that`s what I read somewhere!!!


* The gameplay was TIRESOME - 10 levels of throwing a GLAIVE??? I got bored after the first 2 levels and how come by the 5th or so level, were we back where we ALMOST began? I got the distinct feeling that I went round in an oh-so pointless circle!!!

* There AREN`T enough soldiers / mutants or BOSS BATTLES - while i`m on the subject of BOSS BATTLES, can someone please tell me why after trudging through the entire game was I pitted against a SNES-esque final boss??? Because when I sat there `playing` it, I thought for a second that I was playing CONTRA 3 (by mistake) all over again when I faced him!!!

* The graphics looked a little dated compared to more recent games that have appeared (GEARS OF WAR - perhaps???)

* The difficulty setting - BRUTAL it wasn`t!!! Kindergarden easy it was, I breezed through BRUTAL in no time at all - there was hardly any challenges to overcome, except the FLAWS and GLITCHES of the game!!!



I have played far BETTER games than this in my gaming life and with all the ideas that must have been thrown about when developing this game, why didn`t you consider the likes of DEVIL MAY CRY / ONIMUSHA - two examples of how this genre is done - the GLAIVE could have been put to far better use in terms of weaponary. It could have transformed into a variety of weapons and the use of the ELEMENTS could have upgraded those weapons. Also, you should have used the ELEMENTS to boost the normal weapons in the game - a la GHOST RIDER (the movie).



I was expecting something half DECENT or maybe something that was half enjoyable. Unfortunately for DARK SECTOR - this wasn`t it!!!



The idea might have looked good on paper, sadly that translation was lost somewhere along the line. I could go on about the FAILINGS and disappointments of having endured wasting 6 hours of my life (NORMAL & BRUTAL settings), but you can read about that in my blog!!!

[DE_PrickleyPete]

You took the time to play our game, so I took the time to read your review.

I would first like to remind you of one of our forum rules, particularly the one that says that constructive criticism is welcome, whereas tireless rants are not.

Can you qualify any of your observations? What did you like about Dark Sector? Shouldn't an informative review provide the good with the bad?

Its obvious to me and your readers that you lack the maturity and tact necessary to become an authoritative voice among your peers. Examples of your lack of sense of what to say or do to avoid giving offense dominates a shallow analysis that does little more than offer a shopping list of "things you hate about Dark Sector because its not <insert game here>".

Comments like:

"Yes you heard me right, it`s taken the developers DIGITAL EXTREME which uses an "all-new game engine that really lets us push the envelope in terms of visuals and gameplay" (their words NOT mine) to develop this pile of CRAP!!! 4 years is unbelievable for something that is this BAD!!!"

and

"IF I was there, I probably could of turned out a half decent game myself, BUT then again - who couldn`t!!!"

These are bold and dangerous statements if you consider the 70-odd people that spent over 4 years putting their heart and soul into a product we hoped people could have some fun with.

[otakufreak907]

" The graphics looked a little dated compared to more recent games that have appeared (GEARS OF WAR - perhaps???)
"

In my eyes this game had some of the best console graphics to date, they were far superior to GoW's in my opinion.

" There are 3 main BOSSES to contend with toward the end the game"

*Spoilers* There are actually 4, Colossus, Stalker, Nemesis and Mezner. *End Spoilers*

"How come when you go to steal them they only last for a few seconds before being ditched?"

They say in the game that military weapons have governors on them that make them useless if an infected picks it up, it just takes the fail-safe a few seconds to kick in. Probably because if an infected tries to grab a soldiers gun they want to make sure the soldiers weapon doesn't become useless immediately so if there are more infected around he can still defend himself.

There is quite a bit more that I could go into, but there is little reason to. And yes, I did indeed think this game was 'fantastic'.

[pdugan]

Mods feel free to delete my post if I'm not playing by the rules, but I feel I need to respond here.

Wayne, let's ignore the fact that you've come to a developer's forum in an attempt to plug your blog by bashing the game they just came out with.

What do you do for a living? Do you make games? What have you contributed to the field?

Let me respond to your criticisms:

Tiresome gameplay: You were bored after the first two levels,... why did you play the rest of the game?
Lack of soldier and bosses: You criticize the game for having too few bosses (implying you like bosses in games), and then say you don't like the final boss. I'm confused, do you like bosses in games, or you just don't like the bosses in Dark Sector?
Graphics: While I understand the Gears of War comparison, Gears came out two years ago, and I personally think Dark Sector looks as good, if not better than Gears, but that could just be me.
Haven't played on Brutal yet,... no comment.
I think the reason DE didn't follow DEVIL MAY CRY / ONIMUSHA is because they were trying to set the game apart from the other games out there. I feel that you wanted this game to be the next Devil May Cry or Onimusha, and from that perspective, I can understand your disappointment. However, as an amateur game reviewer, I would try to have more of an open mind.
If you're angry that you wasted (your words not mine) 6 hours of your life playing a video game, maybe you shouldn't be reviewing them.

[Techercizer]

Personally I loved this game. My only issue is that there are a few (possibly lag related) glitches in multiplayer, and that another mode or two would really spice things up. I loved the upgrade system and the Glaive, and the only other slightly annoying thing in the game is (again in multiplayer) how people can just roll behind you and preform a finisher even though they haven't surprised you. I think Dark Sector is an Awesome game and I hope D.E. makes it into a series!!

[badmonk]

gotta say DS is one of the best and most fun titles i have played!!
its kinda like if RE4, zelda and gears of war walked into a bar and had a love child, then called it dark sector :)

def one of the best looking and playing titles out there imho! hey i completed this in about a week so thats saying something as it just made me keep wanting to go back to it!!

visuals are some of the best i have seen on current gen consoles and the 'zelda'ish glaive is fantastic!!

my only gripe if you can call it that, is that i would have liked to have seen more melee moves, & a few more finishers :) apart from that, LOVE IT!! :D

[Atwa]

Im loving the game.. Well the singleplayer part, ATM the online is kind of broken and frustrating but theres nothing that says it cant be fixed. If an update with some tweaks / fixes to the current multiplayer modes and maybe a new or two modes (and maybe increase achievements to 1250? :D)

[BloodStainedVendetta]

First, when did Devil May Cry and Onimusha become 3rd person shooters?

Second, if you wanted to seem more professional and "pimp" your website, then you should try writing in a more professional manner and stop ranting. No one wants to hear whining. I don't mind if you express your thoughts in a more mature manner, but you didn't.

Third, did you know you can use guns? The shotgun is a complete blast. 10 levels of using the Glaive? Hmmm, there's more weapons, bud. Maybe explore the game more?:rolleyes: Anyways, I loved using the Glaive. It was a complete blast throughout the entire game.

Fourth, what are you talking about? Not enough soldiers, mutants, or boss battles? There was quite a lot of variety in enemies. Much more than most other games offer. Also, you complain about boss fights, yet Gears of War, Lost Planet, and a bunch of other games have the same style of boss fights. You must hate a lot of good games. Open up your mind, bud.

Fifth, the graphics look dated compared to Gears of War? Are you serious? No, just no. Either you need glasses OR you need a new television. I have a 57" 1080p Samsung LCD. Dark Sector is a beauty on it. Gears of War had texture pop-in, where Dark Sector does not. Dark Sector also has better lighting, character models, and textures. It also seems to run at a more consistent framerate. The Evolution Engine is truly a beauty to behold.

Sixth, you're saying that Devil May Cry and Onimusha is how the 3rd person shooter genre is done....:confused: Neither of those games are 3rd person shooters. They're action/adventure games. Please educate yourself. Both of those games are mediocre, btw. Devil May Cry 4 was a disaster. You had to backtrack across the same boring levels and fight the same bosses 3 times. Absolutely lazy on Capcom's part. I'm amazed you can encourage such lazy work on the developer's part.

The only disappointment for me was that Digital Extreme's didn't flesh out the story and characters more. I really hope they get to do a sequel, because Dark Sector could be a great franchise, but they really need to look into the character development and plot more. This is its only "minus" in my book. The gameplay is there, it's fun and addicting.

Good day!:rolleyes:

[Gettoharcos]

Fors start I liked the game. It was good to play with something that visually differes from the plenty games using Unreal Engine and still looks beautiful in every way. On the gameplay there was only 1 thing I didn't like, that is: why wasn't the glaive more powerful in meele? I mean you can do those cool finishing moves but you have to hit them plenty times to be able to finish them. Some combos ending with these finisher would have looked good.
Thats it from me :).

[supraswiss]

I'm not going to get particular or anything :). I liked the game. I would give it an 8 out of 10. Good playablity, The no HUD, Awesome, A touch of realism. All an All it was a good game. I will go buy it, But " theres always a But". I really,REALLY, had my heart so set on seen DarkSector the way i saw it in 2005. I was at IGN.com and i seen the 2 videos "1 with alittle gameplay and the other was the full original trailer". I would have spent $120.00 on that game. Im still willing to do so. Will there be a sequal, and if so will it be the original version. I dont want to whine or complain. This game was awesome, Best 3rd person shooter ever. keep up the good work and hope to seen DarkSector the way it was suppoed to be

[Matt 82]

I haven`t even finished the game but as I`m nearing the end I can say that I`ve thoroughly enjoyed Dark Sector. It`s not faultless but no game is.

If there ever was to be a sequel I would like:

-More story! I liked the Dark Sector universe and simply want to hear more about it.
-More open play. Maybe not to GTA levels but I`d love to be able to take Hayden around a city without boxes or small fences blocking my way.
-Combos. I don`t mean Killer Istinct style 64-hit-combos, but a 3 button melee attack or something might`ve been good. Also the attack in this game is pretty weak. I can whack away at a bad guy for ages before he drops. Doesn`t quite fit with this super powered special ops character.
-Stronger Glaive. I LOVED the glaive. Really did make the game for me. Though it passing clean through human soldiers without killing them looked silly at times. It should maul them whether it`s a strong throw or not. Same with weapons. Assault rifles don`t take alot of shots to put someone down. They take one. Other games do this alot as well but I prefer it CoD4 style where you drop them quickly if you`re good.

Other things that were great:
-The time limits on weapons. I loved pulling a gun with the glaive, firing off a few shots then swapping it out for a new one. It was cool!
-Graphics. Moody and perfectly suited for the game.
-General design. The Nemesis was just bad ass. As was Hayden. As were the bosses. Hats off gentlemen.

[UTWarden]

I dunno about you guys but dark Sector was Fun, the Graphics looked just fine, yes there was flaws but there isn't a PERFECT game out there. Again this was FUN.

[Krudd the Barbarian]

http://xbox360.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/16/3636036.html


That`s the LINK to my X-BOX360 blogsite and the REVIEW for what I honestly thought of DARK SECTOR.

I`ll give you jist of things and i`m NOT holding anything back. Needless to say, I am not a fan nor will I ever be of this game. I`m NOT going to sugarcoat it for you, nor am I going to lie to you - I was NOT that impressed by the game! DARK SECTOR is among a huge list of NEXT GENERATION games, and a pretty huge list in a genre already swamped with half DECENT 3rd person shooters, this ranks at the bottom of that list.

DEVIL MAY CRY
GEARS OF WAR
METAL GEAR SOLID
ONIMUSHA


The trouble with DARK SECTOR is that it felt rushed. How long did you guys take to develop this game anyway??? I heard that it look 4 years to complete!?! Is that true, because that`s what I read somewhere!!!


* The gameplay was TIRESOME - 10 levels of throwing a GLAIVE??? I got bored after the first 2 levels and how come by the 5th or so level, were we back where we ALMOST began? I got the distinct feeling that I went round in an oh-so pointless circle!!!

* There AREN`T enough soldiers / mutants or BOSS BATTLES - while i`m on the subject of BOSS BATTLES, can someone please tell me why after trudging through the entire game was I pitted against a SNES-esque final boss??? Because when I sat there `playing` it, I thought for a second that I was playing CONTRA 3 (by mistake) all over again when I faced him!!!

* The graphics looked a little dated compared to more recent games that have appeared (GEARS OF WAR - perhaps???)

* The difficulty setting - BRUTAL it wasn`t!!! Kindergarden easy it was, I breezed through BRUTAL in no time at all - there was hardly any challenges to overcome, except the FLAWS and GLITCHES of the game!!!



I have played far BETTER games than this in my gaming life and with all the ideas that must have been thrown about when developing this game, why didn`t you consider the likes of DEVIL MAY CRY / ONIMUSHA - two examples of how this genre is done - the GLAIVE could have been put to far better use in terms of weaponary. It could have transformed into a variety of weapons and the use of the ELEMENTS could have upgraded those weapons. Also, you should have used the ELEMENTS to boost the normal weapons in the game - a la GHOST RIDER (the movie).



I was expecting something half DECENT or maybe something that was half enjoyable. Unfortunately for DARK SECTOR - this wasn`t it!!!



The idea might have looked good on paper, sadly that translation was lost somewhere along the line. I could go on about the FAILINGS and disappointments of having endured wasting 6 hours of my life (NORMAL & BRUTAL settings), but you can read about that in my blog!!!

Like DE said, you must tell the good from bad in a game. I've been told that I have some great writing skills, and although I'm not a reviewer yet, I can already tell you that you put no effort into writing this so-called "review". You are welcome to open critisism, but if you really hated the game, here is a healthy tip, don't play it if it sucked. Dark Sector is good, I've never played it but I've seen it enough times to say it is very well done. Devil May Cry is my favourite series, Dark Sector is not like any other game. Which is good because, like Gears, God of War, Devil May Cry, Left 4 Dead, Dead Space, etc, they're all unique. Making Dark Sector like, say, Devil May Cry, it'll have sh!t reviews, a score of about 40% because it wouldn't be very original. Making a different game like another game made by a different company is Copyright infringement. Also it is called "cloning". If seriously didn't like the game, then just say "I didn't like this game" full stop! What did you find good about this game? What? I can tell a lot of good things, I love games where you chop people up, I love violent games. The bad thing is about this game is the lack of variation, I'll agree. But, the gameplay makes up for it. A hint of realism by removing the HUD is genius. HUDs can be rather distracting because you always have to keep an eye on them. That's what I think. Read some reviews on Gamespot or something(and I mean LOTS!!!) then write another review and this time, do it properly!

[Tokae]

Hey All,

I was just reading over the comments etc regarding the game. I am currently only on the the 8th chapter but I think I can still share some constructive criticism. I looked forward to playing this game when it was released but I did not have the chance at the time to own it so I had to wait until now.

Graphics - I think they are on par with current games and they actually are better than most out there. I seriously think they did an excellent job with them. The lighting and reflective techniques used in the environment totally set up the mood for the storyline.

Storyline - The story (so far!) is good! I think they have nailed the story perfectly. I like these type of single player games where the character is in some crazy old russian landscape where no one really knows what could be going on.. I think the guy in the sewers selling things is a different but it adds a bit of light humour to the game which helps to balance out the dark side of the story.

Playability - The controls for the game are good. In some instances I feel like I cannot manuever Hayden fast enough to engage in combat with an enemy. I do think that more than 1 button should have been used for melee combat though.

Sound - The sound effects and music are great! No issues there.

Level Layout - As described earlier on within this thread, I do feel like the game itself is somewhat repetitive. A lot of highly successful games incorporate some degree of problem solving within the level itself and Dark Sector tries to have some of that although not to the extent of some of the older classic hits like Halflife did. Like I said earlier though in graphics section I do think the appearance in each level is great though.

Last Thoughts - Overall I have enjoyed the game so far.. About the only other area that would could have used work was the actual presentation of the title itself.. Meaning the plain white 'dark Sector' that appears on the main menu and between levels looks very 'low tech' which for the game (from my sense) made the game feel cheaper overall. I think it was a step in the right direction by DE though and the Evoliution Engine seems like a powerful base to work with!

Back to the game -

Tokae

[Delta Sierra 561]

Wow...... you're comments are very un-thought out and idiotic. Since when have Devil May Cry and Onimusha been 3rd person cover based survival horror games? They aren't. You can't compare them in any way. How good would dark sector be if you ran around with a sword doing combo attacks and backtracking as a different character the whole last half of the game?! It would be terrible..... just like Devil May Cry 4 is.....Oh and Onimusha, I've never even heard of that game and i'm an avid gamer. It sounds like some japanese RPG game. And if you didn't like it by the time you got to level 2 then why in the heck would you beat it and then go again for a 2nd playthrough on brutal. Very un-thought out on your part.

[dariuskzoot]

Perhaps Mr. Mullet ...

that name says a lot, by the way ...


You "should" develop your own game!!!

Call it : THE DORK SECTOR


over ... and ... out ...


PS - this is coming from someone that absolutely loathed the game at first due to multiple crashes & glitches centered around the broken control system that came part & parcel with the Russian-only release on the PC ....

now, I regard it as one of the best games I have ever played. Period. and I play a lot of games ... a lot

DKZ