Hayden Tenno has seen better days. He's been ordered by his superiors to sneak behind enemy lines into the Eastern European city of Lasria, which stands on the brink of the next great Cold War. He's on the verge of completing a deadly assassination mission when a strange-looking enemy knocks him out. He awakens to find himself genetically altered by a shady madman. Now, with his newfound abilities, Hayden must find out the harrowing truth behind this strange foe – as well as his own alteration.

Dark Sector has come a long way since we last saw it back at E3 2007. Digital Extremes has since polished the game's graphic engine for a smooth thirty frames a second and put numerous effects to use. For instance, if an enemy throws a gas grenade at him, the screen temporary warps, giving off the sense that he's suffering from impaired vision. The levels themselves are huge, with numerous emptied buildings, ruins from a once-tranquil paradise, and several other locales to take on enemy soldiers. The game does occasionally stutter, but Digital still has a little time to do cleanup. The final game should look very cool.

The explosive Glaive in action.

Of course, looks aren't everything. Dark Sector needs a hook to keep gamers enticed, and The Glaive; a sharply bladed boomerang that works in conjunction with Hayden's metallic arm is just what the game needs. (If the weapon itself sounds familiar, think back to the cheesy sci-fi 1983 flick Krull.) It's a vastly effective weapon, able to decapitate and rip through limbs like a knife through butter. Watching enemies hobble around after running across the Glaive is one of the game's finer guilty pleasures. Dark Sector even utilizes a slo-mo camera system, so you can guide the Glaive killing action in real-time. You can also set it up as a grenade, triggering its explosion with a click of the analog button. You won't want to use its throwing ability much in crowded quarters, but it's awesome for taking out an enemy from afar.

Hayden is also able to use a number of weapons throughout the game. While throwing the Glaive, he can whip out a quick handgun and shoot at enemies before it returns to him. This "quick whip" gameplay is sharp, and makes him twice as lethal. He can also equip himself with numerous weapons from his enemies, just in case he runs low on ammunition. It's also worth noting that the game doesn't offer any kind of heads-up display. This makes keeping an eye on your health and ammunition more natural, although a little bit tricky when you've got a bunch of smart enemies coming at you from all sides. During one level, D3 Publisher showed off a large rampaging beast and it took a whole heap of bullets – and agility – to survive his wrath.

Dark Sector's single-player campaign provides several missions, complete with adjustable difficulty levels and several surprises. For those wanting something more, we went hands-on with a couple of multiplayer modes and found them to be surprisingly fun. The first has one player playing Hayden (the "infected") while the rest take on the roles of gun-toting soldiers assigned to hunt him down. The soldier that brings him down becomes "infected," taking the power of the Glaive into his own hands. The second is a more team-based effort, with a Glaive wielder working alongside two gun-toting soldiers to battle three similar enemies on a limited playfield. Again, whoever manages to kill the "infected" Glaive carrier becomes "infected" themselves. It's tricky, but hardly impossible. (Note: If you avoid incoming Glaive attacks and sneak up behind with a melee move, you stand a better chance.) Other modes will be available as well, but D3 is still pretty mum on those details.

Shocking!

Digital Extremes has done excellent work making Dark Sector into beating our expectations. The combination of Glaive throwing and gunplay is very fulfilling and the game looks better each time we see it. The multiplayer modes hold considerable value as well, especially with the promise of becoming "infected." We'll be back next month with a full review of the game. And, no, we won't make any Krull jokes, aside from the occasional insistence that one of our staffers looks like a Cyclops.

Related Links

Dark Sector Xbox 360 Game Guide

Dark Sector PlayStation 3 Game Guide

D3 Publisher