Back in 2004, Digital Extremes – most well known for their partnership with Epic on the highly successful Unreal series – parted ways with Mark Rein and team  to begin work an Epic of their own making, Dark Sector. A little stop on the way to deliver the sci-fi shooter Pariah left us with only a glimmer of the future in the form of an early trailer of a tech demo revealing a futuristic setting and, at its center, a mysterious warrior donned in sleek, hi-tech armor.  The trailer captured the imagination of the press with its slick visuals and its boast of being the first next-gen title to be announced. 

Since that release the developers, and their investors no doubt, decided to shift the game back in time to a modern day setting in order to accomplish two things: show off the next gen capability to mimic reality with its graphic muscle, help the central protagonist, and his still intact futuristic skin, to stand out in his otherwise mundane surroundings. The result has left many fans of the original vision a bit disappointed, and brought to life a game that seems at times disjointed, but then – that is the central component to the story of Dark Sector; a man not quite at home in his own skin.

Origins

“If you pay attention to any of this bullshit...”, says Steve Sinclair – Game Director, Digital Extremes – as he lovingly refers to the story behind Dark Sector, you play the game as Hayden Tenno a CIA clean-up man tasked with chasing down a rogue agent in a dangerous Eastern European clime where the Russians have uncovered a deadly cold war secret, a Pandora’s Box that has unleashed something evil. And in its wake an infection that has altered or killed anything in its path, including Hayden himself. But before he can worry about dying – he’ll need to stay alive.  “The concept was originally, Jack Bauer (24) goes to Russia and becomes Wolverine”, explains Josh Austin, Producer D3P.  “There’s a little bit of the Bourne (Bourne Identity) character in there too, [Hayden’s] a bit of a tortured soul”, adds Steve.

“The beast has many weapons” – Krull

And this tortured soul, through his exposure to the Russian discovery, has gained a new tool in exchange for his good looks; a glaive - the linchpin for Dark Sector’s combat mechanic.
The glaive is a unique ranged weapon that operates much like a bladed boomerang.  In its most simplest form it can be thrown to cause damage to enemies within 30m, and will return to cause more damage to anything remaining in its path. 

As the game progresses so do the powers of the imbued upon the glaive.  First acquiring stronger throws capable of carving a man in half – to later upgrades that allow him to instantly freeze his targets.  There’s nothing quite like freezing an opponent mid-leap and then watching him tumble and shatter on his way down the stairs ala the final scene of Terminator 2.

This process of change is visually communicated through Hayden’s form as his right arm is slowly consumed by the infection, little by little, revealing the armor-like skin hinted at in the initial Dark Sector tech demo.  The game designers have also tied this cycle into the games shifting color palette with opening sequences being rendered in black and white while later tones take on an increasingly vibrant contrast allowing the player to experience Hayden’s shift through the game’s visual style.

A Delicate Balance

As Hayden struggles with his metamorphosis so have the developers struggled to balance the game’s mechanics in order to avoid breaking the game and sapping its core pillar – the glaive gameplay – of its importance.  “We had people who were sniping with the glaive, so we needed to shorten its range”, explains Josh.  But this left the glaive as a somewhat limited, near-field weapon and the player empty-handed when the glaive is in motion.  So the team added a welcome dual-wield mechanic, “this allows you to pull off some nice combinations; hit your mark with the glaive and then cap him with the pistol”, explains Steve.

But, while this was rewarding, the team worried about the player relying too heavily on acquired weaponry so they placed a time limit on pick-ups, tied into the fiction by explaining that they are genetically coded to the user, essentially training the player to avoid dependency on any one weapon – and creating a ‘try before you buy’ system that tied into the next game mechanic – the Black Market.

The team knew they wanted to have a Black Market wherein which Hayden could purchase available weaponry, without a time limit, creating a need for the player to manage their limited resources in order to survive.  The concept brings to mind an enclave of resistance fighters whom we’ll discover hidden in dimly lit back alleys throughout our exploration.  The reality is the Black Market is currently represented by glowing sewer caps found throughout your travels which tend to break the fantasy.  I felt more as though I was purchasing arms from Oskar the Grouch than a black market resistance group.

Going to Extremes

This struggle with balance seems to bleed into the game’s overarching design concepts. At times there are hints of Half-Life 2, story tones invoking the best of Metal Gear and a palette and architecture that call to mind Gears of War. “Both Cliff and I played through Resident Evil 4 around the same time and that definitely had an impact on our next titles look and feel”, describes Steve of the two teams similar design approach. While all great models to mimic, the trick will come in making this blend of aesthetics feel cohesive.  All of this will depend much on the story of which little has been revealed to date. 

I recently had a chance to see some of the opening levels on the X360, with some additional later content demoed on the PS3.  Surprisingly, given the rash of recent PS3 ports sporting less than stellar visuals compared to its X360 counter-part, both looked great. Though, it bears noting this did not happen, “… without a lot of blood, sweat, and tears,” admits Steve. “It’s been a very difficult process…”

Overall I remain intrigued by Dark Sector.  The game, even at this stage, with its tortured main character and wicked glaive mechanic hint at what could well be a unique play experience. It’s often difficult to get a real sense of the games emotional impact in bits and pieces of level demos, with unfinished code and live bugs – but there is, without a doubt, potential within Dark Sector.  These remaining months of fit and finish will be critical to tying together the game into a cohesive, compelling adventure; one which I look forward to with anticipation.