2K Games has tapped Unreal contributor Digital Extremes to create a multiplayer mode for BioShock 2 that is every bit as rich and detailed as the single player. Players take on the role of a plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions during the fall of Rapture, allowing them to experience yet another aspect of the underwater empire’s history as they progress through the multiplayer experience. Iconic locations like the Kashmir Restaurant and Mercury Suites are being reworked from the ground up in order to facilitate a fast-paced multiplayer experience.

Speaking of experience, players will gain experience as they play through the multiplayer portions of the game, earning them access to new plasmids and tonics. With hundreds of different combinations available, players will be able to develop their own particular play style, which should lead to some very interesting battles.

“The fans asked for a multiplayer experience and we answered,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “With Digital Extremes delivering a multiplayer experience for BioShock 2 that features all of the things that make BioShock unique, we’re holding ourselves to a high standard so that we can deliver the depth and variety that fans of the BioShock universe demand.”

It really sounds like 2K and Digital Extremes are working hard to ensure that the multiplayer in BioShock 2 is every bit as deep and enjoyable as the single player will be.

Oh, that’s right, it is a game.

As an aside, Digital Extremes gets an “author” credit in the database entry, thanks to its optimisation work.

BIOSHOCK Game (Playstation 3) [OFLC]

AFA has yet to announce a release date, but it’s fair to say we can expect Dark Sector to hit Australian shelves shortly.

Dark Sector Game (Multi Platform) [OFLC]

Sadly, it seems this information was more of a plan rather than solid confirmation, as we were led to believe. Digital Extremes, the developer of the game, got back to us recently with this:

We were aware of the Australian banning, it got quite a few headlines over [in the US]. We did make an altered version of Dark Sector for Japan which could easily be updated for Australia but D3 hasn’t requested that we do it yet.

AFA Interactive, the local distributor, gave me a call to clarify that the matter is entirely in the hands of D3 and, while it has been working hard with the publisher to bring the game out here, nothing has come of it yet.

Digital Extremes says it doesn’t want us to miss out on the game but as far as it knows “it’s not going to happen”. Australian retailers: 0, overseas stores: 1.

AFA today got back to us with the following information.According to the distributor, it’s waiting for D3 to send out a new version of the game, based on the Japanese build. AFA says this build features “no decapitation and has toned down the limb severing on humans (only)”. It believes this should meet the requirements for an MA15+ rating from the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

AFA was unable to provide a timeline for an Australian release, but I imagine it won’t be long after it gets its hands on the modified build. If you’re particularly keen for the glaive-based fun of the title, it might be worth smashing the Refresh button on the OFLC’s ratings database until it springs up, minus the RC.

Digital Extreme probably had a no-brainer hit when the decided to let people lop off body parts with a deadly Frisbee, but in their pursuit for something more they may have missed the mark this time around.

Loved
The Glaive: As if lopping off enemies’ legs and arms with a flying three-bladed disc weren’t fun enough, Dark Sector lets you slow down time and guide it along it’s path with the PS3’s tilt controls. (Which works amazingly well) You can also absorb electricity, fire and ice with it, allowing you to do things like freeze over lakes you have to cross or turn waterfalls into bullet-deflecting cover.
Gruesome Finishing Moves: Call me a fan of action violence, but I love being able to weaken a creature or enemy and then walk up and sink my glaive through its arm, or cut out its intestines and lop off their head in one move.
Puzzling Boss Battles: The boss battles, and there are a lot of them, almost all require as much thinking as it does shooting and throwing. The final fight in the game is particularly brutal.
Weapon System: It’s not all about the glaive in Dark Sector. You can also upgrade your weapons through a black market, a requirement because the ones you find on the street tend to explode after a few minutes use.

Hated
Delayed Abilities: While it’s a rather lengthy game, it takes far too long to give you the abilities that make playing it actually fun. Typically that isn’t a problem, but the game has so little else to offer that, sans your evolving powers, Dark Sector feels like a generic, rather bad shooter.
Weak Glaive: Lets face it, none of use are going to buy this game to shoot people. Dark Sector is all about the amputation and designing it so that you can’t lop off a limb without several hits is just plain stupid.
Shallow Plot, Bad Dialog: Wow, just wow. The plot is an amalgam of every old sci-fi and military movie. You’ve got your scorned lover, your grumpy old Russian scientist, your patriot-loving general. Thank god they let you skip each and every cut-scene… immediately.
Trite Character Design: The look of some of the main characters go hand-in-hand with that hackneyed plot, but the one I can’t figure is lead Hayden Tenno. Since when do Emo kids go black-ops when they grow up?
Bugs: While the technical glitches aren’t as pronounced later in the game, early on they can be quite distracting and it never shakes the occasional chugging.

When I first checked out early code of Dark Sector I hated it. When I started playing it I hated it. In fact, there were times when I was playing through it that I honestly considered just stopping and moving on. But something kept me coming back for more. Most likely the glaive and the impressive ways you can use it to, at times, literally shape a level. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really shake out its kinks until nearly half-way through and the elements of the game that are truly unique and impressive tend to get lost in a glut of generic gunplay.

Next time, more Jackal and Aftertouch and less running and gunning.

Dark Sector was developed by Digital Extremes, published by D3 Publisher of America and released on March 25 on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Retails for $US59.99. Campaign played to completion, online modes sampled on PS3.

Editor’s note: This game was refused classification in Australia. We’re waiting to hear back from the publisher, distributor and developer on whether an altered version is in the works.

I was not very impressed with Dark Sector when I briefly checked it out at the Tokyo Game Show earlier this year. This video almost makes me want to give it a second chance… almost.

Ignoring the fact that I had to flip the Dark Sector art for symmetry, if someone told me the same art director had been behind both pieces, I’d probably believe them.

What do you reckon?

Dark Sector, being developed by Digital Extremes, was one of the first … next-generation titles to use the Unreal Engine 3 many years ago, and the first next to Unreal Tournament 3 to make use of the UE3 on PlayStation 3.

Sorry, no. Dark Sector runs on a proprietary engine. That’s straight from DE’s Meridith Braun, who I had the pleasure of speaking to at length when she showed off a video of the game during a promo event for Pariah. Peter Silver from D3Publisher also confirmed this fact again yesterday.

I can understand how you might confuse it with Unreal Engine 3, especially when you consider DE’s close ties with Epic, but it’s definitely the company’s own hard work. I suppose DE could take GamingSA’s comment as a compliment.

EGAMES EXPO – Dark Sector demonstration [GamingSA]