Are You Scared of the D.A.R.K.?

    Gamelab's newest title, D.A.R.K., is a roller coaster of sorts.  It isn't enough to say that D.A.R.K. is just another dual-stick shooter.  No, D.A.R.K. goes far beyond that...well, at least tries to.
    You play the role of a D.A.R.K. soldier sent to investigate a lost connection with a space ship named the USS Stormbringer. Hmm, Dead Space? The analogy given is that "Earth has marines. Space has D.A.R.K.".  On your way to the Stormbringer, your ship is hit by an asteroid and your crew is killed.  Some how you still manage to make it to the Stormbringer and you wake up only to find that the ship has been overrun by aliens, the cleaning robots have turned against you, and the workers are now zombies! Beyond the slightly obvious Dead Space references, D.A.R.K. provides more substance than your average dual-stick shooter by telling a somewhat suspenseful story.  I'm not going to get into too much detail on the plot, but one thing you need to know is that it has a rather abrupt ending.  Just as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split into two movies this game is split into two episodes.  According to the devs the second episode should be released in the first update along with a new "Arena" game mode.  Don't expect a lengthy campaign from this first episode of D.A.R.K. (You can finish one playthrough is about an hour).

    In terms of game play, D.A.R.K. is truly unique.  When you're not mowing down wave after wave of zombies, the shooting controls go away and some platforming elements come into pay. Whether it be finding your way around flaming pipes, avoiding sentry-bots, or dodging laser traps, these moments provide a break from the relentless hordes of cleaning-spiderbots and zombies.  Another interesting element of the game is the "wave" system.  When you are fighting enemies, you can see how many waves there will be and what wave you are currently on.  The enemies will keep spawning during each wave and become increasingly difficult to kill.  Also at the end of some of the rounds a boss will appear that has a health bar of its own and is much harder to kill than the other enemies.  As you progress through the game you will face three mega-bosses.  These take a little more effort to kill than the other bosses and are not part of any wave.

    If you are looking for more than just a horror shooter, Gamelab did implement some RPG elements.  As you work your way through the ship you will find a shop in almost every room.  You can buy weapons, armor, and ammo with in-game cash which you earn by killing enemies.  You also gain experience points when you kill enemies which will level you up.  When you reach a new level you get 2 upgrade points.  Currently, there are only 4 areas to upgrade: Movement, Hit Points, Health Regeneration, and Power.  Hopefully some more weapons, armor and upgrade areas will be added in future updates.  Although the upgrades aren't too exciting, they still give you the feeling that you are getting somewhere and improving your character.

    Due to the short campaign, it will take several playthroughs to level up high enough to notice any difference with the upgrades.  As of now D.A.R.K. is a fun, yet short lived shooter that provides you with as much adventure as you paid for.  At a price of $2.99 I would say pick it up and try it for yourself if you love dual-stick shooters and Dead Space. If you are on the fence, I would wait until the update comes out and see how much it improves.