There are some games that people just can’t agree on. Some look at them and see brilliance, while others examining the same product find complete and utter trash. The Bargain Bin is no stranger to such games, but this week we’re devoting some space to a few games that most definitely fit this description. Give these titles a home boys and girls, they’re cheap and in the eyes of more than a scant few, they’re good. 

Dark Sector (360, PS3)

Drawing on basically every established tenet of this (and last) generation’s third-person shooters, Dark Sector was a solid game that got lost simply because it featured a number of elements that were utterly generic. The setting, the story, the enemies, and the graphics featured very little that gamers hadn’t already seen on half a dozen earlier occasions. Similarly, the game played very similarly the pop-and-shoot games like Gears of War and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Did this make it bad? Not in the slightest! A game certainly can’t be horrible when it’s successfully parroting features that made other games great. Dark Sector simply wasn’t special enough to win the reviews and attention that other more original games did.

That being said, it did a few interesting things. For instance, while the player can initially arm themselves with enemy guns, early on in the game you’re given what essentially amount to super powers and find yourself equipped with a tri-blade glaive. You still have a pistol, and you can still use enemy weapons, but they become time-limited and self destruct if you use them too long. The glaive, accordingly, becomes your primary weapon, which you use throughout the game to slice, dice, and eviscerate your foes. As the game progresses you can imbue it with additional elemental charges to give it an extra kick. It’s a neat little feature that offers some diversity from its peers.

Dark Sector is fun, but looking at any review of the game you’ll notice how quickly the reviewers point out that mixed quality of features that earn it a spot in this weeks column. Dark Sector isn’t the end-all, be-all of video games (that title belongs to Final Fantasy VI, thank you very much), but it’s a fun title that can be bought on the cheap. For sixty dollars, I would say pass, but for the price it runs at now, there’s no reason not to indulge in a little generic fun.

Amazon (Note: Used Amazon.com prices are subject to change)

New - $17.79 (360, PS3)

Used - $8.86 (360)

Used - $9.61 (PS3)

Gamestop

New - $14.99 (360, PS3)

Used - $12.99 (360)