Review: Dark Arena (GBA)

Down here at Gamestyle Towers, it's been quite a slow couple of months on the GBA front. Blame it on the summer slowdown if you will (but with all this sun, surely you've got the perfect light for it?), it's still a shame. So the arrival of Dark Arena from the nice people at THQ was something of a relief, more so than this potential also-ran in the GBA First-Person Shooter war turned out to be so accomplished. Don't get the wrong impression- the idea is still the same as it has been since Wolfenstein 3D (now being sold back to you in portable form by iD).

Placed in the boots of a rent-a-kill action hero, you must blast your way through waves of slightly pixelly baddies to find more guns, key cards, and, ultimately the exit door. Sound familiar? Yes, Doom did just the same years ago, and with the granddaddy of the modern FPS also available on GBA, why should you spend your cash on this new kid? The answer is obvious- you haven't played Dark Arena to death already. Admittedly, there are many similarities- the same smattering of alien and humanoid adversaries, the same wide arsenal, the same switch-and-key mechanisms blocking off the route ahead. But there are lots of little improvements on the old formula.

While the more powerful weapons in Doom made the lesser firearms entirely redundant, Dark Arena keeps a strong balance between the various parts of the arsenal. Using any of the explosive weapons in tight, confined spaces will get you killed; equally, running into an open courtyard with anything less than full-auto arms in your hands is just asking for trouble. Thrown in for good measure are some unexpected additions- remote mines make running with your tail between you legs a little more useful, and a super-powered night-vision sniper rifle makes short work of distant adversaries- and they all help remove the sense of deja-joue associated with the old-skool FPS revival. Technically, too, DA seems as accomplished as it's peers.

Slowdown is a rarity most of the time- a few over-populated rooms aside- and the display resolution is on par with the likes of Ecks vs. Sever. But hats off to the men responsible for the wall colour scheme- the futuristic setting allows for brighter tones and clearer contrasts, and helps create a shooter easily played in the sort of light Doom owners would gawp at. Sure, train tunnels will leave you fumbling for the Start button every time, but at least you won't have to rely upon mucking about with solder and imported American parts kits to have fun. The levels, however, don't represent quite the degree of quality of it's Goth-horror forefather. The first few feel overly restrictive, and somewhat rough around the edges. Several, for example, feel over-short and rushed, while others feel like they have been stretched too far- and dying at the end of a 15-minute section and having to start again is a pain in the arse to be frank.

Enemy placement, too, feels a little rough, with big groups often used over lots of individuals hidden around corners where you weren't expecting. It does make the game play a little more frantic, however, which can't be complained about. Things do improve, however, but some niggles still remain- chairs and tables, for example, simply can't be shot over, and only discovering this near the end of a level when you blow you face off with a rocket is annoying. Even higher on the out-the-windometer is the games frequently nasty corner collision detection. Judging the extra few virtual inches needed to strafe requires lots of practise, and if you happen to be using the Battle Cannon at the time, your GBA and DA may well be joining my copy of Redcard and all those dodgy Star Wars games on the nearest main road. VROOOOM. Crunch. However, to criticise the game for those little niggles would be unfair, since there's so much more it does so well.

The range of possibilities for taking on the more sizeable opponents is impressive. You can strafe around the slower ones and pepper them at close range without getting hit, blast them with a sniper rifle from further off, or use one of the many other options available to you. It's not Deus Ex, but when you realise that your armoury gets reset at the end of every level, you start to think more about how to use your weapons more effectively and with more variety, and act far less reservedly. When you do finish single-player mode (which should take a good few weeks, all things being considered), there isn't much incentive to go back, unfortunately, which is a shame. You can go back and try again on a harder difficulty, of course, but with no rewards to accompany your effort, there isn't a lot of point. So it's left down to multiplayer link-up play to provide the lasting fun Unfortunately, due to the lack of single-pack play modes, this reviewer can't really talk about them, except to say that there are a few handfuls of maps, and that some of DA's more original weapons certainly seem to have been designed with DMs in mind.

Entertaining if flawed, Dark Arena, while certainly not up to the same standards as GBA Doom, is certainly money better spent. Technically more accomplished, and clearly designed with a handheld platform in mind, it should help pass the weeks until the games industry decides to give us something decent to play. Gun-toting escapism in the palm of your hand, which you won't have cleared ten times before.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Colin Whiteside