Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse (PlayStation 2)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 1.5 stars Poor
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 3.9 (1.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 08/29/2001
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 07/08/2001
• Originally published on GameSpot: Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse (PlayStation 2) Review

In Metro3D's Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse, you play a female vampire saddled with the unholy task of expelling evil from the land of Gothos. It is January 1, 1670, and you, Anna, have one full year to defeat the armies of the Shadow Lord. Bopping back and forth between three villages and six different battlegrounds, you'll fight all manner of dastardly demons, gather a wide assortment of useful weapons, and accumulate a lifetime's worth of experience points--all in preparation for the final ultimate battle.

Featuring play mechanics that are a cross between Metro3D's Armada and popular hack-and-slash games such as Diablo and Gauntlet, Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse is an action RPG that shows great promise but fails to deliver on numerous levels. Thrust directly into battle from the get-go, there are no introductory cinemas, no plot development. In fact, save for meager communications with villagers and a lackluster end-game sequence, Dark Angel has nothing in the way of instruction, plot, or character development.

Although barely an RPG, Dark Angel also nearly fails at being a dungeon crawler. The entire game centers on honing Anna into the perfect warrior, which means there are no bosses, puzzles, or plot twists to enhance the experience. As you level up and purchase stronger weapons, the appearance of the creatures, towns, dungeons, and people of Gothos never change. No matter how deep you progress into a dungeon, the monsters within vary only in size and color, but never in shape or ability. For 100-plus hours, there are three villages, three dungeons, and three battlefields--that's it. Only when the year has passed (and you're hopefully near level 100) will you battle the Shadow Lord.

The silver lining, if there is one for Dark Angel, lies in combat. Set from an isometric viewpoint, you attack by binding inventory items to the controller's face buttons. If you'd like to bind four swords or a couple of swords and some boots or just balance things out, there is a lot of freedom to do so. In all, there are 63 item slots to fill. Item classes fall into four basic types: weapons, boots, bracers, and health/spirit--so fighting is gleefully simple. As monsters become aware of your position, you can tap a button to attack or hold to perform a spirit attack. Onscreen meters let you keep track of health, spirit, experience, and gold--all of which come in handy when you're in the thick of a six-on-one real-time battle against vicious monsters.

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