Dark Arena
Game Boy Advance- Publisher: Majesco Games
- Release Date: Jan 18, 2002
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It's a lot of fun to play, but there's not a whole lot of "oomph" that action games require for that necessary adrenaline rush.
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The plot may be a little worn (as in borrowed), but the environments are well done, there is a nice variety of weaponry to be collected, and you really don’t have to think about what to shoot – you just kill anything that moves because you are the only human survivor.
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Dark Arena runs smoothly and plays quickly, which means you'll stay in the Arena a little longer than you thought.
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The graphics engine developed for Dark Arena is something I never expected to see on the GBA. It seems that the more developers that dig into the hardware, the more impressive it gets.
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Game InformerSeems to easily fall flat into the clutches of mediocrity. The multiplayer mode is nice, though. [April 2002, p.89]
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It may be a blatant "DOOM" clone, but Dark Arena still manages to be a generally entertaining and mindless shooter. Solid controls, large levels, and plenty of evil mutants all add up to a fun time out.
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While the game runs well, there is little intensity to push the envelope. So much has changed since these games came out, and it just doesn’t seem nearly as exciting or intense.
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It's technically competent in the end, and many of its little touches are quite impressive, but there are clearly more memorable shooters of its kind already available.
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Even the level layout and "puzzle" elements--find the key, backtrack to the door--smack of things we've already seen, which makes the game, despite its arguable technical flow, something of a letdown.
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Mindless, twitchy, quick-shot FPS fun...but it’s so hyper-generic it seems like a clone of a "Doom" clone.
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Play MagazineA solid, 20-level romp that should be treated as a quasi-sequel to "Doom." [April 2002, p.67]
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Nintendo PowerSimply standard when compared to "Ecks vs. ever," Majesco's Dark Arena comes off as Quake Light. [Mar 2002, p.136]
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Uninspired.
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It never builds on the gameplay or aesthetic qualities of Doom in any meaningful way—it’s merely content to cover the same old ground and hope no one notices.
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A solid but bland first-person shooter with no in-depth story or sense of fun to elevate it above any other GBA game in the genre.
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Pocket GamesIt's boring - the worst crime you can commit. [Summer 2002, p.32]
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Dark Arena's graphics are average at best. Much of the architecture is plain-looking and the average enemy sports only a half-dozen character animations.
Awards & Rankings
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71
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89
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#89 Most Discussed Game Boy Advance Game of 2002
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36
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#36 Most Shared Game Boy Advance Game of 2002
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 4
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Mixed: 2 out of 4
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Negative: 0 out of 4
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SeriousDuke(GBAFPSexpert)Jul 7, 2004