When the Game Boy Advance was announced, nobody expected it to be the 3D powerhouse it has ended up being. Being able to crunch polygons in an environment as detailed as a first generation FPS game on the PC is astounding to say the least. As such, the GBA has seen an influx of first person shooters since the first of the batch, Doom. Dark Arena has the honor of being the latest titles in the genre to make itself available on the GBA, but the main question we all have is. "How does it stack up to the others in such a crowed genre?"

Dark Arena takes place in a "Genetic Research Lab," where the creatures that were being "researched" have gotten loose. Due to this outbreak, a special team unit was sent out to take care of the situation, but after your entire team is overrun, only you remain. This is all explained during the opening cinema, but in actuality it really has little to do with anything, as any excuse to take down some gruesome creatures would be adequate.

Your way out of the Lab covers 20 levels of intense action, taking place in between corridors and the occasional wide open room, the environments are decently rendered. But you aren't going to find anything that is up to par with the current king of the genre on the GBA, Ecks vs. Sever, but you're not going to find anything as lowly as Backtrack. What you get is purely middle of the road, loaded with grey hues, and the occasional brick texture. The enemy sprites are nicely drawn but are slightly hindered with some very choppy animation. What you are going to find is that these things don't matter that much as the action moves at a very smooth frame rate, and rarely slows down. It's nice to see that with so much going on, Dark Arena doesn't choke all that much.

As with any other game in the FPS genre, smooth control is a must, and Dark Arena obliges with a competent control scheme and seems like second nature after you have played for a mere 5 minutes. You're going to get all of the basic functions at your grasp, and I can honestly say that it's nice to play some FPS games that don't require any strategic jumps at all. Strafing is particularly easy using the shoulder buttons, and within minutes you will be running circles around your opponent, while opening fire with your chain gun. Speaking of weapons, you get your basic fare of hand guns, chain guns, and rocket launchers. Nothing really stands out offensive wise that hasn't been seen before, but as long as you can take down the enemy, does it really matter?

One thing that isn't really all that necessary in this genre is the use of music. Over the tones of gun barrels and snorting monsters, there really isn't much music to speak of. What is there though, isn't all that good, so it's best that it doesn't impede on the sounds of the currently raging battle. The opening theme sets the mood, but it is a fairly boring composition. The previously mentioned sounds are nice, but very minimal. Which is fine considering this is a first person shooter on a handheld console.

Speaking of shortcomings, perhaps the most glaring flaw of the overall package lies in one thing. That thing is something that should have been banned from all handheld games after the debacle that was GT Advance. You see, the developers of Dark Arena seemed to decide that the best way to handle saving your progress is via a password. To me, this is the biggest no-no when related to a handheld game. When a person plays a hand held game, they way to be able to save, and quit at a moments notice. Sadly, Dark Arena only offers a password at the end of each level, consisting of a 10 letter combination. Obviously, this detracts from the overall portability of this title a bit, as one may not have a pad and pencil immediately available at the time of completion.

Overall, Dark Arena is a very average game, striving to do no more or no less that what has been already achieved in the genre on its new portable home. Perhaps that is its biggest downfall, the fact that with a bit more work, things could have been much better. As it stands, Dark Arena's combination of average graphics, solid gameplay, below average sound effects, and its use of a password save system creates a very middle of the road title. With 4 games now available in this genre on the GBA, Dark Arena ranks at the bottom half of the list, bested by Doom and Ecks vs. Sever, but vastly superior to the horrid Backtrack.

· · · Mezz