"Decent for the GBA, but ultimately a Doom wannabe."

Dark Arena is a first person shooter on the GBA. It is a decent game overall.

Graphics- 8/10

The graphics look a little lame and pixelated, but decent for the GBA. The environments look decent, but a little bland, and the monsters look good enough.

Audio- 6/10

The audio is alright, but it could be better. First, there is no in game music. There is music for the title screen though. The gunshots sound alright. The monsters sound a bit lame. Think of growling like in Doom, but much more ear piercing. It can get annoying after a while.

Controls- 10/10

The controls are exceptional for the GBA. No real problems at all.

Game play- 14/20

The game play for this game is decent. Overall, it plays a bit like a Doom clone. You shoot monsters, and that is about it. However, Doom does everything better. The weapons in this game are pretty generic and the pistol is ironically the best one if used in the right hands. The enemy AI is a little stupid. You shoot a monster, and it will walk around trying to find you. The weapons are decent, but again, a lot like Doom. You have a pistol, a shotgun, a chain-gun, a plasma rifle, a rocket launcher, a guided rocket launcher (which is the one thing that is unique), and a combat cannon (which is a lot like the BFG 9000 from Doom). The monsters are pretty good. You fight creatures that range from standard soldiers to big robots. Overall, the game play isn't bad, but I've seen better on GBA. One thing that I do not like is the password system. Instead of adding save spots into the cartridge, you need to carry a pen and paper around with you to progress to further levels. This is annoying for consoles and even more annoying for portables.

Fun Factor- 15/20

Overall, this game is pretty fun. It is worth playing. However, there are better games out there.

Game Length- 13/20

At 15 levels, this game turns out to be rather short. It could take a good player only a few hours to beat this game.

Difficulty- 10/10

There is challenge for those who seek it, but there is an easy mode for those who don't want a big challenge.

Overall- 76/100 = 7.6/10

Overall, this game is alright, it is worth a buy if you can get it used. However, if you really want an awesome portable GBA shooter, try to get the Doom games.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/29/07