We know that this doesn't go for everyone, but we really adored Dark Sector when we played it back in March. Now, just a couple of months after its release, you can finally get a taste of the glaive-tossing action without laying down any cash, thanks to the demo now available on Xbox Live.

The gameplay gets a touch stale toward the middle of the full game and it climaxes with the worst boss fight in recorded history, but we still think it's worth your time. Give the demo a spin (Get it? Like a glaive!) and let us know what you think.

When the first next-gen game ever announced doesn't get released until a few years into that generation's life cycle, it's pretty much impossible for it to be "worth the wait." But Dark Sector seems to be doing a valiant job of at least being "worth the shelf space," as it's garnered restrained praise from several outlets.

• 1UP (75/100):"When it all comes together and you're ducking in and out of cover while shooting and throwing the Glaive at groups of enemies, it's a lot of fun, and the visual spark and A.I./pacing/combat polish make it worth playing. Don't head in expecting a game that overachieves or pushes too many boundaries, but don't lower your expectations too much either."
• Game Informer (75/100): "As negative as I have been, I still feel that Dark Sector is worth checking out. The glaive is something that every action nut has to wrap his or her hands around. Like the BFG or the cerebral bore, you'll remember this weapon forever. Sadly, you'll remember the weapon more than the game itself."
• IGN (77/100): "All of this -- the powers, the glaive and the guns -- combines to make you feel empowered in Dark Sector. Usually you start a game as a super-agent and chortle as you're easily killed or dealt with. In Dark Sector, the difficulty ramps up as you get your powers and learn the ropes. Right out of the gate, you feel like you're this kick ass operative."

Welcome to This Week in Review (formerly This Week in DLC), where we round up all the hands-on impressions and game reviews (including Metareviews) from the Joystiq Network. This week's megaton title should come as no surprise whatsoever.

Nintendo Wii

• First impressions: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Metareview: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  
• Wii Fanboy takes Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wi-Fi for a test drive
• VC Monday Madness: Super Turrican
  

Dark Sector's two unique multiplayer modes have recently been detailed, along with some notes regarding the key differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. Gamers keeping score will be interested to know that the 360 wins this round with slightly better ranking and matching options, although both versions appear robust in the online department.

The game's "Infection" multiplayer mode pits one "infected" player against a legion of troopers, with a trooper taking over the role upon killing the target (similar to Halo's Juggernaut mode). The "Epidemic" mode is a standard team battle affair, except that teams only earn points by killing the opposing team's leader.

Both the 360 and PS3 versions of Dark Sector offer these mutiplayer modes via online play or LAN, and both support up to ten players per match with five maps to choose from. Leadersboards are present for both games, although the 360 version will use Microsoft's TrueSkill ranking system. Also included in the 360 version are Quick Game, Custom Game, and Ranked Game options, while PS3 users can only create, join, or search for multiplayer games. The game is scheduled for a spring 2008 release, although further delays certainly wouldn't be surprising.

We've been kind of milquetoast on Dark Sector, the first "next gen" game ever announced, for reasons ranging from its completely uninspiring title to ... well, it's basically the title. But now that the game has been denied a rating by Australian classification board the OFLC, we're totally in to it.

How could they not see how their plan would backfire? Check this line from their report: "When Hayden cuts off his opponent's limb with the glaive, large amounts of blood spray forth from the stump and the injured person screams in agony which increases the impact." Umm, we'd like to write something about how awesome that sounds, but we're a little busy pre-ordering eight copies. IGN guesses the game will be softened and resubmitted, but unless they're going to insist that the stumps are actually spraying strawberry preserves, it sounds like they have a lot of work ahead of them.

Although he's best known for playing Lex Luthor on Smallville, Michael Rosenbaum has some significant voice-acting credits to his name and will give sound to the lead role of D3's Dark Sector. Although the game is slated for a Spring '08 release now, it's a bit strange that D3 just announced Rosenbaum would voice the protagonist considering the game was originally supposed to release last year.

The Rosenbaum announcement is actually the first we've heard of Dark Sector since it went ... well, dark late in '07. Hopefully this will be the beginning of the announcement wagon for the game and we'll have something to play over the summer -- once we dig ourselves out of the Q4 '07 games.