Living Legend

Reviewed by i_love_games11 on October 29, 2006  |  report this review

Ever since Rare’s critical success and relative commercial failure, Perfect Dark arrived on the N64. It gave players the chance to live out their sci-fi fantasies by putting them in a world dominated by corporations and you were the bastion of resistance against them. That resistance went by the name of Joanna Dark, who worked for the Carrington Institute, who was fighting Datadyne, a corporation which was meddling with aliens and alien technology. You, as Joanna, had to stop them.

Perfect Dark Zero is set a few years before the events in the original, and tells the story of Joanna and the events that led to her joining of the Carrington Institute. Although the game tries hard to make a deep and interesting story with characters you care about but falls flat quite a bit, but still gives a reason to carry on through the game.

In many senses, this game feels a bit like Halo. At launch it was that FPS which Microsoft put a lot of funds behind it, and wanted it to do well. The main way it feels like Halo is the gameplay. Just like Halo, you go through the levels shooting a whole load of baddies, who react to you as if they’re human. The feel of the weapons is also fantastic, which makes the game fun throughout. In the original game, it was quite possible to lose your way, and get lost because you hadn’t found a keycard or a door that would get you through the mission. Now, you have the option for arrows to be put on the floor. For some, this could seem too easy, but it’s nice to have the option.

At first, the game looks like a marvel, with excellent lighting effects, and fantastic attention to detail on the characters and the locales, but the more you play the game, and the longer you spend with the game, you’ll realize that the game doesn’t look as flawless as once thought. Some textures can look quite nasty, and some of the characters look a little blocky, but most of the time, you’ll be marveling at the cool blur effects and the vivid colours that bring this game to life.

The sounds of the game are good. The voice work is of a commendable standard, although Joanna seems to have a slight American accent, which interferes with her character. The sounds of the guns and the chaos they ensue is great, and bring atmosphere to this game.

The single player mode is very fleshed out with multiple difficulties, over a dozen missions and achievement points wrap up to make a satisfying package. The multiplayer is one of the best on the Xbox360, and is very addictive.

Closing comments:
The game feels very similar to the original, and in a lot of ways, it is. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be playing through a timewarp here. The game feels fresh, fun and shows that Rare still has that golden touch which they seemed to lose a few years ago. A fantastic return to form.

Rare took the good train

Reviewed by Gman360 on April 14, 2007  |  report this review

Rare did it again. They made another fantastic game. I loved the original Perfect Dark and this on is just as good. The grafics are great mainly the lighting on your weapons. Alot of old guns like the Laptop are back along with new ones like M60. I recommend it to anyone who has a 360.

cool

Reviewed by Highsintellect on September 22, 2007  |  report this review

pretty fun

i give it a 10

Reviewed by newenglandfan on February 12, 2008  |  report this review

It's tempting to try to put Perfect Dark Zero in perspective by spending a lot of time on topics other than what makes it such a terrific action game. One of the highest-profile Xbox 360 launch titles, this near-future first-person shooter is the long-awaited sequel to a highly acclaimed Nintendo 64 hit, and it happens to be one of the biggest games to be released by veteran developer Rare since its well-publicized acquisition by Microsoft several years ago. Perfect Dark Zero's sci-fi theme, together with the circumstances surrounding its release, also means it's destined to be compared to Halo: Combat Evolved, the game that defined the Xbox (so yeah, no pressure). But let's stick to the point: Perfect Dark Zero's stunning presentation, excellent assortment of believable weapons, exciting tactical firefights, and fully featured single- and multiplayer components combine to make it easily one of the best first-person shooters this year and one of your best options in the Xbox 360's starting lineup. Despite some minor shortcomings, the game is still a tour de force for the Xbox 360, and it's just a thrilling experience that pushes the already-extremely competitive first-person shooter category still further forward.

. Enemies recoil realistically depending on where they're hit, no matter if you hit them in the hand, the foot, square in the chest, in the back, or wherever else. And the vast levels are as varied as they are beautiful to behold, setting you loose in jungles, city streets, high-tech industrial compounds, and more. Bullet holes shred the scenery, armor pieces fly every which way under a hail of gunfire, blinding explosions rock the screen, and your enemies' bodies litter the corridors once you're through. Gorgeous lighting and an impressive motion-blur effect that kicks in whenever you make a sharp turn further enhance the quality of Perfect Dark Zero's visuals, resulting in a game that at times could easily be mistaken for a big-budget action movie. Credit is also due to the outstanding audio, which features some heavy-hitting weapon effects, as well as a fantastic, moody soundtrack that gives each mission its own pulsing rhythms. It's a diverse array of electronic and rock beats, and it's all very catchy.

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