Perfect Dark XBLA

The name’s Dark… Joanna Dark.

Perfect Dark. It’s been a long time coming, almost 10 years in fact since the game was first released to a salivating public in mid-2000. And for those coming to the realization that Rare’s other gem GoldenEye won’t be seen on a Marketplace any time soon (if at all… *sob*) this is the next best thing. Throw in a great price tag of the “standard” Arcade game price of 800 MSpoints and it’s certainly well worth the trip down Nostalgia Lane.

For those who’ve played through the original, you’ll know what to expect. But for the uninitiated, Perfect Dark’s a first-person shooter set in the not-to-distant future. In a case of capitalism gone extreme, mega corporations are able to act outside the law and some even raise private armies. As an agent of one of those companies, Joanna Dark is tasked with investigating a distress call originating from a rival corporation, dataDyne.

The plot is certainly in-depth and captivating, and full of plot twists too. A vast range of environments are explored, and depending on the difficulty you play at determines how much more of the interlaced activities you come across. In that moreso than anything else, this game is a spiritual successor of the classic GoldenEye, ramping up the difficulty isn’t just about increasing enemies‚ health or dropping your own, there’s actually a number of extra objectives and areas that you’ll encounter that aren’t on the “easy” difficulty. Each degree is almost a new campaign in itself.

Having said all that, the game does translate quite well to the Xbox 360. The controls are just as tight and responsive as they ever were, and despite the extra joystick and slight layout change from the N64 controller the assignment of controls still feels natural. Not content with a straight port, 4J Studios (who did the port on Rare’s behalf) have given the graphics a vigorous recoat. The blockiness of 5th generation console graphics (the 360 is the 7th generation) has been smoothed out a great deal and a lot of extra detail worked in. Lighting effects (quite a big deal back in the day) still looks good on the modern machine and in some parts are quite impressive, despite being a standard area dwelled upon in most games these days. At times the sound effects can be a little bit muffled or sound dated, but for the most part it stands the test of time capably, even the vocal soundtrack for the characters.

There’s a mass of content included in this title. Beside the campaign (available as single, co-op and the highly-inventive counter-op modes (one person plays as the enemies and tries to stop the other player completing the level), there’s also a multiplayer side with all the usual modes that‚Äôs playable with a mixture of gamers locally and via Xbox Live. Also add to that extra side-missions of Challenges (multiplayer gaming solo or with others against pre-set objectives and opponents), and a shooting range to conquer and you’ll have invested hours of playtime before you know it.

The best aspect of the multiplayer mode? Beside the sheer level of customization is the feature of Bots remaining intact!! That’s right – no need to abandon multiplayer simply ‘cos you’re on your own anymore. Any number of the 7 extra slots available in multiplayer games can be filled by Bots, and for them not only their “difficulty” can be changed, but also their “Attitude‚” Pacifist, suicidal, run-and-gun, hand-to-hand combatant and many more. There’s an absolute abundance of ways of tweaking them to your heart’s desire. And due to the integrated Live functionality, now all 8 of the multiplayer slots can be taken up by actual players too!! Obviously at least half will have to be via online, but it does still support up to 4 player local gameplay as an option when playing that too.

For those that played the original on the N64, it’s a great trip down memory lane without the “hangover” of comparing what was a great-looking game back then to the sorts of things available now. All aspects of it hold up well. But those that have never played it may well end up asking what all the fuss is about? yes, it‚’s a solid game but is hardly a massive stand-out from the plethora of shoot-em ups available now.

The downfalls are few and far between, but a couple have still crept in. For whatever reason, the multiplayer side of things does need a better online set-up. You can hop into the equivalent of a “ranked” (i.e. random) match easily enough, but in order to play with friends you pretty much need to create a full party yourself by mixing a combination of local players and/or inviting friends purely off your friends list over Live, frustrating if you just want only to play with a couple of people you know but want the rest of the spots to fill up with random gamers. And the other point, strangely enough, is that a lack of lip-syncing for the real-time cutscenes can seem a little odd compared to the technology employed of late. It’s a little off-putting to see a couple of people bobble their heads in full conversation with no facial change whatsoever, but that’s just something that us as gamers have been spoilt with expecting of late.

All in all, for ex-N64 gamers it’s a must-buy. If you don’t fall into that category, it is well worth a look by all shapes and measures, but the reminiscing factor that will sell a lot of copies will be missing. But in terms of longevity, value and sheer fun, you’ll find all of these in spades. Highly recommended to all, regardless of your experience (or lack of) with the original iteration!!

Perfect Dark XBLA – Game Detail Page