Original Publish Date: February 10, 2006
Microsoft’s super-hyped launch shooter Perfect Dark has finally landed on the Xbox 360. As a huge fan of the original N64 hit Perfect Dark, I can attest to the fact that there is a tremendous amount of hype surrounding this game. After nearly six years in development and three platform changes, does PDZ merit the hype? Well, yes and no. The multiplayer is simply awesome. It does more than build on the foundations set by the original PD, which had four player split-screen play with up to eight simulants or bots as they’re called today. The online component is one of the best on the system and will likely remain that way for a few months. The single-player campaign is a bit disappointing. After playing games such as Halo (and to a slightly lesser extent Halo 2), which featured a strong single player campaign with a gripping storyline and varied gameplay, Perfect Dark Zero’s single player game pales in comparison.
The graphics are definitely next-gen. Of the many Xbox 360 launch titles, this is one of the best looking. The lighting engine is spectacular. Each light looks and behaves like it would in real life. The weapon models are also very good looking and considering you’re going to be looking at one pretty much the entire time, it’s great to see how realistic they look. The outdoor environments are particularly stunning. One level in particular that is set in a South American jungle blew me away with the level of visual detail. Every leaf, vine, tree and weed is impeccably modeled and beautifully detailed. Even the wood paneling in an enemy outpost looks realistic. Perhaps one of the best-looking aspects of the game is the explosion effects. Shoot an explosive barrel in the game and you’ll see what I mean. There are plenty of things that blow up in this game so you’ll be seeing a lot of it.
The graphics are definitely next-gen. Of the many Xbox 360 launch titles, this is one of the best looking. The lighting engine is spectacular. Each light looks and behaves like it would in real life. The weapon models are also very good looking and considering you’re going to be looking at one pretty much the entire time, it’s great to see how realistic they look. The outdoor environments are particularly stunning. One level in particular that is set in a South American jungle blew me away with the level of visual detail. Every leaf, vine, tree and weed is impeccably modeled and beautifully detailed. Even the wood paneling in an enemy outpost looks realistic. Perhaps one of the best-looking aspects of the game is the explosion effects. Shoot an explosive barrel in the game and you’ll see what I mean. There are plenty of things that blow up in this game so you’ll be seeing a lot of it.
Although the graphics are mostly great, there are a few problems. One of these problems is that someone went a little crazy with the reflection mapping. Seriously, everything reflects. This isn’t a bad thing when looking at something like a metal wall or other surface that would otherwise reflect but it’s not so great when looking at a brick wall. I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve never been able to see my face in a brick. Another problem is with the framerate. It’s generally good running at about 30 fps but sometimes, in the thick of an intense shootout the framerate can bog down. Thankfully, the framerate is usually smooth and it didn’t slow down enough to ruin the experience.
The physics engine is good but it does have its flaws. Some things animate a bit strangely. For example in a multiplayer game when you’re killed, sometimes you’re character will bend over while still appearing to be standing up and then the character seems to lunge forward and complete the fall. On some occasions the rag doll physics look great and animate nicely but mostly, characters take a little too long to fall over, as if gravity somehow lost it’s effect on you. Another odd but thankfully rare issue with the physics is that on very rare occasions, after you kill an enemy (this most often occurs in single player) their body will begin to pinball around the area. I don’t know what’s happening in the physics engine that causes this but it’s really weird to see an enemy bouncing around the stage like a superball on steroids.
The single player game is a bit disappointing. It’s not necessarily bad but it could’ve used some fine-tuning. For me, the most disappointing aspect of the single player game is the storyline. After playing games such as Halo, Halo 2, and Half Life 2, all games with great storylines, I was expecting the same from PDZ. Simply put, the story is just bad. The plot is incredibly weak and clichéd, involving the search for an ancient artifact that imbues its possessor with superhuman powers. There are some interesting plot twists but they’re not enough to make this story any better (some might think they make it worse).
Luckily, this is a FPS. No one plays them for the story. Players play them for the intense shoot outs. PDZ has plenty of those. One particularly intense scene (perhaps the lengthiest and most challenging combat scene in the game) takes place on a bridge. You fight your way across against a seemingly endless horde of enemies. As you progress, things are exploding around you. Although the explosions don’t pose much of a threat to you, they really add to the intensity of the battle. Another intense shootout takes place in the jungle level I raved about before. As soon as the mission begins, the dropship you arrived in is being attacked by enemy troops and you have to defend your ride. Really intense stuff. Trust me, once these battles begin you’ll be sucked in.
The A.I. is hit or miss during the single player campaign. Later in the campaign the A.I. characters have pinpoint accuracy at long distances. On the other hand when you get close, sometimes they won’t even notice you until you put a bullet in them. It’s annoying to see enemies that are supposed to be shooting you running into walls. It’s also annoying to see them take cover behind explosive barrels. I guess they’re thinking the barrels won’t explode when you shoot at them. Even though they’re clearly marked (you know, red color, warning logo), they think they’ll be safe. The A.I. is generally good but the problems listed hamper the experience a bit.
There’s one last problem about the single player that really worked on my nerves. This problem is the lack of a decent checkpoint system or save feature in the single player. It is incredibly frustrating to play for about ten minutes through a particularly difficult section only to have to repeat it if you die or otherwise fail the mission. Each mission has only one checkpoint about half of the way through. After playing games like Halo that create checkpoints as you go through the level and others that allow you to save every few steps if you choose to, this is extremely frustrating and should’ve been addressed.
Okay, enough about the single player game, what about the multiplayer? Is it good? That’s a definite yes and the reason it deserves my score. I love the multiplayer. There are so many things it does right that it overshadows its shortcomings. Perfect Dark Zero’s multiplayer is perhaps the best of the launch games. By offering support for up to 32 players, it is certainly the biggest of the launch games. The maps expand and contract based on how many players are in the game. When there are a full 32 players in the game, the map will be playable at its full size. The player has full control over the map size however, so for faster paced battles, they can shrink the map or expand it for more tactical contests.
There are so many options you can adjust to create the game you want to play in with the settings, weapons, map, map size, and the number of bots you want. In this game there are a total of 28 weapons in the game ranging from pistols, to rifles to SMG’s and even a sword that can deflect incoming fire. There are so many weapons to choose from. There are a large number of available weapon sets including four you can customize to your liking.
The Combat Arena multiplayer mode is great featuring all the standard gametypes you’ve come to expect from multiplayer shooters. You’ll find Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Territories. My current favorite out of this lineup is the Team Deathmatch mode. With 32 players participating in the game at once, it’s incredibly fun and intense.
The Dark Ops mode is awesome. Dark Ops is a tactical, round based mode in the vein of the hit PC and Xbox shooter, Counter Strike. Before each round, you use credits you have earned from the previous rounds to purchase weapons. This is perhaps the most intense multiplayer mode and encourages, no, demands teamwork.
The online or split screen co-op play is a blast to play. It actually makes the cornball story bearable. It goes beyond just inserting a carbon copy of the main character in each level. For instance, on the fourth level, in the single player campaign you’re charged with protecting your father, who is an NPC in this case, by providing sniper fire from the rooftops. The co-op version of this level actually gives the second player control over the other character who then actively defends themselves with cover from the first player. I found this to be very intense and very innovative for a FPS.
All that being said, I am very happy with the way this game turned out. The single player game could’ve used a couple more development hours to add more checkpoints and make the story more sensible, but the multiplayer makes up for it big time. The graphics are great, and the only big problem I found was the rampant reflection mapping. Overall, this is a great game. If you’re going to be playing it over Xbox Live, buy it now. If not, you might still want to look into it if you’re a fan of the series or First Person Shooters in general.
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Value: 10
Tilt: 9
Overall Score: 8.7
The physics engine is good but it does have its flaws. Some things animate a bit strangely. For example in a multiplayer game when you’re killed, sometimes you’re character will bend over while still appearing to be standing up and then the character seems to lunge forward and complete the fall. On some occasions the rag doll physics look great and animate nicely but mostly, characters take a little too long to fall over, as if gravity somehow lost it’s effect on you. Another odd but thankfully rare issue with the physics is that on very rare occasions, after you kill an enemy (this most often occurs in single player) their body will begin to pinball around the area. I don’t know what’s happening in the physics engine that causes this but it’s really weird to see an enemy bouncing around the stage like a superball on steroids.
The single player game is a bit disappointing. It’s not necessarily bad but it could’ve used some fine-tuning. For me, the most disappointing aspect of the single player game is the storyline. After playing games such as Halo, Halo 2, and Half Life 2, all games with great storylines, I was expecting the same from PDZ. Simply put, the story is just bad. The plot is incredibly weak and clichéd, involving the search for an ancient artifact that imbues its possessor with superhuman powers. There are some interesting plot twists but they’re not enough to make this story any better (some might think they make it worse).
Luckily, this is a FPS. No one plays them for the story. Players play them for the intense shoot outs. PDZ has plenty of those. One particularly intense scene (perhaps the lengthiest and most challenging combat scene in the game) takes place on a bridge. You fight your way across against a seemingly endless horde of enemies. As you progress, things are exploding around you. Although the explosions don’t pose much of a threat to you, they really add to the intensity of the battle. Another intense shootout takes place in the jungle level I raved about before. As soon as the mission begins, the dropship you arrived in is being attacked by enemy troops and you have to defend your ride. Really intense stuff. Trust me, once these battles begin you’ll be sucked in.
The A.I. is hit or miss during the single player campaign. Later in the campaign the A.I. characters have pinpoint accuracy at long distances. On the other hand when you get close, sometimes they won’t even notice you until you put a bullet in them. It’s annoying to see enemies that are supposed to be shooting you running into walls. It’s also annoying to see them take cover behind explosive barrels. I guess they’re thinking the barrels won’t explode when you shoot at them. Even though they’re clearly marked (you know, red color, warning logo), they think they’ll be safe. The A.I. is generally good but the problems listed hamper the experience a bit.
There’s one last problem about the single player that really worked on my nerves. This problem is the lack of a decent checkpoint system or save feature in the single player. It is incredibly frustrating to play for about ten minutes through a particularly difficult section only to have to repeat it if you die or otherwise fail the mission. Each mission has only one checkpoint about half of the way through. After playing games like Halo that create checkpoints as you go through the level and others that allow you to save every few steps if you choose to, this is extremely frustrating and should’ve been addressed.
Okay, enough about the single player game, what about the multiplayer? Is it good? That’s a definite yes and the reason it deserves my score. I love the multiplayer. There are so many things it does right that it overshadows its shortcomings. Perfect Dark Zero’s multiplayer is perhaps the best of the launch games. By offering support for up to 32 players, it is certainly the biggest of the launch games. The maps expand and contract based on how many players are in the game. When there are a full 32 players in the game, the map will be playable at its full size. The player has full control over the map size however, so for faster paced battles, they can shrink the map or expand it for more tactical contests.
There are so many options you can adjust to create the game you want to play in with the settings, weapons, map, map size, and the number of bots you want. In this game there are a total of 28 weapons in the game ranging from pistols, to rifles to SMG’s and even a sword that can deflect incoming fire. There are so many weapons to choose from. There are a large number of available weapon sets including four you can customize to your liking.
The Combat Arena multiplayer mode is great featuring all the standard gametypes you’ve come to expect from multiplayer shooters. You’ll find Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Territories. My current favorite out of this lineup is the Team Deathmatch mode. With 32 players participating in the game at once, it’s incredibly fun and intense.
The Dark Ops mode is awesome. Dark Ops is a tactical, round based mode in the vein of the hit PC and Xbox shooter, Counter Strike. Before each round, you use credits you have earned from the previous rounds to purchase weapons. This is perhaps the most intense multiplayer mode and encourages, no, demands teamwork.
The online or split screen co-op play is a blast to play. It actually makes the cornball story bearable. It goes beyond just inserting a carbon copy of the main character in each level. For instance, on the fourth level, in the single player campaign you’re charged with protecting your father, who is an NPC in this case, by providing sniper fire from the rooftops. The co-op version of this level actually gives the second player control over the other character who then actively defends themselves with cover from the first player. I found this to be very intense and very innovative for a FPS.
All that being said, I am very happy with the way this game turned out. The single player game could’ve used a couple more development hours to add more checkpoints and make the story more sensible, but the multiplayer makes up for it big time. The graphics are great, and the only big problem I found was the rampant reflection mapping. Overall, this is a great game. If you’re going to be playing it over Xbox Live, buy it now. If not, you might still want to look into it if you’re a fan of the series or First Person Shooters in general.
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Value: 10
Tilt: 9
Overall Score: 8.7
