Perfect Dark (XBL)

[Uli]

PD was far ahead of its time, except visual splendour maybe. you could shoot through walls already and even eliminate light sources, which isn't even possible in many modern FPS like Modern Warfare 2! oh, and let's not forget multiplayer side of things as there is a co-op mode and also bots for deathmatch. i love bots as they are useful for learning maps without taking the stress of an online match. where are bots today? anyone?

[Dezm0nd]

PA is definitely where it's at, the game will take you to loads of other places in the levels which will seem like empty rooms on agent.

PD is still ahead of its time in terms of weapons for me, they managed to create a diverse set of weapons which are hilarious and fun including the secondary fire mode.

I still prefer the GE/PD/TS2 level/mission design, the missions within each level make them so much more identifiable rather than an A - B Call of Duty sprintathon

[Malc]

On Perfect Agent? The preceeding difficulties are only warm-ups, the levels open up with more objectives and thus depth.

Oh God no, I'd get my buttocks handed to me in that diffculty.

I'm talking about the level's layout specifically rather than what you have to in the level. After an epic opening to the game, in my opinion, it ended up going down dark corridors like the

->Open Spoiler<-

boat level with a million doors and you end up getting lost, or the alien level with all the portals, even the last level in the ruins had a very linear layout.

Having more objectives to do by putting up the difficulty would make it more interesting, but it still doesn't change the fact that you are running through the same environments on the levels I didn't enjoy. Also I would just be losing my health ten times faster, which is a very ancient design idea for difficulty levels in my opinion.

Despite this, I did enjoy the game, and it was only less than half of the levels which I really felt were poorly designed.

[dataDave]

If you lose too much health on PA mode you need to stealth up a bit.

[yesteryeargames]

God I had forgotten how amazing the music is!

possibly the best music of all time or at least up there

[Malc]

If you lose too much health on PA mode you need to stealth up a bit.

How can you without replaying the same level again and again?

Whenever I tried to go stealth the enemies would spot me almost instantly when I got in their field of view. For stealth gameplay in an FPS you need a delay in the enemies reaction times to make it slightly more enjoyable, kind of like Halo did (I know PD was made before Halo, I'm just giving an example).

[dataDave]

How can you without replaying the same level again and again?

It wouldn't be much of a hard mode if it couldn't be clocked in 2/3 attempts. It took me a good couple of months to bag everything on PA.

Like a vertical shmup you need to learn the enemy paths and routines. Enemies that are waiting in ambush, especially the ones on Air Force One, can have their line of sight abused by hiding around corners.

Usually if an enemy has a 1sec window it'll mean death for you, and you won't even have the ammo to just run in like Kurt Russell on PA. The Assault Ship mission is insane for that (the one where you start off in the cell with the knife).

The real challenge was trying Perfect Dark mode with the enemy stats up full, only a few of the levels were possible.

[dataDave]

I do have a question, mainly for dataDave as he's the resident PD lover round these parts: How do you get the gold with the AR34, it's doing my effin nut. The most innacurate gun, 500 points in 20 seconds without losing 1% of accuracy!

Double-crouch improves accuracy, secondary fire mode for scope, just strafe with the target and try to reload during the movement intervals. If you've been trying it stood up all the time you should bag it on your 1st go with knowing that.

[Uli]

so, any fix to make aiming in zoom mode more precise and useful?

[Sixty]

so, any fix to make aiming in zoom mode more precise and useful?

There is hope. Rare said this on their twitter page:

Cheers for all the good Perfect Dark feedback; concerns are also being noted. Some are more complex than others. More info as we get it.

On a different note, I'd forgotten how hard the Perfect sims are. Challenge 16 is brutal.

[H-Man]

so, any fix to make aiming in zoom mode more precise and useful?

I'm glad i'm not the only one struggling with this. I used to play PD with auto aim and the on screen target off - basically like GE minus auto aim - and had no trouble making head/hand/foot shots and taking down cameras and turrets quickly. For whatever reason - age/poor reactions being a strong possibility! - i'm having a great deal of trouble being accurate in zoom mode in this version. It feels crazy sensitive, with the tiniest nudge sending the crosshair flying away. Running about playing PD like any other fps feels so wrong - dont start me on auto aim! - and if it's not a zoomed headshot it doesn't count!

[jimtendo]

Aye, precisley the same problem.

I'm not sure whether it's a number of factors for me:
- i used to play Goldeneye/ Perfect Dark southpaw style (using the C-buttons for movement/ Stick for looking) and thus because i had better aim with my left thumb.

- The 360 analog movement is just no match for the N64 stick.

Used to love doing headshots/ disarms on the N64 version.
On the 360, i just have spazmo fits when trying to even get the zoom mode to actually hit what i want. Even trying to shoot out the light bulbs is a problem

[dataDave]

Yeah, I'm missing my N64 pad the most so far. I still have a brand spank one reserved for exclusive Perfect Dark use.

[Dezm0nd]

Double-crouch improves accuracy, secondary fire mode for scope, just strafe with the target and try to reload during the movement intervals. If you've been trying it stood up all the time you should bag it on your 1st go with knowing that.

Genius. Cheers mate.

[dataDave]

I just cleared the firing range to find out I still have the golden magnum to unlock.

I'm a bit miffed that you can't come out of normal crouch without going to double crouch. Unless I'm being a dick.