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Retro|Spective 099: Perfect Dark

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    Retro|Spective 099: Perfect Dark

    A conspiracy is afoot and you don't want to be left in the dark, the...



    Mainline Entry 01 - Perfect Dark
    Formats:
    Nintendo 64, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
    Facing a quandary, Rare had a decision on its hands. It was on a hot streak of titles on the Nintendo 64 and its belated film adaptation of Goldeneye had been a huge commercial and critical hit. What they lacked though was a further Bond licence and a question over whether and how to follow that game up. The end result was the choice to make a spiritual successor under the banner of a new ip, that led to Perfect Dark. Running on an upgraded version of Goldeneye's engine, PD took that games template and expanded it like a sequel would with the future setting allowing for wider ideas to be implemented. The expansion pak was required as the game would release as one of the systems most advanced games visually. Taking on the role of Joanna, players undertook multi-objective missions using a range of tools and weapons including the Farsight that could see through walls. The game was praised for its multiplayer just as its predecessor had been, the games framerate proving to be the one key sticking point an element that was resolved in its later remaster for Xbox 360.



    Spin Off Entry 01 - Perfect Dark
    Formats:
    Game Boy Color
    Following shortly after the main game and connectable via the Transfer Pak was the handheld entry. This side game is a prequel that swapped the FPS action for an isometric viewpoint but actually managed to incorporate a two player multiplayer mode. One of the biggest attention pieces the game featured never made the cut, the ability to link it to the Game Boy Camera to transfer your face into the N64 version.



    Mainline Entry 02 - Perfect Dark Zero
    Formats:
    Xbox 360 and Xbox One
    Following Rare's sale to Microsoft they were keen to leverage the recent hit and so this prequel hit as a launch title for MS's sophomore console. Rare worked on the game over the Gamecube and original Xbox and it showed but not in the best way. The game was structurally much like the N64 predecessor and by this time that template was painfully out of date, the new game feeling like a belated N64 release. The key addition was a third person cover system that added little to the experience but none the less it did perform solidly for Rare and reportedly made them back 4 times the cost the game has taken to make. Room existed for a new take on the franchise but Rare would soon lose direction in its new home and the FPS field was competitive enough that the franchise has ended up remaining dormant.



    Share your thoughts and memories of Perfect Dark

    #2
    I've asked my lovely friend at Rare for an anecdote, but I'm not sure what he's allowed to share, so I'll talk about my experiences.

    The first game on the N64 was amazing. The thing that struck me most was how inventive the weapons were. Things like the suitcase gun that could also turn into a sentry gun was so clever and changed the way people played rather than just guns.

    It was a pretty cool story and the whole rescue mission later on was really tense and felt like you were in a sci-fi action film.

    The only downside was the limitations of the N64, even with the memory pack.

    However, Perfect Dark Zero will always be special to me.
    I've never had a console at launch, I've always been a gen behind, which is fine, but with the XBox 360, I was finally getting a console on the day it came out. I bought a bunch of the launch titles like Condemned and PGR3, which were all great, but it was PD0 that clicked first with me.

    The actual game itself was enjoyable, continuing the sci-fi action theme with some suitably exciting set pieces, but it was the multiplayer that blew my mind.

    I had played co-op and Vs on separate consoles and PCs - Tetris on Game Boy, Doom on PS1, Half-Life on PC, but it was the coming together of the factors of a new system that was so cool. Like Apple products never inventing anything new, just refining them, playing PD2 on the launch 360 was the perfect storm.

    I was playing online, with Americans on a wireless pad chatting in real time with a headset, coordinating our attacks.

    Capture the Flag was my fave mode and we had some amazing games with daring and bravado as we blindsided or distracted the opposition and took their flag.

    One of my favourite moments was a team member with the flag trapped by gunfire, until I rocked up in a hovercraft!
    He jumped onto the bonnet and we caned off into our base to get the point. It was like an action film set-piece and we all got such a buzz from it.

    I kept that guy on my friend list for years and wondered what happened to him.

    Comment


      #3
      I've never played Perfect Dark. I really liked GoldenEye -- and used to play it a lot for a couple of years. When I heard about Perfect Dark not running very well -- and maybe pushing the hardware too much, I had a negative feeling about the game. So I didn't bother to buy it.

      I know it's considered to be a decent game though, so I feel like I missed out.
      Last edited by Leon Retro; 09-07-2019, 22:29.

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        #4
        Yeah, it is a very good game, but even with the RAM expansion it does seem to be pushing the N64 to the limit.

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          #5
          It's not that bad as long as you disable the hi-res mode. There isn't much of a visual difference anyways, especially when taking the N64s poor video into account.

          Or just play it on the Xbox at 60fps.

          Comment


            #6
            N64 Perfect Dark actually runs at a (slightly) higher framerate than GoldenEye 007, so it's somewhat of a misconception.

            PD has a zillion more modes and options you can throw at the engine, so not all perform consistently well. I think the co-op/counter-co-op modes are where most of the perceptions stem from, as although it was very novel for its time, understandably pushes the system to its limits. Also with the introduction of up to 8 multi-player bots and some of the more adventurous levels (like Cradle, Jungle etc. in GoldenEye), there are drop-offs in performance too.

            Everywhere else though, (and as dataDave points out, disabling the hi-res feature is good to level things out), it runs perfectly fine.

            I could go onand on about how immersive and open-ended PD is, how ingenious its weapons and AI is, and how much of its concepts have yet to be replicated by subsequent FPSs. It's up there with the very best in my opinion, possibly Rare's greatest ever game.
            Last edited by Tetsuo; 09-07-2019, 15:44.

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              #7
              I was super-hyped for Perfect Dark but I didn't like it nearly as much as Goldeneye.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by dataDave View Post
                It's not that bad as long as you disable the hi-res mode. There isn't much of a visual difference anyways, especially when taking the N64s poor video into account.

                Or just play it on the Xbox at 60fps.
                I thought you'd have a bit more to say on this subject, dataDave!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Multiplayer PD was a staple towards the end of my teenage years.

                  PD0 was an utter dog and one of the worst launch titles I've ever played.

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                    #10
                    The Gameboy Color game was actually really good. That was my first taste of PD, since I didn’t own an N64. The graphics were surprisingly three dimensional, and I remember being amazed that it had actual voice recordings in it. My memories of it are a bit dim now, but I definitely remember it had cool sniper levels too, where you controlled a sniper scope that took out the whole screen to take out far off enemies. It felt really advanced compared to a lot of other GBC games.

                    My best friend had it too, and we used to do co-op linkup. That was a lot of fun. I might be remembering wrongly, but I think one of you played it top down as Joanna, while the other played a supporting sniper. That could be completely wrong but I remember us playing a LOT of it. It supported the IR thing on top of the GBC as well as a good old link cable, but that thing was a waste of time and we could hardly ever get it to work, even lying the two consoles flat on a table with the IR bits facing each other directly.

                    I also got PDZ with my 360 at launch. Played it all the way through and I got some fun out of it, but it wasn’t a good game by any means. Everything looked like it was covered with a thick layer of something shiny. Possibly hair gel, or olive oil. Didn’t really play it online, all my time there was taken up with Ridge 6.

                    I’m going to give the OG a try at some point. I’ve got it on Rare Replay via Game Pass.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by wakka View Post
                      Everything looked like it was covered with a thick layer of something shiny. Possibly hair gel, or olive oil.
                      Yeah, we want games to look nice and shiny, not greasy.

                      The way the game looked really put me off buying it, even if people I knew online were playing it and said it's quite fun.

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                        #12
                        No clue for the 100th instalment. It will simply be the end of the first era.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Superman Falls View Post
                          No clue
                          Professor Layton?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by QualityChimp View Post
                            I thought you'd have a bit more to say on this subject, dataDave!
                            I'm a bit tired of jizzing over it, to be honest. [MENTION=2797]Tetsuo[/MENTION] summed it up pretty well anyway.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by dataDave View Post
                              I'm a bit tired of jizzing over it, to be honest. @Tetsuo summed it up pretty well anyway.
                              Fair enough.

                              Never been the type to make someone jizz against their will.

                              #gravestonequotes

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