Perfect Dark Zero

Joanna Dark first made a name for herself when she originally debuted on the N64 back in 2000 in Rare’s first person shooter Perfect Dark. The original Perfect Dark was an instant hit and rose to the ranks, becoming a N64 classic. The sequel to the classic game has been a long time in the making, it originally started development on the Gamecube, and then Microsoft gobbled up Rare and development shifted onto the original Xbox. Five years after the first Perfect Dark and here we are with Perfect Dark: Zero a prequel to the N64 title, now on the Xbox 360.

Perfect Dark: Zero has had a lot of hype surrounding it and there are numerous reasons for this. Many gamers compared PDZ to Halo for the original Xbox, and while this is understandable – they are after all both shooters and they both are out at launch, it is also rather depressing, the two games are not similar.  As soon as you boot PDZ up and watch the James Bond style start-up video you will realize that Rare did not try to make a Halo clone. The other reason for the hype surrounding the game was that it was developed by Rare, Rare has made very few good titles since they were purchased by Microsoft and this is their chance to show that they have what it takes to survive in the next generation of gaming.

In Perfect Dark: Zero you play the role of Joanna Dark, a gun for hire. You assist your father Jack Dark in tasks such as: sabotage, retrieval of important objects like briefcases and elimination/assassination of criminals; just your standard first person shooter stuff.

PDZ features almost every game mode you can think of including: co-op campaign, single-player campaign and multiplayer mode, both online and offline. The single player spans a total of thirteen missions, across vast landscapes and varying settings. The game takes you through all manner of environments, for example you will shoot your way through corporate buildings, snowy landscapes and sandy deserts.  All of the levels have a large amount of depth to them, and are great for multiplayer battles.  The four difficulty levels cater for all players’ needs whether they are right off the noobie bus or straight up professional, and they extend the replay value of the game tremendously.

The graphics in PDZ can be described as beautiful; the detail in every block, every clump of mud and every piece of ice is amazing. Throughout the game I sometimes found myself staring at a wall, just so I could see and appreciate the various textures that Rare have incorporated. The character models are also detailed, with the blurred features of previous generation character models gone, to be replaced with highly detailed ones.

However that said, the graphics in Perfect Dark Zero are not all the 360 is capable of and you can spot the occasional jagged texture, however the graphics are good for a first generation Xbox 360 game and it provides a nice introduction to the next generation of gaming. A large amount of attention has been focused on Joanna, you will find she is smooth and not at all jaggy on most of the levels.