Goodnight, Perfect Dark!

Perfect Dark Xbox Live Arcade

Retro gaming is evolving naturally. As the years goes by, new gamers both young and old are missing out on a vast catalogue of classic games and thanks to the current generation of consoles they now can experience the classics which came before regenerating health and checkpoints.

Perfect Dark was originally released in the summer of 2000 and was quite possibly the most anticipated game on the console. Acquiring the label of “The spiritual sequel to Goldeneye” is spot-on. Rareware Ltd was no longer in control of the James Bond licence and had free reign over where to take their revolutionary game mechanics and this is what became.

You play as Joanna Dark working for the Carrington Institute who has been sent on a mission to recover Dr Carroll from the opposing faction, DataDyne, an evil corporation who have ties in acquiring a lethal alien mega-weapon. Starting the game sees Joanna Dark in the Carrington Institute building, here you can learn the basics on controls, earn medals in the firing range with weapons you’ve found in the single player game and computers with information on literally anything you could want from the universe in which you’re in. The single player levels in Perfect Dark have various set objectives which help move the story along and must be completed before you are allowed to progress onto the next and this is where the game will either impress you or not. There are no checkpoints per level which means a death will result in you starting from the beginning which can sometimes feel really punishing if you’ve made a mistake which isn’t your fault, luckily this doesn’t happen very often. Replaying the missions on higher difficulties will require more from you, you will take more damage and new objectives will emerge which have not been there previously.

To make a first person shooter enjoyable is by no means an easy thing to do. The weaponry plays a huge part and luckily Perfect Dark delivers in spades, here we have no rules in how many guns and gadgets you can carry and if you can find it you can use it. Each gun has a unique secondary firing mode which offers some of the best moments games have to offer. Imagine throwing a gun on the floor which is secretly an explosive, they’ll never see it coming.

Much like a typical James Bond flick, there are gadgets aplenty here ranging from mini remote controlled cameras which sedate your foes to a pair of goggles which allow you to see through walls and doors which puts you one step ahead of the somewhat dated A.I enemies throughout the levels.

Unfortunately the A.I in the game hasn’t received the technical upgrade the graphics have and this show in enemies often getting stuck behind corners or running in circles pointlessly and while this takes you out of the experience slightly, it can often become a blessing in disguise when the going gets rough.

The story mode can be played in different game types, too, offering a full co-operative experience over Xbox Live and the much under used game type counter-operative which pits one player as the enemy trying to stop the other player from completing the level. Why this hasn’t appeared in a call of duty game is a bit baffling to me and is definitely a great way to experience the game with a friend.

Multiplayer was the biggest draw ten years ago and but unfortunately this feels the most dated of them all even with the inclusion of Xbox Live play. That’s not to say that it’s not worth checking out, four players on one Xbox can go online and have a fun time for a short while but multiplayer has definitely evolved beyond deathmatch and the other modes aren’t really worth checking out which is a shame as it has some of the most customisable features seen in a videogame.

Inside the multiplayer menu is a series of challenges; pre set rules which put you and friends against the devilishly evil A.I control bots aka Simulants, another feature ahead of its time. Most of the fun will come here when it comes to multiplayer and showcases how flexible or chaotic the multiplayer can be. Will you defeat the evil Dark Sims?

The transition to high definition TVs seems to have a knock on effect when aiming your weapon with the right stick leaving it feel far too twitchy but this is a minor setback which will soon be addressed in an upcoming title update.

Perfect Dark on the Xbox 360 is how I remember it ten years ago. A true gem which needs a proper sequel and if you’re interested in the history of the first person shooter then this is one stop you will need to make, it’s groundbreaking even today despite its flaws with the controls.

9/10