Perfect Dark Zero was one of Microsoft’s big guns for the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 18th, 2005. A first-person shooter from developer Rare who were famed for their previous action-shooter games GoldenEye 007 and the original Perfect Dark.
The sci-fi game (a prequel to the original Nintendo 64 hit) had literally hopped from platform to platform and had been in development or rumored to be in development for over five years. Originally slated to hit the Nintendo GameCube before Rare was bought out by Microsoft for US$377 million, it then heading to Xbox where it was a year away from release, before it was finally rushed to the Xbox 360 at launch.
System: Xbox 360
Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action
Release dates: November 18th 2005 (USA), December 2nd 2005 (EURO)
Players: single player, 2-player (split-screen & online) co-op, 2-4 multiplayer, 2-32 online multiplayer
Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Origin: England
Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the successful Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, made in 2000. Zero takes place in the year 2020, predating the original Perfect Dark’s storyline by three years. As such it’s the origin story of the legendary Joanna Dark, a perfect agent and ultimate weapon. Equip Joanna with tons and tons of definitive state-of-the-art weaponry, gadgets, and vehicles.
Ruthless corporations compete in a savage, unseen war for global domination. Joanna Dark is a bounty hunter working with her father Jack and her friend Chandra. On Joanna’s first mission, they rescue a scientist named Zeigler from the hands of a Triad crime lord Killian. Zeigler uses a neurodrive to implant information into Jack’s mind. As such Jack becomes a target and gets captured by a megacorporation known as DataDyne. The story continues as Joanna sets out to rescue her father and is thrown into a raging battle of corporate conspiracy and corruption, where truth and the fate of the world rests on the barrel of her gun.
You can play through Perfect Dark Zero’s story mode alone or with a friend in local split-screen or online co-op.
Watch the Perfect Dark Zero launch trailer.
In Perfect Dark Zero there are two versions of multiplayer, and within each version are four different game modes.
DeathMatch: This is a standard gametype where players spawn in rooms, collect weapons, and continue to the actual map. Weapons are also available on the map itself. Bots are included in all DeathMatch game modes.
The DeathMatch game modes are:
Killcount — This is a free-for-all where the winner is the player that achieves the most kills.
Team Killcount — A team based version of Killcount where the team with the most kills wins.
Capture the Flag — A team-only match. Each team tries to grab the enemy’s flag and return it to their base. The winning team is the one with the most flags captured.
Territorial Gains — A team-only match. The goal is to capture and hold several neutral hills until they generate points. The team with the most territories held is the winner.
DarkOps: This is a round-based, team-only gametype that was heavily inspired by the popular PC FPS Counter-Strike. It is generally slower-paced, and is more tactical than DeathMatch. Weapons must be purchased from a player’s stock of credits. Credits are earned by killing enemies and obtaining objectives. Bots were implemented in an update on May 4, 2006.
The DarkOps game modes are:
Eradication — A team-only game. Teams take turns trying to eliminate each other. The team that stays alive the longest, or that kills the other team while still living wins.
Onslaught — A team-only game. Teams take turns defending and attacking a base. The defenders get one life (but can be revived), and can purchase weapons. The attackers have unlimited lives, but have basic weapons (choice of a Falcon, CMP 150 and a DEF-12 Shotgun). The team that holds the base the longest wins.
Infection — A free-for-all game. Players start as either infected or uninfected. When a player dies, they become infected. If the uninfected stay alive for the duration of the round, only they get points. If the infected eliminate them, then only they get points. The player with the most points overall is the winner. (This can seem like a team game as uninfected huddle in a room to survive, or as infected team up to eliminate them).
Sabotage — A team-only game. Teams take turns attacking and defending certain pieces of property on the map. The team that destroys the most property or eliminates the other team wins.
While you can play Perfect Dark Zero’s multiplayer modes in local split-screen with up to four players, the game has full support for the online Xbox Live service. Any of the multiplayer modes can be played online with player counts up to 32 players. You can either choose to play a ranked Deathmatch or DarkOps, where you will be matched with players using a system called “TrueSkill Matchmaking”, or you may choose a player match where you can choose your game from a list of player hosted games. These games can be highly customized and can include bots as both friends or foes.
Watch the Perfect Dark Zero 007-esque intro music video and first level gameplay.
As a conclusion let’s rate this game on its fun-basis.
FUN FACTOR – 8.0
While the game’s story mode is unoriginal, it’s still fun to play through with a friend in local split-screen or online co-op. The multiplayer modes are where the meat of this game’s enjoyment comes from. It shines online where you can select one of the many multiplayer modes: DeathMatch modes includes (Team) Killcount, Capture the Flag, Territorial Gains, and the DarkOps team gametypes include Eradication, Onslaught, Infection, Sabotage. There are a lot more action-heavy moments online, especially if you play on one of the six huge maps with up to 32 players at once. I suppose if you were expecting an evolution over the first game, Rare fans might be disappointed, but more of a good thing isn’t bad at all! So Zero might not have much innovation over the original Perfect Dark. But what it does have is loads of fun weapons to play around with, and due to the sheer amount of options available in online multiplayer it’s the best first-person shooter on the Xbox 360 at launch.
Graphics – 8.5
The high-resolution graphics look great and there are some spectacular special effects like motion-blur and nice lighting. The hit-detection on the enemy bodies is realistic. Weapons fire affects the environments. Especially the tons of different weapons look and play fantastic, like a submachine gun that created a hologram of you to distract enemies or one that sees and shoots through walls. To point out some of the game’s faults, I’d have to say some of the characters look ugly up close and the graphics are too shiny, at least dry wood isn’t supposed to shine brightly last I checked. In the end the game looks as good as it plays and Joanna Dark’s world looks best on a HDTV.
Audio – 7.5
The soundtrack was produced by Nile Rodgers, whose past credits include the soundtracks for Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. The original score was composed and arranged by David Clynick. Additional songs include Kepi and Kat’s “Limelight”, a popular club favorite, as well as two songs by Nile Rodgers proteges MorissonPoe entitled Glitter Girl *Evil Side* (the game’s opening number, hear it in the video above), and Pearl Necklace (the game’s closing credits). There are some awesome beats in there. Sound effects from the weapons are fantastic and even if many guns are futuristic they all sound spot-on. The voice acting in the cutscenes and in-game can only be described as terrible and weak, it doesn’t help that the storyline is weak, but maybe the real voice actors were on holiday or something?
Ingenuity – 8.5
If you’ve played the original Perfect Dark, the first thing you’ll notice is that this game’s pace is slowed down considerably. This is done in order to give the game a more strategic thinking feel. It works out for the best, since you now have loads of weapons, gadgets and vehicles to play around with. The gameplay controls are pretty standard like most FPS games nowadays, with cool additional moves like taking cover behind objects and a dodge roll that may be quick, but at the same time leaves you more vulnerable to attacks. This sort of realism comes back in the weapons as well, when you’re carrying a heavy weapon it’ll affect your speed, that’s why the game allows you to carry a few light guns as well as a heavier weapon, meaning you’ll have to balance your favorite weapons down to the four you can carry as you gain access to more. Overall, the game plays great; it’ll feel very natural if you’re a shooter fan.
Replay Value – 8.5
Although it’s not always fun, and at some points even tedious, expect the single player/co-op story mode to last you about twelve hours. Add to this the extensive and exciting multiplayer experience for up to 32 players (where you’ll spend most your time) and you’ve got yourself a must-have Xbox 360 launch game for FPS fans (with an Xbox Live Gold subscription). The six varied multiplayer maps will keep you busy for a few weeks, if not months, thanks to all the weapons being well balanced and no vehicles being overpowered, plus there are many different modes and cool features like achievements to unlock and voice chat can be a real asset if the people you meet are friendly.
Update: In May 2006 an auto-update became available via Xbox Live that fixed several bugs in the game, like stopping people and enemies from walking through the air. — Perfect Dark Zero Map Pack 1 was released in June 2006 that added 4 new maps to the game’s original 6 at a price of 500 Microsoft Points. Perfect Dark Zero Map Pack 2 was released for free in November 2006 and added 2 multiplayer arenas from the N64 games Perfect Dark and GoldenEye 007. — By the end of 2007, within two years after release, Perfect Dark Zero has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. As a result a Perfect Dark Zero 2 sequel has been hinted.