Perfect Dark Zero

"Perfect Honesty? Yes"

I had anticipated this game for quite awhile, prior to it's release, however forgot about it half way from it's debut. I rented this game, and overall- I enjoyed it very much. Perfect Dark Zero had to live up to it's former glory (Perfect Dark), and I feel that in some aspects it failed, but others it blew it away. Xbox Live anyone?

Single-player

As for single-player- it was terrible. It was very short, and not at all satisfying. In many levels, it's hard to tell where to go. I found myself getting lost pretty often, and had to wait for those nifty arrows to guide me in the right direction. Rare must have a terrible sense of humor, because the script was horrible. A bunch of cheesy one-liners, "I'm cool" lines. Another thing to note- the AI is dumb. You can attack it once and back off, shortly after it'll divert it's attention elsewhere- then you can strike it again. That of course doesn't always work, as there will be multiple AIs attacking you, but it's funny to pull off nonetheless. Instead of "Press A to unlock the door", Rare gives us a mini-game of sorts for each "Important interaction with objects". I found these mini-games to be fun, especially because each one may be harder than the last. The soundtrack for this game is great. I was really impressed with the first mission- the Hong Kong nightclub. The tunes of Kepi and Kat can be heard blasting in the distance when you're on the docks, and as you get closer to the interior of the building, it gets louder- which really immerses you into the theme. Overall, the single-player doesn't offer much other than wiping the floor with countless AI enemies. When I say countless, I mean there are tons. The only thing that made single-player not get a 3 on my scale are the games overall features- graphics, sound, etc.

Multi-player
Now here's where the game truly shines. I'll start off by saying that this game has somewhat of a steep learning curve. There is very little "auto-aim" and "bullet magnetism" in Perfect Dark Zero. That being said, it will be harder for newer players, especially those to the FPS genre. The health and armor system is great, and somewhat realistic as well. The player has a gauge of health, surrounded by a white one, which is armor. When the player is shot in a location where armor exists, it takes damage. For example, if you're shot in the head a few times, your helmet will fly off and you'll be prone to being "headshotted" until you find another armor pick-up. With that being said, the game really emphasizes on getting head shots, because the chest-area body armor can generally sustain much damage. But then, a new factor comes into play: "Vs. Armor" This factor is graded and different among weapons, some weapons will shatter your armor in just a few bullets, and some will take a lot longer. The weapons- Perfect Dark Zero has a massive array of weapons that you can utilize, and there are very few that are underpowered/useless.

Using Halo 2 as an example: "Oh no, I just spawned, I have to find a weapon quick to get rid of my SMG!"

In Perfect Dark Zero, the Falcon/Pistol you start with is still very viable; and in addition to that, when you spawn, you can choose what weapons you'd like to spawn with. This gives the game a very balanced weapon system. Also, the player can make use of various techniques to evade gunfire from an enemy. Pressing the left bumper allows you to roll in the direction you chose, making you a very hard target to hit. This doesn't come without a drawback however, as if you're hit while rolling, you take additional damage. If you get up against many objects, you can press A and use "cover". Cover puts the player into a 3rd person view and allows them to peek out and shoot their targets, and then go back behind the object. The movement speed in the game might appear slow, but that varies with weapon, and there is a "technique" to combat that when you want to get on the move, so to speak. Using the up button on the directional pad, you can put your weapon away and go unarmed, allowing you to run much faster, and disarm opponents. (Which is very funny to do to someone.) There are two general categories for multi-player games: Deathmatch (Name says it all.) and Dark Ops (Primarily objective-based games.) Even Deathmatch is tactical, in that each team takes over "spawn points", allowing the team to effectively shut the other down with fast respawns and rushes. And finally, the most important thing to Xbox Live players: Lag. I have to say, I have only experiences lag twice, that's right twice! And they were only spikes at that. Surprisingly this game doesn't lag very much at all, and plays rather smoothly. Despite having little to no bullet magnetism, shots register perfectly on and off-host.

Overall General Scores

Graphics: 8/10
The scenery was fairly detailed, and the frame rates stayed steady. The multi-player maps have less graphical detail to them, as compared to the single player levels; but if you're playing multi player, and admiring the scenery, you're doing something wrong. Not the best graphics, or something that if I were a game developer, I'd take extreme pride in- But they're good, good enough.

Sound: 10/10
With a killer soundtrack, great ambiance, and awesome weapon effects- Perfect Dark Zero takes the ten for sound.

Controls: 9/10
The controls are flawless. Every maneuver can be executed with ease, and the dual thumb-sticks make for very smooth gameplay. (Although might be hard for non-Xbox users to get used to.) In addition there are many customization features that allow you to change nearly any control setting/preference that you please.

Single-player: 4/10
The category that brings this game down. With a somewhat bland story, and cheesy script, you may find yourself rather picking on the bots in a custom game. The levels are pretty linear, and the AI is weak. If you're looking for a good single-player- I'd look elsewhere.

Multi-player: 10/10
In this department, this game's a true gem. With a wide selection of weapons, and a balanced game system- You're in for a lot of fun if you have Live. Also, Perfect Dark Zero provides many types of games you can play, ranging from destroying each other, or wrecking objective items. And now I'll answer a question that many people will ask themselves before they decide to buy this game:

"Well, how does this game compare to Halo 2's multi-player? Huh?"

How does it compare? Well in my personal opinion, it's far better in every way.

- It provides perfect balance as you can choose weapons when you spawn.
- Wide variety of maps to be played, with adjustable sizes.
- Great weapon balance, every weapon is viable, with a great selection to chose from.
- Provides both "Run n' gun" and "tactical/squad-based" gameplay.
- Little to no lag at all. (I know you'll love this.)
- Steep learning curve. This may be a downfall though, especially for those who like to "jump" into a game and be decent with little to no practice. I personally like that it's a hard game to play.
- Eliminates "weapon domination". As to say a person with a Sniper Rifle (Jackal) will not ruin the gameplay in a large to medium map because A.) You can easily get one too. B.) The rest of the weapons are so viable that you can take him out with another weapon of your choice. (Whereas in Halo 2 half the weapons are hopeless vs. "power" weapons.)
- PDZ players on Live are generally more respectable. (Subject to change, user experience may vary.)
- Game shows emphasis on accuracy, and provides a wide skill-gap for players.

Overall: 8/10
If you have Xbox Live, then this is a game that is definitely worth buying. And I hope to see more of the Perfect Dark series.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/21/06