Perfect Dark Zero

"A shadow of the original"

Introduction:

Well, I decided to write a review. I might as well. Perfect Dark Zero was released in 2005 as a launch title for the Xbox 360; many eager Perfect Dark fans, as well as newcomers to the series, couldn't wait to get their hands on this after nearly six years of waiting. Was it worth the wait? Let's see.


Story: 1/10

Don't you just love when a great shooter becomes even better by immersing you in its world? Don't expect that here. The story of Perfect Dark Zero is nothing special, if not mediocre; it seems as if it was written in a day. The game tries to take a more comic-book approach this time, and unfortunately it was a bad move. Unlike the original, there is little darkness and mystery, and instead you get sub par voiceovers, cliche characters, and simply poor presentation. Overall, it just feels like a bad comic book. For instance, many of the game's characters now feel like a "hero or villain" type of thing, and it just doesn't feel right; the characters aren't at all believable or interesting, and in the end you just won't give a damn. The actual backplot, while I won't give away any spoilers, is very unoriginal and cliche. Not to mention, Dark herself now seems like an immature brat, no longer her former suave self. There was simply no effort put into story, and it shows: the story simply lacks, and will leave you with nothing but a bitter taste in your mouth.

Graphics: 7/10

The graphics for this game are generally pretty good. The resolution is clear, and there is plenty of detail in the environments. The guns look nice, everything is rendered properly, the lighting is done very well, and the graphics are very crisp. The actual visuals, all in all, are very nice.

However, that being said, the graphics are not without flaws; while the visuals are nice, the art direction is not. Many of the characters look ridiculous, and practically all of them have a cartoony look to them (which, for a mature game, just doesn't work well). Even characters from the original now have a comic-book look to them, and for Joanna, it just doesn't work. The art direction taken for the characters, as one thing, is one flaw: it is simply too cartoony/anime-ish.

Secondly, while the visuals themselves are nice, everything has a glossy feel to it. This great when you are in a metallic underwater lab.....but not so much when you're in the jungle. Everything, from the guns to the characters to the environments, simply seem as if they were accidentally dropped in a bucket of gloss, and it just isn't appealing.

Apart from those two flaws, there are a few more issues with the close-ups of characters and other scenarios, but nothing of too much consequence.

Audio: 5/10

The audio is a very mixed bag. While the weapons themselves [for the most part] sound quite nice, that is practically it! As I have said, the voiceovers are very poor, and that will take away from what could've been an immersive experience.

Apart from a few instances, the soundtrack is, simply put, lame. It sounds like a mix between bad techno and bad 80's rock; nothing special, and in some cases you'll want to turn off the music before you are annoyed to death. Overall, the music is not a satisfying experience at all, and simply doesn't live up to the superb scores done in the original.

In the multiplayer, there is an announcer, and he.....will......get....on...your...last...nerve! You can't turn him off, and so while you are in the heat of the action, you'll hear remarks such as "Killegal" and "Killtastic" being regurgitated over and over.......but you just can't turn him off. This is just annoying, plainly put.

And the last issue with the audio is the character's grunts. It may not be a big one, but it's still an issue. When punching, taking damage, and generally during most actions, you'll hear grunts, moans, and even yelling that sounds simply over exaggerated. In the case of taking damage, it'll get annoying to constantly hear your character's breathing and groaning; in the case of punching, it sounds like an overdramatic newbie karate student. It just wasn't done right.

Apart from that, the overall sound of the guns and the environments is well done. As I said, a mixed bag.

Animation: 2/10

The animations for this game are so bad, they deserve a category all their own. Let's start with character animation.

Firstly, almost every action in this game is poorly animated. When you kill someone, they'll simply fall over (or fly back in some rare cases) and simply dissolve. What is this? And the "falling over" isn't done well at all: you'll constantly have your limbs moving up, down, across, and who knows where all over the place, and frankly it was a job poorly done by Rare.

The running in this game is terrible. Why? For starters, the characters look like they can't seem to co-ordinate. Yes, the running is smooth, but the animation for it is not, and often times you'll see someone running at you with their legs seemingly moving slower than what you'd expect, going one in front of the other in a mechanical fashion.

Apart from this, there is a variety of bad animation to be found throughout the game, whether it is in cutscenes, combat, or whatever. The animation feels unharmonious, to put it simply.

Gameplay: 4/10

Here we are, the meat of this review. I'm going to be splitting it up into two mini-reviews, for the single player and multi player aspects of this game. Let's start with the single player.

Single player

The campaign in this game features three different difficulties at start, and a fourth if you manage to beat the game on Perfect Agent (the default highest difficulty). This will, if you actually manage to enjoy the campaign, give you plenty of replayability and an added challenge not found in many of today's shooters. There are 13 missions in total, most of them unique. There are a number of primary (must do) objectives, and then added secondary (optional) objectives for each mission, with the secondary helping in some way and spicing up gameplay. Before each mission, you get to customize what weapons (and in some cases, gadgets) you want to take along, which is a nice feature; the weapons, however, must be unlocked by being in your possession at the end of a mission. Overall, the setup is done nicely, though some of the more hardcore original fans might be unsatisfied that you can no longer carry a plethora of weapons to be at your disposal in any given mission.

As for the actual gameplay, the game falls short. Into each mission, you will constantly be facing ignorant AI, snail-slow speed, and enemies which seem to take as many hits as a tank. The game introduces a cover feature, which is a nice addition....if only it weren't so unreliable. Only the edges of any obstacle can be used as cover, and it takes a good second or two to even get in cover, leaving you vulnerable to enemy attack. As you progress, you will be hindered by ignorant partners that enjoy going out into the fire, and failing you the mission. Although some instances in the game can be clever (or attempt to be), in the end, the game simply fails to deliver a solid single player experience.

The game requires you to make use of interesting little gadgets throughout the game, ranging from the camspy to the locktopus. Because of the general variety of weapons, each situation can be approached in a unique manner, giving you some reason to go back and try it out. There are also various vehicles and other interactive items laying around for you to take advantage of, and this was well done.

The weapons. Let's talk about the weapons. This game features more weapons than most shooters, 25, but most of them just don't "feel" good to use. What I mean is, there is no incentive to pick certain weapons, as all of them feel to similar to each other and too average. Keep in mind that a handful of them are very creative, but the overwhelming majority are what you'd expect to find in any shooter, and just don't live up to the quantity and quality of the arsenal of Perfect Dark; original fans may also be disheartened to know that many of their favorite weapons won't be making a return, and those who do do so in a neutered form. Still, the arsenal is average enough.

Overall, there can be no doubt that there are fun bits to the campaign, but it is definitely mediocre; when slow speed, glossy graphics, poor animation, poorly programmed health, and a lack of originality are in conjunction, you just don't get a satisfying experience.

Multiplayer

Firstly, let me state that the multiplayer has alot of potential, and can be fun at times. However, because of the various flaws as mentioned throughout the review (of graphics, speed, health,etc), these eventually detract from the gameplay of the multiplayer.

The multiplayer can be done either local (4-player split-screen), system link (over a network), or over Xbox Live. There can be up to 32 players online at any given time, with the addition of 16 bots (however, keep in mind the AI is terrible). There is also very little lag, so I compliment Rare on this. Game modes can be divided into two different categories: deathmatch and darkops. Deathmatch provides your basic killcount, team killcount, a capture the flag mode, and a territorial control mode (sort of like Conquest in BF2). In darkops, players must purchase their weapons and equipment before each round with credits, which are earned by kills, completing objectives, etc. These modes could've been fun, and undoubtedly will provide entertainment, but the other issues stated already simply take away from the experience.

There are 6 maps, as well as more available for download; these maps range from very urban environment, to an expansive desert and even to an ancient temple. Generally, they are done well enough, although it would've been alot nicer to have included more variety, namingly the maps included in the original.

Weapons can also be customized, but as I have said, they are really uninteresting at their core and there is no reason to pick a certain weapon over another; however, you can have some good times with certain weapons, such as the Jackal (a sniper rifle), and it can be pretty fun messing around. The variety, when compared to the average FPS, is great, but Perfect Dark fans won't be satisfied by the lack.

Vehicles are now introduced into gameplay, though these can also be a mixed bag. I personally do not prefer them, though they can add to the fun (or, they can get annoying). Still, although the vehicles themselves are flawed, they are a nice addition if you prefer them, and extra options never hurt.

This brings us to the issue of options: there aren't enough. No where near as many as there should've been, a standard from the original.

For instance, characters. There are only 6 to specifically choose from, all of which are cartoony and wacky. Secondly (and VERY IMPORTANTLY), very basic functions, such as armor or beginning with a weapon, cannot be turned off. That means, players always start with armor in deathmatch, and this can be very annoying for various reasons, such as it makes firefights last alot longer and slows down the pace of the game. Beginning with a gun is just not Perfect Dark-style, and it feels like your average regurtitated shooter. Overall, there isn't enough customization in the multiplayer aspect.

That being said, there are some nice little features, and if you're playing with friends or with some nice people, you'll have fun. The multiplayer, although nothing special, can still be a fun experience, but suffers heavily from the core gameplay elements.

Therefore, I'd say the multiplayer is fair enough, but because of the basics, the slow speed, too-much health, gloss, and poor animations, it isn't a superb experience, and it isn't what it should have been.


Buy or Rent?

How can I decide? Geez, it's your opinion. I'd say rent it first, try it out; if you like it, get it, if not, don't. It's really a like it or hate it kind of game, but I'm in the middle.


Final thoughts:

All in all, I don't think this game was worth the wait. Although Perfect Dark Zero undoubtedly delivered some entertainment, this game just doesn't feel like Perfect Dark; all of the great features, weapons, options, and modes, and whatever have you, from the first that made it so great got removed, and instead this game feels like a watered down version of Perfect Dark. I expected alot more, and was dissatisfied with the direction (art or otherwise) taken for this game. It just could've been better, and should've been better, and ultimately: don't fix what isn't broken. Rare tried too much to revolutionize the classic gameplay of Perfect Dark, when in the first place it was perfect. Overall, I did have fun, but I was very disappointed.

Final Score: 5/10

Although, if GameFAQs let me, it'd be a 4.7/10


Story: 1/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 5/10
Animation: 2/10
Gameplay: 4/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/08

Game Release: Perfect Dark Zero (US, 11/17/05)