Perfect Dark

"So thought you knew Johanna Dark's whole story?"

Introduction: Greetings, this is my second review plus it is going to be brief so as not to bore anyone. Straight up facts and information to help you make the right choice. This review was written on 09/26/00 and I will not be comparing this game to any other GB/C game simply cause I haven’t played many of them. With that said let us move on to the important stuff. (Hehe, that opening paragraph made me feel so serious).

Gameplay: Perfect Dark’s gameplay is an assortment of variety. For the bulk of the game your vision will be placed in an overhead view of Johanna Dark. I don’t know if I have to explain this… but basically the point of the game is to kill your opponent with the aid of weapons. While the challenge isn’t very difficult, and like the majority of Videogames, it is justified by the frustration rate, it’s still one of those games that you just want to go out on the deck and play on a sunny day. There is plenty of extra’s within the game to satisfy your thirst for entertainment. Whether it’s stealth, puzzle oriented, silent sniping, racing the enemy in various vehicles, or just going insane nutty deathmatch style on one of Perfect Dark’s various bosses, there is something for everyone. There is also a highly advanced Multiplayer mode of which I would like to tell you about, but unfortunately you absolutely require a friend to take advantage of this mode. In other words, if your friends think the Game Boy is whack like my friends do, then your going to miss out on about 50% of what this game has to offer. Unlike the N64’s version you won’t be able to play against any Computer controlled enemies.

Play Controls: One of my biggest gripes about this game’s Frustration level was definitely the controls. While they may seem simple enough when you first start out, you wouldn’t believe the amount of times Johanna would just start bagging it (running) down a hallway of guards, while what I was trying to do was have her sneak up behind the opponent using stealth. After all she is a spy. Some people also get annoyed when they have to pause their game in order to switch weapons, and if your one of those individuals then you’ll understand what I’m trying to say. I don’t blame Rareware for the horrible controls though, after all there is only 4 buttons and a joy-pad on the GB. Eventually you’ll get over the lousy control scheme but they’re definitely wont ruin the game in the long run.

Challenge: It’s the parts like these that make this review so brief. I didn’t find this game challenging at all. Somewhat puzzling a couple of times (insert frustration here) but hardly challenging. I bought Perfect Dark for the N64 the first day it came out and I’m still trying to get everything, I bought this game on a Saturday afternoon and was done it on a Sunday evening. That was causal playing too, I might add. My final completion time was 5 hours and 18 minutes.

Graphics: And it’s the categories like these that make reviewing this game so fun. While I’ve always believed that graphics can only enhance gameplay, and not the actual make up the game, this section of the game sort of contradicts that belief. I’ve never quite seen anything like it before on the gameboy. You can clearly see the character’s legs MOVEING in the game. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit. But there is movie sequences that look pretty good on the GBC.

Music/Sound: While there wasn’t a lot of music in the game (for the majority of gameplay there usually isn’t even background music) the sounds more then justify this category of the game as being the best part. Plus what little music there is, seems to give you an old-school feeling of the N64 version. So although the music was lacking in quantity the quality seemed to even it out. Oh and the sounds. THE SOUNDS! All I can say was when I turned the game on and after setting up my save file Daniel Carrington started TALKING TO ME!! For real! Talking. On the Game Boy. And clearly making out what they are saying. It WILL shock you! Without question. And it’s not like there is just one or two paragraphs spoken throughout the game, most of the story is made up of Opening and Closing conversations with each level including two characters.

Satisfaction/Story: Normally I wouldn’t group these two together, however my satisfaction level within the game was solely thanks to the story. While it’s not great, infact it’s just standard, it is the back-story of the N64 game. So the two plots are linked together. Example: Remember the Pelagic II on the N64, well when ever there’s a number two, usually means there was a number one. :^) Plus if you haven’t received a few of the cheats in the N64 version, if you plug Perfect Dark GBC into a Transfer Pack you can unlock a total of four new cheats. And of course you all have a Transfer Pack right? :P

Replay Value: There is an Extra’s Mode, Gameboy Printer Mode, as well as other small tidbits of gameplay, but all in all, unless your buddy has a copy of this game so you can play the Multiplayer mode, then there is little reason that you’ll continue playing this game. Unless your bored on one of those pleasant sunny days, and want to go outside to play it on the porch again. :-) Just make sure the girl next door doesn’t see you, other wise she’ll think you’re a freak! Oh and if your anything like me, and expect hours of portable replay sniping action, don’t be. After half and hour I guarantee a five year old could MASTER the ONE level of sniping that this game has to offer! Oh and if you get your jolly’s from the vibrating built in rumble pack, then I suppose that would be some replay “action” too. Let’s hope no one actually buys the game for that reason though. :P

Conclusion: Well it would seem that I have failed to make this review brief. So once again I have failed. But I hope that in the process of my failing that YOU the reader have learned something about Perfect Dark for your GBC. If your wondering why I gave it a 6/10 if I thought it was so good the answer is simple. I mark difficult and six is not bad. The two biggest factors that depleted the mark of this game would have to be its price and the game’s length. I paid $45 Canadian for this game, so I feel somewhat disappointed. If you ever have any questions regarding this game or perhaps others feel free to email me at: sithprobe@hotmail.com

~ Thanks for your time, and keep gamin’!

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/00, Updated 09/26/00