Perfect Dark - But is it really Perfect? (Perfect Dark (N64))

Member Name: robertjb

Product:	Perfect Dark (N64)
Date:	02/07/09 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great story, graphics, gameplay and best of all multi-player!

Disadvantages: Some bad slow-down

Perfect Dark was by far the most hyped game to be released on the good old Nintendo 64. Using the same game engine to that of Goldeneye, Rare once again set about creating an absolute masterpiece.

The game stars female agent, Joanna on her mission to expose dateDyne for their links with an alien race called the Skedar who plan to steal a mega weapon and use it to destroy Earth and a separate alien race. The game features a very dramatic plot featuring a whole host of characters including the President of the USA, Elvis the alien and a whole lot of DataDyne bodyguards.

The game looks absolutely stunning and very realistic. The inclusion of blood to Perfect Dark makes the game seem far more realistic particularly when you shoot an enemy in the foot and you can then track him via the trail of blood left on the floor. This was very advanced for that particular console generation in particular the N64. The levels looked stunning with a wide variety of delightful villas, city headquarters, city streets, deserted ice fields and alien planets all rendered to a high level.

Enemy AI in the game was particularly praised at the time, as guards called out for help when in trouble, were able to set off alarms, knew to take cover when fired at and generally were far smarter than anything seen before. Difficulty levels varied from quite easy at Agent Level right up to pretty damn hard at Perfect Agent Level.
In particular the AI in multiplayer bots was extremely impressive and it felt like you were playing a human rather than a bot due to their highly skilled nature.

The multi-player part of the game was the most highly respected part of the game, there were so many ways to play and things to customise that the experience would be different every single time. Modes included: Combat -- The traditional deathmatch mode. This can be played in teams.
King of the Hill -- One area in the level is "the hill". Points are awarded for locating this region and staying there for a set number of seconds. Having been "captured" in this way, the hill moves to a new location.
Hold the Briefcase -- Players must take a briefcase and survive with it for as long as possible. One point is received for every set number of seconds the case is held.
Capture the Case -- Perfect Dark's equivalent of Capture the Flag.
Pop a Cap -- Similar to "Assassination" type multiplayer games. One player is labeled as the target, and the other players go after him. If the target kills his hunters, he receives a point bonus. If the hunters kill the target, they receive a point, but they then become the targeted player.
Hacker Central -- Players must locate a data uplink and use it to hack a computer system; both items are randomly placed in the level. The data uplink is moved to a new location when the player carrying it is killed. When hacking the computer system, the player cannot use weapons, and cannot move from the terminal without breaking the link.

Every character in the multi-player game could customise themselves using body parties from all the characters in the game which allowed some wacky combinations. Like the head of an alien on the body of a human or a womens body with a man's head etc.

There was also a cool ranking system within the multi-player game which allowed you to be rated from "Beginner: 21" to "Perfect: 1", which is determined based on the accumulation of certain statistics such as number of kills, time played and ammunition used. This was a cool aspect but I've never been able to receive that coveted "Perfect" rating.

There were also some pretty cool guns within the game, in particular the "Slayer". Basically it was rocket launcher but when you fire a rocket the view switches to the rocket and basically you can control the rocket and fly it round the level and take out enemies. My other favourite would be the Far-sight, this weapon allows you to scan through the entire level and shoot through walls, which can be very effective in the multi-player game if you could find a good spot to hide.

Also hidden within the game are various pieces of cheese which act as a hidden bonus even though it cannot be collected. There is a piece in every level and can be quite tricky to find. I also loved the inclusion of a co-operative mode which made playing the story mode a lot more fun as you could work together with a friend to complete the set objectives. Perhaps even cooler though was the inclusion of counter-operative. Basically this mode put one player as Joanna trying to complete the story level as normal but the other player spawned as an enemy in the level and had to try and stop her. Each time the enemy died you would take control of a different enemy. This provided some pretty cool moments where you would be seconds away from completing an objective only for your friend to sneak up behind you and kill you.

I only have one real complaint with the game, and that is there can be a fair bit of slowdown whenever there is a lot of action on screen. This was due to Rare pushing the N64 to it's very limits and struggling to cope with everything that was going on.

However despite the slow down the game is still very enjoyable and a delight to play. I've wracked up nearly 100 hours playing this game and I still have the odd go now and again because althought not quite perfect, it is a classic. Many games today have lots more features and better graphics than Perfect Dark has but at the time this was the best there was and it still is a lot of fun to play today! Even if you don't own a N64, go and buy one now and pick up Perfect Dark and Goldeneye. You won't regret it!

Summary: Nearly perfect game from Rare, one of the best games ever released!