Perfect Dark (Game Boy Color)

Perfect Dark
European box art
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Rare Nintendo
Series	Perfect Dark
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color
Release date(s)	NA August 28, 2000 PAL August 1, 2000
Genre(s)	Action, stealth
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T
Media/distribution	Cartridge (Rumble feature)

Perfect Dark (also known as Perfect Dark GBC) is an action video game developed by Rare and released exclusively for the Game Boy Color in August 2000, three months after the release of its Nintendo 64 counterpart. At the time, it was not uncommon for Rare to make hand held games that were related to their Nintendo 64 titles. The game takes place in the year 2022, one year prior to the events of the N64 game, and follows the exploits of Joanna Dark as she attempts to prove herself as an agent for the fictional agency Carrington Institute.

The game features full motion video cutscenes that unfold the storyline for the player, and supports several atypical features for a Game Boy Color game, including a built-in rumble feature and the optional use of the Game Boy Printer to print out character profiles. Additionally, using the Nintendo 64 and the optional Transfer Pak, players can use the Game Boy Color Perfect Dark cartridge to unlock some cheats in the N64 game. The game generally received mixed reaction from reviewers, which criticized its poor and difficult gameplay.

Gameplay

The HUD at the right side of the screen displays Joanna's health and ammunition.

Perfect Dark is an action game that is presented from an overhead perspective, similar to Konami's Metal Gear Solid for the Game Boy Color. Joanna Dark, the playable main character, can move and shoot in eight directions and must initially complete a training mode where she will be provided a fixed sequence of challenges so that the player learns the game mechanics. These mechanics include the use of stealth, in which players are challenged to kill enemies by sneaking up behind them without making noise (e.g. running or reloading weapons), a memory type game that involves pressing various buttons in a specific order to open up doors, and a target range in a first-person view for shooting practise, among others.

The campaign consists of seven missions that the player has to complete while fighting enemies and completing objectives. Objectives can range from rescuing hostages to exploring areas and to recovering items, such as keycards, explosives or laptop computers, which are useful to hack into electronic devices. The player can pick up new weapons, health and ammunition dropped by enemies if necessary. Additionally, the campaign features several mini-games, including a driving level and a sniper mission, as well as numerous boss battles that the player has to defeat in order to progress through the next level. By beating any of these mini-games, the player can access them in the game's extras menu.

The game also comes with a multiplayer mode. With the help of a game link cable, two players can link together and play up to four different types of deathmatch modes, ranging from the standard kill-the-other-person on a pre-set time to the Counter Force mode, where the first player must rescue two hostages while the second player has to guard them. Various multiplayer maps are unlocked as the player progresses through the single player mode. Additionally, using the Nintendo 64 and the optional Transfer Pak, players can use the Game Boy Color Perfect Dark cartridge to unlock some cheats in the N64 game.

Plot

Perfect Dark series fictional chronology
2020 - Perfect Dark Zero 2020 - Perfect Dark: Initial Vector 2021 - Perfect Dark: Janus' Tears 2021 - Perfect Dark: Second Front 2022 - Perfect Dark GBC 2023 - Perfect Dark / Perfect Dark XBLA

The game is set in early 2022, predating the storyline of the Nintendo 64 game by one year. Joanna Dark is still a student at the Carrington Institute and she is eager to complete the final stages of her training. After completing her training successfully, scoring an A++, Daniel Carrington sends her to her first ever mission with the Carrington Institute: She must destroy an illegal cyborg manufacturing facility, deep into the South American jungle. The facility is headed by Mink Hunter, a highly dangerous terrorist whose purpose is to produce high-tech weaponry for terrorist operations. Joanna eventually completes her mission by eliminating Hunter and destroying the entire facility. When Carrington contacts Joanna, she reports that, during her landing in the jungle, she witnessed an aircraft being shot down and made a note of the co-ordinates. As a result, Daniel Carrington starts investigating and he is soon reported that there is a UFO in the area at the time and that dataDyne, the world's leading developer of new technology, is getting away with the alien wreckage.

Joanna is then ordered to snoop around and investigate the crash site. During the process, she is captured and taken to the Pelagic I research vessel, along with the alien wreckage. Nevertheless, a mysterious alien that looks like Elvis from the N64 game rescues her and convinces her to sink the Pelagic I vessel with the wreckage and escape. She succeeds and when she contacts Daniel Carrington, she tells him that she discovered that the wreckage belonged to an alien race called the Skedar, extraterrestrials encountered in the N64 game. The situation changes abruptly when the Carrington Institute is stormed by a dataDyne strike team who hopes to destroy any clues of the conspiracy. Joanna manages to defend the Institute and her work earned her enough recognition to take part in her next mission. The game ends with the Carrington Institute carrying out further investigations of dataDyne, setting the stage for the N64 game.

Development

Development of the game was announced on January 13, 2000 by Nintendo of America, when its N64 counterpart was still under development. At the time, Rare had its Game Boy team split into two, one for the Game Boy Color version of Donkey Kong Country and the other for Perfect Dark. The game was initially scheduled for release on June 12, 2000, but it was not released until August. The idea was releasing both N64 and GBC games simultaneously. According to Rare: "What could be a better accompaniment to Joanna Dark's N64 debut than an exclusive Game Boy Color title that delves into her previous exploits?" Additionally, with the game being one of Rare's final title for the handheld console, the developers made sure to benefit from every technological trick the Game Boy Color is capable of, such as the use of the Rumble Pak, Game Boy Printer, Transfer Pak and a two-player deathmatch via a link cable.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	66% (8 reviews)
Review scores
Publication	Score
GameSpot	5.3/10
IGN	7.0/10
Gaming Target	7.5/10
Game Boyz	7.2/10

Perfect Dark for the Game Boy Color received generally mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Game Rankings, the game has an average score of 66%, based on 8 reviews, which falls shortly below the average range. GameSpot's Frank Provo gave it a 5.3 out of 10, under the tagline "Perfect Dark GBC does its Nintendo 64 counterpart justice, albeit haphazardly", while other websites, such as IGN or Gaming Target, were more positive towards the game.

Reviewers generally praised the game's graphics and audio. Gaming Target's Jonathan Nicklas opined that the character sprites are "surprisingly detailed", and that the backgrounds "are not bland and appealing". Game Boyz praised the animations and commented, "It's nice to see that Rare can maintain this high standard even on the small screen". The sound was also well received by many reviewers, especially the vocal tracks. Game Boyz observed that this feature makes it "possibly the most ambitious sound project yet on Gameboy Color", though Frank Provo criticized the fact that there is no music during gameplay.

Criticism was leveled at the game's difficult gameplay due to the lack of health and ammunition, and distinct lack of strategy overall. IGN's Craig Harris criticized the "idiot" enemy AI and Frank Provo criticized the stealth mechanics, commenting: "in theory you should be sneaking up on enemies, defusing bombs, and saving hostages. In practice, however, enemies turn around and attack even when you're sneaking up on them and defusing bombs requires no effort, so the suggestion of strategy is moot". On the other hand, while some reviewers found the mini-games interesting, most agreed that they were clearly imitative of Spy Hunter, Operation Wolf and the like. Craig Harris, albeit still praising its impressive multiplayer mode and extras, also admitted that "there's no real strategy involved in these deathmatch games other than to find the other person and open fire until one dies and respawns elsewhere on the map".

External links

• Perfect Dark at MobyGames