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Perfect Dark Zero

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Perfect Dark Zero
North American cover art
North American cover art
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)Chris Tilston, Dale Murchie, Duncan Botwood, Ross Bullimore
Composer(s)David Clynick
SeriesPerfect Dark
EngineHavok (game physics)
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Genre(s)First-person shooter, stealth
Mode(s)Single-player, co-op, online versus, local versus

Perfect Dark Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft exclusively for the Xbox 360. It was released as a launch title in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan for the console in late 2005. It was initially planned as a Nintendo GameCube title; however, the game suffered countless delays due to internal team problems and platform-switching issues.[2] Overall, the actual development of the game took five years to complete. The game was generally well received by critics, though the reaction was not very positive in the fan community.

Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the successful and critically acclaimed Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, made in 2000. The game takes place in the year 2020, predating the original Perfect Dark's storyline by three years. Two sequel novels, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector and Perfect Dark: Second Front, as well as a comic series titled Perfect Dark: Janus' Tears have been released in order to continue the story of Joanna Dark.

Plot

Template:Fixbunching Template:Perfect Dark chronology Template:Fixbunching The story is set in 2020, three years prior to the events of the original game. Joanna Dark is a bounty hunter working with her father Jack and her friend Chandra. One day, they are commissioned to rescue an injured scientist named Zeigler from the hands of a Triad crime lord, Killian. Shortly before dying, Zeigler uses a neurodrive to implant information into Jack's mind in order to hide his valuable research. During the escape, Jack gets captured by a megacorporation known as DataDyne, nevertheless Joanna rescues him, only for Jack to die at the hands of Mai-Hem, whose father, Zhang Li, is DataDyne's founder. Chandra sends Joanna on a mission to find Dr. Eustace Caroll, who then uses the same neurodrive technology to extract any memory of the words her father said concerning Ziegler's secrets. Dr. Caroll is then killed by Chandra, who was secretly employed by dataDyne. Joanna is rescued by agents from the Carrington Institute whom she agrees to join in order to stop DataDyne.

Zhang Li and Mai-Hem are searching for an ancient artifact, which acts as a power-source for the Graal, a device which endows individuals with superhuman powers, hinted to have been built by the Maians, extraterrestrials encountered in the original Perfect Dark. Travelling to Africa, Joanna rescues prisoners including Jonathan and several other Carrington soldiers, before running into Mai-Hem again. Joanna avenges her father's death and kills Mai-Hem and the party is air-lifted out. The Carrington Institute plans an offensive on dataDyne forces with the battle taking place on a large bridge. Joanna infiltrates an arena and faces off against Zhang Li, on the Graal after he dispatches Chandra. Defeating the seemingly invincible power-hungry genius, Joanna is met by Jonathan and Daniel Carrington. When Joanna asks, "How did I do, boss?" Carrington replies, "Perfect."

Gameplay

The gameplay shifts into a third person perspective while in cover mode.

As a first-person shooter, Perfect Dark Zero mainly centers the gameplay through a first person perspective, where the player can move around, aim and shoot in a 3D environment without the playable character blocking the player's view. The game also features new combat mechanics, such as the combat roll and the cover system in which the game switches to a third person perspective, allowing the player to strategically aim without taking damage and be more aware of the surroundings.

Unlike the original Perfect Dark, the player can only carry a limited number of weapons since the inventory features a 4-slot system in which single hand held pistols usually take a weapon slot whereas heavy weapons, such as the Jackal Sniper Rifle or the Rocket Launcher, can take up to 3 weapon slots. The player movement speed is also altered by the weight of the weapon the player is currently holding. Besides the primary function, all of the weapons in the game have one or two additional function modes that generally grant the player with special abilities, such as the X-ray function of the Shockwave Rifle or the cloak mode of the Plasma Rifle, which renders the playable character completely invisible to enemies at cost of its ammunition. Some weapons also have more unorthodox secondary fire modes, such as the Laptop Gun being able to deploy as a sentry gun, or the SuperDragon being able to launch bouncing grenades.

In the missions, stealth is another important element of the gameplay, as the player is often free to kill enemies without being detected by sneaking up behind them. The player is also given various high-tech gadgets in order to completes mission objectives, such as the CamSpy (a hovering remote-controlled camera) or the Datathief (a tool used to hack into electronic devices). The campaign mode provides fourteen missions in which the player plays as Joanna Dark. To successfully clear a mission, the player will need to complete all primary objectives, and if Joanna is killed or fails an objective, the player will have to start the level again. Additionally, the game also features support objectives that are not critical but add to the player's overall completion score. Unlike Perfect Dark, every mission contains a single checkpoint at which the player may restart if Joanna is killed or loses beyound that checkpoint. However, checkpoints are removed as the player plays through a higher difficulty. There are four difficulty settings through which a mission can be played: Agent, Secret Agent, Perfect Agent and Dark Agent, which will become available once the player completes the entire game on Perfect Agent. To each higher difficulty, the game also adds more objectives and makes enemies tougher in order to increase the challenge.

Perfect Dark Zero also provides a local and online co-operative mode, where two players may play through the game's campaign together. In co-operative, some missions feature minor changes so that both players have to help each other to progress; for instance, some doors require two people to open them; also, the second player might spawn far away from the first player and takes over a character that was AI-controlled in the single player campaign, adding a new gameplay design to the same missions.

Multiplayer

Perfect Dark Zero's multiplayer, known as Combat Arena, has full support for the Xbox Live service. There are two main modes in Combat Arena; DeathMatch and DarkOps, and within each mode, there are four different gametypes (scenarios). DeathMatch is a standard gametype where players spawn in rooms, collect weapons, and continue to the actual map. Weapons are also available on the map itself. On the other hand, DarkOps is a round-based, team-only gametype which was heavily inspired by the popular first-person shooter Counter-Strike. It is generally slower-paced, and is more tactical than DeathMatch. Weapons must be purchased from a player's stock of credits. Credits are earned by killing enemies and obtaining objectives. This is a list of all the different scenarios in Combat Arena:

  • Killcount (DeathMatch): This is a free-for-all where the winner is the player that achieves the most kills.
  • Team Killcount (DeathMatch): A team based version of Killcount where the team with the most kills wins.
  • Capture the Flag (DeathMatch): A team-only match. Each team tries to grab the enemy’s flag and return it to their base. The winning team is the one with the most flags captured.
  • Territorial Gains (DeathMatch): A team-only match. The goal is to capture and hold several neutral hills until they generate points. The team with the most territories held is the winner.
  • Eradication (DarkOps): A team-only game. Teams take turns trying to eliminate each other. The team that kills the other team while still living wins.
  • Onslaught (DarkOps): A team-only game. Teams take turns defending and attacking a base. The defenders get one life (but can be revived), and can purchase weapons. The attackers have unlimited lives, but have basic weapons (choice of a Falcon 18, CMP 150 and a DEF-12 Shotgun). The team that holds the base the longest wins.
  • Infection (DarkOps): A free-for-all game. Players start as either infected or uninfected. When a player dies, they become infected. If the uninfected stay alive for the duration of the round, only they get points. If the infected eliminate them, then only they get points. The player with the most points overall is the winner. (This can seem like a team game as uninfected huddle in a room to survive, or as infected team up to eliminate them).
  • Sabotage (DarkOps): A team-only game. Teams take turns attacking and defending certain pieces of property on the map. The team that destroys the most property or eliminates the other team wins.

Any of the multiplayer modes can be played online with player counts up to 32 players. Players can either choose to play a ranked Deathmatch or DarkOps, where they will be matched with other players using a system called "TrueSkill Matchmaking", or they may choose a player match where they can choose their game from a list of player hosted games. Like Perfect Dark, these games can be highly customized and can also include bots. There are twelve maps in Perfect Dark Zero and each map has two variants; the only change is the placement of the bases. Most of the maps are large ones, ideal for 32 players at once, with small variants for 4-16 player games.

The multiplayer is different from many games using the Xbox Live online system, since it uses a Peer-to-peer network as stated in Rare's 'scribes', August 30, 2007.[3] This means, theoretically, any game could last forever due to the fact the host only sets the weapons and map.

Development

File:Perfect dark zero limited.JPG
Perfect Dark Zero Limited Collector's Edition with all the extras.

Rare's two N64 first-person shooters, GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, received strong acclaim from critics and players, and demand for another title in the Perfect Dark franchise was high. Development of Perfect Dark Zero began on the Nintendo GameCube. At the time, Nintendo had a 49% stake in Rare, making Rare a Nintendo second-party developer. The game made a small appearance at Spaceworld 2000, an event exclusive to Nintendo. But apart from the confirmation that it was in development,[4] few official announcements were made. Perfect Dark Zero, along with several other Rare games, was intended to be finished in time for the Gamecube's launch, but for unknown reasons did not.

In September 2002, Rare Ltd was purchased by Microsoft.[5] Around the same time, Rare released several images of Joanna Dark, the protagonist of the Perfect Dark games.[6] The "cartoony" style of these pictures incited speculation that the final game — then intended for the original Xbox[7] — would employ a less realistic graphical style than the original game; possibly an anime like cel-shading technique (Rare had hired UK Manga artist Wil Overton to work with them, after seeing an anime-like image of the original Perfect Dark game he had created for the cover of N64 Magazine).

Development of the title was later transferred to the Xbox 360. Perfect Dark Zero's senior designer Chris Tilston, also one of the project leads for the game, later revealed that the Xbox version was "about twelve months away" from completion when the switch occurred.[7] In 2005, one of the rewards in the OurColony viral marketing campaign for Microsoft's next Xbox video game console was an image of Joanna Dark.[8] At the official unveiling of the Xbox 360 on May 12, 2005, it was revealed that Perfect Dark Zero would be a launch title for the new system in the fall of 2005.[9] The game's development has therefore spanned three platforms: the Nintendo GameCube, the Microsoft Xbox and the Xbox 360.

Final development for the 360 was very rushed. The order was given to produce the discs five days before the Microsoft certification was complete, to meet the Xbox 360 launch date. Rare later stated they felt very confident they would pass, but it was a significant risk producing 700,000 disks if a bug turned up.[10]

Perfect Dark Zero was released in two forms: the standard version and a "Limited Collector's Edition". The collector's edition features a second disc of content, a black metal game case, images of the staff and most of the in-house testers which gave a glimpse behind the scenes at Rare, a comic booklet set in the Perfect Dark universe, which sets the scene for the game, and one of nine holographic collectible cards.[11]

Updates

  • Patch: On May 3, 2006, an auto-update was made available via Xbox Live, responsible for fixing some bugs in the game. This included code to prevent an ongoing problem where players could walk through the air, a map-exiting glitch and also to prevent an issue where the plasma/rocket weapons could make use of rapid fire. The update also included eight new bot types and the ability to use bots in DarkOps matches, since bots were only implemented in DeathMatch scenarios when the game was released.[12]
  • Map Pack One: On June 7, 2006, Rare released "Perfect Dark Zero Map Pack One" to Xbox Live Marketplace.[13] It cost 500 MS (Microsoft points) and contained four new maps to add to the game's original six. The map pack contains only one variant, instead of two.
  • Platinium Edition and Map Pack Two: On October 31, 2006, Rare announced that a special platinum edition of Perfect Dark Zero would be released, which would include the first map pack and two additional maps (the latter available to download for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace). The two new maps are updated versions of two maps from the game's predecessors; Perfect Dark and GoldenEye 007. The pack was released on the November 1, 2006 for Gold Members and on the November 8, 2006 for Silver Members.[13]

Cancelled plans

Rare had announced plans to make the multiplayer feature matches of up to 50 people, an upgrade from the current 32 player limit. As of March 2010, this update has not been released and Rare has stated that they will not be releasing any more downloadable content.[14] To further decrease the chance of this happening, Rare had once stated during an interview that having 50 to 64 players was possible on the Xbox 360, but in turn it would degrade the quality of the game.

On the other hand, a new Counter-Operative mode, much like the one found in the original Perfect Dark, was also promised to eventually become available as a new game mode for Perfect Dark Zero. However, this update is not available and Rare has no intention on bringing it out.[15] Counter-Operative is a mode where one player plays as Joanna whilst the other player takes on the role of Joanna's enemies, in the original title this took place in the same setting as the Single Player Levels.

Reception

Perfect Dark Zero has reportedly sold over a million copies worldwide.[25] As a result, it was one of the first games to be re-released under the "Platinum Hits" list.[26] Despite its troublesome development, the game generally received positive reviews from critics and holds a Metacritic average of 81% based on 75 reviews, and a GameRankings average of 81% based on 97 reviews.[23][22]

The game got a 9.0/10 at GameSpot, which claims that it "champions the Xbox 360 with its excellent assortment of single and multiplayer game types, as well as its incredible good looks and dynamic, intense action".[16] Charles Onyett of IGN gave Perfect Dark Zero an 8.4/10, praising its excellent lighting effects, attractive gun models, sound effects and enormous multiplayer aspect; but also criticized its poor enemy AI, weak storyline and bad voice acting.[17]

On the other hand, a common criticism of Perfect Dark Zero is that the game didn't achieve the high expectations established by its predecessor. According to GameCritics, "It took Rare a whole console generation to do it..." and that "the wait wasn't really worth it".[27] Game Informer found it to be quite disappointing and gave the game a 7/10, reviewing it under the tagline "Don't believe the hype". In 2010, the game was #6 on GameTrailer's Top Ten Most Disappointing games of the Decade.[28]

Soundtrack

Untitled

The Perfect Dark Zero Original Soundtrack was composed by David Clynick and produced by Nile Rodgers.[29] The album was released on November 8, 2005 by Sumthing Else Music Works.

Perfect Dark Zero Original Soundtrack track listing (73:56).
No.TitleLength
1."Perfect Dark Zero - Title"0:49
2."Mission Selection"1:17
3."Combat Arena"1:32
4."Mission Complete"1:25
5."Pause game"1:51
6."Fail"2:37
7."Datacore Demolition - Training"2:49
8."Datacore Demolition - Camspy"2:37
9."Datacore Demolition - Escape"3:28
10."Glitter Girl (Evil Side)"3:44
11."Limelight (Radio Edit)"4:54
12."Subway Retrieval - Stealth"2:50
13."Subway Retrieval - Action"2:40
14."Subway Retrieval - Descent"1:53
15."Rooftops Escape - Main Theme"4:11
16."Mansion Infiltration - Stealth"2:18
17."Mansion Infiltration - Action"2:23
18."Deathmatch with Maihem!"1:37
19."Laboratory Rescue - Stealth"3:10
20."Laboratory Rescue - Action"2:48
21."River Extraction - Lab Escape"3:27
22."River Extraction - Riverchase"3:07
23."Trinity Infiltration - Stealth"3:07
24."Trinity Escape - Main Theme"3:41
25."Temple Surveillance - Main Theme"2:51
26."Arena Showdown - Main Theme"2:20
27."Pearl Necklace"4:14


Note not all of the music from the game is on the album. The tracks listed below are not on the Perfect Dark Zero Original Soundtrack album but do appear within the game.

Track listing.
No.TitleLength
1."Subway Retrieval - Ambush"3:24
2."Trinity Infiltration - The Brothers"2:39
3."Trinity Infiltration - Action"3:03
4."Jungle Storm - Attack"3:33
5."Jungle Storm - Action"2:33
6."Outpost Rescue - Main Theme"2:54
7."Outpost Rescue - Fight With Maihem"2:01
8."Bridge Assault - Main Theme"3:23
9."Bridge Assault - Action"2:55
10."Rooftops Escape - Fight with Killian"4:13
11."Nightclub Stakeout - Second Club Song"?:??
12."Load Screen 1"?:??
13."Load Screen 2"?:??

References

  1. ^ Digital Foundry's Not so High Definition
  2. ^ Falcon Zero (2005-03-05). "Perfect Dark Zero - A History Lesson". Perfect Dark Recon. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  3. ^ Scribes - August 30, 2007
  4. ^ "Ken Lobb on Perfect Dark sequel". Retrieved 7 February 2006.
  5. ^ "Microsoft Acquires Rare Ltd." Retrieved May 12, 2005.
  6. ^ "Joanna Dark cartoony" Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  7. ^ a b Kreepman (2008-04-04). "Perfect Dark Zero Beta". Unseen64. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  8. ^ IGN: Ourcolony Update 5.10.05. Retrieved 7 February 2006.
  9. ^ "Microsoft confirms Perfect Dark Zero, others for Xbox 360". Retrieved 7 February 2006.
  10. ^ Eurogammer - November 18, 2005
  11. ^ "Joanna Dark To Infiltrate Xbox 360". Retrieved 7 February 2006.
  12. ^ Brendan Sinclair (2006-04-24). "Perfect Dark Zero Update". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  13. ^ a b Xbox LIVE Marketplace Perfect Dark Zero Add-ons. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  14. ^ "Perfect Dark Zero FAQ (Perfect Dark Recon)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  15. ^ Perfect Dark Recon Decision not to implement counter-op mode. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  16. ^ a b Greg Kasavin (2005-11-21). "Perfect Dark Zero Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  17. ^ a b Charles Onyett (2005-11-23). "Perfect Dark Zero Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  18. ^ Bryn Williams (2005-11-22). "Perfect Dark Zero Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  19. ^ Che Chou (2005-11-23). "Perfect Dark Zero Review". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  20. ^ Kristan Reed (2005-12-01). "Perfect Dark Zero Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  21. ^ "Perfect Dark Zero Review". Gametrailers. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  22. ^ a b "Perfect Dark Zero". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  23. ^ a b "Perfect Dark Zero". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  24. ^ "Perfect Dark Zero". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  25. ^ Hilary Goldstein (2006-10-30). "Perfect Dark Even More Perfect". IGN. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  26. ^ "IGN: Microsoft Announces Platinum Hits Lineup for Xbox 360". IGN.com. 2006-09-20. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  27. ^ GameCritics page for Perfect Dark Zero. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  28. ^ GameTrailer page for Top 10 Disappointments of the Decade. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  29. ^ Perfect Dark Zero OST page. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
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