The Name’s Dark, Joanna Dark: A Perfect Dark Review

When it was first released in 2000, Perfect Dark was hailed as the spiritual successor to Goldeneye 007, not least because it played pretty much to the game that many players of the time (and critics) still hold dear as one of the finest first-person shooters of all time. Now, ten years later, Rare brings an updated version of the title to the Xbox 360: with slicker graphics, online multiplayer and a smooth frame-rate, Perfect Dark is a gift to fans that remember it fondly and for those that don’t, the chance to be introduced to a classic that may even be better than the original.

Set in the year 2023, the game follows Joanna Dark, a special operative for the Carrington Institution. With guns and gadgets galore, she sets out to take down the DataDyne Corporation, stop an alien war and kill the bad guys…pretty much just a regular day in the life of a secret agent who’s used to saving the world. With constant escalation of things growing in scope, it’s a bit of a cheesy plot, like something out of a B-movie. It’s very much something of its time, with a recognisable late-90s style, which makes it one of the only things that about the game that has aged. Perfect Dark isn’t all about shooting the bad guys, but rather has a variety of goals to be achieved within each level. Older gamers will get the hints as to what they’re meant to do, but things are just that little bit more complicated for newcomers who were too young to get this era of gaming, and are instead used to the speed and relative ease of a standard contemporary first-person shooter.

While the story and some equally dated voice acting remains, Rare have spared no expense with updating the graphics, and gameplay will immediately be familiar to those who have played either Goldeneye 007 or Perfect Dark during their original release. The game still has the same feel to it, especially in the control scheme, which might feel a little bit sticky for newcomers (since aiming is done by moving Joanna’s hands rather than whole body.) The older control scheme is quite different from modern FPS-games, but the game also features “Spartan” and “Duty Calls” control set-ups for people who wish they were playing something more recent, shifting the reload/action buttons around to more recognisable fare. The game also runs significantly faster than the original, with a steady 60-frames-per-second speed keeping the action fast and smooth.

There are several different game-modes, story mode offering 21 missions that are playable both solo and co-operatively, with the game supporting local and online multiplayer. The game also offers a Counter-Operative mode in which one player takes the role of Joanna Dark while the other shifts between control of various enemies sprinkled around each level, giving the game a much more tactical edge. There are also three difficulty levels available: Agent, Special Agent and Perfect Agent, and while Agent mode should offer little difficulty to players, anyone prepared to risk Special or Perfect Agent will find themselves hard-pushed to meet all objectives, regardless of how many times they cleared the original game. There is also a combat simulator with thirty challenges that will keep even the most veteran of Perfect Dark players busy for a long time.

For those uninterested in the main game’s story, the game has competitive multiplayer separate from the main game, which should appeal to the hardcore Gears of War, Call Of Duty and Halo fans anxious to continue gaming even after they’ve finished the story. Modes include standard Deathmatch and Capture The Flag, but players can also choose to drop AI bots in, meaning that this “multiplayer” mode can even be played solo. There’s also some levels from spiritual predecessor Goldeneye 007 (likely the only chance you’ll ever get to play the levels again without the original cartridge and console.)

As a high definition update to a classic game, Perfect Dark is a great experience for fans of classic first person gaming. A fun game in its own right, Rare have gone to great efforts to make the game as accessible to modern players as possible, reminding the kids that there’s still life in those old dogs yet if you give them half a chance. It is, in a word, perfect.

Zombie Rating: A

Perfect Dark is available now for download through XBox Live Arcade.

To coincide with the release of Perfect Dark on XBLA, we’re also giving away a copy of the game.