 "Not worth going back to" | 2008-06-23 |
| - Reviewed By meisme33 |
| I decided to pick up a used copy of this game up for a cool $8, thinking back to the good old days when I had a ton of fun with the original Perfect Dark on N64. Mistake. It is ridiculous to think that I could go back to the days when FPS games included enemies that moved erratically about the screen and entirely too fast, a ridiculously meaningless and poorly acted story, and a complete lack of clear objectives in-mission, and enjoy the game I was playing. Do yourself a favor, and go play just about anything else. |
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 "Good game" | 2008-04-14 |
| - Reviewed By qwerty4 |
| A good shooter. The thing I wanted to bring attention to was the game's music. The soundtrack is great. Every single track is wonderfully melodic and rhythmic. Thank goodness for game music; I wouldn't have any music to listen to if it weren't for game music. The music in PDZ has a somewhat James Bond 007 sound from the 60's kind of style. It's actually not my favorite kind of music, but in PDZ it's great. So, thank you so much to Rare for the excellent music in PDZ. |
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 "A great game, but doesn't really live up to the original." | 2008-04-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: AFMOR53FVODLN |
| If this was a stand alone game, I would just say, Hey, this is a pretty cool game, but its got some problems". However, this isn't a stand alone game, this is a sequel to what many including myself consider to be one of the best shooters of all time. The game is very pretty, most environments are extraordinarily bright and shiny. The soundtrack is what you would expect from a sequel, essentially a redone version of the last one, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. There's tons of cool guns to play with, just like last time. I personally thing the single player story line is pretty stupid, even for a shooter, but its excusable I guess. Multi player is pretty neat, I had a lot of fun with it and consider it to be pretty unique. The A.I. is pretty good, but nothing particularly amazing. The shooting feels kind of weird at first if you're used to games like Halo, but after you get used to it it feels good. I guess my main issue with this game is that while its in general a good game, its not the best at anything. It doesn't really doing anything outstanding that makes it really stand out from the crowd. If you're a Perfect Dark fan you'll like this, if not, I'd say its worth a rent. |
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| "What Would Elvis Do?" | 2008-01-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3H4JM6LH0GPJ8 |
The original Perfect Dark was so darn good that when I saw this for a measly twenty bucks I couldn't pass it up. I spent a good year on the original--it was an all-purpose shooter. Even if you were alone, the multiplayer bots kept things fresh, and there were a million and one options to tinker around with.
That game stored not only your custom-tailored character but also your lifetime stats down to the mileage you've run and every round fired. This made it the cartridge of choice whenever I invited people over and we wanted something to play. There was fierce competition in my apartment for several months as people vied for dominance in one stat group or another. If you weren't a marksman, maybe you would only use mines and thus lay claim to the title of most explosive kills and so on. I tell you all this so you'll understand that not a little bit of nostalgia factored into my overall rating. If I hadn't played the original this one would probably get three stars. As it was, I enjoyed it more than a newcomer might.
So I was very pleased to see that bots were being included in this installment as well. I don't know why other games don't mimic Perfect Dark's multiplayer system. All I know is that between the original and Dark Zero, I kept wishing for a game that played just as well with multiplayer just as customizable, and never got it until now.
There are a number of standard rulesets like killcount and capture the flag but there are also scenarios that can be fought through against other live players.
The best, though, is when you have a friend over and want to play. Then you can have a real versus match--none of that one-on-one crap that gets old very fast. Want to play 5v5? Just add eight bots. Instant opponents, or teammates. You can adjust their skill levels anywhere from completely pathetic to death incarnate. And if you're better than your friend, you can add a couple extra bots to his team.
Missing, though, are a lot of those options I mentioned before. You can't customize your character in this one (forgivable), you can't tailor the bots' personalities or appearances (also forgivable), and you can't view your lifetime stats anymore (blasphemy! burn the witch!). That left Dark Zero feeling more cramped than the original. I still can't figure out why they removed all that content. Ah, well. The deathmatch arena in Perfect Dark Zero is still the most fun multiplayer--even just against bots--I've experienced in a while.
As far as the single player campaign goes, it's ruthlessly average. Not bad at all--not even implying that. Everything's rock-solid, action-wise. I just mean the story and the levels are so-so. Nothing standout here. Nothing unsatisfactory, either. You'll get your share of challenges. Some of the stretches you have to navigate in this game will keep you on your toes. I must have tried the bridge assault level ten or twelve times before I made it.
There were a couple of noticeable flaws in the otherwise smooth veneer of this experience, though. One was the physics of a downed bad guy. It's really common in this game for a dead body to start "dancing" on the ground, or even take off and hover in midair for a while. You'll waste a lot of bullets shooting at dead bodies you think are attacking you. Another is the shadows. I haven't seen shadows that pixelated since SNES. Still, these are pretty minor. You won't have a problem overlooking them in favor of the action.
I really liked the music in this game. It seemed to fit perfectly and it did a good job of getting me into whatever was happening onscreen. No thick atmosphere here, but that's a good thing. You're promised an adrenaline rush or ten, and it delivers. Consequently the themes in Dark Zero are much more energetic than in the original. The opening video and song reminded me strongly of Bond credits. Slick.
All in all, I truly liked it. There were flaws, but it was a well-executed game. When you factor in the price you can't go wrong. It's a solid shooter and the adaptable deathmatch will keep you playing for a while.
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| "Limited edition not all that special, but a fun game." | 2007-11-06 |
| - Reviewed By User: A27QXQQOLAMRRR |
I don't really see the point in getting this game in limited edition packaging, it's not like it's a major game like Halo or something of that level.
The game:
It's a fun game to play, the story line is decent and although I think it to be a bit short in length for the story it was a good game none the less.
Online play:
This is the games strong point. The online play is fun, the weapons are pretty cool. The fly by wire kind of missles are always a blast to come up on the other players and BAM they explode. Some people get a little too crazy with the sniping aspect of it but other than that it's still good to pop in and play from time to time. |
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 "Challenging and Fun, but Some Faws." | 2007-08-28 |
| - Reviewed By andrewthiggs |
I bought this game as a launch title the same time that I bought my Xbox 360 and I've been working on it off and on ever since.
PROS: I actually enjoyed the game a good deal and I'm not usually a huge fan of First-Person Shooters (FPS). The graphics on this game are very, very nice, if a little over-shiney in some parts. I think the part that I liked the most and that I hope is adopted by future game designers is the way that missions change from one difficulty setting to the next. Rather than just making your enemies stronger, increasing the difficulty adds more objectives to your missions, so it feels like a more expanded game. The multiplayer games also have the capability to run up to 15 bots, so you don't always need to go online to play Deathmatch or Capture the Flag.
CONS: The storyline is pretty bland and little bit strange. The aiming can be a little bit difficult until you get the hang of it. The multiplayer isn't up to par with games like Halo 2, but its still a lot of fun, in my opinion.
SUMMARY: I've enjoyed the game quite a bit so far and I hope that I can eventually work my way through all the difficulty levels, but we'll see. Just a warning, if you're obsessed with Achievements and your Gamerscore, you may want to avoid this game because some of the Achievements are really, really hard to get. |
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| "Love it" | 2007-07-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3L2ORVGVM3UET |
| The game is awesome...using gadgets playing co-op online with my friend. This is one of my favorite FPS games. |
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| "Not bad for $20, but you can do better" | 2007-05-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3M5ATQ20LE7VS |
| I picked up the special edition of Perfect Dark Zero simply because it only set me back $20. Honestly though, after playing Gears of War (and wasting entirely too much of my free time playing the Halo 3 beta), you can see how far shooters have come in two years. The sound and graphics are still on par with some of the better Xbox titles, but PDZ falls short when it comes to gameplay. The action feels clunky and archaic...like I'm playing an N64 game with better graphics. If you need a cheap way to scratch your FPS itch, then pick this up. But if you want the best the Xbox has to offer, pick yourself up a copy of Gears of War. |
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| "Cheap" | 2007-04-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1A9TKCB5NBPM |
| If you want to add to your collection of games, sure buy it, why not? But if your looking for a good game, I prefer Halo 2 -OR- Gears of War. I mean Perfect Dark is good, but it gets boring fast. Multiplayer is awesome though, especially if your playing with other people and bots. |
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| "Jennifer Garner is much prettier" | 2007-02-21 |
| - Reviewed By marcusroof |
| For fans of ALIAS. This is one hell of a mediocre game. It's one of those games where you can get shot literally hundreds of times and not die... For dummies (gives you arrows on where to go if you get lost). The graphics and style are a bit cartoonish (there are windows media player visualizations in some parts). The music is lame. The story is lame. I have no emotional investment in the characters and don't care where the story is going. AI is basic. Weapons are very basic, other items lame (there is a door-opening scrambling device - could never figure the thing out). I don't see anything ingenuitive or original in the game whatsoever. And once again, as in many next-gen titles, it uses GRAB COVER. Not much positive to say about the thing. The hard case for the LE was very nice...I don't give it a 1, because there are far worse things out there. But I cannot for the life of me understand why this is a franchise. Not really impressed by it's production company either (RARE). Maybe this next-gen release is an upgrade visually from its predecessor in the franchise, but even compared to last-gen games like Halo, Half-Life2 or Doom3 produced years ago, it just doesn't measure up. It might make for a basic introduction into an FPS for a very young person that has never played one before. |
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Expedited Available
