PERFECT DARK

Having made a huge success with Goldeneye, Rareware soon began development on its spiritual successor, Perfect Dark. 3 years later in the year of 2000 Rareware would release another revolutionary game that would again go down in history. The game was built off a modified engine similar to Goldeneye but with considerably more power. This meant that Perfect Dark would include a multitude of options and gameplay styles that would make it the most advanced game in the N64 library. The only fault in Perfect Dark is its apparent inconsistent frame rates, unlike Goldeneye which was exceptionally smooth, but this would be due to the huge engine modifications. So rather than follow the sleek and suave adventures of 007 Rare turned to a new protagonist, Joanna Dark, a sexy spy who works for the fictional Carrington Institute. Joanna must uncover the truth about the opposing dateDyne Corporation through various missions of both stealth, reconnaissance and full force. The game is exceptionally well balanced and paces itself remarkably well with each mission being just the right amount of challenging.

Personally I like Perfect Dark more than Goldeneye but that's just my opinion; I think the multiplayer just does it for me, it's so customisable that every game is different and rewards great replay value. As a first person shooter it's probably one of best for its time, taking all the good things Rare already knew and only furthering the amount of fun one can have. Straight off the bat when playing Perfect Dark you'll immediately recognise the games resemblance to Goldeneye; the hit-detection, targeting and movement mechanics are all copied. Now remember Rare wasn't trying to be slack and not bring ground breaking new mechanics, they were only trying to add to it, this is one of those instances where the phrase 'why fix what's not broken' actually rings true. Taking to jump to a futuristic Sci-Fi shooter and running on the same platform as Goldeneye would seem like a winning combo; the gritty locales of a gloomy Chicago to the desolate snowfields of Alaska all lure you in and make for an epic game. My personal favourite level would still have to be the G5 Building in Chicago, those who have played will know what I'm talking about and damn is it fun!

While the story truly does shine bright I still go back to the multiplayer every now and then for a cheeky game of Hold The Briefcase, Death-match and Kill of The Hill. There is so much fun to be had! One thing that Perfect Dark received praise for was its enemy AI, now while by todays standards they may not seem very bright, back then it was rarity to see and game with clever functioning AI. The variety of multiplayer AI or 'Simulants' as they're referred to is huge. There are you standard AI (Meat-Sims), then there are one that only attack with fists when you have a gun out (Peace-Sims), then there's super hard trigger happy deadly ones (Dark-Sims), beware Dark-Sims will kill you heaps if you don't have a trigger finger as quick as Clint Eastwood. The list goes on and on and coupled with this and the variety of guns and maps it makes for a great amount of endless fun with both yourself and friends. There's not too much more I can say about Perfect Dark as it essentially Goldeneye in spirit but what I can say is you're going to have a lot of fun. If you play it nowadays on a N64 yes it is dated and the frame rate can chug sometimes so if this bugs you then get an emulator for your computer or download it on the Xbox Network, otherwise crack out the N64 and have a blast.

Probably the last thing I need to say about this is that the music is killer; it's almost one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard in a video game. Now I talk heaps about the Time Splitters soundtrack and praise it for it's awesomeness but remember a lot of the chief programmers and score writers for Time Splitters i.e. Graeme Norgate, once worked for Rare and developed the soundtrack for Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. I've said it once and I'll say it again, music and sound in video games is so very crucial and Rare nailed it on the head this time. I still have this soundtrack to this date on my iTunes library along with Time Splitters and several other game tracks. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm proud, Rare did a fantastic job and should be praised for it. If only the Perfect Dark franchise did a sequel (no I'm not counting the awful Xbox 360 release Perfect Dark Zero) then I would be so happy to see Joanna Dark slip into some sexy spy gear and take off on a new world-wide adventure! I hope you gamers out there crank up that N64 for an awesome week of gaming because you won't be disappointed. Until next time...peace out!

Genre: First Person Shooter
Platforms: N64, PC / Mac Emulator & Xbox 360 HD Remake
Score: 9.8 / 10