Review: Perfect Dark HD

Now here’s a game that takes me back. Perfect Dark was released in North America in 2000 for the Nintendo 64. It was the spiritual successor to Goldeneye 007 – what many believe to be one of the best FPS ever made. A decade later Microsoft and Rare opted to re-release PD with no more than a graphical overhaul. A decision I think was wise considering how terrible the 360 Perfect Dark was. Now the big question is: how does this stack up against the modern FPS? So much progress has been made in the last ten years, has PD been lost in the shuffle?! Click yon link to find out.

Let’s talk about the 900lb gorilla in the room – the graphics. This is no Modern Warfare mind you, but in comparison to what this game used to look like (see above) the re-release looks a shit-ton better. One of the best things about the upgrade is the lack of slowdown which plagued the N64 version. The framerate is smooth and consistent also (and who doesn’t love that right?). In what I’ve found to be a humorous and awesome twist is all the graphical glitches and oddities that have remained intact – know when an enemy is behind a door? Simple, you can see the barrel of his gun poking through. Who moves their lips when they talk? Who needs to?! Hey look! An enemy! Wow, he just busted out a pose before trying to kill me! Damn, he just did a slow, pointless roll right..in..front..of..me. Shoot an enemy in the ass and he hops and grabs his cheeks. Shoot him in the groin and…well, you can guess I’m sure. It’s all these things that make this a weirdly enjoyable experience.

But really all this is secondary to the reasons we fell in love with game in the first place. This game released in 2000 with tight controls, intense action and the most impressive slew of multiplayer options I’ve ever seen. This game has more options than 95%of the shooters that have come out since. It seems that Rare was a bit ahead of its time. Good job people.

As expected there’s a flipside to all this. The hard part about a review like this is chastising a game that is a decade old in a fashion that you would a game that came out last week. Ten years is a long time in the world of video games, certain things are missing and underdeveloped. Aiming these days brings up a down-the-barrel view which is perfect for those difficult shots. But before that was a mainstay Perfect Dark used a screen length crosshair with minimal gun movement in a 3/4 side view of your weapon (moving around while aiming wasn’t a possibility either). Level design is confusing which makes pursuing your goals difficult and frustrating. Coupled with the initial graphical limitations of the N64 – which gave every area in a stage a very similar look – and getting lost is a given your first run through. Then there’s a lack of a jump button, which a decade ago was par for the course, but these days it’s a major annoyance.

So where do you stand amidst all this? Well, I give a solid recommendation for Perfect Dark HD – with a caveat. If you’ve played this before then have at it, the framerate and lack of slow-down make this much more playable than the N64 version. If you’re new to this however remember, you’ll need some adjustment time before you get comfortable. Think of it as taking a step back to take two steps forward. And within a half hour or so you’ll get to experience everything the game that influenced a generation of First-person shooters has to offer. ‘Bitchin’ is the word I believe I’m looking for.