We’ve all heard the amazing, spectacular stuff that Rare is packing into Perfect Dark. But what about the things that could go wrong? There’s bound to be something. So, here's ten reasons why Perfect Dark might not be as good as we're expecting.

Reason One:
We already know too much

Every little, tiny bit of information that comes out - we know. I already know the first level as well as some of the other levels. I already know about some of the cool guns. I already know a lot of things that will no longer be a surprise to me when I play the game. It’s almost like seeing a movie preview before the movie comes out. Then, when you go to see the movie, it’s just not as good as it could be because the element of surprise has been taken out. I used to shield myself from certain articles if they contained too much information. I have since lost that willpower and will now continue to know as much as I possibly can. Of course, we don’t know everything. I’m sure Rare has a ton of things up their sleeves.

Tweek: I don't know, Ernie. Rare has kept very quiet about this game so far. They even refused to show it at the '98 ECTS show, concerned we'd see too much. We don't really know a lot at all about PD, even today.

Reason Two:
The frame rate

Every once and a while, the frame rate dropped considerably in Goldeneye. With the expansion pak, this all might be remedied in Perfect Dark. Might. The graphics have been stepped up, so that might cause a drop in the rate. There are now A LOT of moving characters on screen. In multiplayer you can have up to eight (4 human and 4 bots). And what about those scenes where you have all these aliens running around? How about those massive explosions? If Rare packs in too much then the frame rate could suffer just as it did in Goldeneye.

Reason Three:
Can the AI be too smart?

The guys at Rare are claiming that the Artificial Intelligence in Perfect Dark is 200 times better than that seen in Goldeneye. I’m not sure what this entails, but - 200 TIMES?! Remember the 00 Agent mode in Goldeneye when the guards could shoot you from a mile away? Remember that? Remember breaking your controller? Could the game be TOO hard? I’ve played games when i it becomes almost excruciating to finish a level. Some developers seem to think that making a game hard is the same as making it challenging. Wrong. Gamers want to be challenged - they don’t want to be annoyed.

Tweek: My opinion? A game is never too hard. Bring on the super bots!

Reason Four:
The lens flares

Everybody’s seen the screen shots, and everybody’s seen those flares of light scattered all over the place. What are they? They’re lights. It’s that simple. So, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that it seems like they’re not really creating as much light as they’re creating a glare in the eyes of the player. The good news is that you can shoot these lights out to make them disappear, and the room will gradually get darker. But what if I want to keep the lights on? What if the glare becomes too annoying to bear? I haven’t played the game, but when I look at these screen shots and movies, I can’t help but wonder if this will get in the way. What could be a great addition just might become a nuisance. I hope I don’t begin shooting out lights just because they become annoying. I’d rather shoot them out to gain a tactical advantage.

Reason Five:
Falling off ledges

This is probably my least favorite new addition. I don’t even feel like it’s necessary. What I foresee is a lot of accidental deaths. I foresee sections of the game where I must walk very slowly to avoid slipping. I foresee myself hating it. This is not a platform game, it is a first-person shooter. In a first-person perspective, you can’t see your feet. You can’t tell how close to an edge you actually are. Rare is smart company though. I’m crossing my fingers that this addition is used for specific reasons and not just thrown in because a few people were complaining. But, I don’t want to play Turok 2 again. That was a bad experience.

Reason Six:
Another delay

Enough said. Let’s move on.

Reason Seven:
The ‘Mature’ rating

Although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it could be for a lot of younger people who want to buy the game. I haven’t heard exactly why it’s getting this rating. Maybe it’s the extra blood on the walls or the subject matter. I’m not sure if there’s any cussing in the game, but there may be. If you want to get the game and your parents won’t let you, just tell them you’ll do anything for it. Do the dishes or clean your room. If you’ve got really stubborn parents who absolutely will not get the game for you under any circumstances, play it at a friends house or pray.

Reason Eight:
So much to buy, and not enough cash

Some of us out there don’t have a lot of cash. So, what are these guys missing out on? A lot. Firstly, the Game Boy Camera. If you want to put your face in the game, then you’re going to have to shell out the bucks. But, you also have to buy the transfer pak to slap the camera in the back of the controller. Let’s not forget about the expansion pak, probably used for a higher frame rate and other things. So, what else? I’ll tell you what else. What happens when your friends come over? They want to get in on the best multiplayer action of all time, and you only have one controller. What about the game itself? What if you don’t even own a 64? Here’s one last thing that many people aren’t thinking about: Perfect Dark on Game Boy. This game will be compatible with the N64 version of Perfect Dark. Most people will have the transfer pak because of the camera, so I believe that Rare wanted to make use of it. Whether it be hidden multiplayer levels or hidden characters - I believe it may be used. It may be the reason for the recent delay, who knows. So, if you have none of these things and you want to have the full Perfect Dark experience, what will it all cost?

Game Boy Camera: $40
Transfer Pak: $20-30
Expansion Pak: $30
Controllers: $20-30
Perfect Dark for 64: $60
Nintendo 64: $100
Perfect Dark for Game Boy: $30
Game Boy: $70

Total: $450... Yikes.

Tweek: Don't forget the rumble pak! You can't play without that. But seriously, Perfect Dark will be an expensive experience. Even if you only want the Camera and Transfer Pak for the face mapping feature, you'll have to pay more than you did for the game itself. Not a bad little money-making scheme, huh?

Reason Eight:
License to Kill

I don’t know about you, but I think this is the only way to play multiplayer. If it’s not included in Perfect Dark, I will be sorely disappointed. This mode of play seems to put everyone on a level playing field. You don’t get the one guy who hangs out by the body armor with a rocket launcher and you don’t get any of these ridiculous fights where two people are shooting at each other until one guy goes down. It becomes a more intense game, and it becomes a more strategic game. One shot and you’re out. The way it should be.

Reason Eight:
The inevitable backlash of a perfect game:

When this game comes out, and we start reading reviews - how many perfect 10’s do you think we’ll see? How many 9.5’s? Could we possibly see anything lower than that? We could. This game has been hyped beyond belief. It is arguably the most highly anticipated game of all time and with that much hype, there’s bound to be a few disappointments. Imagine how this game would be hailed if it came out with no hype by some unknown company. But this is not just any game, and this is not just any company. This is Rare: A company that probably has the highest standards of quality in the business. There is so much expectation for this one, and that could turn out to be a bad thing when certain expectations are not met. Even the title insists that it’s perfect. It won’t be perfect. No game is perfect. What Rare has done with Perfect Dark is to try and make it better than Goldeneye in every way. Andknowing how good Goldeneye was, maybe - just maybe, it will be the closest thing we have to perfection.

Well, that’s the end of that. Let me just add that I think that Perfect Dark will be one the best, if not the best game up to this point. I was hardpressed to find ten things that might be wrong with it. Let’s hope I’m wrong... Email me if you know I'm wrong, and your comments woll be answered on the site.

-- Ernie