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Perfect Dark Preview
May 5, 2000
Perfect Dark - in case you don't know - is a highly anticipated semi-sequel to the praised masterpiece Goldeneye created by the team at Rare. PD dominates all aspects of Goldeneye including control, graphics, multi-player, replay value and of course game play. The team at Rare has been developing PD shortly after the release of Goldeneye. Perfect Dark was slated to be released around Christmas '99 giving Rare months to complete it's already year old game. With sites and magazines across the world teasing everyone with eye candy the launch of PD would came all too soon. Then late summer '99 rumors surfaced about its "delay". We all questioned the reliability of this. Then the official announcement from Rare and Nintendo stating that Perfect Dark - '99's most anticipated title - will be delayed until spring of '00, April 10th to be exact. Then it was held back again until May 22nd because of frame rate problems. This announcement shocked the video game world, but deep down everyone knew this was for the best for Rare would not delay unless they were going to add something. No incredible new info was released to anyone for a month, we were all kind of in the dark, and it wasn't a perfect dark until the info at the Nintendo Gamers Summit on February 4, 2000 and EGM's Perfect Dark Cover story was released and dataDyne HQ has it all in this preview.
The year is 2023. Two alien races -- the Skedar and the Maians -- are waging a war over something in the bottom of the sea, something so powerful, something so important that two alien races are willing to kill over. People are being abducted, and animals mutilated and for something only dataDyne knows what. Joanna Dark, code-named "Perfect Dark", is sent out by Daniel Carrington, founder of the Carrington Institute to find out what is developing at dataDyne Headquarters for he suspects they are planing first contact. Also to retrieve Dr. Caroll from dataDyne HQ for Dr. Caroll posses the knowledge that can decide the elimination of the human race. The story from here moves through many twists and turns, which uncover many dark, mysterious secrets.
Perfect Darks levels stretch from a top-secret laboratory underwater to Blade Runner look-a-like Chicago and back to Air Force One. The levels will be much more complex than those found in Goldeneye. The difficulty variations will add much more replay value to the game for a level on easy will have many areas blocked off while the same level on hard will have virtually no areas blocked off so you get also a new level every time you play different difficulties. Objectives will be much more decisive and mind boggling like you have to find data key, destroy cameras, pursue scientists, download software and minimize civilian casualties. Sometimes you need to do them in order because the data key opens the computer door and when you download the software the guards come running, etc. The most loved feature of PD is its new co-op where players can play Joanna Dark and her unnamed sister in the single player meaning it will add much more replay value to PD. Another feature is counter-operative where one player plays Joanna Dark and the other plays all the guards and/or aliens in the level. How? You may be asking, well you become the first enemy in the level and you hunt down the user Joanna (note the Reboot comparison). Since you have the same health as other guards you will die, fast, when this happens you'll reincarnate the nearest guard so you can once again hunt Joanna down before she completes her mission. The classic cheat code option from Goldeneye is back in Perfect Dark, only with more variety and challenge. For example, getting five head shots in Area 51 might get you a cheat. No actual cheats have been released at this time, but assume that some Goldeneye favorites will be back along with much more ingenious extras.
With the 4MB-expansion pack each level is going to be incredibly detailed. With wall textures so intricate and characters so detailed, PD is going to be the most stunning, graphically enhanced game to date on the N64 and it will own that title for a very long, long time. With over 60 to 90+ minutes of amazingly real cut-scenes and professional voice-overs (ala Hybrid Heaven) will bring PD to life. The motion activation system is much more realistic then Goldeneye's. Remember when you would shot the guard in the leg and he'd reach for his butt? Well Rare fixed this and now it is much more sensitive including body parts in different body areas like the shin and thigh in the leg so the movement varies from the shin and the thigh when shot. The weapons will be awesome thanks to the almost no-limit graphics, like the Eye Spy, which is a little controllable robot that you see through it's eyes which is viewed like a fish-eye bubble. Finally you can now fall off ledges by walking and being shot off then bouncing off a couple of walls on the way down. Now the most controversial issue with PD, its frame rates. Being a spiced up version of the Goldeneye engine it has it's flaws, the frame rate is the main topic of concern because even with the 4MB-expansion pack eight simulants and four players at once almost guaranties a drop in the frame rate. Rare has already commented on working on the framerate in the next couple of months so if you didn't mind or didn't notice (like me) the drop of frames in Goldeneye you probably won't mind PD's one and only problem. Do note that without the 4MB-expansion pack you will only be able to play approximately 30% of the actual game like only two-player multi-player.
Perfect Dark's control is almost identical to Goldeneye's, if not better. Playing it at E3 I found it very tight and responsive. There are also a handful of other types of controls to choose from, like my favorite "Solitaire" and the interesting two handed, two controller control type. One difference I noticed was the weapon selection; you can choose how to well... choose your weapon. One choice is like the Turok series, you press A and a circle of weapons appears and with the movement of the analog towards the weapon of choice selects it. Others include different variations of the Goldeneye style. Another difference is the secondary fire of each weapon, which is something Goldeneye wishes it had.
44+ weapons in Perfect Dark include all the Goldeneye weapons makes this one of PD's many strong points. An interesting feature of PD is the secondary fire of each weapon, which can bring the ways of destruction to 88+. Check out our weapons section for more info and pictures of some of them.
-- The Crossbow will be really futuristic looking with arrows that stick onto the body like in Turok 2!
-- The Falcon 2 is the PP7 of PD, a powerful gun with a laser sight mounted on the top will, for the first time, make me use a standard gun (or the first one you start out with) more often then any other.
-- The Lap Top gun will be a favorite among all because it is a powerful automatic and, when place on the ground, can turn into a sentry gun which is a gun that can be mounted on a wall, the roof, and the ground that shoots anyone that dares to come near.
-- Cmp150 is a very fast, silent, automatic sub-machine gun which is perfect for picking off one guard without others from other rooms hearing and crashing your party.
-- The Dragon and Super Dragon are both fast automatics with a secondary feature to die for. The secondary feature is a proximity mine that can be placed anywhere in the level. "People see the dragon lying on the ground. They pick it up and boom! Nothings more satisfying." Ken Lobb said. The Super Dragon is just an upgraded weapon.
-- The Farsight Xr20 has to be the most creative weapon in Perfect Dark. Campers. You hate them and Rare knows it. They're the people who always hide around a concealed corner and shoot you to dead when you come around the corner. They never move and this is what the Far Sight preys on. While using it you can see through walls and scenery (which is all transparent green) to spot the camper (solid red). The Far Sight then homes in on the campers heart beat and sends a shock wave through walls which evidently kills the camper. It has its pros and cons though, it scrolls and locks on very slowly so it is impossible to track a moving target, also you are basically a sitting duck when using it, but in the end the conclusion is always satisfying. Again, check out our weapons section for more weapons and pictures.
Perfect Dark's sound and music dwarfs anything you have heard from Goldeneye or any other FPS game. With compressed MP3s and Dolby Digital Surround Sound voice-overs will sound crisp and clear, bullets far away will seem quiet until they barrel past you which will sound loud and life-like, explosions will be identical in comparison to any action movie you've ever seen which Goldeneye set the standards for in FPS. PD's music will be above Rare standards of JFG. They'll be the manipulators of the mood with catchy and spooky tunes varying from level to level. The kind of music you'd find in JFG. It will also have the favorite tune from Goldeneye when you press the alarm and the guards come in full force. This is something that everyone will be looking for.
Multi-player will be second to none because of all its features and replay value. Even though the Game Boy Camera transfer feature will be taken out new additions will be added. One Shot Counts, Hold the Briefcase (flag tag), options to turn of body armor, 19 multi-player levels, 3 redone Goldeneye classics are all in there plus more. One feature that sticks out of the crowd has to be what Rare calls "Simulants", simulants are computer controlled characters similar to those found in Turok: Rage Wars. The simulants have a lot of different settings, here are all 18: NormalSim (just like a human player, kill anyone and live.) TurtleSim (a camper that's slow and likes loads of shields.), FistSim (uses only fists.), PeaceSim (takes all guns in the level so you can't get them.), RevengeSim (hunts down the last player who killed him.), KaziSim (kills you then himself usually with explosives.), VendettaSim (only follows and kills one randomly selected player and hunts them down 'till their gone.), CheetaSim (opposite of Turtlesim, very fast.), RocketSim (Rockets to him are like bread and butter, just can't have it without em'.), ShieldSim (Loves shields, and has extra health.), CowardSim (runs and hides. Fighting is not an option for him.), PredatorSim (Stays cloaked and shielded while blow the crap out of anything.), JusticeSim (hunts down the player who is currently winning.), MeatSim (Easy opponent, can't aim and rarely kills. This guy practicly gives you free kills.), EasySim (A bit harder the the MeatSim, only a bit. A bit better aim but nothing to challanging to beat.) HardSim (This guys a challange, he is good at aiming and tracking you down.), PerfectSim (Almost perfect aim all the time. It knows where to find you using the radar. Watch out.), DarkSim ( the hardest sim of them all. Perfect aim, perfect tracking, perfect dodging, perfect sim.). With all the PD weapons and a ton of characters to select from PD's multi-player will never be rived or beaten. More information on our updated multi-player section.
All-in-all Perfect Dark will no doubt be the 2000 game of the year on every console site and in every console magazine. If not the biggest and best game ever on the Nintendo 64. Check out dataDyneHQ.com for the latest news for Perfect Dark, and when it's released don't stop coming because we'll have the most thorough walkthrough and tips on the net.
If you have any questions, e-mail me.
