Genre: Action, FPS
Perspective: 1st-person
Gameplay: Shooter, Stealth
Interface: Direct control
Setting: Sci-fi / futuristic
Published by: Rare
Developed by: Rare
Released: 2000
Platform: Nintendo 64 (N64)
After I got acquainted with GoldenEye 007 (and had a great time, I must say!), Interest in Perfect Dark was quite understandable from my side. Excitement and anxiety only increased as problems arose in the spirit of Daikatana with the release: Rare was forced to postpone it several times, instilling in the gamers both distrust and confidence that now the game simply can not be bad. It did not turn out well.
Moreover, the technology inexorably progressed, making the future Perfect Dark obsolete even before it appeared in stores. And yet, the developers got out, having managed to release at that very lucky moment, when the planned one was already realized, and the demands of the people had not yet reached unimaginable heights. Well ... Anyway, with me, things were exactly like this: I got a shooter that most of all met the expectations. And at the same time one of the best multiplayer games of those times - a pleasant surprise.
Do not get it wrong, the campaign is also very good. It just does not stand out against the background of other Rare creations. There are no problems with the plot and the gameplay, but it feels like very much the continuation of the above story about Bond, for example, and not in terms of the events themselves, but rather as a style, common characteristics. Already after the first level, all GoldenEye grafts returned to me and flawlessly "got into place", being quite applicable here. As if I never left the world 007, just turning my attention to other of its inhabitants.
Local graphics can easily be recognized as the best on N64 in principle: the developers once again outperformed themselves, managed to squeeze out of the "iron" a little more, optimize somewhere, smooth out somewhere, and as a result, make everything a little more beautiful and closer to perfection . But you can not eat one graphic. One of the most important criteria in the video game industry at that time was already multiplayer. Undoubtedly, it was he who held GoldenEye for so long at the peak of popularity, and it was on him that the main stake in Perfect Dark was made.
It's not easy to name at least something console, which at that time exceeded it in a simple number of available options and modes. Any single mission, for example, can be done in a cooperative with a friend (split-screen, the second player assumes the role of the sister of the main character). Want to fight, not help - there is Counter Operative mode, where you are invited to spoil each other's lives (also using a split screen). That the first, that the second variants are equally interesting and able to eat a lot of time. Just give them a chance - see for yourself!
There is, however, one problem ... A poor console simply can not withstand such a load, so immediately get ready for a drop in the personnel frequency and other subvilments. Not that to perceive what is happening from them has become impossible, but still unpleasant.
The next available mode is Combat Simulator. Its configuration is so extensive that it allows you to create almost any "classic" (and your own, of course) mode within this one, and the players are supported up to four. Among the already available options are listed different types of dezmatchi, that's only they are not really very interesting. Or, in any case, not as interesting as a team-oriented installation. Capture the Flag and King of the Hill are probably familiar to all more or less experienced gamers and do not require additional description, so I'll just talk about my favorite type of game - Hacker Central. Here, the team must, first, faster than competitors to find a terminal to communicate with a laptop somewhere else, and, secondly, to hack the said laptop. Successfully - get points. It would seem that everything is simple, but the process of hacking takes about 30 seconds, and it is unlikely that enemies will wait until its end. The remaining team members will have to try and protect the hacker; Just at this place begins the most fun.
Each available version of the multiplayer is also tuned to the most meticulous trivia, allowing virtually any company in almost any player to choose a convenient set of parameters. No kidding. Customization is so deep that even describing is amenable to bad: you just need to evaluate it and sit for a while with your mouth open. It seems that Quake III, going to the Dreamcast, will either have to offer the gamer no less freedom, or not at all hope for the crown of the best console multiplayer shooter.
In general, Perfect Dark I really liked. So much that I want to close my eyes to all her problems and praise her acquaintances. But the problems themselves from this will not go away, but they are ...
Firstly, lags. The multiplayer game together due to the drawdown of the personnel frequency becomes annoying, the four of them are unpleasant, and with eight characters it is simply excruciating. The only way to somehow ease your suffering is to reduce the screen resolution and limit the number of enemies. But why offer a practically non-playable version without crutches? So that it was? ..
Secondly, the plot. GoldenEye did not have any problems with it, but with the history of Perfect Dark, developers could not give out anything so interesting.
And, thirdly, the characters. Especially the main character is Joanna Dark. She is too dull. As with other local personalities, almost everything we know about it comes from Nintendo's press releases, not from the game itself. Yes, our protagonist is controlled with weapons and cunning devices even better than James Bond, she can insert the right phrase at the right time, and ... All. On the other hand, one more fact of a more or less realistic image of a girl in the game forgives her all the shortcomings, as, as many know, in the industry with this very sad. What else can I say? Let's hope for a deeper disclosure of Joanna in the inevitable sequel.
I expected a lot from the "spiritual heir" GoldenEye 007, and Rare did not disappoint. Perfect Dark has everything that it needs, and even more. Although there were no shortcomings, good management, cool graphics and sound can cope with their neutralization. But the best thing here is multiplayer, which you can sing praises for hours and hours.