Game Review: Perfect Dark Zero |
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 June 26, 2008 |
Why review Perfect Dark Zero in 2008? Simple, PDZ was one of the first Xbox 360 games released and this is of course our first review, think of it like a retro review!
Before Perfect Dark Zero the last time we saw Joanna Dark in action was the original Perfect Dark.
Graphics:
You might have a love hate relation ship with the Perfect Dark Zero engine dubbed the Hydro engine, the environments looks gorgeous, you won’t need a HD set to appreciate the environments, the character models however lack greatly. There is no detail on the characters face’s, the seem "cartoon" like, however in some shots (like the one pictured) the graphics really stand out on the characters. The engine is really put to the test in multiplayer, unless a bunch of people team up on you and keep shooting rockets at your screen you won’t notice any slow down which is pretty remarkable considering the online supports up 32 players in huge environments.
8/10
Sound
Like all Rare games the soundtrack to the game is simply amazing, we have some clips below that you can download. The Dolby mix is also quite incredible, it really does your sound system justice. One thing I really don’t understand is why their are so many groans coming from your character when he or she gets shot, at times it might annoy you, mainly in matches where you might come across it more often then single player.
9/10
Gameplay
At first glance the game play may seem very linear, however if you decide you want to go your own way you can find a ton of ways to get around or into a certain situation’s. Example, on the second mission you are at a dock, you have to get to point X, at first glance there is 1 way to get there, if you explore you can find at least 4 new ways to get to point X, throughout the game you will find many more of these "treats".
The multiplayer community is still pretty strong, the bot’s in the game work out really well and are pretty customizable in terms of how many you want, there A.I. is also some of the best I have seen by far, the multiplayer will keep you entertained for a long time. Multiplayer supports 1-4 player locally, about 16 bots, and 32 player multiplayer. The multiplayer is unique in that you can make squads so if you ever get a full "human" house it will come in handy. The bots can be set so they will be added/removed as players match’s ensuring constant carnage.
The control scheme borrows a bit from Halo which will make it really familiar to many gamers, the cover mechanic works out really well and will come in handy if you attempt the higher difficulty levels.
In SP the rag dolls are simply amazing, things actually move realistically, not so much in multiplayer though, rag doll is the perfect description.
8.5/10
Overall
The Single Player mission might last you close to 10-15 hours on normal, if you go onto the higher difficulties it could take you over 20 hours to complete. I highly recommend you go through a coop game, their are certain elements in the game that can only be seen if you are playing in coop, these could be new portions of a level, ability to find better weapons before you should in SP, and new ways to enter a area.
The multiplayer will keep you entertained for a while!
9/10
Trailer: SD, HD
Music Soundtrack
Arena Intro
Jungle Attack
Tag: perfect match
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