PD0 breaks many conventions of the genre and also introduces us to the next generation, although in a subtle way.
The first thing everyone is going to scrutinize when they play Perfect Dark is the graphics. Perfect Dark isn't a game that's going to blow your pants off and make you change religions when you first see it. Like many of the 360 launch offerings, the graphical flourishes are subtle, almost to a point where many folks will miss them. However, keen observers will notice the terrific use of shadow and natural light. Or how the game has the most insanely detailed weapon models (and reloading animations) in any console game ever. Some of the graphics are decidedly better looking than others, especially in regard to the levels. The earlier levels are less impressive visually than the wonderfully detailed levels that appear late in the game. Compare the first few levels to that of the jungle or desert for proof, and then couple that with the fact that the game's framerates stay solid through the whole experience, even with a ton of enemies (whose bodies stay on-screen once vanquished) on-screen and environmental damage like shattering windows and explosions happening everywhere. It's hard to say whether the less impressive looking levels were due to the game being ported (PD0 originally started as a Cube, then an Xbox game before being moved to the 360) or whether it was just due to lack of polish or familiarity with the hardware.
PD0's design may also turn people off. Rather than going for absolute realism, like the Splinter Cell or Rainbow Six franchises, Perfect Dark has a decidedly anime flavor to its visuals. The doe-eyed protagonist would look plenty at home in an animated flick. If you absolutely have to have your shooters striving to replicate real life, then this game isn't for you.
The sound is sterling, almost relegating the graphics to backseat status, in fact. The music is catchy, ranging from moody to flatout techno. The use of voice in the game is another subtle touch that many will miss. Only after dozens of hours of play do you start to hear just how much wonderful dialogue Rare recorded for this game. You'll hear a woman accidentally setting up a tryst with a married man over a loudspeaker and guards will utter hilarious phrases when they are unaware of your presence. The weapons effects are also top-notch, from the pea-shooter sound of a silenced rifle to the blowdart sound of a Magsec being fired.
The gameplay is where Perfect Dark brings home the bacon. PD0 introduces the aspect of cover to the genre, something that (to my knowledge) has never been done before in a first person shooter. The environment is littered with boxes, corners and ledges that offer cover from enemies. What's neat is how simply and elegantly PD0 pulls this off. All the player needs to do is tap the A button when close to one of the aforementioned objects and Joanna will press up against it. The camera will also shift away to third person so you can easily see (and target) enemies in the distance. Once sighted in, a quick pull of trigger will make Joanna pop out like a switchblade and fire exactly where the reticule was. Upon release of the trigger she'll drop back behind her source of cover. Not only is this mechanic extremely fun to pull off, but it also gives the game a tactical feel that's been missing from the genre, and no matter the game, it'll be hard to go back to the tired old dart-out-in-the-open mechanic that most shooters offer after playing Perfect Dark. There's also an abundant use of picture-in-picture that shows events happening in the the level that you can't see on your own. These can cue you in to the location of guards, a scientist hitting an alarm, and so on. You can also disarm enemies by approaching them unarmed and hitting the R button. This comes in handy at times, but it would've been nice to see its required use more in the game. As it stands though, it's just another great touch on top of a series of great touches that throws the conventions of first person shooters on their ear.
And it's really the tactical firefights that will keep you coming back. Even though the AI is nothing to write home about (it has a tendency to rush into the waiting barrel of a shotgun instead of taking cover), the fights have an unscripted, dynamic feel to them, especially on the higher difficulties. Also unique to Perfect Dark is the evasive roll. Tapping the L button while running will cause Joanna to break into roll. What's great about this is twofold. First, it works. Careful use of this feature will save your butt in many a gunfight. Second, it is pulled off in such a way that it isn't distracting. The whole process involved with switching from first, to third and back to first-person again is seamless. Not content to stop there, Rare decided to remove a jumping mechanic from the game. Depending on your position snd how rigid you are regarding how you like your shooters, this can be good or bad. My personal belief is that it's good. I'm getting sick of jumping in "realistic" shooters, and if someone could pull me some war footage that actually shows a soldier jumping around during a firefight, perhaps I'll change my mind. Rare's shooter keeps the action on the ground, where it belongs. That's not to say that Joanna can't step over a curb, though. She can easily scale waist-high objects simply by pushing against them, sort of in the way the scaling mechanic that worked so well in recent titles Zelda was implemented.
The weapons (besides looking absolutely gorgeous as mentioned earlier) are perfectly balanced. Each implement of death has a secondary firing mode. Some of the guns' second modes are more support oriented, like adding a silencer or a flashlight, while others (usually the less powerful) can be pretty powerfuly augmented when fired in alt-mode. Fans of the series will be glad to see the return of the turret gun, a machine gun that doubles as an enemy killing sentry turret. There really aren't any stinkers in PD0's weapon lineup, but they're also balanced to a point where one gun isn't going to earn the "noob tube" designation either. Furthermore, each gun has a tertiary mode, which basically serves as a third-firing mode, adding another interesting wrinkle to the weapons. PD0 also lets the player choose what weapon loadout they start with. This may not sound like much, but it really has a positive impact on the flow of the game, and it raises the question why most "realistic" shooters don't have this option. In a world war game, I can see having issued weapons, as that's historically factual. But why doesn't everyone's favorite space marine have the option to pick his own weapons when he goes off to battle? Joanna does, and the game is all the better for it. Granted, weight and size comes into play when selecting the starting weapons. You can pick two small weapons (like assault rifles) or one large weapon (rocket launchers and rail guns) in addition to one mission support item. Mission support items range from lockpicks to data miners, and which one you choose may alter the route you take through a given level. There's also no aim assist, which again is a bold move that people will either embrace or be totally pissed off over. I'm in the former category. Long have PC gamers kicked sand in the faces of their console brethren due to aim assist, so we now have a game that requires a lot more skill and dexterity to succeed at. The controls are solid, with everything mapped to the the 360's exceptional controller in a logical fashion.
The single player portion of the game is above average in length, spanning anywhere from twelve to eighteen hours depending on skill. Don't be surprised if you find yourself replaying the game on the increcibly difficult Perfect and Dark Agent settings. The difficulty here is a huge jump from the lower levels - ammo is at a premium and there are more objectives to complete on top of the enemies being absolute crack shots.
The multiplayer modes are fabulous. They ooze with options and game types ranging from the standard deathmatch to the inspired "infection" mode. In this mode, players form two sides, one consisting of skeletons and the other humans. The goal of the humans is to wipe out the skeletons, while the goal of the skeletons is to infect players from the other side. When that happens, the infected player joins the side of the skeletons and the match is won when there are no players left on a side. As expected, the variants are abundant - everything from bots to weapon types can be modified. On top of that, the game runs pretty smooth online as well, although the graphics are scaled down a bit from the single-player portion (I'm assuming to aid in lag prevention).
There's also a fully-featured, online compatible co-op mode. This alone is worth the price of admission, as the game's story (which really isn't all that great) ties in a second player perfectly through Jack Dark, Joanna's father.
Speaking of online, it must be noted how much the accomplishments add to the experience. Microsoft has had a real stroke of genius with this feature, and Perfect Dark has some really challenging goals for reaching all the accomplishments, both online and off.
Perfect Dark is going to be overlooked by many people for its visuals not being impressive enough, which is too bad. They're missing out on a terrific shooter and a real battlecry from the folks at Rare. There's really not much to dislike about this game besides some clunky AI, unexplainable choppiness in the cutscenes and a bare-bones story, but in the end, the game does so many things right that you'll be tempted to forgive the few missteps that it makes. Between this and Kameo, Rare is back in a big way. This game feels like a Rare game through and through, and it's good to see that some developers aren't content with simply trying to ape Halo. Perfect Dark stands just fine on its own, and in some ways, even eclipses Bungie's venerable series.