Perfect Dark (XBLA) Review Now Live

Ah, Perfect Dark. One of, if not the last good game for the Nintendo 64. I bought a copy of the game used for my cratridge collection, but I don't think I'll ever dare to play the game in that form now that the Xbox Live Arcade port is out.

I reviewed the game, what is it?, two weeks ago now, and that review has gone live on Game Revolution. I loved the game, and I have to admit Ray much of the review was filtered through a fine mesh of nostalgia. Frankly, of course Perfect Dark isn't going to be up to par with modern first person shooters, but let's get serious and talk about "fun."

When you're playing Perfect Dark, were you having fun? Forget how old it is. Did you have fun? Forget the graphics and how it's really only a port. Were you having fun Farsighting Meatsims for an hour?

My argument is that a review shoud have plenty of personal opinion, that is what people are looking for when they seek out one person's semi-professional opinion. I hope you enjoy reading my personal opinion on Perfect Dark (XBLA) at the following link, and if you're reading this, send me a message and a friend request (my gamertag is coolyfooly88) and we can complete some co-op achievements: http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/xbox360/perfect-dark

Perfect Dark XBLA Impressions

Playing games a little earlier than everyone else is always fun. I've been doing a lot of that lately too, what with early XBLA titles being downloaded to my hard drive on a weekly basis. This week is a little bit more special. I can't think of anyone that was really looking forward to Scrap Metal, or Greed Corp for that matter, but I know people have their eyes on this weeks XBLA release: Perfect Dark.

For those of you not in the know, Perfect Dark, the classic FPS game from the days of the Nintendo 64, has been remade with textures fit for HD. Essentially, it's the same exact game with an HD overlay and compatibility with Xbox Live. All of the original modes are there, including co-operative and counter-operative mission modes, as well as the combat simulator which allows for all kinds of fun with sims of all different types. Here are some of my quick impressions prior to a full-fledged review that'll go up on gamerevolution.com.

//Perfect Dark was not designed with two analog sticks in mind. This much is clear. The auto-aim is heavy handed, and now, instead of that heavy-handedness dealing with the C buttons on the 64 controller, it's dealing with flighty FPS controls.

//Still, the enemy AI is on the weak side as far as modern day first person shooters are concerned. The most advanced AI tactic I've seen was a Blonde Sim darting in and out of one of the windows in a classic map from Goldeneye. I haven't been taken down by advanced enemy movements, so much as I've been taken sheer firepower.

//The graphics are certainly upgraded, but characters don't move their mouths, the geometry hasn't been updated, and most of the basic animations remain the same. That being said, the frame rate, visual fidelity, and overall look of the game has made a giant leap forward. I can't imagine going back to play the game on Nintendo 64 aside from pure nostalgia's sake.

Gamers have a reason to look forward to Perfect Dark. It still retains every bit of fun the original had. Mowing down countless amounts of meatsims will never get old in my book. Set up the laptop gun in sentry mode, kick back, and just enjoy some good old multiplayer fun like you used to, back when that kind of thing required an expansion pack.