Xbox live arcade
Perfect Dark
Moving into a student house next year all of my future housemates have complained on the same issue the lack of local multiplayer on modern shooters. Off the top of my head I can think of two, we collectively own, that have 4 player splitscreen multiplayer, Halo reach that we refuse to play due to one off use is *that guy* and Cod black ops which is getting a little old. So returning like the old Gunslinger to show the young bandits terrorising town how it?s done, Perfect Dark has just rode into town and has slammed open the saloon doors open and the bars gone silent.
Ok, for starters all you who played it on the N64, here what you need to know. Joanna Dark is back with updated graphics and dual analogue controls. The Graphics upgrade is impressive, it?s not been updated to modern standards. The detail is vastly improved, the best example of this is the Maian weaponry there textures are no longer just a variety of shades of blue, but now have strange darker veins running over them. The best thing about the Graphics update is that I didn?t really notice until i was half way through, this is not a complete revamp but rather updated to how we remember them being. I was worried that it wouldn?t work too well with duel analogue sticks, but it works really well no problems there. Oh yeah and you remember how if you got plastered with tranquiliser darts in multiplayer you would remain tranquilized when you respawn, that?s been fixed. Well that?s just about it for you big old ugly people and on to those damn whippersnappers.
The campaign is still fun despite not have all the modcons of modern shooters, you won?t find and regenerating health here or iron sights aiming here. This is strictly old school shooting, lashings of auto aim, this is all about speed and tactics. It really is a refreshing change from modern cover based combat, it fun, frantic and completely awesome. The sheer variety of levels is outstanding you?ll travel from a sun soaked villa to streets under the thumb of brutal oppression to a frozen wasteland and to aboard air force one. My favourite thing that you are encouraged to play on harder difficulties, as the difficulty increases so does the potency of the enemies but most importantly your given more objectives to complete that involve exploring more off the level. It really does give an immense feeling of satisfaction accomplishment as well as adding replay value. Which is extremely important, if you only play through once like many people will it is a very short campaign by modern standards. I will say though with the updated graphic the lack of moving faces does look very odd and the cut scenes really suffer for it. I?m afraid I now have to mention the manual aim system, there is a special circle of hell reserved for the person who came up with it, it did not work with the Beeblebrox special and it does not work with dual analogue. When you enter manual aim the reticule becomes attached to the centre of the screen like it got an elastic band rapped round it. It?s infuriating but not a game breaker
As for multiplayer it has 4 player splitscreen and bots available and I must say looking back AI is much more suited to this type of game play, they can be punishingly cruel on harder difficulties, dark sims are capable of taking on 4 human players, other than that there if a variety of bots ranging from the ordinary providing a decent challenge to the amusing, like the peace sim that only uses disarm. The variety of levels from the campaign transfers into the multiplayer maps, as well as nicking a few classic Goldeneye maps. It may however be difficult for new players, you do not spawn with a weapon and require a bit of map knowledge, but the maps are simple and this won?t last past the first game of each map. Every aspect of the multiplayer is customizable, from the weapon load out to the music as well as a variety of the tradition modes. As a game to play with friends on local multiplayer, you really can?t beat it.
And now onto my favourite thing the weaponry, it is possibly the best thing about old school multiplayer when you don?t spawn with pre-chosen weapons they can have a wide range of effectiveness?s and purely fun weapons, let me give you an example could you imagine a weapon on cod that can see through walls, shoot through them and automatically targets enemies, well it?s on perfect dark and its bloody amazing. All the weapons are well designed, with a realistic feel to them the assault rifles crack with uncomfortable amounts of satisfaction and the exploding shell shooting pistol, the phoenix, makes you feel like invincible, note only feel invincible.
Over all campaign a little dated but still worth experiencing and the multiplayer is utterly unmissable, have fun with friends for a fraction of the price of a modern game on one of gamings classics.
Perfect Dark
Moving into a student house next year all of my future housemates have complained on the same issue the lack of local multiplayer on modern shooters. Off the top of my head I can think of two, we collectively own, that have 4 player splitscreen multiplayer, Halo reach that we refuse to play due to one off use is *that guy* and Cod black ops which is getting a little old. So returning like the old Gunslinger to show the young bandits terrorising town how it?s done, Perfect Dark has just rode into town and has slammed open the saloon doors open and the bars gone silent.
Ok, for starters all you who played it on the N64, here what you need to know. Joanna Dark is back with updated graphics and dual analogue controls. The Graphics upgrade is impressive, it?s not been updated to modern standards. The detail is vastly improved, the best example of this is the Maian weaponry there textures are no longer just a variety of shades of blue, but now have strange darker veins running over them. The best thing about the Graphics update is that I didn?t really notice until i was half way through, this is not a complete revamp but rather updated to how we remember them being. I was worried that it wouldn?t work too well with duel analogue sticks, but it works really well no problems there. Oh yeah and you remember how if you got plastered with tranquiliser darts in multiplayer you would remain tranquilized when you respawn, that?s been fixed. Well that?s just about it for you big old ugly people and on to those damn whippersnappers.
The campaign is still fun despite not have all the modcons of modern shooters, you won?t find and regenerating health here or iron sights aiming here. This is strictly old school shooting, lashings of auto aim, this is all about speed and tactics. It really is a refreshing change from modern cover based combat, it fun, frantic and completely awesome. The sheer variety of levels is outstanding you?ll travel from a sun soaked villa to streets under the thumb of brutal oppression to a frozen wasteland and to aboard air force one. My favourite thing that you are encouraged to play on harder difficulties, as the difficulty increases so does the potency of the enemies but most importantly your given more objectives to complete that involve exploring more off the level. It really does give an immense feeling of satisfaction accomplishment as well as adding replay value. Which is extremely important, if you only play through once like many people will it is a very short campaign by modern standards. I will say though with the updated graphic the lack of moving faces does look very odd and the cut scenes really suffer for it. I?m afraid I now have to mention the manual aim system, there is a special circle of hell reserved for the person who came up with it, it did not work with the Beeblebrox special and it does not work with dual analogue. When you enter manual aim the reticule becomes attached to the centre of the screen like it got an elastic band rapped round it. It?s infuriating but not a game breaker
As for multiplayer it has 4 player splitscreen and bots available and I must say looking back AI is much more suited to this type of game play, they can be punishingly cruel on harder difficulties, dark sims are capable of taking on 4 human players, other than that there if a variety of bots ranging from the ordinary providing a decent challenge to the amusing, like the peace sim that only uses disarm. The variety of levels from the campaign transfers into the multiplayer maps, as well as nicking a few classic Goldeneye maps. It may however be difficult for new players, you do not spawn with a weapon and require a bit of map knowledge, but the maps are simple and this won?t last past the first game of each map. Every aspect of the multiplayer is customizable, from the weapon load out to the music as well as a variety of the tradition modes. As a game to play with friends on local multiplayer, you really can?t beat it.
And now onto my favourite thing the weaponry, it is possibly the best thing about old school multiplayer when you don?t spawn with pre-chosen weapons they can have a wide range of effectiveness?s and purely fun weapons, let me give you an example could you imagine a weapon on cod that can see through walls, shoot through them and automatically targets enemies, well it?s on perfect dark and its bloody amazing. All the weapons are well designed, with a realistic feel to them the assault rifles crack with uncomfortable amounts of satisfaction and the exploding shell shooting pistol, the phoenix, makes you feel like invincible, note only feel invincible.
Over all campaign a little dated but still worth experiencing and the multiplayer is utterly unmissable, have fun with friends for a fraction of the price of a modern game on one of gamings classics.
