And so we come to the games. We haven't had time to play through every launch title, but here are our opinions of the 'big three', along with a couple of others thrown in for good measure. Apologies for the lack of original screenshots - unfortunately, we've been so busy playing the games we haven't had time to set up a capture device!
To be honest, we were worried about PDZ. Very worried. Early screenshots had the graphics looking atrocious, and early gameplay reports that filtered out over the web weren't much better. However, we're pleased to say that it really is far better than we thought, although with that said, it's by no means perfect.
It is really easiest to describe the game as a FPS, because that's what you'll spent the majority of your time doing. It's very much an on-the-rails shooter, with distinct paths through levels, objectives to achieve, enemies to clobber, etc. There are some gimmicks thrown in: you can hack a secured door open with a silly mini-game that involves rotating segments on a handheld device, and there are also Halo-esque vehicle segments (which frankly, aren't as good). Other than that, we're talking FPS.
There are a few decent innovations in the game, however. The most obvious of these is the 'Cover' mechanic. Run up to a box, or the corner of a building or similar, and you can hit the 'A' button to take cover behind it. This zooms you out to a third person view, and allows you to see both Joanna and the scenery / badguys arond here. You can aim at bad guys with your thumbstick, then hit the trigger to have Joanna pop around the wall, fire off a few shots then pull back behind the wall again. This is a great way to win a firefight that would leave you otherwise stuffed. It feels very movie-like - diving behind some boxes, then popping up to fire off a few rounds, before crouching down to reload, it's good stuff.
Also introduced is a 'Dive' button. You can use this to cover short distances very quickly, and for the ultimate cinematic thrill, you can dive behind some cover and combine the two mechanics. Diving is also useful for getting through tripwires and laser beams.
However, despite having all this agility and secret-agent cunning, Joanna is unduly crippled. The lack of a jump button makes the game feel incredibly artificial and on-rails. Rather than simply jumping up a small ledge she has to find a cunningly-placed ramp. For example, in a subway crash, Joanna is unable to jump out through a window, instead having to rely on a broken door to give her a steady route down to the track. Once on the track, she can't jump up the waist-high platform, she has to run down until a handy blown-out door spans the gap between the track and the platform for her. Annoyances like this take you out of the game and mar the experience.
Graphically, it's pretty impressive. The scenery is gorgeously parallax-mapped, with some amazing texturing giving depth to the scenery. It's nothing that can't be done on the PC, it's just that it usually isn't. There are some brilliant lighting effects, and the sound design is also excellent.
However, the character modelling is a big let down. Despite having equisite texturing and lighting on the scenery, it's almost as if Rare, the developer, forgot about the characters. They all have very simplistic plastic-looking skin, and most of the baddies look like David Dickinson in sunglasses - not cool at all. In third person, even Jo Dark looks a bit rough, with white, plastic skin (non)texturing making her look more Barbie than Bond.
PDZ has had great multiplayer reviews, and we'd agree that it's a fun mode, although we haven't had significant time to get stuck into it to judge. Overall, the game is a good one, and it's a fun shooter that you should definitely pick up if you get a 360, especially if you're a fan of the original. However, Halo it ain't.
Perfect Dark Zero
Perfect Dark Zero (PDZ) is a prequel to the sublime Perfect Dark on the N64. Starring the wonderful Joanna Dark, it's a secret angent FPS / third person / action / stealth hybrid. It's the flagship launch shooter for the console.To be honest, we were worried about PDZ. Very worried. Early screenshots had the graphics looking atrocious, and early gameplay reports that filtered out over the web weren't much better. However, we're pleased to say that it really is far better than we thought, although with that said, it's by no means perfect.
It is really easiest to describe the game as a FPS, because that's what you'll spent the majority of your time doing. It's very much an on-the-rails shooter, with distinct paths through levels, objectives to achieve, enemies to clobber, etc. There are some gimmicks thrown in: you can hack a secured door open with a silly mini-game that involves rotating segments on a handheld device, and there are also Halo-esque vehicle segments (which frankly, aren't as good). Other than that, we're talking FPS.
There are a few decent innovations in the game, however. The most obvious of these is the 'Cover' mechanic. Run up to a box, or the corner of a building or similar, and you can hit the 'A' button to take cover behind it. This zooms you out to a third person view, and allows you to see both Joanna and the scenery / badguys arond here. You can aim at bad guys with your thumbstick, then hit the trigger to have Joanna pop around the wall, fire off a few shots then pull back behind the wall again. This is a great way to win a firefight that would leave you otherwise stuffed. It feels very movie-like - diving behind some boxes, then popping up to fire off a few rounds, before crouching down to reload, it's good stuff.
Also introduced is a 'Dive' button. You can use this to cover short distances very quickly, and for the ultimate cinematic thrill, you can dive behind some cover and combine the two mechanics. Diving is also useful for getting through tripwires and laser beams.
However, despite having all this agility and secret-agent cunning, Joanna is unduly crippled. The lack of a jump button makes the game feel incredibly artificial and on-rails. Rather than simply jumping up a small ledge she has to find a cunningly-placed ramp. For example, in a subway crash, Joanna is unable to jump out through a window, instead having to rely on a broken door to give her a steady route down to the track. Once on the track, she can't jump up the waist-high platform, she has to run down until a handy blown-out door spans the gap between the track and the platform for her. Annoyances like this take you out of the game and mar the experience.
Graphically, it's pretty impressive. The scenery is gorgeously parallax-mapped, with some amazing texturing giving depth to the scenery. It's nothing that can't be done on the PC, it's just that it usually isn't. There are some brilliant lighting effects, and the sound design is also excellent.
However, the character modelling is a big let down. Despite having equisite texturing and lighting on the scenery, it's almost as if Rare, the developer, forgot about the characters. They all have very simplistic plastic-looking skin, and most of the baddies look like David Dickinson in sunglasses - not cool at all. In third person, even Jo Dark looks a bit rough, with white, plastic skin (non)texturing making her look more Barbie than Bond.
PDZ has had great multiplayer reviews, and we'd agree that it's a fun mode, although we haven't had significant time to get stuck into it to judge. Overall, the game is a good one, and it's a fun shooter that you should definitely pick up if you get a 360, especially if you're a fan of the original. However, Halo it ain't.
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