Perfect Dark

Synopsis

by Scott Alan Marriott

Developer Rare's anticipated first-person follow-up to GoldenEye 007 thrusts gamers into a futuristic world run by an evil corporation called dataDyne. As a field agent for the benevolent Carrington Institute, Joanna Dark is sent to investigate the troubling actions of dataDyne in a series of missions that begins with a mysterious kidnapping and culminates in an intergalactic conflict between two alien races.

Joanna's first case involves protecting one of dataDyne's whistle-blowing scientists, who contacted the Carrington Institute for help. Joanna must infiltrate the corporation, find and rescue the frightened doctor, and make it back in one piece. Thus begins the single-player campaign, which features nine missions spanning 17 levels. Dark will equip a number of advanced weapons and powerful gadgets while advancing through otherworldly locales inspired by Blade Runner and other sci-fi films. Perhaps the most notable weapon in Perfect Dark's arsenal is the FarSight XR 20, a gun that allows you to "see" opponents through walls or barriers.

Perfect Dark also features an array of multiplayer options. Four-player deathmatch, king of the hill, and capture-the-flag variants are included, with the ability to add computer-controlled "simulants" as either friends or foes. "Co-Operative" mode lets two friends progress through the story together, while the "Counter-Operative" mode has one player guiding Joanna Dark as the other controls an enemy. The rival player can assume control of random enemy characters until Dark is defeated or the level is complete. "Challenge Mode" offers 30 scenarios that will have you gunning for simulants under a variety of conditions. Up to four players can play this mode, and each contest can be played up to four times (with one, two, three, and four participants).

Features

• Features 17 levels playable on three difficulty settings, each offering new objectives
• Master over 40 weapons and gadgets
• Requires the Expansion Pak accessory for full multiplayer options

Extra Credits

by Scott Alan Marriott

Perfect Dark takes the same game engine used in 1997's GoldenEye 007 and refines it to take advantage of the 4MB Expansion Pak peripheral. The setting in the game looks to be inspired by the movie Blade Runner, while the story could pass for an episode of The X-Files. As a first-person shooter, Perfect Dark traces its roots to Wolfenstein 3d, the first "true" game in the genre. It would be 1994's release of Doom that propelled the genre to mainstream popularity among gaming enthusiasts.

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