It's fair to say that Perfect Dark Zero was not the Xbox 360 launch title Microsoft hoped it would be in 2005. The original Perfect Dark is a legendary shooter, one of the first classic console-first entries in the genre. Its sequel immediately went into production for Nintendo GameCube, but delays and major staff departures delayed it past the Microsoft buyout and the company's first Xbox console. The game that resulted is certainly a mishmash of ideas, but it's not the absolute failure many fans remember it as. Critics praised the title upon release, but its legacy as a disappointing follow-up has overshadowed all the reasons shooter fans may wish to revisit it today.
Most of the biggest shooters on the market today were developed by teams entrenched in shooter history. Bungie, People Can Fly, and Epic Games are a few of the studios to have rich histories in the genre. While Rare also has that legacy on the N64, the team that made Perfect Dark Zero was not the same one that crafted Goldeneye 007. Instead, that team became the developers of TimeSplitters, and Rare was left to create its own sequel.
This makes Perfect Dark Zero an ambitious game in its own right, and that alone is something worth seeing. The game implements uncommon features, like armor that bursts off of baddies when they're fired upon and a boomerang weapon that can take players out in a few hits. The developers at the time decided to replace the jump button with a combat roll that felt more natural. Most interesting of all, the team implemented a cover system that took the perspective out to third-person when used. In an age when so many shooters end up on the same consoles with the same controls, Perfect Dark Zero stands out as a unique shooter campaign.
Perfect Dark Zero: Joanna Dark's Uniquely Explosive Arsenal
There's also the case of Joanna Dark's expansive arsenal, which features both genre standards and some interesting inclusions. The all-important Laptop Gun is here in full force, as are many other guns from the N64 original. The new additions include the Hawk Boomerang and the Viblade, giving the gameplay an aspect of close-range melee similar to Halo's Energy Sword. The Liberator SMG works fine as an Uzi, but it works just as well as a landmine when out of ammo, and the Shockwave sniper can destroy enemies through walls with its alternate scope.
Unfortunately, Perfect Dark Zero's best aspect is mostly inaccessible to a modern audience. The multiplayer component easily outshined Zero's campaign at launch, and it ended up being one of the best reasons to go on Xbox Live in the early years of the 360's lifespan, supporting a wide range of modes and up to 32 players simultaneously. It had prominent vehicle play, something few deathmatch games of this type got right outside of Halo.
Players who do want to see what Perfect Dark Zero is all about will need to set their expectations. The game was an Xbox 360 launch title, and there are several original Xbox games with a more cohesive graphical style. However, despite the aged looks, Rare delivered a solid shooter that shines despite living in its predecessor's shadow. With Microsoft and The Initiative currently hard at work putting together a brand new Perfect Dark that could still be years away, the time is right to go into Rare's launch title with fresh eyes and see how the team tackled and delivered on such a monumental task.