Look… I’ll start this Retro Rocks Review about the one and only Perfect Dark Zero with a guilty admission…
I’ve never completed this gem…
Not even bloody close.
This game had everything I was looking for back in 2006 (released in 2005).
- It was related to the team that produced my favourite ever game of all time in the history of gaming, Goldeneye 007
- It was a launch title for the (then) brand spanking new Xbox 360
- t was the next level of console gaming at the time. Without doubt
I dearly remember that opening scene, where Joanna’s eye opens sharply as the music kicks in… man, love at first sight… and I ain’t talking about Jo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T9mCezRsfw
(The nod to old school Jetpac was delicious!)
Now, it wasn’t quite the opening of Goldeneye 007, but it comes pretty close in my book.
And, like I said, this game was everything with regards to the “next level” in graphics and gameplay. Starting off the game with a ‘simulation’ level was genius, and it only got better from that. That second level, where you have to infiltrate that nightclub in Honkers, still gives me chills.
What I liked about it too was that it was difficult. The aforementioned Nightclub level, on Perfect Dark difficulty, almost broke me…
Almost…
From memory too, this was one of the first games I personally played in co-op mission, online. This is, by far, my favourite mode of gaming and this game was the start of a fantastic gaming relationship between myself and my co-op gaming partner, Ronald P. Corbett.
Like I said, I’ve only ever made it half way through this game… for a variety of reasons… I always get stuck when you battle off against the chick in the arena where the statues come to life and try to take you on. It’s the back end of level 4 (level FOUR, how bloody lame is that?)
Sure, there’s a temptation to take it down a level or two and keep going, but that ain’t the way I game baby! Once I commit to a difficulty level, I stick with it.
Every year or so, during a gaming lull, I pull the game out and give it another go. It’s part of the wildly fun Rare Replay series of games, so it’s only ever a change of disc away.
And one day, maybe, I’ll be able to spruik the fact that I finally took Joanna Dark to glory in Perfect Dark Zero.
Maybe?
Written by: @dantheinternut
