Synopsis:
Joanna Dark returns in the Xbox 360 exclusive Perfect Dark: Zero, the prequel to the internationally award-winning and multi-million selling first-person shooter PErfect Dark from famed game developer Rare.
A secret war has begun between shadowy corporations bent on world domination. Joanna Dark nd her father Jack are caught up in the fight for the future of the planet. A routine bounty hunting mission rips open a global conspiracry that will change Joanna's destiny -- forever.
Players must guide Joanna Dark on her journey to become the perfect agent. Feauturing a compelling and captivating story, Perfect Dark: Zero plunges players into a world of corporate espionage and conspiracy. The title merges the excitement and intrigue of its predecessor with revolutionary game design, cutting-edge onlin play, and amazing graphics to deliver an experience that degfines next-generation gaming and entertainment.
Features
1. Engrossing single-player action: Brought to life startling high definition, Perfect Dark: Zero challenges players to guide Joanna Dark on her journey to become the perfect agen. A full interactive world, beautioful graphics and breataking special effects combine with Xbox Live funtionality to provide player with a one-of-a-kind single-player experience.
2. Gripping, action-packed storyline: Years before the original Perfect Dark, players assume the role of Perfect Agent Joanna Dark in a gripping story, with action in this sci-fi thriller centered on espionage, conspiracy, and a mysterious global conflict.
3. Unparalleled online play via Xbox Live: Perfect Dark: Zero delivers unprecendented online action and flexibility, supporting upwards of 5- players online. The game includes fully scalable envrionments, and complete online support with tournaments, rankings, and more.
4. Extraordinary variety o gameplay options: Players can choose between a sotry-driven single-player campaign and various multiplayer options, including four-player splitscreen and cooperative action, for infinite replayability.
4. Massive arsenal of weapons, gadgets, and vehicles: The title features many of the classic weapons and gadgets from the original game, as well as countless additions. Combat-enabled vehicles including jetpacks, hovercraftfs, and motorcycles are also available.
Previews - Perfect Encounter
By Alex McLain
Perfect Dark was the true sequel to the original GoldenEye, crafted at Rare by virtually the same development team. It gave us Joanna "Perfect Dark." the perfect agent for the future, who was just as cool and even more deadly than James Bond. Her aim was dead-on, her gadgets were slick, and her quips were as witty as 0007's.
She proved herself again and again as she uncovered a massice conspiracry, battled all manner of minions, befriended an alien named Elvis, matches with with Mr.Blonde, and generally saved the world in a manner befitting a globetrotting black-ops agent. But motives were mysterious.
Perfect Dark Zero is the sequel in real time, but in game terms, it's a prequel. You meet younger Joanna before she's had her first run-in with the Carrington Insititure, and guide her through her first adventures as she becomes the perfect agent we know. This early look at her career should offer some explanation of her abilities. After all, Joanna is still very youn in the original Perfect Dark, yet she's already an agent to be reckoned with. How is she so adept at such a young age? Is her training at the Carrington Institute a marvel of technique, or does her background offer some insight into her abilities? We may also discover the roots of her connection to Daniel Carrington, the absurdly wealthy but good-hearted head of the Carrington Institute, who works for the grater good by using his agents and equipment to wahe his own war against the DataDyne Corporation.
We Know so little of Joanna's past, and it makes sense for Rare to go back to the beginning of her journey. By the end of Perfect Dark Zero, you will undoubtedly gain some new insight into the quintessential perfect agent we all know and love.
Spy-Thriller Seeks Cool Ride
Beyond the questions of character origin, there is the job of invigorating the first-person shooter genre for the next generation of gaming. The original Perfect Dark did a phenomenal job of creating a believable high-tech and near-future setting. You felt like a super-agent with all your gadgets, secodary fire options, and crack-shot abilities.
but since then, we've seen a variety of improvements to the FPS genre. Chief among these if the introduction of vehicles. What could be more appropriate than Joanna's own set of wheels? Nothing feels better than power-sliding around corners in a tricked-out motorcycle, leaving tracks of steaming rubber as you open fire with a submachine gun. And nothing is more atmospheric than gliding through the air in a jetpack, zigzagging your way through ground fire and missle strikes to infiltrate an enemy installation.
The End of the Cavernous Map
In an online multiplayer game, you become partial to maps. Trouble is, you can often play those maps only during specific situations. Large overland maps are greatm but only if a large crew is playing. And when too many players get on the map, in a tight-quatered affair, it's just chaos.
Now imagine a favorite map that changes according to the number of people playing. Perfect Dark Zero's scalable map expands itself to accommodate a larger crowd, or closes off sections to create am ore intimate arena for a smaller number of players.
All the Little Things
And the list of improvements continues. Think of your favorite weapons from Perfect Dark, and add secondary fire options for every gun. Imagine the new high-tech envrionments displayed in high definition, the aural experience that crashes around you in surround sound, and the ability to take part in co-op play on System Link or Xbox Live.
If ever there was a franchise to establish Xbox 360, Perfect Dark Zero is the one to do it.
Multiplayer Party in the Dark
By Luke Judge
When Xbox 360 hits shelves, Perfect Dark: Zero will be waiting for it. Rare's return to the mysterious and dangerous world of corporate super-spy and perfect agent Joanna Dark has been much anticipated, and gamers are just as hungry for the multiplayer madness that Perfect Dark: Zero promises. Although some details may change before the final release, our sneek peek indicates that PDZ will be worth the wait.
The Perfect Rumble
Count on a major multiplayer component for Perfect Dark: Zero. The first game raised the bar for first-person shooter multiplayer action, and this latest version priomises to maintain that tradtition. Along with four-player split-screen and co-op campaigns, Perfect Dark: Zero includes online modes that support at least 50 players in the same match at the same time. On Xbox Live, you can join one of these battles or start your own.
Size Does Matter
One of the best features is the scalable maps, which expand or contract to fit the size of your match. If you've only got eight people in an environment that can support more than 50, cerain portions of the map will be inaccessible. This means that members of your smaller party will have a real chance of actually running across one another.
Check out the Arsenal
You can also expect more of the sweet weaponry that helped make the original Perfect Dark so much fun. Classic weapons like the Magnum, Reaper, Falcon, Crossbow, and N-bomb are all strong candidates for a comeback, and laptop gun is already confirmed. this little gen looks just like a briefcase until you unfold it into a powerful machine gun. In multiplayer, it's especially useful for its secondary fire function, which allows you to play it in the ground or on a wall, where it acts as a sentry and fires on any enemies who come into range. It's a portable turret that you can position precisely where it'll do the most good.
Vehicles will be a part of the Perfect Dark Zero multiplayer experience, as well. Joanna will climb aboard motorcycles and hovercraft, but for my money, the most spectacular vehicle is the jetpack. Strapping on this beauty gives you short, fast bursts of controlled flight that create all kinds of opportunities. Take the highest possible ground for sniper duty, hop over barries to surprise your enemies, or simply swoop down on opponents like a bird of prey.
We'll have more details on Perfect Dark Zero and its extensive multiplayer components as they become available.
E3 Developer Interview:
Rare on Perfect Dark Zero
Joanna Dark's universe is set to expand with Perfect Dark: Zero. We cornered the game's development team at Rare and got some details on the game's A.I., vehicles, weapons, and other stealthy treats.
Xbox.com: Why a prequel?
PDZ Team: We wanted to find out more about Joanna. Where did she come from? How did she turn into this "perfect" agent? What makes her tick? Setting the game a few years prior to Perfect Dark meant we could ground the universe better and keep Jo on planet Earth. It also meant we could use weapons inspired by those in the real world, to balance against the high-tech hardware available to Jo, her allies, and enemies.
Xbox.com: What elevates Perfect Dark Zero above standard first-person shooter fare? Are there stealth elements, A.I. teammates, vehicles?
PDZ Team: All of the above and a lot more. Anyone familiar with the Nintendo 64 title will have an idea of the kind of variety to expect.
Take Stealth, for instance. The game has many opportunitis to be stealthy, with a few new moves introduced to assist this. Ultimately, the choice is the player's: Be stealthy or grab the biggest weapon you own, but you might have to deal with the consquences of not being stealthy.
A.I. Teammates are also there to assist a player who plays on his own, and some interesting things happen when another human joins in to help.
Vehicles feature heavily. Take the jetpack (a single user exoskelton armed with twin guns having both air and ground capabilities). Plug away at the main body, target the weaker but harder-to-hit wings, or go straight for the pilot. Those are the options presented when in combat against a jetpack.
There are twop types of multiplayer experience. If you want a more arcade-like multiplayer experience, then Deathmatch is for you. A tense tactical multiplayer is catered for in our DarkOps mode.
We have really striven hard for replay-ability. We wanted to give players a compelling reason to play story mode again and again. Multiple ways to achieve goals on the levels enchanes this. We're not going to say how yet, but Xbox Live plays a big part.
Xbox.com: Will Elvis, everyone's favorite mischievous alien, make a cameo?
PDZ Team: You never know!
Xbox.com: What amount of time elapses between this game and the original title? What is the state of the world in this prequel versus the original? Can we look forward to more subtle conspiracy-laden story, or is the conflict more out in the open?
PDZ Team: PDZ is set three years before the original. It's business as usual: Giant corporations fight for control of the planet, working to achieve their shadowy objectives by any means necessary. Jo is thrown into this world of intigue and conspiracy and meets many of the characters and organizations in the Perfect Dark universe for the first time. There are plent of links to the original game, but because PDZ is an origin story, just like the Spider-Man movie, new players won't miss out on a thing. So yes, there's plenty of the cloak and dagger stuff, but that doesn't mean there can't be an explosion or two along the way.
Xbox.com: Can you give us a glimpse into some gameplay elements that weren't available in the first game, but are exclusive to PDZ?
PDZ Team: Here are two to start with ... The Cover move allows players to be stealhty and see what's 'round the corner before deciding to jump 'round it. The Combat Roll move adds a new element to the combat. You can dive out of the way of enemy fire, but you're more vulnerable and cannot fire.
Xbox.com: Halo 2 introduced Web-integration and the matchmaking service for its online component. What sort of Xbox Live functionality will PDZ offer that will change the way we look at online gaming?
PDZ Team: The most obvious one is the ability to play against more than 50 players in multiplayer. Player choice is now greater than ever. If you want to play on your own, that's great. And up to four players can play from a single machine locally or over Xbox Live. If human opposition is not your cup of tea, then add some bots that work both locally and Xbox Live. There's also a few more things we're going to reveal at a later date.
Xbox.com: Other than throwing waves of deadlier enemies at the player, how dos PDZ offer a more organic challenge when switching from th easier difficulty settings?
PDZ Team: The difficulty levels are Agent, Secret Agent, and Perfect Agent. The player has more objectives on the harder difficulty settings. These aren't just "do an extra things"; they make sections play totally differently. Someone going from Agent(easy) onto Secret Agent (medium) difficulty will get to an area and find they cannot play that section the same way. They need to find a different solution to deal with the problems that are there. When the player has finished a level, they can go back and play the level on the same difficulty and the experience will have changed. An example would be when you play the level on Agent, get to a section with security cameras, memorize where they are, finish the level, and try it again. On the original, you would know where the cameras are, and then you could blast 'round the corner knowing you were safe. Not so on PDZ, but that's where the Cover move comes in handy!
Xbox.com: Perfect Dark was famous for having some of the coolest and most dynamic weaponry and gadgets ever seen. Can you give us a couple tidbits about new weapons and their unique abilities? Could you give us some dirt on your personal favorite new gadget and/or weapon?
PDZ Team: Here are five out of the 26 weapons in the game, all of which have secondaries that add new gameplay elements to the mix.
1. The Phantom: The weapon of choice for the stealth fanatics. It's an energy weapon with a secondary that allows you to cloak. It's a shame it needs to de-cloak to fire.
2. The Laptop Gun: For tacticians. Throw this down and it turns into a sentry gun that shoots at enemy players. Put it down in a clever spot to reap the reqards.
3. The RCP-90: For the paranoid. The secondary activates the threat detector mode, which highlights enemies (even cloaked ones) and hostile targets as red and friendlies as green. A cunning player can also use this to reprogram hostile enemy weapons such as the sentry gun.
4. The Shockwave Rifle: A scout's dream. It's a sniper rifle with the powerful ability to see through walls, even revealing the skeletons of enemies. Line an unsuspecting enemy up as they come 'round the corner and -- blam!
5. The Psychosis Pistol: Love by the truly evil. Mess with the minds of your opponents and turn enemies against each other.
PHEW DONE! Sorry for any spelling typos.
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