Perfect Dark Zero... Near-final build: The hype starts now.

[tranCendenZ]

Looks like a couple of months of dev work makes worlds of difference

PD0 Near-Final Build Impressions

http://www.talkxbox.com/preview745.html

Link has full article, some snippets:

Forget everything you know about Perfect Dark Zero.

Seriously. Right now.

We good?

Good.

Let’s just start with some good old fashioned hype. Perfect Dark Zero is the premier multiplayer title on the Xbox 360 and will be the most fun Live game you have ever played before. No, that isn’t a marketing tagline. That’s what I’m telling you now, having played it in an Xbox 360 preview session. While I tried out the single player mode for a bit, I primarily played the co-op mode. It was, in a word, godly.

I’ve been following Perfect Dark Zero from the beginning, through the system changes, disastrous MTV Unveiling, screenshots from hell, uninspiring X05 cam footage, and everything in-between. To be honest, I was expecting mediocrity taken to all-new highs. Fortunately, I was dead wrong. This game has quite a bit of bad buzz surrounding it. As it turns out, that buzz is just plain incorrect.

First things first. Perfect Dark Zero’s graphics will be among the best on the market come November 22nd. Characters are all painstakingly modeled with top-notch animations, creating a very fluid experience. Frame rate remained steady regardless of the action on screen. Explosions are the best I have ever seen and the lighting beats out most everything else out there. Most all lights can be shot out, or at least caused to flicker in and out, F.E.A.R. style. Everything casts its own shadow. Imagine Doom 3's lighting minus the ridiculous amount of darkness. The night maps especially have some gorgeous lighting, with billboards and neon signs lighting up their adjacent walls. Also, muzzle flashes look great against the wall, and on the ground. Water effects look as next-gen as they come, with waterfalls that you truly have to see to believe. Particle effects abound, as do the enemies, which are far more plentiful than in current-generation games. There is also quite a bit of blood. Each time you shoot someone a spurt of blood comes out, especially when you get a headshot. Bullet holes are also a great effect, if only in that they are still there if you come back 5 minutes later. It's things like that that really set apart Xbox 360 games.

Opponents in PDZ take cover, rush, fall back, and snipe at you according to what the situation necessitates. If you run into a room without thinking ahead you will be killed and earn yourself a quick trip back to the last checkpoint, your teammate’s revive kit, or the restart menu.

Co-op in Perfect Dark Zero has you playing through the regular set of missions, but many of the levels have a twist. For instance, in one mission the first player takes to the rooftops covering the second player who must fight their way down on the ground floor. There are no checkpoints in co-op, which makes the entire experience all the more tense. You must depend on your teammate for cover and for revival. If you are killed, the only way for you to come back to life is for your teammate to use their revival tool by walking next to you and pressing right on the d-pad. That takes out the revival tool and automatically begins the revival, which takes about 5 seconds. Five seconds may not seem like much, but when you have gunfire surrounding you, it’s an eternity.

Physics in PD0 in general are outstanding, with enemies gorily collapsing just as you would expect an enemy to gorily collapse. One of my favorite physics touches was related to the body armor most opponents wear. After you shoot the body armor a couple of times, the body armor will shatter. The cool thing, though, is that each individual shard of the body armor will fall to the ground and bounce along on its own. Touches like that really bring the world of Perfect Dark Zero to life. This is truly a next-generation title.

On the whole, I couldn’t be more impressed with Perfect Dark Zero.

 

[63]

SixThree's hype-o-meter = 5/10

Just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[WhiteZero]

If it's as good as the original, I'll be impressed.

 

[VirusType2]

yea my friend had Perfect Dark for N64 well after i had moved on to PS2 and Xbox and i was very impressed and quite jealous.

Looking at those screenshots (especially 16-25) just blows my mind

It says they've spent over 5 years on the game
this game finished yet?


I can't belive how complex the models are. I can't belive the graphics of the 360. a dream come true. This game is tight as a mother****er too. its made by the team that made Goldeneye, hailed by many as the best game of all time. This is microsofts way of getting you to play online

I must have this game

the screenshots of Kameo and some other games on that link too. F'n incredible!

 

[DarkStar]

Definitely getting more excited about this one.

The general tone of the buzz certainly has been improving.

 

[gh0st]

lost most of its credibility when i read the sites name... i am stille xcited for it.

 

[A True Canadian]

It would be more reassuring for me if this was coming from somewhere other than an XBOX website. But like the columnist who wrote the article, after the system changes, disastrous MTV Unveiling, screenshots from hell, uninspiring X05 cam footage, and everything in-between, I'll need something BIG to get me interested in the game again.

 

[Kschreck]

Looks impressive to me. I hope it's good.

 

[Venmoch]

Why must every FPS being released have "realistic" damage that forces me to think "Tactically"?

Why can't someone just make a game with the action :/

(I'll go play Painkiller now....)

 

[Septih]

Speaking of enemies, the AI of Perfect Dark Zero is leaps and bounds ahead of what has been showcased of the title so far. Opponents in PDZ take cover, rush, fall back, and snipe at you according to what the situation necessitates.

Love how in the screenshot right by the paragraph about AI, there is one guy shooting and another just behind doing nothing.

 

[nutcrackr]

Love how in the screenshot right by the paragraph about AI, there is one guy shooting and another just behind doing nothing.

lol nice eyes

 

[VirusType2]

Love how in the screenshot right by the paragraph about AI, there is one guy shooting and another just behind doing nothing.

ah, screen shots can be misleading, you have no idea what his next frames of animation will be doing. I bet hes about to push teh red button!!! omg

 

[Cole]

Why dosn't he just take his time to get a head shot on you, instead of taking his precious time on hitting a ****ing button.

 

[Warbie]

Because hitting the button will bring loads of backup, just like in the original

Also, neither people in the picture have started firing - how do we know the bad guy hasn't just turned round and taken aim while the other guy is still unaware?

 

[Axyon]

Love how in the screenshot right by the paragraph about AI, there is one guy shooting and another just behind doing nothing.

That screenshot's from months ago, originally shown in a magazine publication. Ergo, it's not a near-final build.

 

[Gargantou]

Man I can't decide wether to buy a 360 now or wait til the PS3 releases and buy'em both then if the XB360 has gone down in price.. AAARGH!
PD0 looks so hawt..

 

[VictimOfScience]

I saw some recent shots in a gaming mag and it looks pretty good alright. Unfortunately, the quoted site's probably more than a little biased, but still, it might be really wonderful, especially since everyone knows it has to meet the bar set by the first one and Goldeneye and everyone's idea of what a truly next-gen gaming experience should be like.

Man I can't decide wether to buy a 360 now or wait til the PS3 releases and buy'em both then if the XB360 has gone down in price.. AAARGH!
PD0 looks so hawt..

The sad thing is, there won't be more than a few games that are that spectacular for the 360 launch. If you want to buy a system at launch and have less than a handful of games to play until next year sometime, then be my guest. The really great games won't be coming out for a while yet. So my momey is waiting at least until the PS3 comes out, if not until the Revolution hits shelves. Of course, there's a lot of brash, hot-headed youngsters (yes, on this site too) that have to have the newest prosthetic appendage to assist them in their online cock-sparring because their current set of tools is hopelessly inadequate--these will be the early adopters.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I can't wait to play it. PD0 and Xenosaga III are the only games I really can't wait to play.

 

[Absinthe]

Well, I'm still skeptical. But this article does restore some of my faith after the trash I'd seen up until this point.

 

[Fliko]

5/10 Hype Metre, from a lotta reviews I read, it does nothing really new. Though, it doesn't mean it won't be good

 

[Warbie]

I'm not hoping for anything new - just the quality that was found in Golden Eye and the original. Something yet to be found in a fps since.

 

[VirusType2]

yea my PC pretty much sucks for games. so all i have is an xbox which is hardly better than my PC, and a PS2.

I'm desperate for a mind blowing game machine, so yes, im getting the 360 as soon as possible.

I don't care if it didn't do anything new (which, from reading up, seems not to be the case)
Perfect dark zero seems like its going to be my new favorite game ever made when i get my hands on it

 

[tranCendenZ]

New high quality movie available! And it looks awesome!

Note AI is on Easy mode in this movie to demonstrate the blue help arrow system only available on the easier difficulty.

The movie!
http://www.xboxyde.com/leech_1886_en.html

 

[VirusType2]

New high quality movie available! And it looks awesome!

Note AI is on Easy mode in this movie to demonstrate the blue help arrow system only available on the easier difficulty.

The movie!
http://www.xboxyde.com/leech_1886_en.html

NICE! im downloading it right now. can't wait to see it, thanks! :sniper:

 

[wakkywheel]

Liked the new vid, ,looks alot better than some previous ones. Although I never played PD it seems like it was a good game, if it was anything neat Goldeneye then it is certainly one of the best FPS's there is/was whatever.

Definately getting this for my X360, (Hoping Microsoft will make PD, Goldeneye or something downloadeble for free, doubt it though since they were released on N64, they'll probably be on the revolution though...)

 

[Glirk Dient]

Bleh the single player doesn't look good from that video. Cheap action almost porn music. Crappy starfox style bosses. "Oh, ill turn around and open this hatch up so you can shoot me where um vulnerable! Then ill fly around some more and do it again!". The graphics and gameplay look good however so multiplayer will rock from the looks of it. I am still gonna buy this game.

 

[AmishSlayer]

Graphics are nice, the music didn't fit the action 90% of the time and started to really annoy me by the end and the AI didn't look that great from what we see in the video anyways.

Co-op SP would be reason enough for me to want to play this one though I'll play anything co-op.

EDIT: Oh, the way they hold your hand with the directions on the ground had better be optional because I wouldn't want to be pointed EXACTLY where I'm supposed to go the entire time.

 

[DrDevin]

Graphics are nice, the music didn't fit the action 90% of the time and started to really annoy me by the end and the AI didn't look that great from what we see in the video anyways.

Co-op SP would be reason enough for me to want to play this one though I'll play anything co-op.

Agreed.

The AI was usually doing nothing and when 1 soldiers partner was killed (up close no doubt!) he would continue to do nothing. You think you would hear someone 6 feet away from you get pumped full of lead

Like you PD was the best because of the multiplayer and especially co-op. I can't believe that there are so few quality games with co-op, my friends and I live for it!

Still looking forward to this though. With the lack of oblivion PD is sure to be one of the best games for 360 initially.

 

[Warbie]

Let's not judge the AI from someone playing on easy. Anyone who played the original knows that on the hardest sitting it's a very different story - you won't see anyone standing about doiong nothing, more likely you'll be cursing the screen (or, if you're a pc fanboy, blaming the joypad ) because you just died within a few seconds of meeting a bad guy.

Perfect Dark on the N64 still remains the most enjoyable single player fps i've ever played (closely followed by GE)

 

[AmishSlayer]

Let's not judge the AI from someone playing on easy. Anyone who played the original knows that on the hardest sitting it's a very different story - you won't see anyone standing about doiong nothing, more likely you'll be cursing the screen (or, if you're a pc fanboy, blaming the joypad ) because you just died within a few seconds of meeting a bad guy.

Perfect Dark on the N64 still remains the most enjoyable single player fps i've ever played (closely followed by GE)

Yeah, we can't judge the AI by just this video which is why I threw in, "from what we see in the video anyways" - but usually the AI itself doesn't improve when players up the difficulty in most games. I didn't like the behavior I saw in the enemies but then again the guy could easily just charge up and whack most of the enemies anyways.

The co-op aspect is the only thing I'm really interested in anyways but I don't plan on getting the 360 still. Maybe I can convince my roomate to get one or something

 

[The Mullinator]

Loved the first Perfect Dark, however I am not interested in this one. Why? Because it seems to me that this will really be just like a better than average FPS. All the hype seems to be based off the fact that "OMG ITS THE SEQUAL TO THE FIRST!" Rather than showing us anything amazing about the game itself that hasn't already been done. At least thats the impression I am getting.

 

[DrDevin]

Let's not judge the AI from someone playing on easy. Anyone who played the original knows that on the hardest sitting it's a very different story - you won't see anyone standing about doiong nothing, more likely you'll be cursing the screen (or, if you're a pc fanboy, blaming the joypad ) because you just died within a few seconds of meeting a bad guy.

Perfect Dark on the N64 still remains the most enjoyable single player fps i've ever played (closely followed by GE)

Ovbiously I wouldent judge a whole games AI by 1 video. I expect the video was with non final AI or on easy. I was just sharing my thoughts on the video :thumbs: I have played (and multiplayer with bots) the hard challenges against the perfect AI. I know what it is like to be pwnd by the computer!

I forgot about game pads for a while. I know the player probably wasnt very good but I'm not used to the jerky and poor sniping after so much CSS.

 

[Glirk Dient]

They did say the video was on easiest mode...hence the blue triangles on the ground telling you where to go. Honestly I wouldn't judge the AI off of the setting "You suck at life mode".

 

[Warbie]

All the hype seems to be based off the fact that "OMG ITS THE SEQUAL TO THE FIRST!" Rather than showing us anything amazing about the game itself that hasn't already been done. At least thats the impression I am getting.

Agreed. Wouldn't you be happy with Perfect Dark with better gfx and physics, though? I certainly would.

What I really want is another shooter with some substance to it. I'm sick to death of fps that last a few days/weeks (FEAR, Far Cry, Doom 3, Quake 4, even HL2), and offer next to no challenge. If PD0 keeps me occupied for as long as the original did it will be worth the price of the 360 alone - and last me far longer, and offer more enjoyment, than all those other shooters I mentioned put together.

(personally I doubt it will be as good as Golden Eye or Perfect Dark - the move to dual analogue alone will completely change the gameplay into something quite different. No harm in hoping though )

 

[Glirk Dient]

I played the original so many times through. Not to mention the challenegs OMG. I unlocked everything the game had except one challenge with dark sims. It took me forever to get that far too and it was a lot of fun and challenging. Games now a days are more like an interactive movie. You basically aim shoot and move along the gorgeous looking terrain and once in a while there is a decision to be made.

 

[VirusType2]

New high quality movie available! And it looks awesome!

Note AI is on Easy mode in this movie to demonstrate the blue help arrow system only available on the easier difficulty.
The movie!
http://www.xboxyde.com/leech_1886_en.html

Unbeliveable graphics. I like the blue arrow thing for easy mode. I get really frustrated easy if i can't figure out where to go.
I just can't believe the graphics. Looks like something from the far future. These graphics are ahead of their time. you can see paint peeling on the railings and stuff lol

Wait untill i show my lil brother this, hes going to download it and watch it over and over. he still plays counter-strike all the time on Xbox.

I want to get the game and start from the beginning. Looks fun, so i bet it is even more so. PERFECT! Dark zero This game just screams high quality

I didn't like the music in that part, sounded like it was an arcade game, but with the x360 hard drive you can make you own custom soundtracks by copying your favorite music CD's onto the hard drive and creating custom play lists. i heard you can do that in any game now. I'd be playing Metallica or Tool to the headshots- which looked awesome.

 

[Pesmerga]

my sperm count is up but my hype level is down

 

[VirusType2]

Latest Info on PDZ

Just got this info off of Xbox forums:
Perfect Dark Zero

You can turn off the flashing direction arrows at anytime, in any difficulty.

You can't jump, but you can climb up objects and walls, roll, and take cover just by pressing A.

The original PD is not included in either the regular package, or the LE.

There is no motion tracker, but instead a sound tracker. Depending on the volume of the gun fire, it will last as a longer bleep on the radar.

There is online Co-Op, as well as splitscreen.

Bots are included, as well as 32 player MP matches. These include standard Deathmatch and CTF variants, as well as a mode called DarkOps that is like Counter Strike, where you have one life, start in a spawn room and can select weapons before the battle.

6 MP maps have been confirmed, each with 3 sizes. Each map can be sized into 3 different size groups: Small, Medium, and Large. This will help balance maps with small and large amounts of players. It can be turned on and off, for example, you can still play on the Large size of each map with only 2 players if you choose.

Clans are available, as they will be available for almost all XBL games. No member number has been confirmed yet.

Custom soundtracks are available for offline, as well as online. They are available for every game, as Microsoft has made it standard for every game. You can turn off the PDZ music in game, and then play your custom soundtracks in the Xbox menu at the same time the game is on.

There are 3 confirmed vehicles: The hovercraft, the jetpack, and the motorcycle. Not much details have been released about the vehicles.

There are 27 weapons and gadgets, each with primary and secondary functions.

Auto-Aim can be turned on and off, as well as many other unique and detailed controls. You can turn it off, as well as adjust sensitivity, X-Axis Sens, Y-Axis Sens, Auto center, as well as many others.

KillTV and 50 player MP have been delayed for now, but may see light again. Rare has said that they may work on patches to include both of these once added features, nothing has been confirmed, only rumored by Rare.

After each SP and MP mission, extensive stats will be showed. The stats range from number of headshots, number of bullets fired, time beaten, as well as many others. The original PD's stat system would give you an idea.

PDZ will include online ranks. In Rare's words, they are much improved and altered Halo 2 online ranks.

 

[destrukt]

co-op, darkops, clans, woot.

vehicles, nooo.

 

[Fishlore]

I have fond memories of Perfect Dark. One of my favorite N64 games. I can't help but shake the feeling that if Perfect Dark was released on any other system it wouldn't have been nearly as good. I think the combination of the N64, the N64 controller and the way that FPS games weren't exactly a dime a dozen back then like they are now all made this game really stand out.

The control scheme and overall feel is what made that game one of the best FPS games in my opinion. The plot/story/characters pretty much had nothing to do with my love for the game. It was the way it played and felt and the ability to sit around with some friends for split screen action that really spoke to me.

Nowadays though I don't see this game offering anything special. I think the biggest obstacle is going to be to reproduce the feel that the original game had. Seeing as how I haven't ever played a game that felt as tight as PD I'm not holding out much hope. Don't get me wrong, I think the new PD looks very nice. Personally though I think you could have the best looking game in the world, but without the feel the original had it wouldn't amount to much.

I hope it turns out well though.