Perfect Dark Zero: Xbox 360 review

"Step back in time to the days when Joanna Dark was just a trainee bounty hunter in the prequel to the N64 classic Perfect Dark.

At the launch of the Xbox Microsoft had prepared Halo to be the top launch title and it succeeded in fantastic style. With the 360 it is trying to repeat the feat with Perfect Dark Zero, coming from one of its more recent acquisitions Rare, which has had enjoyed a good reputation. Being an FPS on release of the new console it will naturally draw comparisons with Halo.

Can anything live up to that legacy? Perfect Dark Zero is a very different type of game. It's slower, more thoughtful but still exciting and action packed. The prequel to Perfect Dark on the N64 which has been elevated to the status of classic which gives PDZ another tough legacy to follow. The Xbox 360 and PDZ have certainly got their work cut out for them.

Jackanory

Perfect Dark Zero follows the fortune of Joanna Dark when she was just a trainee bounty hunter before the events of the original N64 Perfect Dark title. Under the tutelage of her father, Jack Dark, and a computer hacker called Chandra, the story follows how Joanna became a part of the Carrington Institute and how DataDyne Corporation developed to the point in Perfect Dark. The story all plays out over 14 chapters with cut scenes and updating mission objectives as you go.

You start out with a simple objective such as rescuing a hostage or escorting a computer controlled ally. As you move through the level set piece events occur which alter the objectives or add to them. The voice acting is rather forced and un-natural and the story is not terribly well scripted. The scenes are just there really to introduce the action scenes and they achieve that although in an unremarkable way." [more]