Review – Perfect Dark (Xbox 360)

Perfect Dark and I have a history together. You see, this was my LIFE while I was in middle school. Sitting on my friend’s water bed (why don’t they make those anymore?) playing 4 player split screen, those were the days. Of course when I heard it was coming to 360 Arcade, I counted down the days. I thought, “Finally! This could be awesome online. Those middle school friends of mine are getting further and further away so XBOX Live multi should help!” Well, I was right. The multi is amazingly fun, from the awkward running to the ability to play a whole game without finding a damn gun.

First off, the 4 player split screen is still in and now you can play online with matchmaking. Although I found sometimes you might have to wait a while to find other players, the nostalgia is worth it. You can play co-op and counter-op just like the old days or play classics like King of the Hill on one of the 4 Goldeneye Maps included.

Gameplay-wise, the controls are a little wanky. The precision of the controls seems a bit awkward because the game is not meant for the 360 controller. Often times I got a little sick from moving around. I must say though, the developers knew their crowd based on their controller settings. You can choose to play the classic settings, Spartan settings, or Duty Calls settings. I prefer the Duty Calls settings. It just feels right after the sleepless nights I spent on Modern Warfare 2.

As far as the graphics go, the game looks gorgeous (or at least as good as an N64 game can look in HD). The picture is crisp and the music adds to the overall experience.  All in all, for 800 MS points, this game is a worthy investment for the nostalgia factor alone, not to mention its a cheap FPS to play with your friends. Needless to say, I’ll be playing this for a while.