Carrington Institute Opens

What's the world coming to when a fictional video game corporation has its own web site? A couple of weeks after Perfect Dark's evil DataDyne Corporation opened its virtual doors, the Carrington Institute now has a virtual presence as well. We found out just what it is.

The Carrington Institute plays the role of the good guys in Rare's upcoming N64 game Perfect Dark. Effectively, the organization is a futuristic version of James Bond's MI6 - a group that collects potential threat intelligence and has the ability to attempt to stop any risk to the world's security.

It's interesting to browse the web site of a private organization that appears to be meddling in world affairs. Of course, the web site and the company's mission statement don't claim to do this quite so overtly but rather claim the purpose of the Institute is to "gather, evaluate, and act on global intelligence to aid world leaders in establishing security policies" without really giving any specific details. The employment section offers positions such as military analyst but also curiously lists openings for astronauts. The FAQ features a rather odd question regarding an allegation that "the Carrington Institute has been accused of forcing farmers in northern Idaho to sell their land." Best of all, though, the site offers a Kids' Fan Club section. This page even includes a picture of the Institute building that you can color and an official agent badge to boot. Exciting stuff indeed.

As with the DataDyne site, there is a password-protected agents-only section, so be sure to check back with GameSpot News for codes that may let you access the restricted areas.