Generic stuff from RARE.
Gameplay
PDZ plays about the same as most FPS, but I found the controls to be pretty sluggish. No matter how I adjusted the sensitivity I just could not find the setting that felt natural. Other than that, I felt the game was very impressive with the different locations you had to fight through. The levels were laid out so they were just the right legenth. I didn’t get bored on them, nor did I feel that they were too short. It was a very nice mix between urban and outdoor levels. I really enjoyed the Rooftop Escape levels where you have to use your surroundings as cover, and to lay down cover for your partner beneath you. The one beef I did have was at times it did feel very easy to get lost on a level. I enjoyed the ability to explore, but you can get really turned around. After a little bit of wandering a path will start flashing on the ground to lead you to your next objective. You can deactivate this if you like, but trust me it is very handy. I felt the enemy AI was very challenging even on the normal and easy settings. They get pretty tough as u choose the harder settings, so bare that in mind.
The weaponry you get to pick from is quite tasty as well. Dual pistols, assault rifles, SMG’s, and some heavier weaponry give you a very nice arsenal. You can swap on the fly if you find yourself running out of ammo. Be careful though, I did find myself accidentally picking up weapons I didn’t like. That cause some very tough battles, so watch out for that. All the weapons have secondary and even some tertiary functions that add some very cool extras. Night vision, zoomed scopes, IFF, and silenced weapons help you choose your style of combat.
Graphics
This game is really beautiful. The lighting effects, use of shadows, and textures really help to show off the power of the 360 at launch. For those of you with High-Def TV’s you are really going to enjoy this game. It is not without a problem though. I have been trying to explain this to people, and this is the best way I can put it. Imagine walking around with blinders and having no peripheral vision. That is what I feel like when I play this game. It is almost like digital tunnel vision. A lot of hype surrounded this release as the “Halo Killer”, but I really don’t see it. While you are playing you do not get a very good sense of the games expansiveness. I felt this really took away from gameplay.
Audio
This game really shines in the audio department. Great music and the voice over work is clear and crisp. You know I judge a FPS audio quality by the sound of gunfire in a game. This game has some great gunfire in it, and has even better silenced gunfire. You can tell they went for as much as realism as possible. Like all the 360 titles, I enjoyed pulling up my own soundtrack during deathmatch games. It made it so much more fun and intense. Overall PDZ has a solid audio outing.
Depth and Fun Factor
This game has depth like the Marinas Trench in the Pacific Ocean. You can go back and replay levels to increase your leader board stats and unlock achievements. You have so many options for online combat that I really do not know where to begin. Your expected deathmatch, team deathmatch, CTF, and a domination type game mode are all available. The best though is they included on-line co-op play. Ohh praise be to game designers that include this option. You cannot have a good FPS and not have this on-line mode. My buddy with the online name of jrzyjoe had this game for about a week before I did, so he was the best tutor for how to play this game. Two things I want to mention about this in addition. If your online buddy has gotten farther than you and unlocked some weapons that you haven’t, they will be available when you go back into single player mode. This is a great edge, trust me. Depending on who is hosting the game, it can let you play levels you have not gotten to yet, again this is a great ay to preview what is coming up.
But is the game fun you ask? Overall I say yes, but it does have some flaws that take away from it. I really liked being able to host local games against bots for practice before going online. It is one of the top five launch titles that are must have, but it is not the be all end all game.
Overall Comment
After much waiting, Perfect Dark Zero is here and it makes a heck of an impact. Microsoft was smart to grab rare a while back, and help them develop this for the 360. I was sad to see that it is not the Halo Killer that everyone said it was, but life is full of those small disappointments I know. The online aspect is where this title really shines to help backup a decent single player experience. But enough of me talking about it go get it and find out for yourself. Perfect Dark Zero for the Xbox 360 is out now at fine establishments everywhere.