Perfect Dark Zero (Xbox 360)

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Certain sections of the game look stunning

Joanna's repertoire of moves has also been upgraded to include both the roll and cover maneuvers. By hitting the A button, Joanna can put her back against the wall, or whatever object you're next to, and pop out to fire a few quick shots before returning to cover to reload. This tactic is by no means a gimmick; taking cover is often the difference between life and death and can give you just enough of an advantage to get through some of the more difficult areas. The roll move, with its seamless transition from third to first-person, isn't as vital to survival as taking cover, but still comes in handy near the end of the game where you can't simply run from point A to B without being pelted by a barrage of bullets.

The object of the most debate has been the game's visuals, which admitingly, aren't all that impressive, that is until you hook the 360 up to a nice HD display. The larger levels in particular are, at times, drop-dead gorgeous. The ability to shoot off a guard's body armour is super cool and the enemy animations are superb. But that's the problem; sometimes the game looks great, while at other times it looks very so-so. Your jaw might drop during one level, but during the next you could swear you were playing a regular Xbox game that was simply wearing a shiny set of clothes. PD0 sports a heavy amount of gloss, which is the case with quite a few of the first-generation titles (NHL 2k6 comes to mind), that seems strangely out of place in the outdoor environments. Moreover, some of the characters look surprisingly badly modeled and lack the kind of detail you'd expect from a next generation title. Still, explosions look superb, the motion blur as you aim is stunning, and weapon models are exquisite. Had the game looked consistently great it would have been amazing, but as it stands it's just a good looking game.

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Perfect Dark Zero excels in the sound department. The up-beat techno and rock tunes are seriously nostalgia inducing and sound like something straight out of the original. And indeed, some of the tracks are variations of music from the original - most notably the menu screen score that pays homage to the Perfect Dark theme song. The weapon and explosion sound effects are equally as impressive with each gun having its own distinct sound that, with the right surround sound set up, can shake the entire house.

Each [multiplayer] mode is unique and offers players a wide variety of objectives to complete.

Now, what would a Perfect Dark game be without a robust multiplayer mode? And this is where PD0 excels the most. Players can play co-operatively both on and offline, play together in team killcount, or solo in regular killcount. Capture the flag - a multiplayer favourite - is available too, along with a plethora of game modes designed specifically for PD0, such as infection (my personal favourite), or sabotage. Each mode is unique and offers players a wide variety of objectives to complete. Multiplayer matches are hugely customizable too, which means that you'll constantly be finding new setups that work great.

Even with 32 players duking it out at once, the game runs smoothly with only a minor chug here and there. And the bots, well, they're in a league of their own. Try playing against 15 bots at the highest difficulty setting. You simply cannot go for anything other than a headshot. There's no jumping in the game at all, and this works especially well in multiplayer. It just makes the whole experience more enjoyable when people aren't constantly bunny hopping around the map, making the game more about your skill at aiming than it is about your jumping ability. Other games cater for that market, and it's great that PD0 has set itself apart from them.

Co-op play is one of the game's many fine multiplayer modes

The multiplayer mode's biggest downfall is its lack of vehicles to drive, with only two, the jet pack and the hover tank, to be seen. You've also only got six maps to play in - a number which we can only hope will increase in the future with downloadable content. Furthermore, for some reason, the multiplayer modes can get pretty glitchy. I've seen bots get stuck in walls, players float away as they're killed, and well, you get the picture.

As a rule I like to play through games thoroughly before casting judgment. But PD0, more so than any other game I've played in a long time, is a game where you need to pump in some serious hours to get the feel for it. It's not a game that can be judged based on first impressions and I'll be the first to admit that during my first few hours with it, I wasn't all that impressed. However, after many long nights, plenty of bags of Doritos and about three gallons of Pepsi, I can finally say that I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game. It's not the Xbox 360 killer app we were hoping for and it's got a number of problems that I would have liked to have seen dealt with before its release, but that doesn't change the fact that it's fun as hell to play. If you can forgive its shortcomings, and bask in its multiplayer mayhem, you'll have no trouble finding the diamond in the rough.

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