Perfect Dark (Xbox, PC, Game Pass)

Announcing Perfect Dark, the First Game From The Initiative

With Perfect Dark, we’re aiming to deliver a secret agent thriller set in a near-future world.

We have built the Perfect Dark team at The Initiative by bringing in some of the most talented game makers from around the industry who all share a passion for storytelling, world-building and creating memorable game experiences. With the full backing from Xbox Studios to re-imagine one of the best loved IPs from gaming history, we couldn’t be more excited to share some of our early ideas.

I encourage you to watch the above studio introduction to hear more about the team, our goals, and how we’re working hard to deliver on the promise of the next generation of game making.

We look forward to sharing more about Perfect Dark in the future.

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/12/10/ ... nitiative/

Joanna returns.

Another reason for me to get a Series X.

Many of my posts in this thread will find their way into no context.

I'll just start us off now - strawberry floating spaffed all over the place when I saw the dataDyne logo and then again when the character spoke in an English accent. And then a third time when the logo flashed up on screen.

Holy strawberry floating gooseberry fool this is awesome. I didn't even realise this was perfect dark, it was playing in the background so i didn't see the video!

strawberry float yeaaaaaaah!

"one of the best loved IPs from gaming history"

strawberry float me, I'll have whatever the PR guy's having!

It's a 2 game franchise, one of which was gooseberry fool, let's not get carried away!

*Three.

Posted this over on rllmuk so here ar emy sloppy seconds:

The problem with Perfect Dark as a franchise, if you can call it that, seeing as it's been dormant for 14 years and only consisted of two games, the second of which sort of stopped any momentum it had, is that it doesn't have an automatic presence in the FPS genre at the moment. 



Firstly, as I mentioned, it's a faded name. It's had two games (yeah, I'm not counting the GBC one) and is still mostly associated with a 20 year old N64 game. Perfect Dark Zero had a troubled development over two or three consoles and was dated upon release, with other FPS games easily eclipsing it. I forget it even exists at times. 



Back in 2000, console FPS's weren't half as numerous and weren't half as good. The N64 only really had it's immediate predecessor and some outliers confined to history like the Turok games. 



GoldenEye and PD were revolutionary on the N64, but they were doing so in an emerging genre. 



This new PD isn't doing that. Console FPS games are common and we aren't short on decent shooters. Likewise, PD's futuristic setting and plot were quite compelling back when games were made out of potatoes but spectacle, visuals and story are the backbone of any big title nowadays 



So I feel like the new PD may struggle to stand out and just be "another" FPS. The name isn't really that much of a draw, after the last title, and while the original carries a lot of nostalgic weight, I'm not sure that transfers into a compelling urge for a new title. I feel like there's a sense that PD was a great game and a cornerstone of FPS games on consoles, but it's something belonging to a different time. 



Just bringing out a sci-fi shooter isn't going to do much. Likewise, just having online multiplayer isn't going to differentiate it from countless others. 



For me, I'd quite like to see a return of a different type of shooter. Objective-based, with these detailed at the start of a level, leaving you to go do them on your own rather than being led through with characters chattering in your ear, a trail of breadcrumbs showing your path through or progress being at the whim of set pieces and linear plot thread.  



I'd like to see no recharging health. No cover mechanics. Stealth akin to getting through Golden Eye's bunker unseen or Carrington Villa rather than a constant radar, guard takedowns and cover systems. 



I'd like to see difficulty matter. Playing a modern FPS on the hardest setting tends to just reduce your health, make the enemies hit harder and make them more bullet spongey. It can be an exercise in frustration. 



The original PD made Perfect Agent give you more objectives - you essentially saw the "full" story of a level, whereas Easy just gave you the one task. Whole parts of the level would open up on the harder difficulties. It was actually worth playing them. You would plan a route and learn guard patterns, executing your plan, your shots and them with precision and without losing health. Heck, PD even made you start a level in a much more precarious sport on Perfect Agent - are you in the hills with a sniper or are you facing down the barrel of a gun. 



In many ways I'm going to contradict myself now and say that while PD and GoldenEye are very much products of their time and like the FPS market has sort of moved on and become a much more bloated, competitive genre, I do think there is place for some of their design to be reintroduced and freshened up. 

Corazon de Leon wrote:*Three.

Nobody counts the GameBoy game

Literally everyone in the entire universe, including undiscovered species, wanted a proper sequel to Perfect Dark, instead of Banjo Kazooie Nuts 'N' Bolts or Viva Pinata.

So, I'm all aboard the hype train.

Plus I'll be hiding in the toilet on said train, passing a ticket to the clippy under the door whilst drinking special brew (i.e. trying it on Gamepass)

Parksey wrote:Posted this over on rllmuk so here ar emy sloppy seconds:

The problem with Perfect Dark as a franchise, if you can call it that, seeing as it's been dormant for 14 years and only consisted of two games, the second of which sort of stopped any momentum it had, is that it doesn't have an automatic presence in the FPS genre at the moment. 



Firstly, as I mentioned, it's a faded name. It's had two games (yeah, I'm not counting the GBC one) and is still mostly associated with a 20 year old N64 game. Perfect Dark Zero had a troubled development over two or three consoles and was dated upon release, with other FPS games easily eclipsing it. I forget it even exists at times. 



Back in 2000, console FPS's weren't half as numerous and weren't half as good. The N64 only really had it's immediate predecessor and some outliers confined to history like the Turok games. 



GoldenEye and PD were revolutionary on the N64, but they were doing so in an emerging genre. 



This new PD isn't doing that. Console FPS games are common and we aren't short on decent shooters. Likewise, PD's futuristic setting and plot were quite compelling back when games were made out of potatoes but spectacle, visuals and story are the backbone of any big title nowadays 



So I feel like the new PD may struggle to stand out and just be "another" FPS. The name isn't really that much of a draw, after the last title, and while the original carries a lot of nostalgic weight, I'm not sure that transfers into a compelling urge for a new title. I feel like there's a sense that PD was a great game and a cornerstone of FPS games on consoles, but it's something belonging to a different time. 



Just bringing out a sci-fi shooter isn't going to do much. Likewise, just having online multiplayer isn't going to differentiate it from countless others. 



For me, I'd quite like to see a return of a different type of shooter. Objective-based, with these detailed at the start of a level, leaving you to go do them on your own rather than being led through with characters chattering in your ear, a trail of breadcrumbs showing your path through or progress being at the whim of set pieces and linear plot thread.  



I'd like to see no recharging health. No cover mechanics. Stealth akin to getting through Golden Eye's bunker unseen or Carrington Villa rather than a constant radar, guard takedowns and cover systems. 



I'd like to see difficulty matter. Playing a modern FPS on the hardest setting tends to just reduce your health, make the enemies hit harder and make them more bullet spongey. It can be an exercise in frustration. 



The original PD made Perfect Agent give you more objectives - you essentially saw the "full" story of a level, whereas Easy just gave you the one task. Whole parts of the level would open up on the harder difficulties. It was actually worth playing them. You would plan a route and learn guard patterns, executing your plan, your shots and them with precision and without losing health. Heck, PD even made you start a level in a much more precarious sport on Perfect Agent - are you in the hills with a sniper or are you facing down the barrel of a gun. 



In many ways I'm going to contradict myself now and say that while PD and GoldenEye are very much products of their time and like the FPS market has sort of moved on and become a much more bloated, competitive genre, I do think there is place for some of their design to be reintroduced and freshened up. 

It does seem like a long way of saying you'll give it a go, yes.

Jenuall wrote:"one of the best loved IPs from gaming history"

strawberry float me, I'll have whatever the PR guy's having!

It's a 2 game franchise, one of which was gooseberry fool, let's not get carried away!

I heard it’s an episodic series in the vein of Black Mirror, a shared universe of different stories.

Abacus wrote:Literally everyone in the entire universe, including undiscovered species, wanted a proper sequel to Perfect Dark, instead of Banjo Kazooie Nuts 'N' Bolts or Viva Pinata.

So, I'm all aboard the hype train.

Plus I'll be hiding in the toilet on said train, passing a ticket to the clippy under the door whilst drinking special brew (i.e. trying it on Gamepass)

Say.what you want about.nuts.and.bolts.but viva pinata was strawberry floating ace.

Nuts and Bolts was fine. It was made in, what 2008, when the desire for N64-style platformers wasn't in the middle of a nostalgic boom. Remember, games like Banjo-Tooie got ridiculed for their overly large worlds, masses of collectibles and backtracking.

Nuts and Bolts was a great idea. Game franchises don't need to be wedded to the idea of only being one thing, and they managed to mesh the vehicle creation and wacky inventiveness fairly well with the Banjo franchise.

It garnered critical acclaim at the time too. Should a game some how get criticised for what it isn't? It wasn't an old-school 3D platformer, does that hold Nuts and Bolts back in any way? Do we need to look at Mario Kart and judge it for not being a side scroller?

Yooka-Laylee also proves that sometimes nostalgia is a bit of a mask too, as that was released and got the same sort of criticisms the traditional Banjo games got years ago.

And yeah, Viva Pinata was ace. I'd be up for another entry in that franchise.

Anyway, talking about Rare giving fans what they want is misplaced, as this isn't Rare.

Of course, I'll be giving it a go anyway, due to the wonders of Gamepass. Just I wonder how they are going to make PD relevant and stand out in the modern FPS genre.

The Initiative have an ensemble of some of the most talented devs around. I’m interested in what they produce.

Lets hope it goes better than zero

Oh strawberry floating strawberry float yes!

No exclusives.

Rubix wrote:Lets hope it goes better than zero

Bit early to be thinking about the review score. It'll get at least six I'm sure.