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Perfect Dark Zero
North American Cover
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	Chris Tilston Dale Murchie Duncan Botwood Ross Bullimore
Composer(s)	David Clynick
Series	Perfect Dark
Engine	Havok (game physics)
Native resolution	640p[1]
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA November 17, 2005 PAL December 2, 2005
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, Action, Stealth
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	BBFC: 15 ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+ OFLC: R16+ PEGI: 16+
Media	DVD-DL
Input methods	Gamepad

Perfect Dark Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released as a launch title in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan in late 2005. It was initially planned as a Nintendo GameCube title, however the game suffered countless delays due to internal team problems and platform-jumping issues. Overall, the actual development of the game took five years to complete.

Regarding the storyline, Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the successful and critically acclaimed Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, made in 2000. Zero takes place in the year 2020, predating the original Perfect Dark's storyline by three years. Two sequel novels, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector and Perfect Dark: Second Front, as well as a comic series titled Perfect Dark: Janus' Tears have been released so far in order to continue the story of Joanna Dark.

Story

The story is set in 2020, three years prior to the events of the original game. Joanna Dark is a bounty hunter working with her father Jack and her friend Chandra. On Joanna's first mission, they rescue a scientist named Zeigler from the hands of a Triad crime lord, Killian. Zeigler uses a neurodrive to implant information into Jack's mind. Jack gets captured by a megacorporation known as dataDyne, and Joanna rescues her father, only for Jack to die at the hands of Mai-Hem, whose father, Zhang Li, is dataDyne's founder. Joanna is then sent on a mission to find Dr. Eustace Caroll, who then uses the same neurodrive technology to extract any memory of the words her father said concerning Ziegler's secrets. Dr. Caroll is then killed by Chandra, who is secretly working for Zhang Li. Joanna joins the Carrington Institute and infiltrates a mining operation in an ancient Peruvian Temple where she discovers the conspiracy.

Zhang Li and Mai-Hem are searching for an ancient artifact, which acts as a power-source for the Graal, a device which endows individuals with superhuman powers, hinted to have been built by the Maians, extraterrestrials encountered in the original Perfect Dark. Travelling to Africa, Joanna rescues prisoners including Jonathan and several other Carrington soldiers, before running into Mai-Hem again. Joanna avenges her father's death and kills Mai-Hem and the party is air-lifted out. The Carrington Institute plans an offensive on dataDyne forces with the battle taking place on a large bridge. Joanna infiltrates an arena and faces off against Zhang Li, on the Graal after he dispatches Chandra. Defeating the seemingly invincible power-hungry genius, Joanna is met by Jonathan and Daniel Carrington. When Joanna asks, "How did I do, Boss?" Carrington replies, "Perfect."

Development

Rare's two N64 first-person shooters, GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, received strong acclaim from critics and players, and demand for another title in the Perfect Dark franchise was high. Development of Perfect Dark Zero began on the Nintendo GameCube. At the time, Nintendo had a 49% stake in Rare, making Rare a Nintendo second-party developer. The game made a small appearance at Spaceworld 2000, an event exclusive to Nintendo. But apart from the confirmation that it was in development,^[2] few official announcements were made. Perfect Dark Zero, along with several other Rare games, was intended to be finished in time for the Gamecube's launch, but for unknown reasons did not.

In September 2002, Rare Ltd was purchased by Microsoft.^[3] Around the same time, Rare released several images of Joanna Dark, the protagonist of the Perfect Dark games. The "cartoony" style of these pictures incited speculation that the final game — then intended for the original Xbox — would employ a less realistic graphical style than the original game; possibly an anime like cel-shading technique, (Rare had hired UK Manga artist Wil Overton to work with them, after seeing an anime-like image of the Original Perfect Dark game he had created for the cover of N64 Magazine.)

Development of the title was later transferred to the Xbox 360. Perfect Dark Zero's senior designer Chris Tilston (also one of the project leads for the game) later revealed that the Xbox version was "about twelve months away" from completion when the switch occurred.^[4]

Perfect Dark Zero Limited Collector's Edition with all the extras.

In 2005, one of the rewards in the OurColony viral marketing campaign for Microsoft's next Xbox video game console was an image of Joanna Dark.^[5] At the official unveiling of the Xbox 360 on May 12, 2005, it was revealed that Perfect Dark Zero would be a launch title for the new system in the fall of 2005.^[6] The game's development has therefore spanned three platforms: the Nintendo GameCube, the Microsoft Xbox and the Xbox 360.

Final development for the 360 was very rushed. The order was given to produce the discs five days before the Microsoft certification was complete, to meet the Xbox 360 launch date. Rare later stated they felt very confident they would pass, but it was a significant risk producing 700,000 disks if a bug turned up.^[7]

Zero was released in two forms: the standard version and a "Limited Collector's Edition." The collector's edition features a second disc of content, a black metal game case, images of the staff and most of the in-house testers which gave a glimpse behind the scenes at Rare, a comic booklet set in the Perfect Dark universe, which sets the scene for the game, and one of nine holographic collectible cards.^[8]

Audio

Perfect Dark Zero Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack by David Clynick, MorissonPoe, Kepi and Kat
Released	November 8, 2005
Genre	Video game soundtrack
Length	73:56
Label	Sumthing Else Music Works
Producer	Nile Rodgers

The Perfect Dark Original Soundtrack was produced by Nile Rodgers, and released on November 8, 2005 by Sumthing Else Music Works.

Note not all of the music from the game were on the Soundtrack. The Tracks listed below were not on the Perfect Dark Zero Soundtrack, but were within the game.

Multiplayer

In Perfect Dark Zero there are two versions of multiplayer, and within each version are four different game modes.

DeathMatch

This is a standard gametype where players spawn in rooms, collect weapons, and continue to the actual map. Weapons are also available on the map itself. Bots are included in all DeathMatch game modes.

• Killcount: This is a free-for-all where the winner is the player that achieves the most kills.
• Team Killcount: A team based version of Killcount where the team with the most kills wins.
• Capture the Flag: A team-only match. Each team tries to grab the enemy’s flag and return it to their base. The winning team is the one with the most flags captured.
• Territorial Gains: A team-only match. The goal is to capture and hold several neutral hills until they generate points. The team with the most territories held is the winner.

DarkOps

This is a round-based, team-only gametype that was heavily inspired by the popular PC FPS Counter-Strike. It is generally slower-paced, and is more tactical than DeathMatch. Weapons must be purchased from a player's stock of credits. Credits are earned by killing enemies and obtaining objectives. Bots were implemented in an update on May 4, 2006.

• Eradication: A team-only game. Teams take turns trying to eliminate each other. The team that kills the other team while still living wins.
• Onslaught: A team-only game. Teams take turns defending and attacking a base. The defenders get one life (but can be revived), and can purchase weapons. The attackers have unlimited lives, but have basic weapons (choice of a Falcon, CMP 150 and a DEF-12 Shotgun). The team that holds the base the longest wins.
• Infection: A free-for-all game. Players start as either infected or uninfected. When a player dies, they become infected. If the uninfected stay alive for the duration of the round, only they get points. If the infected eliminate them, then only they get points. The player with the most points overall is the winner. (This can seem like a team game as uninfected huddle in a room to survive, or as infected team up to eliminate them).
• Sabotage: A team-only game. Teams take turns attacking and defending certain pieces of property on the map. The team that destroys the most property or eliminates the other team wins.

Xbox Live

Perfect Dark Zero has full support for the Xbox Live service. Any of the multiplayer modes can be played online with player counts up to 32 players. You can either choose to play a ranked Deathmatch or DarkOps, where you will be matched with players using a system called "TrueSkill Matchmaking", or you may choose a player match where you can choose your game from a list of player hosted games. These games can be highly customized and can include bots.

The multiplayer is different from many games using the Xbox live online system, due to the fact it uses a Peer-to-peer network as stated in Rares 'scribes', August 30, 2007.^[9] This means (theoretically) any game could last forever due to the fact the host only sets the weapons and map.

Maps

There are twelve maps in Perfect Dark Zero. Each map has two variants; the only change is the placement of the bases. Most of the maps are large ones, ideal for 32 players at once, with small variants for 4-16 player games.

On June 7, 2006, Rare released "Perfect Dark Zero Map Pack One" to Xbox Live Marketplace. It cost 500 MS (Microsoft points) and contained four new maps to add to the game's original six. The map pack contains only one variant, instead of two.

A second map pack was released for Xbox Live Gold Members free of charge on November 1, 2006. A week later, it was also made available for Xbox Live Silver Members. The second map pack included two multiplayer arenas that were from the original N64 Perfect Dark.

On October 31, 2006, Rare announced that a special platinum edition of Perfect Dark Zero would be released, which would include the first map pack and two additional maps (the latter available to download for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace). The two new maps are updated versions of two maps from the game's predecessors; Perfect Dark and GoldenEye 007. The pack was released on the November 1, 2006 for Gold Members and on the November 8, 2006 for Silver Members.

Updates

On May 3, 2006 an auto-update was made available via Xbox Live, responsible for fixing some bugs in the game. This included code to prevent an ongoing problem where players could walk through the air, a map-exiting glitch and also to prevent an issue where the plasma/rocket weapons could make use of rapid fire. The update also included eight new bot types.

Future updates

Rare had announced plans to make the multiplayer feature matches of up to 50 people, an upgrade from the current 32 player limit. As of April 2009, this update has not been released and Rare has stated that they will not be releasing any more download content.^[10] To further decrease the chance of this happening Rare had once stated during an interview that having 50 to 64 players was possible on the Xbox 360, but in turn it would degrade the quality of the game.^{[citation needed]}

Also, a new Counter-Operative mode, much like the one found in the original Perfect Dark, was promised to eventually become available as a new game mode for Perfect Dark Zero. This update is not available and Rare has no intention on bringing it out.

Counter-Operative is a mode where one player plays as Joanna whilst the other player takes on the role of Joanna's enemies, in the original title this took place in the same setting as the Single Player Levels.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	81%[11]
Metacritic	81 of 100[12]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	A[13]
Edge	7 of 10[14]
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.83 of 10[11]
Game Informer	7 of 10[15]
GamePro	4 of 5[16]
GameSpot	9 of 10[17]
GameSpy	[18]
GameTrailers	9 of 10[19]
IGN	8.4 of 10[20]
Official Xbox Magazine	8.0/10
Awards GameSpot Editors' Choice[17]

Despite its difficult development, Perfect Dark Zero has received generally positive reviews. It got a 9.0 at GameSpot, which claims that it "champions the Xbox 360 with its excellent assortment of single and multiplayer game types, as well as its incredible good looks and dynamic, intense action". IGN gave Perfect Dark Zero an 8.4, 1UP an 8.1, and Game Informer gave the game a 7, reviewing it under the tagline "Don't believe the hype". Metacritic's review average for the game is 81% based on 75 reviews, and GameRankings's review average is also 81%, based on 97 reviews.

Perfect Dark Zero has reportedly sold over a million copies.^[21] As a result, it was one of the first games to be re-released under the "Platinum Hits" list.^[22]

Canceled Sequel

Development of Perfect Dark Zero 2 begun in 2007, but by late 2007 it hadn't been green-lit and was still in the prototype stage. Chris Seavor of Conker and Killer Instinct fame was in charge of the project. By early 2008, the PD team was cut down to a 3-man team, effectively putting the game on hold. During early 2008, the game was canceled ^[23]

References

External links

• Perfect Dark Zero at Xbox.com
• Perfect Dark Zero Limited Edition at Xbox.com
• Perfect Dark Zero at the Open Directory Project
• Official Soundtrack site

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Perfect Dark Zero
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Engine	HydraCore
Release date(s)	November 18, 2005
Genre(s)	FPS
System(s)	Xbox 360
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature CERO: Ages 15 and up
Preceded by	Perfect Dark
Series	Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released as a launch title in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

With respect to storyline, Perfect Dark Zero is a prequel to the successful Nintendo 64 game Perfect Dark, released in 2000. Zero takes place in the year 2020, pre-dating the original Perfect Dark's storyline by three years.

Story

The story is set in 2020, three years prior to the events of the original game. Joanna Dark is a bounty hunter working with her father Jack and her friend Chandra. On Joanna's first mission, they rescue a scientist named Zeigler from the hands of a Triad crime lord: Killian. Zeigler uses a neurodrive to implant information into Jack's mind. Jack gets captured by dataDyne and Jo rescues him only for Jack to die at the hands of Mai-Hem whose father, Zhang Li, is the founder of the corporation. Jo is then sent on a mission to find Dr. Eustace Caroll, who then uses the same neurodrive technology to extract any memory of the words her father said concerning Ziegler's secrets. Dr. Caroll is then killed by Chandra, who is secretly working for Zhang Li. Jo joins the Carrington Institute and infiltrates a mining operation in an ancient Peruvian Temple where she discovers the conspiracy.

Zhang Li and Mai-Hem are searching for an ancient artefact known as The Graal, which imbues its possessor with superhuman powers. Traveling to Africa, Jo rescues prisoners including Jonathan and several other Carrington boys, before running into Mai-Hem again. Jo avenges her father's death and kills Mai-Hem and the party is air-lifted out. The Carrington Institute plans an offensive on dataDyne forces with the battle taking place on a large bridge. Jo infiltrates an arena and faces off against Zhang Li after he dispatches Chandra. Defeating the seemingly invincible power-hungry genius, Jo is met by Jonathan and Daniel Carrington. When Jo asks, "How did I do, Boss?" Carrington replies: "Perfect."

Table of Contents

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Perfect Dark Zero
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Engine	Havoc
Release date	November 18, 2005 (NA)
Genre	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Age rating(s)	ESRB: M
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Perfect Dark Zero is the prequel to Nintendo 64's Perfect Dark. The game stars Joanna Dark and takes place in 2020 AD.

Vehicles

• Jetpacks
• Motorcycles
• Hovercars

See also

• Perfect Dark Zero weapons

External links

• Perfect Dark Zero official site
• Miss Dynamite - From Edge issue 155 (November 2005)

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