Funky Weapons
After the brief training mission the game really picks up pace as you set out on a mission to rescue a scientist from a group of Triads. This is first person shooter action at its glorious best. You’ll find yourself battling through gloriously detailed environments such as temples, deserts and mansions as you fight your way through a dozen action packed missions.
Before the really heavy action begins Perfect Dark Zero introduces you to its gameplay at a subtle and precise pace allowing you to become accustomed to the controls, weapons and movement. Controls are simple and fairly standard to most FPS. The melee attack (press B) is a welcome addition and extremely useful in close combat. Smack an enemy across the nose and watch him crumble in a heap at your knees. You can fire your multitude of weapons by using the right trigger, whilst the left trigger will zoom in close allowing you to get that crucial headshot. The zoom function feels somewhat clumsy and doesn’t always focus on the correct position, especially when armed with the sniper rifle. Due to that fact, I played most of the game without using this option. Pressing the ‘A’ button allows you to fire from cover behind stable objects such as crates and walls. This feature adds to the sense of attachment you feel when in the midst of a frantic gun battle. In the higher difficulty settings running into the enemy all guns blazing will undoubtedly get you killed, but on easy mode you can pretty much sprint around taking assailants out at will. Weapons in the game range from a P9P silenced gun, which sounds like a peashooter, to the powerful rocket launcher that can be directed to an exact area. Each weapon has a secondary function. These functions are not necessary in order to complete the game but they are fun diversion compared to your standard shooters. For example, the CMP-150 has a hologram assigned as its secondary weapon. Press down your right thumbstick and a hologram of yourself will appear in front of you. This is specifically designed to confuse the enemy. Other secondary devices include booby traps, bouncing grenades and a threat detector. The versatility of each of these weapons makes you think carefully on which firearm to pick before embarking on your mission, you’ll suss out your favourites rather quickly and probably stick with them throughout, but I’d recommend trying out all of them!
Click for larger imageNo first person shooter would be the same without the mandatory grenades, the frag grenade is identical to the ones used in Halo 2 and they explode on impact. Throw one at a group of foes and watch them torpedo off the ground, bodies scattering in all directions.
Joanna is a secret agent and secret agents always carry secret spy gadgets! I was expecting a bit more technical sneakiness than the game actually offers, but I suppose PDZ is primarily a FPS. You start out with the camspy that was previously mentioned and a datathief, which allows you to access locked doors. Picking locks is an old tradition that I personally feel is dated, yes it adds extra tension if you have someone hot on your tail, but it also adds frustration if you haven’t quite got the knack of lining up blocks. Opening locked doors involves stopping a cursor, which moves around the periphery of your datathief, at the precise time that you pass a blue block. Yes, it is as boring as it sounds. In online multiplayer mode this is even more of a chore as the datathief occasionally appears to be working incorrectly (this could be lag of course). Other gadgets include the audioscope, a nifty little device that allows you to identify an enemy from a safe distance – now that’s more like it!
Click for larger imageA nice feature of PDZ is waypoints. If you’re ever unsure where you are supposed to be going just follow the blue arrows on the floor and they will bring you to your next destination – this is ideal if you fancy a bit of a look round. The waypoints are a bit erratic at times and seem to appear and disappear whenever they feel like it but, generally, they act as a helpful ally.
