Perfect Dark: Zero - Your thoughts

[Grave_Addiction]

The game looked pretty badass.

They said that 50 players could play at the same time online. That is nuts!

One thing I did notice, though, that none of the guns had a reticule. Hopefully, that's something they will implement in the final design.

EDIT: Ahhh, crap. I just noticed there was another PDZ thread. Mods, please feel free to merge this. My apologies.

[MadChedar0]

It needs a lot of work IMO. The framerate looked a little off too. Rare has time though.

[PsyClerk]

Some FPS games don't have crosshairs by default. Brothers in Arms is one of those games. So I'm not worried about that.

Looked pretty sweet. I would have preferred to see more gameplay from the different games. Unless what we saw WAS gameplay...:shock:

[kill3r7]

It needs a lot of work IMO. The framerate looked a little off too. Rare has time though.

Totally agree. It needs to be refined but it didn't look bad.

[Jrunt20x]

I wish I could have thoughts. But let's be honest, we really saw none of the game. It was mostly us watching the players not the game. I think it was probably to cover up the fact that PDZ really is incomplete in many areas. So the 10 secs we saw total looked alright, but I sure its not nearly ready for a true unveiling.

[spoo]

Looks great they have 6 months to polish it. 50+ online at a time that is WOW just WOW!

[Hunter55]

Looks great they have 6 months to polish it. 50+ online at a time that is WOW just WOW!
Do you really think microsoft will actually be right with their release dates? Xbox 2 is probably going to be out in February 2006. But Perfect Dark loojed hot. As long as xbox 2 starts making games with 1080i support, ill be happy.

[Grugger]

Hey, anyone see that interview the pro gamer did on polygon count? 5000 per character, wtf? The art looks like ass and the graphics are absolutely atrocious, why would Rare do such a terrible job?

[David85]

Going to be a busy 6 months for them.

The game graphics wise looked terrible, and gameplay way nothing special.

[Grave_Addiction]

Hey, anyone see that interview the pro gamer did on polygon count? 5000 per character, wtf? The art looks like ass and the graphics are absolutely atrocious, why would Rare do such a terrible job?

Well, with so much left time to work on the game, I would think that polishing the game graphic wise would come towards the end of the development cycle. So, if that's the case, Rare has plenty of time to make this game purdy.

[spoo]

Do you really think microsoft will actually be right with their release dates? Xbox 2 is probably going to be out in February 2006. But Perfect Dark loojed hot. As long as xbox 2 starts making games with 1080i support, ill be happy.

They will release it before Xmas. Every game will be HD. I am not sure if it will be 1080 or 720.

[Grugger]

Overall to me, the whole unveiling was very disappointing at the least. Nothing got me exicited at all about the Xbox 360. There'd better be a huge improvement before this thing ships to market, otherwise I'm not gonna buy one.

[help1]

Too be honest, its better than I thought.... but I had low standards.


If they plan to just make minor changes from what they showed us... well then tehy shouldn't plan to make money or a good game.

[nixts]

I was really looking forward to the unveiling, and I was pretty disappointed with the MTV show. Granted, Perfect Dark is still early in development, but I thought it looked terrible. In particular, the animation and the character design looked totally generic. The other trailers looked great, but none of them were real. I was more impressed with the 5 minute Microsoft promo film online than the MTV show. I sincerely hope Microsoft has more than that weak PDZ demo playable at E3.

[hutno]

They seemed to be able to switch back and forth from 3rd to first person view. Not original after strangers wrath did it but its good to know companies might be making that feature common place

[Jaket]

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3140401&did=1

mmmm

[Ikohn4ever]

i thought it looked pretty crappy, for all the time they put into it, it really didnt look much better than an Xbox game, but we shall see when it finally comes out in 2008

[Chris in Cali]

Looks like an Xbox game as previously stated. No fucking way you're getting me to buy a new $400 console for that.

[The VGM]

They seemed to be able to switch back and forth from 3rd to first person view. Not original after strangers wrath did it but its good to know companies might be making that feature common place

Hitman did it before that.....

[dafoomie]

Do you really think microsoft will actually be right with their release dates? Xbox 2 is probably going to be out in February 2006. But Perfect Dark loojed hot. As long as xbox 2 starts making games with 1080i support, ill be happy.
Heads will roll if Xbox 360 and Perfect Dark Zero aren't out in time for Christmas.

The version of Perfect Dark they showed was an alpha version, don't expect much from it. It being playable already with 5-6 months to go is a good sign.

[StealthGear]

The game needs a lot of work, definitely not ready to be released in 6 months. Knowing how Rare works, maybe they'll just delay it again. ;)

[slimpip]

Looks like an Xbox game as previously stated. No fucking way you're getting me to buy a new $400 console for that.

Quoted for truth. Granted it was supposed to be an Xbox title, but.... WHAT THE fuck RARE?!

[LinkinPrime]

IMO not enogh footage was shown for this to be decided yet

[PawnTakesKing]

"What does it look like?" It looks like I have no reason to ever buy an XBox 360.

[Ecofreak]

Preface (so don't flame me): I have very limited knowledge of game development cycles. I have heard it takes 2-3 years for a AAA titles, which I am assuming this game is supposed to be since it's a launch title.

So I'm curious, but saying, "They still have 6 months, they still have time to fix the graphics and what not..." Isn't it a bit late in the development cycle to not have the graphics engine firmly set?

I thought the last few months were specificially for alpha and beta testing - not improving the graphics.

[dafoomie]

Preface (so don't flame me): I have very limited knowledge of game development cycles. I have heard it takes 2-3 years for a AAA titles, which I am assuming this game is supposed to be since it's a launch title.

So I'm curious, but saying, "They still have 6 months, they still have time to fix the graphics and what not..." Isn't it a bit late in the development cycle to not have the graphics engine firmly set?

I thought the last few months were specificially for alpha and beta testing - not improving the graphics.
No game halts development and does testing for 6 months. For a game that is a minimum of 6 months away, I thought it looked pretty good. Maybe they took a lot of time to make it work with 50 players in a single game?

Don't forget, they were making this for the Xbox before they switched over to 360, they are still in the process of updating everything.

[CheapApple]

You guys need to calm down and realize that this stuff is still running on beta hardware. Even developers showing off games at e3 don't have final video cards yet - just a stopgap (which don't even have the 3.0 shaders) and an emulation piece from microsoft that estimates what the final frame count will be with the final hardware.

I don't think some of you realize what a tight manufacturing schedule this thing is on. Its going to feature 3 3.2GHz cpu variants of the power pc. Consider that Apple, who has been promising 3 GHz machines for over 2 years now, still doesn't have a desktop available with that speed and they are single core. And the video card in this thing will be better than anything available now for the PC.

[redgopher]

Looks like crap. But then again, it has been in development since before the first Xbox launch.

[Scorch]

It's funny how everyone's talking about the graphics.. the first PD was one of the ugliest games of all time..

[Monsta Mack]

I'll wait till the game is actually out and gets reviewed before it gets judged fully. I'm more interested in PGR3 anyways.

[danny90044]

dint see enough to judge it...just random shots of nothing. i still cant believe that whats his face got beat by that english dudes team....the english suck at stuff....

[onikage]

PDZ is one of the few games that could convince me to buy the 360. Hopefully the multiplayer will be as good as it is/was in the first Perfect Dark, which I still play.

[Dead of Knight]

This game has had one of the longest dev times in gaming history. They probably went to work on it in preliminary stages right after the first one was released. Yet it looks like shit- an UNIMPRESSIVE Xbox 1 title. There were NOT fifty people playing on the show and there was still slowdown. It's obvious that they just wanted something playable for the MTV show, and PDZ was the only thing ready; MS was just praying and praying to God that no one would notice it's subpar.

[mmn]

This game has had one of the longest dev times in gaming history. They probably went to work on it in preliminary stages right after the first one was released. Yet it looks like shit- an UNIMPRESSIVE Xbox 1 title. There were NOT fifty people playing on the show and there was still slowdown. It's obvious that they just wanted something playable for the MTV show, and PDZ was the only thing ready; MS was just praying and praying to God that no one would notice it's subpar.

You must have seen the super extended edition of the MTV show, because from what I saw, there wasn't nearly enough gameplay footage to start throwing out judgments like "an UNIMPRESSIVE Xbox 1 title" just yet.

[mykevermin]

I'm with the rest of those who were down on PDZ; in my case, I'm not certain how the game can improve to the point of "wowing" me between now and release, given how long the game's been in development (which, IIRC, was before they announced they were taking it to the Xbox).

If they keep the graphics as is, and show me footage of a 50 player deathmatch, then I'll be interested.

myke.
...the kid with the glasses who visited Rare studios really got on my nerves too, though I dunno why.

[David85]

I'll say something positive about the game.

At least they ditched the Japanese hooker looking Joanna and replaced it with a slightly better looking.

Now when the guy asked how mant polies were in the charaters did he say 5,000 or 50,000? 5,000 is hardly anything, RE4 has 4,000.

[MadFlava]

Perfect Dark looked good but I was expecting something more spectacular looking. I actually think the graphics in Halo 2 are equal if not better. The more I think about it the jump in technology between the current Xbox and the Xbox 360 is not going to be as great as I once thought. Maybe its just that the developers are still learning the new system still.

[evilmax17]

I'll say something positive about the game.

At least they ditched the Japanese hooker looking Joanna and replaced it with a slightly better looking.

Now when the guy asked how mant polies were in the charaters did he say 5,000 or 50,000? 5,000 is hardly anything, RE4 has 4,000.

The guy on MTV said that the characters were 5,000 polys. I'm pretty sure that Leon in RE4 is 10,000 polys.

Hrm.

[klwillis45]

the "revealing" was very disappointing. I could give a shaq-fu about seeing a game being played which isn't even close to completion. I wanted to see more about the hardware. We know now all controllers will be wireless and faceplates will be switchable, but we didn't even get a very good look at the controller themeselves. What about the other ?s on gamers minds. HDD?? Backwards compatibility?? Release date?? Cost?? Wireless networking??, etc. I basically know nothing more than before I watched the show.

[alongx]

Preface (so don't flame me): I have very limited knowledge of game development cycles. I have heard it takes 2-3 years for a AAA titles, which I am assuming this game is supposed to be since it's a launch title.

So I'm curious, but saying, "They still have 6 months, they still have time to fix the graphics and what not..." Isn't it a bit late in the development cycle to not have the graphics engine firmly set?

I thought the last few months were specificially for alpha and beta testing - not improving the graphics.

The original Halo was almost entirely scrapped with 5-6 months until its release. It went on to be one of the best looking and best playing games (arguably) of this generation. If I'm remembering correctly, they threw out the entire graphics engine and rebuilt it from the ground up. In 6 months. I think they can update some character models in that amount of time.

Also, you don't need 6 months for testing. One month would be nice, but six is excessive.

Honestly, the only screens that impressed me were ones that GAF posted for Test Drive: Unlimited - http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4892. Nothing else wowed me. They all look like games that are close to this generation in detail. Games like Kameo and Perfect Dark look like they are still Xbox titles, not Xbox 360 titles.

[epobirs]

You guys need to calm down and realize that this stuff is still running on beta hardware. Even developers showing off games at e3 don't have final video cards yet - just a stopgap (which don't even have the 3.0 shaders) and an emulation piece from microsoft that estimates what the final frame count will be with the final hardware.

I don't think some of you realize what a tight manufacturing schedule this thing is on. Its going to feature 3 3.2GHz cpu variants of the power pc. Consider that Apple, who has been promising 3 GHz machines for over 2 years now, still doesn't have a desktop available with that speed and they are single core. And the video card in this thing will be better than anything available now for the PC.

Difficulties in scaling up the 970 chips doesn't have much bearing on this. The cores in the Xbox 360 (and Cell) are very different from those used in desktops/server applications. They have an ISA in common and almost nothing else.

[alongx]

The guy on MTV said that the characters were 5,000 polys. I'm pretty sure that Leon in RE4 is 10,000 polys.

Hrm.

Fucking Samanosuke from Onimusha: Warlords had close to 8,000 polys, I think.

[lurknomore]

AS has been stated before, this is RARE...and they have never met a deadline. This game has been years in the making...I imagine that we still have years to go before this is anywhere near a quality game....but of course they don't have sticklers like NOA demanding quality out of Rare anymore, so Microsoft may just prefer that SOMETHING come out resembling a game. We shall see at E3 how this plays out. PD0 better be playable and markedly improved.

[GuilewasNK]

The game will be fine. This is all much ado about nothing.

If anything the early version was shown just so that the people who crap on overhyped games don't do it like the did Halo 2.

[Michael Bolton]

looks awesome and 50 people online makes me happy

[zewone]

Looks like it needs work, which of course is why it is still in Alpha, but should be good by the time Xbox 360 comes out. I predict it to be 360's killer app at launch.

[WildWop]

Looks like it needs work, which of course is why it is still in Alpha, but should be good by the time Xbox 360 comes out. I predict it to be 360's killer app at launch.

If ghost recon looks anything like the screenshots posted on Engadget and Gizmodo this morning, PD may have some decent competition...

[shrike4242]

I guess Kameo: Elements of Power isn't coming out for the XBox, since it was shown as a Xbox 360 title. Double-slide, anyone?

[Ozzkev55]

If ghost recon looks anything like the screenshots posted on Engadget and Gizmodo this morning, PD may have some decent competition...
Ghost Recon 3's gonna be sick, i wonder though since in the screenshots, they have a window for charecter visualizations during any communications breaks, im thinking that maybe they might have a replacement with the webca footage during online sessions...maybe :)

Im Liking PDZ so far though, it seems innovative, and with 50 plus people support, clan matches might just be boot free. Though there were some lag issues apparently, or framerate i forget, during yesterdays show. Since it was a early build up, not the finished product, it will definetly be tightened up.

[GameDude]

They seemed to be able to switch back and forth from 3rd to first person view. Not original after strangers wrath did it but its good to know companies might be making that feature common place


The Suffering did that way before Oddworld. And some game probably did it before that.

[GTmaster39]

The Suffering did that way before Oddworld. And some game probably did it before that.


Quake 3 Arena.....?

[WildWop]

I'm thinking the switch to 3rd person will be something like going to morph ball mode in Metroid Prime -- when you roll in PD, it switches to third person then switches back once you're done.

[road3283]

Anybody else read that feature on 1up.com from Stealthy's link. Few interesting bits: High replayability in the single player. Maps that scale up or down depending on the number of players in multiplayer. A roll move to avoid fire. Ability to hug walls for cover. (like kill.switch I guess?)

Maps that rescale sounds interesting.

[easy_g]

I believe Battelfield 2 is going to have maps that rescale depending on player count. So with fewer people you have smaller maps and less wandering around.

I realize that there was very little to see and that it is an early version, but come on, that was a pathetic showing of a game. The graphics looked like and Xbox game and the animation was horrid (Joanna was basically gliding around). I can't comment on the gameplay though (obviously).

Also, am I the only one that hates the new look for Joanna? She was awesome back in the N64 version, then they switched to the anime style which I was ALMOST able to accept, but now there's this. She looks like some 35 year old soccer mom with crazy hair. Not my idea of a kickass secret agent.

Here's hoping they fix it up SOON.

And there is some hope. Like someone was saying about Halo being rebuilt, Half Life 1 was completely scrapped less than a year before it's released and we all know how that turned out.

[help1]

I plan to buy XBOX 360 for halo and this.... they got to be good or im not buying.

[urzishra14]

AS has been stated before, this is RARE...and they have never met a deadline. This game has been years in the making...I imagine that we still have years to go before this is anywhere near a quality game....but of course they don't have sticklers like NOA demanding quality out of Rare anymore, so Microsoft may just prefer that SOMETHING come out resembling a game. We shall see at E3 how this plays out. PD0 better be playable and markedly improved.

I was waiting for a Nintendo fan boy to speak up (no offense)...

The game isn't finished get over it... if its being herald as a launch title then no one will buy it if it isn't completed by launch.. I wanted to see more of the "dashboard" and how that is going to be... I wanted to see someone plug an Ipod in there and get music to and from it.. that would have been neat to see.. some more of the "functunatility" of the xbox 360 rather than just gameplay and a bunch of other fluff.. the stupid girl carrying the system and laying it out was pretty lame. nobody thought that was cool or interesting.. anyways.. yeah.. expect a more completed game closer to launch.. i hope there are more variety then just flavor of the year sports titles and racers with one or two FPS .. i want to see some good action adventure games or some RPGs

the one thign that did impress me.. Tony Hawk being able to skate LA was pretty cool.

[alongx]

Maps that rescale sounds interesting.
I don't know how interesting that is. That could be implemented extremely bad. Maps that scale could imply random generation, which I have never particularly liked. Scalable could mean boring.

I was waiting for a Nintendo fan boy to speak up (no offense)...
Why's this? Even the most loyal Nintendo fan has gotten over the fact that Joanna is sleeping in Bill Gates' bed now, not Iwata's.

[XboxMaster]

Eh, I don't really know what to think. I'm still going to buy it, but it's not looking as great as I wished. I'm confident it's lineup will become stronger, though.

[Kaijufan]

It's very cool that maps scale based on the number of players.
Also, thanks for including bots in PD0 Rare. Not everyone has high speed internet. Maybe Bungie should take a hint. :)

[KaneRobot]

PDZ didn't look much better (if at all) better than an XBox 1 game. However, I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt because:

1. There are still at least 6 months until it needs to be gold - plus obviously the game they were playing had to be ready a few days or weeks before that broadcast was even taped, so even since the taping it has probably made strides. As already mentioned, the XBox 360 they were playing on was beta hardware as well.
2. The video we saw on MTV were a bunch of brief clips...other than looking at brief hints of graphics for a moment there isn't much you can tell about the game other than there are jetpack-lookin' things.
3. It's going to support an assload of players all at once online.
4. It's the sequel to one of the highest rated, most loved FPS games ever.

...although to be honest I wasn't a fan of the N64 game. It may have been a great game but by then I was playing PC FPS games frequently which entertained me a lot more, and once Halo came around on the XBox I just couldn't fathom playing PD due to its horrid framerate and crappy controller.

[lupe121283]

They are looking better.
http://xboxyde.com/news_1506_fr.html

Credit goes to SFA3JACK at s-c.com

[anomynous]

They are looking better.
http://xboxyde.com/news_1506_fr.html

Credit goes to SFA3JACK at s-c.com

those better shut the people who are complaining about the graphics up. RARE probably doesn't even have the final 360 console yet. That's why PD0 looked like a xbox 1 game.

[easy_g]

I'll complain about the graphics only because I am not a fan of excessive normal mapping. I'd rather have hi res, detailed textures. For example, compare Doom 3 and Half Life 2. Doom used normal maps EVERYWHERE, whereas Half Life 2 used them sparingly and was able to acheive a much more realistic look. Normal maps tend to make everything look like really shiny plastic.

But I digress, I am happy that these screens do look much better than the MTV footage. Even if they are far from final (just look at those soldiers, the textures don't even line up down the middle!).

[deadite76]

The footage from MTV was very underwhelming! Then again it's MTV. Those screenshots from the French website tell a whole different story. Hopefully E3 will show more of it in action!

[BIG5]

Normal maps tend to make everything look like really shiny plastic.

Yeah, that's exactly what those shots look like.