Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark
Developer	Rare
Publisher	Nintendo, Rare
System	Nintendo 64
Release Date	Nintendo 64 US May 22, 2000 EU June 30, 2000 JP October 21, 2000
Rating	ESRB: M

Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter developed by Rare. The initial American release was published by Rare, while its releases in othet countries were published by Nintendo.

Story

In the year 2023, a secret war is going on. A race of "greys" named the Maians and the reptilian Skedar battle each other. On Earth, both groups have their own bases. The Carrington Institute is secretly a spy center for the Maians while dataDyne is a weapons company with a secret link to the Skedar.

The player takes the role of Joanna Dark, a new recruit whose impeccable scores have earned her the codename "Perfect Dark". Her first mission has her investigating a mysterious dataDyne insider. In the process she uncovers a conspiracy. The Skedar and dataDyne plan on recovering a megaweapon from a UFO at the bottom of the ocean and use it to destroy the Maians. It's up to Joanna Dark to stop them.

Gameplay

Perfect Dark has a style of game play similar to the earlier Goldeneye 007 and was built from thet game's engine. It is a first person shooter, has a variety of weapons, and objectives are added as the games difficulty goes up. One of the main differences between Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark is that Perfect Dark's weapons have a secondary mode of fire.

In Solo Mode, the player completes the missions of the story. However, they can also explore the Carrington Institute and take part in training activities. Doing well in training activities unlocks new content such as new weapons or new missions as different characters. Solo Mode also includes Cooperative Mode, where players help each other out to complete a mission and Counter Operative Mode, where one player tries to stop the other from completing a mission.

Combat Simulator is Perfect Dark's multiplayer mode. The goal is determined by which scenario the player chooses. Combat is a traditional death match. Capture the Case is the same as Capture the Flag. Hold the Briefcase has players trying to hold the briefcase for the longest amount of time while opponents try to kill the player and try to get it for themselves. King of the Hill has player's trying to stay in a certain spot for the longest amount of time while others try to occupy the same spot. Hacker Central requires players to find a data uplink and use it to hack a computer. Finally, Pop a Cap has one player designated the "cap". The cap gets points for every minute they stay alive while others try to kill the cap. When the cap is killed, a random player is selected as the new cap.

Legacy

Ports/Remakes

• A remastered version of the game was released for the X-Box 360 in 2010. This version featured new character models and online play, in addition to othet upgrades. This version was later included in the Rare Replay compilation that was released for the X-Box One in 2015.
• In June 2024, the original version of the game was added to the Mature 17+ version of the Nintendo Switch's digital library of Nintendo 64 games that was available for subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack program. This release supported local and online multiplayer.

Sequels

• Rare planned a sequel called Velvet Dark for the Nintendo Gamecube, which would have starrred Joanna's sister Velvet who had been created for the Co-Op Mode, but the game was ultimately cancelled.
• Two games have been made which act as prequels. The first was a Game Boy Color game simply called Perfect Dark which featured different gameplay and was notable as being one of the few GBC games to have a built-in Rumble Pak. It was released just months after the original game and was set one year prior to the game's events.
• The second prequel was Perfect Dark Zero, which was released for the Xbox 360 in 2005 and acted as a true follow-up to the original Perfect Dark in terms of gameplay. This game was set three years before the original game.