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Video: Perfect Dark Zero on the black box
It is no secret that post Microsoft buyout, Rare planned on releasing Perfect Dark Zero to the big, black, original Xbox. But then another console came down the development pipeline, the Xbox 360 was announced, Microsoft needed launch titles and so Rare had to move PDZ's development from the Xbox to the 360. The final product ended up just dandy fine (except for some interesting physics issues), but we always wondered what Joanna Dark would have looked like on the Xbox. Well, our insistent wondering is no more as some of the early tech demo footage of PDZ running on the original Xbox has surfaced.Watch the pretty Xbox particle effects glisten in the video after the break and admire the crazy amazing polygon count in the video above. True, PDZ may have ended up looking much, much prettier on the 360, but we can't deny the fact that it didn't look all that bad back on the Xbox. Especially those sparks. Original Xbox PDZ spark effects FTW![Thanks, Nick B]
Rumor: Perfect Dark Zero 2 in dev for 360
We haven't got to chat about juicy gaming rumors for what seems to be ages, so when a new rumor came into our inbox that is so obvious, so ... well, juicy we just had to share. Indian website Gameguru is claiming that they have insider sources within' developer Rare who confirmed that they're working on a 360 exclusive Perfect Dark Zero 2 that's set to be announced late next year. Supposedly, the PDZ sequel will be much darker (aren't all games going the darker route now a days?), based on morality and feature fully interactive environments (which every next-gen game claims). We refuse to say anything bad about seeing a twisted, darker Joanna Dark in a 360 sequel, so here's to hoping this rumor turns out to be true. Rather sad though is the fact that we'll have to wait another year to confirm or deny this PDZ 2 rumor ... oh lucky us.[Thanks, Stephen Chan]
Rumor: Perfect Dark prequel to get a new sequel
Here's the no-brainer rumor of the day: Rare will release a sequel to its million-selling shooter Perfect Dark Zero. The Rumor Mole section of the May 2007 issue of Official Xbox Magazine reports that the sequel was revealed "by way of a press release announcing the next novel in the paperback series that also mentions a follow-up to the game."We haven't been able to locate the press release ourselves, but the paperback series is an official tie-in to the series. If a sequel does come to fruition, we wouldn't be surprised. In fact, we've heard it from an official, anonymous, trustworthy source that Rare has been deep in the early development phases (pre-pre-alpha, if you will) just trying to figure out the best numerical nomenclature. Perfect Dark One is off limits, PD Zero Two is pretty meh, PD Negative One (shortened to PDNO or PD-1) could work for yet another prequel, or perhaps they'll go the Lion King route and make it Perfect Dark Zero (point) Five, or PD.5 for short.Still, we side with our Fanboy brethren: the Xbox 360 has enough shooters, Rare should focus on meeting their sequel quota with a return to platformer Kameo.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Perfect Dark Zero sequel on the way?
Seems like a good day for rumors springing from magazines, so why not add one more? This one comes to us courtesy of the Official Xbox Magazine. It seems that a recent press release regarding the next novel in the Perfect Dark series also mentioned a forthcoming sequel to the game itself. Given that Perfect Dark is really one of the only existing Rare IPs that Microsoft can leverage (Donkey Kong is out for obvious reasons), it makes sense that they would be gunning for a sequel. Perfect Dark Zero suffered from more than a few issues, no doubt brought on by a monstrous development cycle that saw the game jump from Gamecube to Xbox to Xbox 360 (the same thing that happened to Kameo, by the way). Considering these previous issues, a sequel designed from the ground up for the 360 is just what the doctor ordered. Still, with Halo 3 coming out later this year and a Gears of War sequel presumably falling in 2008, we wonder where Perfect Dark would fit.For our two cents, we'd rather see a great sequel to Kameo, as the 360 is woefully short of decent platformers. At any rate, a sequel to Perfect Dark is all but assured. The only question is when.
Machine used to unlock Xbox 360 Achievement Points
Just 60 of 'em. Yep, $60 for parts and a long day's worth of labor birthed the "xBot," a monstrous lil' bugger that latches onto the Xbox 360 controller and presses 'Start' and 'B' like, well, like a machine. Car mechanic David Harr assembled the xBot to unlock a pair of Perfect Dark Zero Achievements, which require playing 1,000 (offline) multiplayer matches in both Deathmatch and DarkOps modes -- each worth 30 points. Since matches don't need to be completed to register as "played," Harr calculated that it would take him roughly 40 hours to start, exit, and restart enough matches to unlock the Achievements; he would use just ten to assemble his xBot. Muahahahah!While some whine that Harr's 'workaround' is unethical, the Seattle mechanic argues, "This is not playing online on Xbox Live -- it is not playing against other people ... This is a one trick pony, getting you just 60 points. It's not stepping on anyone's toes." We say, let him have his 60 points.
A real Xbot grabs PDZ achievements
360 Fanboys, Xbots, Micro$ux, these are all words that are bandied about on your typical Microsoft/Sony flame war. We're naturally fond of the fanboy moniker (we're taking it back), but we've got a soft spot for Xbot, too. Xbot evokes the image of Bill Gates leading his robot army towards the impending Robot Apocalypse®, and that makes us smile. Imagine our excitement when we saw this video of a working Xbot. Unfortunately, it doesn't conquer the world, it just plays Perfect Dark: Zero. In fact, it doesn't really even play per se. Created by David Harr (gamertag: Diego Knyte), it just starts another match once the current match ends. Why, you ask? To earn 60 gamerscore points, of course! The robot was built specifically to complete the "Played 1000 Dark Ops Games" and "Played 1000 Deathmatch Games" achievements. It supposedly took 10 hours to design and build. All this to avoid 40 hours of gameplay. That's 30 hours saved! Good job, Diego Knyte![Via Live Gamer]
Rare reluctant to pursue Microsoft's vision
Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Rare's lead designer Gregg Mayles sounded reluctant about developing downloadable content for Viva Piñata. "We've got plenty of ideas for what we can do ... But the jury is still out," said Mayles. For now, Rare seems content to sit back and watch other studios' successes and failures. It's clear that if Rare is to continue to provide downloadable content, it doesn't want to go the EA route; that's not to say the developer is in the business of hand-outs. Ill-reception of Kameo's premium content has forced Rare to rethink its strategy, leading the studio to consider that resources are perhaps better spent on the 'next' project. Despite forming a branch of the Microsoft camp, Rare is having a difficult time adopting its parent company's content-for-now, content-for-later model.
Goldeneye throwback maps for download, Xbox Goldies only
Microsoft and Rare have released updated versions of Goldeneye's Facility and Temple (now "Ruin") multiplayer maps for use with Perfect Dark Zero. The pair is free to download, but only available to Xbox Live Gold members (hey, it pays to pay). Throw in a polished-up Complex, and we just might consider re-investing in this game.
PDZ gets new maps, world still turns
It's been a long time since Perfect Dark: Zero received any downloadable content. It should come as a joyful surprise to loyal fans then, that there is a new map pack available for download on Marketplace. It should come as an even better surprise that the content is free. The pack contains two new maps, Facility and Ruin. Both maps are based on classic maps from previous games. Just curious, but who's still playing PDZ? Any die-hard fans out there? Tell us what has made the game appealing for so long. Will these new maps convince lapsed fans to go back?
New 360 Platinum Hits for $29.99
Microsoft has officially announced the first batch of Platinum Hits for the Xbox 360. The games are: Perfect Dark Zero Project Gotham Racing 3 Kameo: Elements of Power Need for Speed Most Wanted Conspicuously missing from the list is Call of Duty 2, the 360's first million seller. The first four Platinum Hits will be available for the bargain price of $29.99 starting October 15th -- the second set should be announced in the spring of 2007. It's a far cry from what we considered a bargain last gen, but it's definitely better than nothing. So, for those of you that haven't picked these up yet, will a $29.99 price tag make you reconsider? See the full press release after the break.
Viva Pinata gameplay revealed
If you've been hungering to know (and see) more specifics regarding Rare's upcoming game, Viva Piñata, take a gander at this massive video demonstration from Leipzig. Clocking in at over twenty minutes long, the video goes over just about everything you've wanted to know, including: Attracting piñatas to your garden Tending said garden Piñata romance (rowr!) Xbox Live features Piñatas, piñatas, piñatas. The game looks great. Rare's first game developed entirely on the 360 is colorful, vibrant, and overall very nice. Check out the video if you've got the time to kill. Anyone else think it's strange not to have a third person avatar in a children's game?
PDZ Map Pack One perfectly available
Following a premature announcement that temporarily left Joanna fans in the dark, PDZ Map Pack One is now perfectly available on XBLM for 500 MS Points. The new content includes four multiplayer maps: Plaza, Rooftops, Trench, and GasPlant. Fanboys, you've had a day to download. Please zero in with your impressions of the new real estate. Was it worth the price?
PDZ bot personality goes a long way
Are new and improved bot personalities enough to get Joanna Dark back in the Xbox Live Top 10? Major Nelson has the deets on the new Perfect Dark: Zero auto-update:DarkOps Bots. AI-controlled Bots are no longer relegated to DeathMatch games. Now they can challenge human players in any of the DarkOps multiplayer games. Just like in DeathMatch games, Bots can be used in either Live games or in offline games.Additional AI variants for Bots. The PDZ team was not satisfied with just one version of Bot AI. Now a total of eight Bot Personalities are available. Is someone dominating everyone else in a match? Send a Judge Bot after them. Want to add chaos and confusion? Add some Feud Bots into the mix.Vanilla = Original Bot AI. Ghost = Invisible apart from when firing its weapon. Judge = Attacks the player with the most kills. Bully = Attacks the player with the least kills. Venge = Attacks the last person that killed them. Feud = Chooses a new random target on each spawn and hunts them down. Prey = Picks on the player with lowest armor and health.Random = Uses a random Bot Personality. Personality goes a long way. I'm sure plenty of people will dust of their copy, if only to Judge the hell out of the diehard Perfect Dark fanboys who never started using the disc as a coaster.[Thanks to c_tang77 et. al.]
Free Xbox Live Gold week, or free virtual girlfriend? It's all so confusing! [update 1]
As we were just saying in the previous post, Microsoft's got a lot of irons in the fire. The "free Xbox Live week" promotion seems to be particularly well-liked by the folks at Microsoft and Verizon, as the two companies have made plans to make the week of May 8th through May 14th free to broadband-connected Xbox 360 owners. The newest promotion is timed to coincide with E3, and will also include a giveaway of one million Microsoft Points and a "backstage" E3 pass (did you boys pick those up on Craigslist, by any chance?). Just because we're borderline obsessive-compulsive, here's everything that Joanna Dark says upon loading the promotion page (with our comments in brackets): Don't keep me waiting [I'm hurrying, but these damned foil packages are so hard to open in the dark!] I'm free all week [As opposed to for-pay the rest of the time... undertones of prostitution here. Sure, why not?] You got a week. Come get some. ["Some what," we wonder, as we stare at Ms. Dark's fetching hindquarters.] Don't arrive early. [A joke about premature arrival? Totally unexpected.] Are you ready to play? I'm game. Are you? You want a piece of me? [Can't get much more explicit than this.] Hope your couch is comfortable [It's fine for playing games. Here, put down that riding crop and have a controller.] Hey, you got me all week [Why does she punctuate only some sentences? This annoys us.] I'll be there. Will you? ["She told me to come but I was already there." -- AC/DC] [Via too many tips to count.][Update 1: Neither Microsoft nor Verizon have announced this deal yet, so we eliminted language in the first paragraph that suggests that the companies have made an official proclamation. A Microsoft spokeswoman notes, "we plan on releasing more information early next week."]
New PDZ maps headed to XBL Marketplace, demo too
Microsoft has announced that a premium content bundle, containing four new Perfect Dark Zero multiplayer maps, will soon be available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace — the price has not yet been revealed. A free playable demo will also be posted for download, featuring the Outpost campaign level (solo, split screen, and Live co-op modes supported) and a new multiplayer map, Plaza.In addition, PDZ will receive several free auto-updates. One update will install 8 new bot (AI) personalities, including judge bot, who attacks the player with the most kills; bully bot, who attacks the player with the least kills; venge bot, who attacks the last person to kill the bot; and DarkOps Bot, who is the 'baddest' bot of them all.[Via Microsoft press release]
Rumor: Perfect Dark DS not denied
We knew former second-party Nintendo developer Rare was looking for DS programmers and soliciting requests for games to develop for Nintendo's DS handheld but now we have another clue. On Rare's letters page a response to a fan's question regarding Perfect Dark Zero releases on other platforms concludes, "I've just noticed I didn't specifically deny a DS edition of Perfect Dark while I was banging on about the PS3 and GameCube - I could easily rectify that, but it'll be fun to watch the conspiracy theories unravel." While Rare sits back and laughs at how predictable we are let's talk probability. Will they deliver their fancy next-gen console shooter to the confines of Nintendo's quirky little handheld-that-could? Is Microsoft, who's acknowledged keeping out of portable gaming, going out of their way to shun Sony while not wanting to be completely shut out of the portable gaming space? Or is it as simple as a Perfect Dark DS port being easier considering the franchise's N64 roots? I hope you're watching Rare: let the conspiracy theories begin![Thanks, Sage]
