We at Mature-gaming.com appreciate the finer things in life at our age.  Good whisky, a good woman and a good game that doesn’t let you down.

We also appreciate the golden era of gaming.  We were there, for the most part.  We saw the arcades come of age, we played the games that went down in history as a true classic.  We saw bedroom coders become gaming’s celebrities in their own right.  I could list the amount of amazing things that happened forever.  One thing that the industry has found it hard to do though is port a classic into current generation tech.  A lot of missed opportunities that have failed to grab the attention and quality that was on offer the first time around.  That nostalgic feel of being a child again and re-living past experiences and glory.

Perfect Dark was one such game that made the gaming accolades and has now been re-created by Rare under Microsoft Game Studios.  It has been a while coming but the buzz of playing this classic gave me goosebumps, even when I started the game up for the first time again.  So, how good is it?  How does it fare under the 360?  Has the tiny adjustments let the new version down?  Well, no it hasn’t.  Perfect Dark is as good as it ever was but that may be a problem for the youngster that has been brought up on MTV style, cinematic fps experiences.  The thing with Perfect Dark is that you have to remember how it led the way in design at the time it was released on the N64.  Unless you lived that time of gaming then certain aspects may feel as though it has come up short.

All the elements are there from the original, music, start screens, menus which include the solo campaign, co-op and counter op modes on xbox live and split screen, combat simulation and the Carrington Institute.  The solo missions are extensive, well designed and typically the same as the original.  One mention or moan is that there are no checkpoints which could have been presented in this version of the game but as it looks Rare, wanted this to be a direct port with bells and whistles so have kept the originality there.  One great thing is the added leaderboards so now your progression is tracked which allows for speed runs, your kills and also score to be added for friends and everyone to beat.  The co-op and counter ops are exactly the same but with a friend and is indeed a great way to play.  Split Screen co-op was always a great draw with the original and it seems there is no difference here either.

The combat simulator where all the multiplayer elements hide out and although it may feel really dated to the younger audience there is still a tonne of fun to be had by gamers that appreciate what all the fuss was about on the N64 version of the game.  To be honest, gaming, especially FPS’s can all be a bit too serious nowadays but the joy element of Perfect Dark really shines through where you don’t have to worry about perks, certain equipment and certain builds for certain maps.  You just get in there, shoot your opponents and have a lot of fun.  Exactly, what the games of yesteryear provided day in, day out.

The main problem with Perfect Dark is the gameplay.  There are no serious faults mind you but ones that I am sure will be talked about and picked up on.  The shooting is great, the movement is fluid enough but there is a serious amount of auto aim and is something that may be questionable in today’s era of gaming.  Would it have been better for the game to be configured for today’s controllers and shooting systems rather than keeping it real and sticking to the original system.  Although you only need to be within an area of an enemy for it to lock on I feel that changing certain parts of the game would detract from the feel of the original and therefore change the shape of the game as a whole so although the system feels ancient compared to today’s standards I feel that keeping it in adds to the feel of the port compared to the original.

Graphically, the textures have been sharpened up and that same old music and sound is there.  Contemporary it may be compared to the Zimmer approach to games but again Perfect Dark hasn’t compromised.

Overall, Perfect Dark is an exceptional port of the original and Rare have done a fine job in keeping everything intact when it would be very easy to change the game and therefore change the games physics and dynamics to keep up with the times.  Perfect Dark is every bit as good as it was and to purchase the game is to witness what it was like to play one of the classics of its time in a perfect adaptation of the original.

Perfect Dark is available now on xbox live arcade for 800 points and is definitely points well spent.