Perfect Dark Zero was heralded as the best Xbox 360 release title when the system came out but unfortunately does not live up to the legacy of the original and leaves much to be desired. A disjointed single-player campaign and gameplay that feels like you are controlling a character on rails ultimately leave a bad aftertaste that will make you reluctant to come back. The FPS genre is completely saturated with TONS of titles and you better come correct if you enter the ring. Too bad PDZ falls short.

The Good
The graphics and sound are top notch, for the most part. Everything runs super smooth and looks great, from the guns to the explosions to the player models (I don’t mind the “cartoony” look). This game offers a great presentation. Also, the inclusion of being able to play through the entire game co-operatively with another over Xbox Live is super-cool. Coupled with the fact that the missions change somewhat in co-op mode from single player mode, the co-op mode is one of the best parts of the game.

The Bad
Where do I start. The gameplay just feels rigid and unforgiving. I guess the “cover” model (whereby you take cover behind objects as the camera pans out to third-person) is interesting but ultimately useless against non-computer combatants. All a human combatant has to do is bum rush you and it takes so long to re-cover from being in “cover” that you’ll be dead by the time you do. And the other innovation in the gameplay, the “dodge” (where you roll to avoid fire as again the camera pans out to third-person) feels clumsy and tacked-on. If the designers were trying to get away from people jumping all over the place like they do in Halo to dodge attacks, then they succeeded in that now all players are required to roll like bowling balls continuously all over the map to dodge attacks. Well done.

The Ugly
The Xbox Live implementation is awful. Granted, there are quite a few options available, but many of them are super confusing (isn’t that what the instruction book is for? Don’t look there though, you won’t find anything useful…) and quite simply, they don’t follow the Halo 2 model, which is a HUGE mistake. I mean, is there any doubt that Halo 2 pretty much illustrated the best way to do online gaming on Xbox Live to everyone out there. What were the developers thinking!!!

Additionally, where are all the great features of the original game? The weapons are not nearly as cool, no awards are handed out after a match, and there is no Turbo Mode or One Shot Kill Mode (which would have seriously increased the usefulness of the “cover” model). Bummer.

The Conclusion
I’ve had a decent time playing PDZ, but have been more and more annoyed with it’s deficiencies as time has worn on. I was a huge fan of the original and had some seriously high hopes for the new edition. Unfortunately, this game looks to one that will be forgotten as the next wave of 360 games hits shelves. Good riddance.