Perfect Dark

Perfect Game Play... Perfect Mission... Perfect Dark’ Rare’s New Thriller Perfects Espionage Action On Nintendo 64

LOS ANGELES, May 12, 1999 – It is the year 2023, and at the powerful and highly secretive dataDyne Corporation, a world-renowned scientist has just issued a distress signal. Special agent Joanna Dark answers the call. What begins as a simple reconnaissance mission evolves into a global conspiracy as players weave their way through a tale of intrigue and raw adrenaline. Developed and published by the world-famous game designers at U.K.-based Rare Ltd., Perfect Dark will be distributed exclusively by Nintendo of America Inc. in December 1999.

Created by the same team that developed the best-selling game of 1998, GoldenEye 007’, Perfect Dark uses an enhanced 3-D engine and technologies to deliver unparalleled action-based, first-person and multi-player interactive entertainment. The game’s intense multi-player mode will feature an option to play with a total of eight characters -- four human opponents and four computer-controlled ones.

"Rare has created the ultimate action title the world has been waiting for," says Peter Main, Nintendo’s executive vice president, sales and marketing. "The elements of stealth and espionage, combined with the engrossing story line, make Perfect Dark a truly engaging game."

The technological enhancements that have gone into the development of Perfect Dark are extremely advanced. Players will encounter some of the most deceptive enemies to ever haunt the N64 when guiding the beautiful Joanna Dark from the towering skyscrapers of Chicago to an alien crash site at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Artificial intelligence has been designed to equip enemy characters with a number of unique skills including long-range teamwork, cover recognition, and the ability to assess potential threats. Enemies will quickly learn Joanna Dark is not an operative to be taken lightly.

The game’s in-depth story line combines the best of science fiction with spy-thrilling espionage to immerse the player in the plot. Gather gadgets, complete complex mission objectives, and send a few bad guys to meet their makers. The game’s most potent weapons are intuition and instinct as stealth and quick thinking are imperative to survival.

Perfect Dark also utilizes the Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak’ for gorgeous graphics and some of the most realistic environments ever. Real-time lighting produces astonishing visuals and special effects like explosions, dust, steam and sun glare. Add to that Rare's own Surround and Acoustic Shadowing Technology’, and you're playing a game that sounds as good as it looks. Rare is a developer and publisher of games for Nintendo video game systems. Rare Ltd. has offices in the United Kingdom, and Rare, Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, has offices in Miami, Fla. For more information about Perfect Dark, Rare or any Rare product, visit Rare’s web site on the Internet, www.rareware.com.

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than one billion video games worldwide, created such industry icons as Mario and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy – the world’s best-selling video game system. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in North America.

The independent Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates Perfect Dark "RP" for "Rating Pending." For more information about the ESRB visit www.esrb.org.

For more information about Perfect Dark or any other Nintendo product visit the company's web site, www.nintendo.com.

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E3 Press Release

Step into the Dark...

As Carrington Institute's most promising new Agent, Joanna Dark must uncover the truth behind the dataDyne Corporation's recent technological breakthroughs - breakthroughs which could have serious consequences for mankind.

• Over 40 advanced weapons! Shoot through walls, guide rockets by remote and cloak yourself to slip by unnoticed.
• Highly intelligent Simulants! Command computer-controlled teammates to Attack, Follow, Protect and more!
• Innovative Counter-Op mode! Play as Joanna, while a friend takes control of various enemies.

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Back of Box - N64 (US)

The perfection – The darkness…

A corporation is planning a conspiracy against mankind. A single woman dares to face the threat. That woman is Joanna Dark!

More than 40 new futuristic weapons.

2-4 player simultaneous Deathmatch Mode.

An N64 Expansion Pak is required to play all modes in full.

Source:

Back of Box–N64 (Europe–English Text)

Experience a first-person masterpiece from the creators of GoldenEye 007. Sometimes, the best man for the job is a woman.

Flawless first-person gameplay to die for.

Special operative Joanna Dark flips the script on the predictable plots of first-person shooters, with a twisting storyline where aliens are allies and trust is a luxury which you can't afford.

Players control Ms. Dark, who earned the nickname Perfect after graduating with top honors from the Carrington Institute. The action begins in the year 2023, when Joanna receives a distress signal from a troubled scientist held hostage in the heart of a monolithic corporation called dataDyne.

Joanna's first mission is to infiltrate the heavily guarded corporate headquarters, and soon she finds herself in the epicenter of an intergalactic conspiracy set to explode. We don't want to spoil the surprises that pop up along the way, but it's safe to say that throughout her adventure Joann discovers the corrosive effect power and greed have on the human psyche. As an extra bonus, she's also a crucial player in a massive war between two alien species.

Each stage of Perfect Dark can be played in one of three difficulty levels: Agent, Secret Agent or Perfect Agent. In addition to pumping up enemy AI in higher difficulty levels, players have to complete increasingly complex tasks.

Like GoldenEye, players will be able to earn cheat codes by completing the missions within a specific amount of time. Only the most skilled gamers will be able to earn all the available cheats.

Friends are few when you're in Joanna's line of work, but the game has a new feature which provides some friendly faces when you need them most. Once you've proven yourself by beating the game on Agent Mode, you'll gain access to a computer-controlled buddy who helps you as you progress through the game in Secret Agent Mode.

There's a reason that GoldenEye 007 has continued to be a top-selling title since 1997, and it's not Pierce Brosnan's good looks. It's a great multiplayer mode. Perfect Dark goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to multiplayer gaming, offering an unbelievable amount of variety and complete control of every conceivable variable. When four friends get together for a night of perfect fun, dawn can easily creep up before you know it.

Perfect Dark offers a traditional two-to-four-player Deathmatch Mode, which allows players to select weapon types, fighting arenas, time limits, frag limits, character appearance and many other tweakable details. As
players progress in the single-player game, new weapons and arenas are unlocked in the multiplayer mode.

A great feature of Perfect Dark is that players can opt to activate up to eight computer-controlled simulants and assign each an individual skill level which ranges from Meat to Perfect Sim. Meat Sims are basically moving targets, but Perfect Sims are insanely good players that score head shots every time they pull the trigger. Players can team up against a group of sims or create mixed teams of humans and sims.

We found it fun to pit four humans against a single Perfect Sim. Impressively, it took a great deal of strategic planning to figure out how to dispose of the pesky character. Amazingly, players can actually command simulants to hunt down specific competitors during gameplay.

Demonstrating its incredible depth, Perfect Dark's Challenge Mode is rich enough to stand on its own even without the awesome single-player game. Challenge Mode presents 30 unique trials which pit one to four human players against computer-controlled simulants. The simulants are pretty easy to waste in the first few levels, but things get extremely tough very quickly. In addition to straight frag fests, the Challenges also consist of King of the Hill matches and other variations.

Adding to the fun, each Challenge must be completed four times: once with one player, once with two players and so on up to four players. Using the Challenge Editor, players can set up their own unique Challenges.

Using a split screen, two players can play through the entire game together in a Cooperative Mode. If you're not one to share the glory with a friend, Perfect Dark's Counter Operative Mode is guaranteed to get your juices flowing. This unique features allows one player to progress through the normal game as Joanna Dark, while the other player controls an enemy character normally controlled by the computer.

Perfect Dark is a shooting game, and since it's a good shooting game, it showcases a jaw-dropping amount of destructive weapons to wreak havoc on your enemies. The game features over 40 unique weapons, each of which contains a secondary function. A discreet laptop gun, for example, functions either as a hand-held machine gun or a stationary gun turret.

Many weapons feature sniper scopes, and most can be doubled up for dual firepower. Every level holds at least one secret weapon, which you have to find if you want to use it in the multiplayer mode. Hand guns, automatic power weapons, mines and grenades are all represented in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Even when you're unarmed, a secondary "Disarm" function allows you to grab a foe's gun and hold him or her hostage. What you choose to do at that point depends on your disposition.

Based on her physical attributes, we're guessing that Joanna's test scores weren't the only factor leading to her flattering nickname. She's aided, of course, by her creator's firm grip on great graphics. The game's astonishing visuals and special effects like dynamic lighting, explosions, dust, steam, and sun glare will knock you off the couch.

In Joanna's line of work, the slightest slip can result in the loss of innocent lives. The basic feel of the game is very similar to GoldenEye 007. Players have the option to choose a preferred Controller configuration.

Perfect Dark features a new weapon selection system that's similar to Turok 2. If you hold the A Button, you're given an on-screen list of every weapon available. All you have to do is move the Control Stick to the desired weapon, then release the A Button. If you prefer, though, it is still possible to scroll through the weapons by tapping the A Button.

As in GoldenEye, the B Button is used to reload your weapon, activate switches and open doors. If the B Button is held down, it will activate the secondary function of your current weapon.

The play control of Perfect Dark will feel completely natural to GoldenEye vets, leaving you free to concentrate on the game and not the Controller.

Due to the sprawling size and scope of the game, Perfect Dark will require the use of the N64 Expansion Pak for the solo missions and 3-4 player multiplayer modes. Only 1-2 player deathmatch-style gameplay and the Challenge Mode will be available without the Expansion Pak.

Living up to its name, Perfect Dark is available now -- exclusively for Nintendo 64.

Source:

www.nintendo.com – Nintendo 64

Agent Joanna Dark hit the ground running in Perfect Dark, an epic tale of galactic conspiracies in 2023 America. Now this classic shooter comes to Xbox LIVE Arcade, rendered in greater definition and detail and sporting a silkier framerate than ever before. Fire up your Farsight and prepare for assignment!

• Classic action: Play the original full game beautifully restored and back in full HD, 1080p at 60 frames per second! All the original game features are included plus new Xbox LIVE ones.

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www.xbox.com

Buy the full version of Perfect Dark to unlock the classic package in its entirety. Experience every twist of the story, every stray bullet, every gadget and upgrade, every newly polished texture – and top it all off with full access to multiplayer modes now playable across the globe through Xbox LIVE. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

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www.xbox.com