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4) Perfect Dark
Platform: Nintendo 64 (2000)
Joanna Dark had some expensive shoes to fill following in the wake of the revolutionary and highly acclaimed Goldeneye 007. When Rare debuted Perfect Dark, it was with a huge sigh of relief that fans found the transition from James to Joanna was not only successful, but irresistibly fun. A first-person shooter, Perfect Dark is one of the most technologically advanced games ever made for Nintendo 64. As an agent of the Carrington Institute, Joanna Dark was sent to foil the plans of the enigmatic dataDyne corporation, and during the course of her mission became embroiled in an even bigger plot of interstellar intrigue. The graphics are intricate and feature beautiful lighting techniques, which provide for an intense feeling of immersion during gameplay. Perfect Dark maintained the precision controls of Goldeneye, but fine-tuned them even more, making the addictive multiplayer more of a blast than ever. While Joanna’s debut wasn’t quite as groundbreaking as Goldeneye, Perfect Dark was a wonderful spiritual successor and just as memorable.
I honestly didn’t enjoy Banjo-Tooie all that much. Banjo-Kazooie was epic and is one of my favorite games ever, but Banjo-Tooie just felt too big to me. It took too long to get around levels, too long to get from one objective to the next, and too long to get between worlds in the overworld.
Then there’s the whole Stop n Swop thing, but regardless. BK, brilliant. BT, ehhh.
Maybe it’s because I have played it more, but I couldn’t get enough of Banjo-Tooie! It felt like everything a sequel should be: bigger, better and with just the right amount of new things to do.
And the less said about Banjo & Kazooie’s adventures post-Nintendo the better :)