Now don't get me wrong here, I know there has already been a sequel that sucked, and going down that road again is a huge mistake, but on the other hand, PD is such a damn good game!
I've been playing it a lot since it got released and, nostalgia aside, that game has aged REALLY well. I notice so many things the game did right, and I think those translated into a full-blown sequel would create a unique and interesting game. Here's a list of the things the game does that many modern titles fail to do:
1) Customisable multiplayer
Now I know games like Halo and Rainbow six have this, but there are plenty more that don't. You could fully customise weapon selection, teams, and whether there were radars, auto-aim and other stuff. Now PD may not measure up to the customisation of Halo, but for a 10 year old title it was pretty damn good!
2) BOTS!
This one really takes the cake. A ten year old game providing bot functionality allowing you to add up to 8 simulants in your game when 90% of modern shooters can't manage any? This game was definitely ahead of its time.
3) Unlockables
Somewhere along the line, shooters lost their way, and unlockable features became a thing of the past, a rarity. Now the only reward you get is meaningless achievements with absolutely no in-game rewards. PD had reams of unlockable cheats, multiplayer skins, weapons, and other things, things that you just don't see in modern titles.
4) Non-linear missions that vary by difficulty
This is something that has really changed in recent times. Back in the PD days, when you started a mission, depending on the difficulty, you were given multiple objectives with a description of how to carry out each one. Some being as simple as getting to the end, with others requiring you to find a certain computer terminal and attach a bug. These days, most shooters settle with "here's a corridor, now run down it".
5) All those extra little things
The amount of pure content in PD is incredibly impressive, considering when it was made, it has more content than most modern shooters! Over 30 UNIQUE weapons, each with 2 firing modes, a campaign with a lot of missions that's actually challenging on the hardest difficulty, TONS of cheats to mess around with, a firing range to test out all those lovely weapons (and also get medals to unlock MORE stuff), and an extensive customisable multiplayer with a 'challenge' mode to test yourself and do with friends.
And all that is without even mentioning co-op and counter-op modes. A real sequel to this game, although incredibly unlikely (as in, it would never happen), would actually mean something. It would bring something fresh other than call of duty's "run down a linear path, kill everything".
On the other hand of course, PD already has those things, and is still, 10 years on, one of the best shooters out there. Perhaps It would be better if it was left at that. On a side note, since there was no group for it, I created a Perfect Dark usergroup, for fans of the game, and I urge all of you, especially those who bought it on xbox live to join, so that we can build up a community of players, and possibly play private matches regularly.
I've been playing it a lot since it got released and, nostalgia aside, that game has aged REALLY well. I notice so many things the game did right, and I think those translated into a full-blown sequel would create a unique and interesting game. Here's a list of the things the game does that many modern titles fail to do:
1) Customisable multiplayer
Now I know games like Halo and Rainbow six have this, but there are plenty more that don't. You could fully customise weapon selection, teams, and whether there were radars, auto-aim and other stuff. Now PD may not measure up to the customisation of Halo, but for a 10 year old title it was pretty damn good!
2) BOTS!
This one really takes the cake. A ten year old game providing bot functionality allowing you to add up to 8 simulants in your game when 90% of modern shooters can't manage any? This game was definitely ahead of its time.
3) Unlockables
Somewhere along the line, shooters lost their way, and unlockable features became a thing of the past, a rarity. Now the only reward you get is meaningless achievements with absolutely no in-game rewards. PD had reams of unlockable cheats, multiplayer skins, weapons, and other things, things that you just don't see in modern titles.
4) Non-linear missions that vary by difficulty
This is something that has really changed in recent times. Back in the PD days, when you started a mission, depending on the difficulty, you were given multiple objectives with a description of how to carry out each one. Some being as simple as getting to the end, with others requiring you to find a certain computer terminal and attach a bug. These days, most shooters settle with "here's a corridor, now run down it".
5) All those extra little things
The amount of pure content in PD is incredibly impressive, considering when it was made, it has more content than most modern shooters! Over 30 UNIQUE weapons, each with 2 firing modes, a campaign with a lot of missions that's actually challenging on the hardest difficulty, TONS of cheats to mess around with, a firing range to test out all those lovely weapons (and also get medals to unlock MORE stuff), and an extensive customisable multiplayer with a 'challenge' mode to test yourself and do with friends.
And all that is without even mentioning co-op and counter-op modes. A real sequel to this game, although incredibly unlikely (as in, it would never happen), would actually mean something. It would bring something fresh other than call of duty's "run down a linear path, kill everything".
On the other hand of course, PD already has those things, and is still, 10 years on, one of the best shooters out there. Perhaps It would be better if it was left at that. On a side note, since there was no group for it, I created a Perfect Dark usergroup, for fans of the game, and I urge all of you, especially those who bought it on xbox live to join, so that we can build up a community of players, and possibly play private matches regularly.