Perfect Dark Reboot

[Battlegrinder]

So, Perfect Dark, the greatest FPS of the N64 era and second best FPS franchise ever is, after 15 years, finally getting a new game! It's apparently a total reboot and not a sequel, which is disappointing but somewhat expected. There's also an interview with the devs:



They're vague about what's going on, since the game is still in production it seems. The one plot element they mention is "eco sci-fi", which sounds bad but apparently the premise is that there were major enviromental issues that companies like DataDyne solved, so it's probably not yet another preachy "save the world" narrative. The lead writer, Christine Thimpson, used to be the lead writer for Star Trek Online, and most of the stuff she was team lead for was pretty solid, so that's encouraging.

The only firm-ish element is that they're trying to do more of a "spy fighting, movement and physicallity" type thing that's not like standard FPS games, to focus more on the Spy part of "Spy FPS".....which is interesting, but too vague to draw any real conclusions from.

 

[Navarro]

Don't tell me they're gonna cut the alien twist.

 

[Battlegrinder]

They might, and I think they could, at least for a first game. The aliens were part of the plot of Perfect Dark, but I don't think they were part of what made the game what it was. I'd argue that running around the Carrington institute, talking with NPCs, going to the firing range, etc, was a way bigger part of what made PD what it was than the aliens. And I think for a more modern game, they should spend a little more time establishing the setting and world before they pull the big plot twist.

In the first perfect Dark, there were only 3 missions before you go to area 51, which tells you about aliens in the opening cutscene. And one of those 3 missions is the villa, which is a fun level but also one that's totally disconnected from the wider world. In 2000, that kind of limited engagement with the wider setting was acceptable, particularly for a console game. Today? I don't think so, I'd rather have more time to get immersed in the state of affairs on earth before it becomes overshadowed by the alien stuff.

That said, the aliens should absolutely be in the game as a stinger or something, and then be a major part of the sequel. As "just another near future FPS with evil megacorps", Perfect Dark won't stand out from the crowd today, it needs the aliens to set itself apart.

 

[Navarro]

They might, and I think they could, at least for a first game. The aliens were part of the plot of Perfect Dark, but I don't think they were part of what made the game what it was. I'd argue that running around the Carrington institute, talking with NPCs, going to the firing range, etc, was a way bigger part of what made PD what it was than the aliens. And I think for a more modern game, they should spend a little more time establishing the setting and world before they pull the big plot twist.

Yeah, certainly.

That said, the aliens should absolutely be in the game as a stinger or something, and then be a major part of the sequel. As "just another near future FPS with evil megacorps", Perfect Dark won't stand out from the crowd today, it needs the aliens to set itself apart.

Some kind of political/corporate conspiracy surrounding the POTUS is a fairly decent plot for the 1st game - maybe add implications of something bigger - then set them up more solidly in the ending.