Perfect Dark

Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is considered the spiritual successor to Rare's earlier first-person shooter GoldenEye 007, with which it shares many gameplay features. Perfect Dark was first released in North America on 22 May 2000; PAL and NTSC-J releases followed soon afterwards. A separate Game Boy Color game, also titled Perfect Dark, was released in August 2000 as a supplement to the game and allows certain features within the Nintendo 64 game to alternatively be unlocked via a Transfer Pak.

The game features a single-player mode consisting of 17 main missions in which the player assumes the role of Carrington Institute agent Joanna Dark as she attempts to stop a conspiracy by rival corporation dataDyne. It also features a range of multiplayer options, including a co-operative mode and traditional deathmatch settings. Technically, it is one of the most advanced games developed for the Nintendo 64, with an optional high resolution graphics mode and Dolby Surround Sound. A Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak is required to access the game's campaign and most of the multiplayer features.

Perfect Dark is an action video game developed by Rare and released for the Game Boy Color handheld console in 2000. As a prequel to its Nintendo 64 counterpart, the game follows agent Joanna Dark as she completes her training at the Carrington Institute research centre and uncovers information against rival corporation dataDyne. The gameplay revolves around shooting opponents and completing objectives such as rescuing hostages or recovering items. The game also includes a multiplayer mode where two players may compete against each other in several deathmatch modes.

Perfect Dark Zero

The Xbox 360 prequel to Rare's Nintendo 64 hit, Perfect Dark. Players once again slip into the role of Joanna Dark and fight their way through a twisting sci-fi storyline. The franchise's staple multiplayer mode returns, this time with full online support.

Set in the year 2020, three years before the original hit game Perfect Dark, Perfect Dark Zero features a gripping story, multiple game scenarios for endless replayability, a massive arsenal of weapons and combat-enabled vehicles. The sci-fi, first-person shooter features a fully interactive world, support for up to 50 players online via Xbox Live, breathtaking high-resolution graphics and spectacular special effects.

Perfect Dark is a remastered release of the first-person shooter video game by the same name. Developed by 4J Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios a decade after the original's 2000 release, the remaster features several technical improvements, including higher resolution textures and models, a higher frame rate, and a multiplayer mode that supports the Xbox Live online service. It was released for the Xbox 360 video game console in March 2010, through the Xbox Live Arcade download service. The story of the game follows Joanna Dark, an agent of the Carrington Institute organization, as she attempts to stop a conspiracy by rival corporation dataDyne.

Perfect Dark was under development for nearly a year and its game engine was completely re-written from scratch to support several Xbox 360 features. Therefore, although the game plays exactly the same as the original, the code and renderer is different. The game received generally favorable reviews. Some critics considered the relatively unchanged game to be outdated, but most agreed that the title was a solid revival of a classic.

Perfect Dark Zero: Collector's Edition

Perfect Dark Zero features a campaign mode consisting of 14 missions that can be played co-operatively, and a multiplayer mode where a maximum of 32 players can compete against each other in numerous types of deathmatch and objective-based games. Both the co-operative and multiplayer modes support split-screen, system link, and the Xbox Live online service. The game was under development for five years and was originally intended to be released for the Nintendo GameCube and later the Xbox.

Perfect Dark Zero sold more than one million copies worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, garnering a score of 81 out of 100 at review aggregate website Metacritic. The game's numerous multiplayer modes singled out as strong features. However, some critics felt that the game did not meet the expectations, criticizing single-player aspects such as its story and voice acting. Two sequel novels, Perfect Dark: Initial Vector and Perfect Dark: Second Front, as well as a comic series, Perfect Dark: Janus' Tears, were released to continue the story of the game.

Collector's Edition

Velvet Dark

Velvet Dark is a canceled project that was planned as a sequel or spin-off of Perfect Dark.
The game was designed as a third-person stealth action game following Velvet Dark, Joanna Dark's sister though the relation wasn't stated in Perfect Dark.
Velvet appears as the co-op character in Perfect Dark.

Likely beginning as a Nintendo 64 title, the game was canceled at some point after the GameCube was announced in 2000.
The table of contents page of a design document for the game, dated the 30th of October 2000, was revealed on twitter by Gregg Mayles in 2015.

Compatibility with the Game Boy Advance was planned, probably similar to the way content in Perfect Dark could be unlocked with a connection to the Game Boy Color game, also titled Perfect Dark.
This would also mean there were plans for a Game Boy Advance companion game of some kind, though no work on a connected title has been revealed.

In the near future, Earth will be struck by a series of global disasters, bringing ecosystems around the world to the verge of collapse. Become Joanna Dark, dataDyne’s elite agent as she hunts down the world's most wanted criminal, Daniel Carrington to uncover the mysteries behind the technological breakthroughs that could threaten the lives of millions.

The Fast And The Furriest

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Rare Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Twycross, Leicestershire. Rare's games span the platform, first-person shooter, action-adventure, fighting, and racing genres. Its most popular games include the Battletoads, Donkey Kong, and Banjo-Kazooie series, as well as games like GoldenEye 007 (1997), Perfect Dark (2000), Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001), Viva Piñata (2006), and Sea of Thieves (2018).

Tim and Chris Stamper, who also founded Ultimate Play the Game, established Rare in 1985. During its early years, Rare was backed by a generous budget from Nintendo, primarily concentrated on Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games. During this time, Rare created successful games such as Wizards & Warriors (1987), R.C. Pro-Am (1988), and Battletoads (1991). Rare became a prominent second-party developer for Nintendo, which came to own a large minority stake in the company, with the release of Donkey Kong Country (1994). Throughout the 1990s, Rare started selling their games under the trademark name "Rareware" and received international recognition and critical acclaim for games such as the Donkey Kong Country series, Killer Instinct (1994), GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie (1998), Perfect Dark (2000), and Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001).

In 2002, Microsoft acquired Rare, which retained its original brand, logo, and most intellectual properties. Rare has since focused on developing games exclusively for Microsoft's video game consoles, including Grabbed by the Ghoulies (2003), Kameo (2005), Perfect Dark Zero (2005), and Viva Piñata (2006). In 2007, the Stampers left Rare to pursue other opportunities and, in 2010, the company's focus shifted to the Xbox Live Avatar and Kinect, releasing three Kinect Sports games. In 2015, Rare developed Rare Replay, an Xbox One-exclusive compilation containing 30 of its games to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Rare's most recent game, Sea of Thieves, was released in 2018.

Several former Rare employees have formed their own companies, such as Free Radical Design, best known for producing the TimeSplitters series, and Playtonic Games, best known for Yooka-Laylee (2017). Rare is widely acknowledged in the video game industry and has received numerous accolades from critics and journalists. Rare is also known as a secretive and seclusive studio. Several Rare games, such as Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye 007, have been cited as among the greatest and most influential games of all time, though some fans and former employees have been critical of the company's output under Microsoft.

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Microsoft Game Studios was an American video game publisher based in Redmond, Washington. It was later renamed into Microsoft Studios.

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What was originally intended to be a launch title for the GameCube, but Microsoft buyout of Rare resulted in the game’s development being moved to the Xbox, but in the end it became a launch title for the Xbox 360.

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