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The Xbox 360 Killer App

Everyone is looking for the Xbox 360 "killer app," and naturally all eyes are on the three primary launch titles from Microsoft Game Studios: Kameo™: Elements of Power™, Project Gotham Racing® 3, and the one that my money's on: Perfect Dark Zero™.The game is a prequel to the classic from GoldenEye 007 developer Rare®.

The game has been designed from the ground up to take advantage of all the power and options Xbox 360™ has to offer—dazzling HD graphics, digital surround sound that rocks and also affects the way you play, all the superspy gadgets and weapons you could ask for, and truly groundbreaking multiplayer that includes a scintillating co-op mode to go with competitive challenges between up to 32 players on Xbox Live®.

Zeroing in on the Xbox 360 "killer app."

Zero to Hero
In case you've somehow missed the buzz surrounding Perfect Dark Zero, here's the scoop: It's a prequel that shows you how Joanna Dark, sassy bounty hunter, becomes Joanna Dark, perfect agent for the mysterious Carrington Institute.

The game begins three years before the original, and you take charge of Joanna for a bounty hunting mission with her dad Jack (isn't it great to see kids take an interest in their parents' work?). Soon, events lead Joanna to drop the bounty hunting gig and go to work as a secret agent full time, on missions that will take her all over the world in glorious high definition.

Note to bad guys—don't stand near red barrels.

Perfect Skills
One of the first levels in the game. located in Hong Kong and called"rooftops/escape," shows you the ropes, sometimes literally, and shows how PDZ is a seriously action-oriented first-person shooter. Rare takes advantage of the redesigned Xbox 360 controller to give you dozens of strategies and tactics to take out the enemy. Every weapon has a primary (right trigger) and secondary (right bumper) firing mode. The left bumper is your dodge button, which snaps you out of first person and into a third-person roll that's crucial to Joanna's survival, especially when facing down multiple foes. Some weapons even have a third option – like nightvision, for instance.

So is PDZ the "killer app"? Sure looks that way.

The A button is your context-sensitive action button. Want to take cover, lean around the corner, and fire at enemies without catching a bullet in the face? Go up to a wall, press A, and Joanna snaps into third person again (never a problem when your heroine looks this good—trust me) to press against the wall, but your targeting reticule remains.

Take aim, pull the trigger, and Ms. Dark swings nimbly around the corner to blast 'em. The A button also lets you hop onto zip lines, activate doors, and trigger mini-games that enable you to break into secure locations.

Another note to bad guys: be afraid of the Dark.

Perfect Multiplayer
Playing with Joanna alone is all well and good, but playing with friends is even better. The incredibly addictive competitive multiplayer game shows how Rare has returned to the first-person shooter (FPS) genre with real style and skill.

Up to 32 players at a time can go at it on a multitude of beautifully designed maps that are both challenging and just plain pretty, with every environment you can imagine. Like all Xbox 360 games, competitive multiplayer takes advantage of the TrueSkill™ matchmaking system and your gamer profile to ensure you're playing with gamers that like to play the way you do.

A final note to bad guys: Shields? Won't save ya.

Perfect Co-Op
And as good as competitive multiplayer is, in some ways co-op play—available for Xbox Live, system link, or split-screen—is an even greater challenge. Instead of simply putting two Joannas improbably together, each co-op mission (multiplayer versions of the 14 single-player missions) puts player one in control of Joanna Dark, while the second player takes control of a partner suited to the mission.

Each player generally begins in a different location, allowing you to interact with your ally in different ways. The tactics and strategies employed in co-op are remarkable, and a whole lot of fun. For example, in the "rooftops" mission, you control Joanna while your partner plays as Jack (or vice versa).

Joanna starts up on the titular rooftops, while dad is down below, fighting his way in from street-level. Joanna needs to keep the snipers off of Jack's back while Jack takes care of getting you both into the building. At the same time, the bad guys are after Joanna as well, meaning Jack might get a chance to return the favor.

Infiltrate and eliminate.

So is PDZ the "killer app"? Sure looks that way. Don't be left out on launch day, because Perfect Dark Zero is going to rock Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.

Article by Ben Barker