Stellar 'Perfect Dark' Gives Nintendo 64 Owners Reason to Smile Again

By AARON CURTISS

June 15, 2000 12 AM PT

Today I apologize for all the bad things I ever said about Nintendo 64. That it doesn’t host enough games. That too many of its titles are cutesy and weak. That it’s a system without a destiny.

“Perfect Dark,” the latest masterpiece from the designers at Rare, wipes the slate clean. Not only are we even, but Nintendo has a fair amount of grace in the bank right now. “Perfect Dark” is the kind of digital adventure no rational action-loving gamer should miss.

And with it Nintendo sends a strong message to the grown-up gamers who have long considered the 64-bit box a toy--the kind of diversion they take seriously only when rare wonders such as “Zelda” or “Goldeneye” pop up.

In fact, the same team that developed “Goldeneye” labored over “Perfect Dark,” making it everything the first-person James Bond adventure was and much, much more. “Perfect Dark” allows players to slip in easily and then lose themselves for weeks in sprawling environments packed with bad guys and puzzles.

The game follows the adventures of Joanna Dark, whose code name “Perfect Dark” refers to her abilities in the deadly arts of spycraft. Her first mission out of spy school is to help the brilliant Daniel Carrington figure out what’s going on inside the sinister dataDyne company.

Among the initial missions: Rescuing Dr. Carroll, a dataDyne scientist who is basically a laptop with wings. From there, the game hurls players through ever more complex missions that demand a deadly aim and cool wits. In addition, Dark comes equipped with tons of nifty gadgets that allow her to explore hazardous areas undetected, swipe computer files on the sly and disable security systems.

Although the primary game is a single-player adventure, the variations within “Perfect Dark” make it the sort of title that stays locked in Nintendo 64 for weeks at a time. There is, of course, the standard four-player death match. But the game also allows players to work together in various missions.

Or the coolest variant: The ability to enjoy head-to-head action in a mission-based environment. One player assumes the role of Joanna Dark, and the other becomes the enemy soldiers trying to stop her--able to jump from body to body like the agents in “The Matrix.”

So it’s possible to play the game through at each of the three difficulty levels and then invite a few friends over for a weekend of virtual espionage. Options such as this add weeks of play to a game and actually give players their money’s worth.

Even without the extra modes, though, “Perfect Dark” packs a wallop. Because the game requires Nintendo’s Expansion Pak, the graphics rock. Environments drip with atmosphere, and the light sourcing is among the best I’ve seen in a console game. Enemies move swiftly and with above-average intelligence, although on easier levels many seem to run on a loop that’s predictable.

My only complaint is that ability to move objects within the game could have used some work. For instance, I accidentally moved a desk into a doorway. A bad guy promptly used it for cover and started shooting. Fair enough, but when I blew up the desk and the trooper behind it, I could not leave the room. The game apparently did not recognize that the desk had been reduced to splinters, and I had to restart the level.

It’s a small gripe, really, considering how close to perfect “Perfect Dark” is for gamers who want their Nintendo 64 to grow up. Parents, however, should note that “Perfect Dark” earned a “Mature” rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Its violence is graphic, and enemy soldiers sometimes curse as Dark riddles them with bullets.

“Starlancer”

Get rid of the cumbersome cinematics and “Starlancer” is a great PC space-flight shooter. With them, though, the game plods along so clumsily that it seems like hours between missions. Not even some great computer animation makes these intermissions interesting.

Developed by the same crew that created “Wing Commander,” “Starlancer” suffers from the same problem: Too much peripheral junk undermines a solid game. When players are actually behind the stick, “Starlancer” delivers some great flight action.

The various ships glide gracefully through space and control is dead-on--which is a good thing because the enemy ships are slippery.

But too much time and attention are spent on an uninteresting story about how the Eastern Bloc has reformed in space and is trying to destroy the freedom-loving nations of the West. None of the characters--no matter how nicely rendered they are--offer much in the way of interest.

So just leave them out. Use the cinematics and the briefings as an opportunity to grab a soda or use the bathroom, and “Starlancer” becomes a tight little shooter with great graphics and combat that’s tough to beat.

“Starlancer” requires a Pentium 200 with 32mb of RAM and 300mb of available hard disk space. A Pentium II 300 with a graphics accelerator is recommended.

“Speed Punks”

Ever watch an ice skater perform technically perfect moves, but turn in a lackluster performance? Me neither. But the same principle applies to “Speed Punks,” a technically tight but ultimately tiresome go-kart racing game for Sony PlayStation.

Everything about “Speed Punks” looks great and moves well. The tracks swing into view with almost no draw-in. Cars are easy to control and tracks are littered with shortcuts and power-ups that make racing more interesting.

But the whole go-kart genre has been done to death. “Speed Punks” offers very little new that we haven’t seen in “Mario Kart” or “Crash Team Racing” or “Magical Racing Tour.” Players can collect power-ups that knock out opponents the same as they do in those games. And some of the tracks look a little too familiar.

Nothing new. No reason to buy.

Aaron Curtiss is participating in a management training program, where he currently serves as assistant to the senior vice president of advertising. He has no financial dealings with the companies he covers. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send e-mail to aaron.curtiss@latimes.com.

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Essentials

Perfect Dark

* Platform: Nintendo 64

* Publisher: Nintendo

* ESRB* rating: Mature

* Price: $60

* Bottom line: Perfectly dark

Speed Punks

* Platform: Sony PlayStation

* Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

* ESRB* rating: Everyone