[XBOX 360] Perfect Dark Zero (and more) gameplay clips

http://hosted.filefront.com/gamestopzak

Well, well, well. It looks like the ugly duckling from the May MTV show is turning into a nice, beautiful swan.

Seriously though, the game has made a HUGE improvement, at least from what we saw at the MTV event. It went from something laughable to one of the best looking Xbox 360 games, IMO. The physics and animations are pretty bad IMO (don't like exaggerated ragdoll animations personally) and there are a few other rough areas (too much "shiny stuff", questionable AI, etc.), but I have to give Rare kudos for the improvements. If the clips are any indication, PDZ might be getting pretty close to the "killer-app" that Microsoft is banking on, much like they did for Halo.

BTW, also notice that there are clips for Kameo, Ridge Racer 6, and the Warriors (Xbox and PS2 IIRC). Feel free to discuss those, but I just wanted to create a thread about PDZ since we've always heard a lot about it but haven't actually seen it since pre-E3.

 

Sorry about that. That was the original place that had the links. I think you can find all the PDZ ones at TeamXbox though:
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/9343/Perfect-Dark-Zero-Movies-New-Info/

I didn't have any problems with the original link using Firefox though.

 

I'm assuming you checked out any GameRush and Gamecrazy stores in the area (along with EB Games and Gamestop). If all of those are on their second or third shipments, the only thing I can think of that you can do is getting a bundle online. EB sold out of theirs, as well as a few other places, but I think Gamestop, Wal-mart, and a few others still have a few bundles that may not be too bad. Check out the following link at Cheap Ass Gamer for a roundup of the links:
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/archives/001037.php

I haven't really paid attention to all the preorder sites, so I'm not sure what the pros and cons are if you pick one store over another. AFAIK, those are the only choices you have this late in the game.

 

Yeah, it does amaze me how PD can get that amount of detail in the GT games (or now the Tourist Trophy games) together with 60 FPS, all from the PS2 hardware. I typically rank them and Kojima's crew as some of the best developers out there, at least when it comes to using every bit of power available.

The only bad thing is that I've heard rumors about each of those games you mentioned being delayed. Here's one of those rumors regarding PDZ:
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144128
I'm less sure of the Oblivion and PGR3 delays though. I think the Oblivion rumor started due to the fact that the developers act like there is still a lot to do to finish the game...although given the bugs in the previous games, maybe it could still make launch. And the PGR3 delay rumor was started by the NFS:MW team so...yeah, really reliable source there.

Not that launch games have typically dictated a console's success, but the Xbox 360's launch lineup was looking awesome, IMO; however, if each of these games miss the deadline, we may be left with the slightly upgraded current-gen ports. Ugh...

 

Good luck with the purchase at Ritz Camera.

The forced bundles suck, but at this point in time, they are the only way you'll be able to get a system around launch. Like you said, I don't see why these retailers just don't do something like a "Console + 3 games" set up, allowing you to get the games you want as well as making sure the retailer sells some games as well. FWIW, I was able to switch out a game from my Gamestop PSP bundle at a local GS store, although it took a little bit of persuading.

BTW, you're actually looking forward to Gun? To be fair, I haven't followed the game that closely, but the little bit I saw of it, it didn't appear to be one of the better games available at launch. IIRC, I thought they showed some screens on for it, and it didn't look too good, at least by next-gen standards (maybe they were current-gen screens confused for next-gen shots?). I guess if the current-gen versions are awesome, then that may not matter as much.

 

Well, I guess the only problem I have with it is that I don't like next-gen games that are basically slightly better versions of the current-gen games. I don't want Gun for the PS2 to be pretty much just like the Xbox 360 version (say 85%-90% similar). That just seems like lazy developers/publishers trying to cash in on a new console. Again, I'll try to give it a better evaluation closer to the release date (similar to PDZ actually), but I'm not expecting too much at the moment, at least compared to some of the other games (say Oblivion for example).

BTW, I think The Godfather got delayed to 2006.

 

Well, a $60 across-the-board price for all next-gen games isn't a given yet. I think MS is keeping their games at $50 (believe wholesale prices for the games were ~$40). I'm sure that publishers like Activision, EA, Midway, THQ, etc., will be pushing for it though.

Personally, I don't think the current-gen+next-gen developers will be worried too much about making these games worth the extra $10. Given the state of the launch lineup, they could just up the resolution, improve the textures, and do a couple other small adjustments and people will probably buy the game anyways (and at a higher price tag). Kind of like how EA, Activision, and a few other publishers priced some of their PSP games at $50 even though the games didn't really deserve the price, IMO. If I see PDZ, Kameo, and PGR3 at $50, and Oblivion at $60, I'll be disappointed if games like Gun, TH:AW, NFS:MW, etc. are priced at $60.

Good idea about checking out impressions though. Like you said, the reviews probably won't be coming out until the game is released, partly due to the "it might suck" aspect. Hehe...I occasionally hear about some games pushing UP deadlines (as in sooner releases) so that the game will be selling before the bad reviews start to sink in. Just a FYI, but MS will be having an event in about a week, which should be the last big event for the Xbox 360 before it launches. That means that there should be a media blowout for any game even remotely considering coming out at or around launch (including the EA Sports games, which we've seen little on). Hopefully, Neversoft will show off the 360 version of Gun as well and I'll see if I can post what I find out about it. It probably won't be the deciding factor for you, but it should be able to either ease or raise your doubts about the game. Again, not saying Gun will be terrible, but I was just a little surprised to see someone looking forward to it given what little has been shown compared to the other launch titles.