I had nearly forgotten that yesterday was the release of the remake of one of my all-time favorite N64 games. Of course I’m talking about Perfect Dark. I could probably go dig through my closet and find my cartridge of the original game if I really wanted to now that I think about it. I spent a good little chunk of my time as a kid playing this game and learning the ins and outs of every single mission.

So because I have such a biased view on this game, and the fact that it is more or less a direct remake with some minor tweaking I won’t be doing a full review over this. Instead Nostalgia Goggles will be where I chat with you about the game and my observations compared to the original and any differences I notice during my sessions with the game. So sit down, relax awhile and slip on some Nostalgia Goggles with me as we take a look at Perfect Dark.

First and foremost, yes they did upgrade the graphics from the N64 version. While don’t expect completely redone textures, they’ve just bumped the quality of everything up several notches. I took a quick run around the Carrington Institute and poked about to see if they really did leave everything in. Much to my satisfaction, I could not find one little thing from the original they didn’t include. In fact, when I found the hover crate I probably spent a good five minutes or so shoving it around the institute to see if I could get it into interesting spots. Something I remember doing with the original as well. It’s the little things if you ask me.

With my tests confirming that the Institute was pretty much as I remembered it, I dove into a few of the campaign missions. The glorious cut scenes and sounds all are there. Complete with character models whose mouths appear to be permanently glued shut. A bonus with this game is the fact it has achievements, and so far I’ve managed to glitch one of mine where it doesn’t count even though it lists as unlocked. Hopefully I’ll get that resolved soon even if I have to re-unlock it. The guards A.I. doesn’t seem to have been tweaked at all honestly. They are still dumb and inaccurate, so they are even less of a challenge now after my months of honing my FPS skills on the various Halo games and the Call of Duty series.

What really is the biggest change over the original is the online multiplayer, something the original really never had a chance at. The inclusion of this is one of the reasons I picked up the title for XBLA, and the other would be achievements. The modes you can play are Combat Simulator, Co-Op, and Counter-Op. My first run with online started in the Combat Simulator for a warm up with a friend of mine who only had the trial. It was a refreshing taste of what I remember. Counter-Op I failed miserably as Joanna with my first try.

Overall the game feels and pretty much plays like the original with some updated controls and tweaked graphics. Only minor differences that don’t effect game play too much. If you’re a fan of the original, take a moment and test the trial out. If you missed out on playing the original, go play the trial. Right now. You missed out on a gamer classic so this is the next best thing. I think it’s time to remove the goggles now, so get out there and abuse the paint ball mode to write stuff on the walls.