| 1 | [[quoteright:350: https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Art-4_4590.JPG]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:The future of shooters is [[{{Pun}} Dark]].]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''It's dark.\ |
| 5 | It's very dark.\ |
| 6 | She's perfect.\ |
| 7 | PERFECT DARK'' |
| 8 | -->-- Opening sequence of ''Perfect Dark'' on Game Boy Color. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ''Perfect Dark'' is a series of FirstPersonShooter video games originally developed by Creator/{{Rare}}, initially created as a CreatorDrivenSuccessor to Rare's previous FPS classic ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}''. Rare had failed to secure the ''Franchise/JamesBond'' license for a second game, but the ''Goldeneye'' development team had little interest in making another ''James Bond'' game regardless, having already decided to start work on an original FPS title with more of a sci-fi bent instead. The ''Perfect Dark'' series takes place in a MegaCorp dystopian future and stars Joanna Dark, an agent for the Carrington Institute, and her efforts against the rival [=dataDyne=] Corporation. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | The first game, ''Perfect Dark'' for the Platform/Nintendo64, takes place shortly after Joanna has graduated the training program, and is sent to meet an insider from the [[MegaCorp dataDyne corporation]]. The events that unfold quickly reveal a plot against the US President involving [=dataDyne=], the NSA, and a mysterious third faction. Things rapidly become more complicated and she soon finds herself in the middle of [[SpaceColdWar a war between two alien races who have allied themselves with different factions on Earth.]] It would end up being the first M-rated game ever to be distributed by Nintendo, creating [[https://archive.org/details/newsweek-2000-06-12-rethinking-the-death-penalty-red/page/n25/mode/2up some light controversy among consumers and industry analysts]] due to this clashing with the company's family-friendly image. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Released the same year was a now all-but-forgotten Platform/GameBoyColor game that, despite having a title that was identical to the N64 game, was a prequel showing Jo's training and first mission with the Institute. Rather than being a straight-on FPS title like the other games, is played mostly from an overhead view with ''VideoGame/MetalGear''-inspired gameplay, along with some stages involving flying/driving vehicles from a similar top-down perspective, arcade-style first/third-person shooting, and even [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Simon Says-esque memory puzzles]] mixed in. It also has full-motion cutscenes and digitized voice-acting provided by much of the same cast as the N64 game. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | The third and final game in the original Rare trilogy, ''Perfect Dark Zero'', was a launch title for the Platform/Xbox360 following several delays and platform shifts. Another prequel, ''Zero'' is set 3 years before the original and has Joanna working as a bounty hunter with her dad, setting out on a mission to rescue a defecting [=dataDyne=] scientist, before getting mixed up with the Carrington Institute. While well-reviewed, fans deemed it an underwhelming follow-up to its predecessor. In March of 2010, the original game was [[UpdatedRerelease rereleased]] for Platform/XboxLiveArcade, with new features such as updated graphics with 1080p resolution and eight-player online multiplayer. Both console games were later re-released again for Platform/XboxOne on 4 August 2015 as part of the ''Rare Replay'' {{compilation|Rerelease}}. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | The time period in between the two games is covered in a pair of novels, ''Initial Vector'' and ''Second Front'', as well as the comic series ''Janus Tears''. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | After being dormant for fifteen years, a new installment in the series, simply titled ''Perfect Dark'', was announced in 2020 for the Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS. Rather than being developed by Rare, it is the first project of Microsoft's new first party studio Creator/TheInitiative, and has been described as a "AAAA" game. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | |
| 24 | !!Includes examples of: |
| 25 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:A - C]] |
| 28 | * AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The Sewers map from multiplayer. Chicago's also got some, but they're not quite as big. |
| 29 | * ActionGirl: Joanna, obviously. Cassandra's AmazonBrigade also qualify. |
| 30 | * ActionDressRip: When fighting to defend the Carrington Institute from the joint Skedar/[=dataDyne=] forces, Joanna is wearing a [[UsefulNotes/{{Qipao}} long dress]] (because she was to attend a three-way meeting between the President, Carrington Institute and the Maians), which she rips towards the end of the intro cutscene. |
| 31 | * AdaptationDyeJob: Jo has long red hair in ''Zero'' despite having short brown hair in the original. |
| 32 | * AIIsACrapshoot: Inverted. [=dataDyne=] developed a super-advanced codebreaker A.I. to figure out the programming on the Cetan ship. It unintentionally (and unwantedly) developed sapience [[BenevolentAI and a conscience]], making it rebel against its creators while taking the name of Dr. Caroll. ''Zero'' all but outright states this is in part because they decided to base the A.I. after the personality of an actual Dr. Caroll, one of their top scientists who had tried to defect but was killed before Joanna or the Carrington Institute could extract him. |
| 33 | * AirVentPassageway: Several levels have them, including Area 51, and some of the multiplayer levels. |
| 34 | * AKA47: |
| 35 | ** A selection of weapons from ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye|1997}}'' are unlockable, and not only are their names different from their RealLife counterparts, they're also different from its own made-up names. The Klobb in particular becomes the "[[LeetLingo KLO-1313]]" in Perfect Dark, despite already having a fictional name. |
| 36 | ** The game also features a few straighter examples; the Falcon 2 is a Colt Double Eagle, the [=CMP150=] is a barely-disguised Steyr TMP, the AR-34 is clearly the French FAMAS assault rifle painted in sci-fi colours, and the [=DY357=] Magnum resembles a Colt Anaconda. |
| 37 | ** Also the RC-P90 in ''Zero'', which also has a few more straight examples of this (its version of the Superdragon, for instance, is clearly a [=G36K=], while its plasma rifle is another, more direct copy of the FAMAS), as well as one aversion (the M60 retains its name). |
| 38 | * AlasPoorVillain: Both Trent and Cassandra get this treatment; two {{Smug Snake}}s who serve as main antagonists and die before the story's conclusion. Trent was a willing pawn in the Skedar's schemes, but overestimated his own usefulness to them, and dies in a "YouHaveFailedMe For The Last Time" moment establishing TheReveal of the Skedar being aliens. Cassandra serves as the primary early antagonist and the catalyst for much of the plot, only to be betrayed by the Skedar as soon as YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness; she promptly pulls a HeelFaceDoorSlam HeroicSacrifice, but explicitly makes it clear she's doing it for [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge]], NOT [[RedemptionEqualsDeath redemption.]] |
| 39 | * AlienAbduction: Joanna and Cassandra are taken prisoner by the Skedar near the end of the game; Cassandra gets herself killed [[RevengeBeforeReason in an ill-thought-out attempt at revenge]] to [[EnemyMine give Jo a chance]] to take the Skedar down. |
| 40 | * AlienAutopsy: The Area 51 stage of the original game has a level which involves rescuing an alien from vivisection, and another (bonus) level involves sabotaging the autopsy of an already dead alien. |
| 41 | * AlienBlood: |
| 42 | ** Maians have green blood. |
| 43 | ** Averted by the Skedar, who have red blood, albeit of a slightly different tint than human blood. |
| 44 | ** Paintball Mode (once a cheat in ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'') takes this to a whole new level of absurdity with everyone bleeding '''multicolored rainbow blood'''. The same effect happens to bullet holes on surfaces, walls, etc. |
| 45 | * AlienSky: The Skedar homeworld has a blue sky tinged with pink and three suns. |
| 46 | * AliensSpeakingEnglish: The Skedar subvert it; they speak English just fine in their [[spoiler:Mr. Blonde]] disguises, but speak BlackSpeech in their normal alien forms. The Maians, however, play it straight. |
| 47 | * AliensStealCattle: The Skedar are implied to be behind the "cattle mutilation" phenomenon. |
| 48 | * AllThereInTheManual: The game has an unlockable feature which provides more background information on the game's plot and setting. |
| 49 | * AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: One of the later levels of the original takes place in the Carrington Institute as [=dataDyne=] troops and Skedar soldiers make one last spiteful attack. [[spoiler:Notably, it almost succeeds; while most of the Institute's personnel are able to escape, dataDyne captured their star agent who spent the last 3/4ths of the game wrecking their plans, and if not for [[RevengeBeforeReason Cassandra]] bailing her out, would have had Earth dead-to-rights.]] |
| 50 | * AlwaysChaoticEvil: The Skedar in the first ''Perfect Dark'' game are an alien entity that are hostile to the other factions in that game. [[spoiler:Trent Easton gets introduced to one after Mr. Blonde reveals his true form as a Skedar after Easton outlived his usefulness.]] |
| 51 | * AmazonBrigade: |
| 52 | ** Zhang Li's last line of defense is a platoon of about 20 elite female troopers armed with cloaking devices and plasma rifles. They're super annoying, since getting killed by them kicks you all the way back to about halfway through the level. |
| 53 | ** Cassandra de Vries' bodyguards are similar. They're all female, and they all have shotguns. They're also some of the first enemies to carry sidearms, making disarms less effective against them. |
| 54 | * AmbiguouslyJewish: Jonathan's last name is [[AllThereInTheManual apparently]] Steinberg and he has curly hair. Judging by his accent, he's American, so he very well could be Jewish. |
| 55 | * AmusingAlien: Elvis, Joanna's NonHumanSidekick, who introduces himself with an appropriate Elvis pose, tosses out BondOneLiner[=s=], and who is also IntriguedByHumanity. |
| 56 | * AncientAstronauts: Both the Cetans and the Maians have visited Earth in the past. |
| 57 | * AnnoyingArrows: |
| 58 | ** Enemies will keep fighting even if they've been turned into a pincushion by crossbow bolts or thrown knives...but since the former are laced with a tranquilizer and the latter are poisoned, they won't be fighting for long. |
| 59 | ** And there's the fact that the Crossbow has an instant kill function, which kinda averts the trope. |
| 60 | * ArbitraryWeaponRange: Easily seen in the first Area 51 mission, where there's a clearing in front of the base covered by a guard tower. If you hang back in the tunnel and shoot at the guards in that tower with something like the Falcon 2, they will get out of the tower to rush at you before opening fire. If, however, you zoom in on them with the [=MagSec 4=], ''then'' they'll just hang back and shoot you from the tower. |
| 61 | * {{Area 51}}: Where you meet Elvis. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No,]] not [[Music/ElvisPresley the King]], but a [[TheGreys Grey]]. |
| 62 | * ArmorOfInvincibility: The Super Shield cheat. In Multiplayer, Turtle Sims spawn with one, but...well, [[MightyGlacier see the name.]] |
| 63 | * ArmorIsUseless: |
| 64 | ** In the first game, body armor and helmets seem to be fashion accessories instead of protective equipment, as the easily killed dataDyne Troopers and G5 SWAT Guards can attest. |
| 65 | ** Averted in ''Zero'', enemy armor provides some extra protection for them, though it usually only takes a few bullets to break it. Helmets do prevent you from killing enemies with a single headshot from anything short of a high-powered rifle. |
| 66 | * ArtificialBrilliance: |
| 67 | ** Elvis is a particularly good shot with the Farsight. On "Deep Sea" he can take care of the enemies in the first section all by himself if you let him. |
| 68 | ** Perfect Sims and Dark Sims seem to know exactly where all the good weapons and shields are on multiplayer and always have perfect aim. It's not really so much brilliant, though, than TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cranked up to eleven. |
| 69 | ** Dark Sims turn the cheating to an art form; they move faster than a human player, fire their weapons faster, have frame-perfect reactions (to the point it's not unheard of to take hits before they even ''visibly round a corner'') have full, real-time knowledge of both all players' locations as well as weapon spawns and timers, reload faster than humans and, most damningly of all, can full-on ''teleport'' when out of all humans' lines of sight. It's worth noting, the Sim description [[BrutalHonesty explicitly describes them as having superhuman capabilities that break the rules of the game, and warns that fighting them is only for the most capable of players.]] |
| 70 | * ArtificialStupidity: |
| 71 | ** [[CannonFodder Meat Sims]] are the easiest [=AI=] enemies you can play against in multiplayer. They wander around drunkenly, ignoring weapons (and oftentimes you), and can barely hit the room they're standing in. |
| 72 | ** Try putting a Meat Sim adversary in a match with automatic weapons...and watch them [[ObfuscatingStupidity trace a perfect outline of you on the wall behind you in bullet holes.]] |
| 73 | ** And in an accidental example, none of the AI can detonate Remote Mines. They ''can'' throw a Dragon in secondary, but only if it's empty; amusingly, they treat the Laptop Gun the same way, meaning you might sometimes encounter sentry guns that don't fire. They also can't see any form of trap and will walk straight into a proximity mine left in the middle of a corridor. |
| 74 | ** Generally your 1-player buddies (Jonathan and Elvis) are very handy shots, but they will occasionally wander right into your line of fire or otherwise act like idiots just so you can fail the mission. The bot ally in single-player coop behaves the same way. |
| 75 | ** Dr. Caroll in dataDyne Central: Extraction. Not only will he randomly hover right in the line of fire, but he also lacks the combat support given to you by Elvis or Jonathan. Many players simply leave him in the foyer while tackling the rest of the mission. The President also has a tendency to run into areas where he is vulnerable in Air Force One: Antiterrorism. |
| 76 | ** The inability to avoid explosions has carried over from ''{{VideoGame/GoldenEye|1997}}''. Case in Point: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILdcir7VHWY This video]]. |
| 77 | ** None of the Sims know how to use Timed Mines or Proximity Mines, and will resort to their fists if these are the only weapons on the map. Because they will merrily blow themselves up on mines ''you'' set, even [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard Dark Sims]] become pathetically easy in this case. |
| 78 | * ArrowCam: |
| 79 | ** The Slayer rocket launcher's secondary attack is a fly-by-wire missile you steer while looking through a camera on it. Sadly, it can only be used in a few levels and weapon training, even with the All Weapons cheat. |
| 80 | ** And in MP, but using it there ''will'' get you killed, because people will look at your section of the screen to see where you were standing when you fired it. N64's non-remote multiplayer makes this less fun. |
| 81 | ** In ''Zero'', since there's only the one (non-alien) rocket launcher, its [[HomingProjectile targeted rocket]] secondary was replaced with another fly-by-wire missile. It's not as ridiculous as the old version since it flies at a set speed rather than slowing down whenever you turn. |
| 82 | * ArtificialGravity: Described as such onboard the Skedar ship, though obviously due to game limitations there's no turning it off or sabotaging it. |
| 83 | * AscendedMeme: One of the possible name for multiplayer bots in ''Zero'' is "Wallguy", referencing a meme spawned from [[https://cdn.gamer-network.net/2015/usgamer/WallGuy.jpg an infamous pre-release screenshot of the game]] and the arguing it caused on several video game forums. |
| 84 | * AttackDrone: The police robot from "Chicago Stealth"; it deals horrendous damage and is almost invincible. Thankfully, it has a predictable (and easy-to-avoid) patrol route, and one of the objectives on higher difficulties is implementing CarFu to destroy it. They also show up in Alaska in DegradedBoss form; they deal much less damage, are easy to kill, and slowly move towards you rather than following a path. Although annoying, they aren't very dangerous. |
| 85 | * AutobotsRockOut: The game has different music for each level, but is perhaps unique for having an amped-up version for most, if not all of these themes that kicks on most missions once the action really revs up (i.e. when Joanna's cover is blown, when a bomb is about to go off, and so on). |
| 86 | * {{Autodoc}}: The Alien Medpack that you use to revive Elvis in Area 51. |
| 87 | * AwesomeYetImpractical: The Skedar Reaper, being an alien chaingun-drill combo, at least in the hands of a player. Even with two hands your bullets will never hit anything besides the edge of the screen. Justified in that it's supposed to be used by the much stronger Skedar-when they wield it with one hand they have almost perfect accuracy, even on the lower difficulties; additionally, the [[ThisIsADrill Grinder]] mode is useful for stunlocking enemies at close range. |
| 88 | * BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:Joanna gets abducted by the Skedar after the attack on the Carrington Institute.]] |
| 89 | * BagOfSpilling: |
| 90 | ** Played straight in ''Perfect Dark.'' For some reason, the weapons that you get will never carry over to the next mission. For instance, Joanna can pick up a [=CMP150=] in Mission 1-1, but will no longer have it at the start of Mission 1-2, despite nothing having happened between the two other than an elevator ride. |
| 91 | ** Zig-zagged in ''Perfect Dark Zero.'' At the beginning of each mission, you can choose which weapons you start with. The only requirement to be able to pick a weapon is to have carried it to the end of a previous mission. |
| 92 | * BaitAndSwitchGunshot: Joanna meets Jonathan this way [[ConvenientlyTimedAttackFromBehind when he shoots an Area 51 guard for her]]. |
| 93 | %%* BeamSpam: Several alien weapons are good for this. |
| 94 | * BeatingADeadPlayer: Just like in ''[=GoldenEye=]'' except that you don't get a third-person replay from three different angles. |
| 95 | * BenevolentAlienInvasion: [[TheGreys The Maians]] planned to do this eventually, but left the humans to develop on their own for a few millennia. The end of the main plot revolves around the Maian ambassadors finally coming down to meet with the authorities in the White House and establish peaceful connections. [[spoiler:Then the game plays the evil AlienInvasion straight when [[LittleGreenMen the Skedar]] come rolling along.]] |
| 96 | * BenevolentArchitecture: Most levels have plenty of pillars and walls to hide behind. |
| 97 | %%* BenevolentBoss: Carrington. |
| 98 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Just because the Maians are cute and fond of humans doesn't mean they're pacifists. The deadly [=FarSight=] XR-20 alone proves [[DontMakeMeDestroyYou they know how to use their weapons]]. They fought a space-faring race ''who relish war'' into a stalemate. Once the sacred Skedar shrine is uncovered, they unleash [[DeathFromAbove their unbridled fury]] upon the extremists, [[TheKingslayer perform regicide]], and [[OrbitalBombardment flatten the place]] to cripple their enemy's morale foreverafter. |
| 99 | * BigBad: dataDyne in the series, [[spoiler:and the Skedar]] in ''Perfect Dark''. |
| 100 | * BigDamnFireExit: The Cetan ship has a sequence like this. |
| 101 | * BigNo: The guards will sometimes let loose with one of these when they are killed, even if you shoot them in the head. |
| 102 | ** As well as variants like "I don't wanna die!!!", "Why... me?...", and even "[[PrecisionFStrike You bitch!]]". In a Nintendo game. |
| 103 | ** "NOOOOO! That wasn't meant to happen!" |
| 104 | ** "[[LargeHam OH NO!]] [[OhCrap It's a Skedar army]] in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]]!" |
| 105 | ** [[spoiler: Trent, when he dies.]] |
| 106 | * BigYes: Joanna gives one when she [[spoiler: kills the Skedar leader]]. Which leads to a LittleNo when the bombardment starts immediately after. |
| 107 | %%* BioluminescenceIsCool: The Cetan ship. |
| 108 | * {{Bizarrchitecture}}: |
| 109 | ** "Skedar Ruins". There are [[AlienGeometries collapsed archways and off-kilter floors]] all over the place, as well as random chasms and dead ends. |
| 110 | ** The Skedar live on an earthquake-prone planet with very hostile conditions according to supplementary material. The mess makes sense once you take that into account. |
| 111 | * BlackoutBasement: |
| 112 | ** "dataDyne Central: Extraction" begins with a section in pitch blackness which requires the use of night vision. [[spoiler:de Vries' bodyguards will Invoke it on purpose when they ambush you at the rooftop access, using night-vision goggles to see where you are.]] "Area 51: Rescue", "Deep Sea: Nullify Threat" and "Skedar Ruins" have sections where the lighting flickers on and off. |
| 113 | ** The "Perfect Darkness" cheat takes this up to eleven: every single level will be pitch black (with flickering lighting if indoors). It's impossible to get around without using NightVisionGoggles. |
| 114 | * BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: If you're skilled or lucky enough, you can shoot firearms right out of enemies' hands, which will leave them vulnerable as they run over and pick it up. Getting it first is often enough to get them to surrender. Sadly, this feature seems like it is too "complicated" to include in most modern games. Same thing with the ability to make the guards limp when you shoot them in the arm or the leg. |
| 115 | * BlingBlingBang: Like ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'''s Golden Gun, Trent has a [[CallBack gold-plated magnum revolver]] with a leopard skin grip. It's not just for show either, as it's made to fire special rounds -- not only are they armor-piercing, but they're designed to shatter into shrapnel on impact, ensuring [[OneHitKill every bullet is lethal]]. |
| 116 | * BloodierAndGorier: The blood is ramped up quite a bit from ''[=GoldenEye=]'', where enemies bled if shot, but it just stained their clothing. In ''Perfect Dark'', they often leave bloodstains on various surfaces; if you shoot an enemy in the head, blood will spray all over the wall opposite the direction from which you shot them. Enemies dealt lethally by the player often have a puddle of blood form under their corpses. This is partly why it was rated M when ''GoldenEye'' was only rated T. |
| 117 | %%* BlownAcrossTheRoom |
| 118 | * BodyArmorAsHitPoints: A shield generator will completely protect you. Even from explosions. Armor in the second game averts this, as most damage taken while wearing it also chips away at your health and melee hits bypass it entirely. |
| 119 | * BondOneLiner: |
| 120 | -->"Sorry, gotta shoot!"\ |
| 121 | "Lights out!"\ |
| 122 | "Accidents ''will'' happen ..." |
| 123 | * BoomHeadshot: |
| 124 | ** In the original game's campaign, a headshot is an instant kill--all enemies, friends, and [=NPCs=] alike. |
| 125 | ** A headshot resulting from the DY-357 Magnum and Callisto NTG will score a OneHitKill in the Combat Simulator. |
| 126 | * BoringYetPractical: The Falcon 2, your default weapon, is fairly accurate, has a good rate of fire, and is easy to get headshots due to little sway. There's plenty of ammo for it, too. The [=CMP150=] is a bit weak for an automatic weapon, but every goon carries it so there's plenty of ammo. You can [[GunsAkimbo dual wield]] both of these weapons, too. |
| 127 | * BossInMookClothing: |
| 128 | ** The dataDyne captain in "Mr. Blonde's Revenge". |
| 129 | ** In "Maian SOS", there is a guard who is armed with dual golden magnums. Having him become alert to your presence may quickly result in you getting killed. [[note]]On the other hand, if you can hit him with the Psychosis Gun, he becomes a very useful bodyguard.[[/note]] |
| 130 | * {{Bowdlerise}}: In Japanese release of the original game, several elements in the game were censored or removed. |
| 131 | ** Characters don't bleed on walls or floor, and [[EverythingFades the corpses of killed characters will fade quickly]]. |
| 132 | ** The combat knife is removed from the game. So the game gives Joanna a Falcon 2 pistol instead of a combat knife in "Attack Ship: Covert Assault". |
| 133 | * BossRemix: |
| 134 | ** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9gCBVSKLk#t=1m05s final battle's music]] features the game's main theme. |
| 135 | ** In ''Perfect Dark Zero'', the music for the second and last fight against Maihem is a combination of the game's main theme and Maihem's theme. The music for the final showdown begins with a remix of the original ''Perfect Dark'' theme. |
| 136 | * BoyishShortHair: Joanna has a pixie cut in the original. In the prequel, she has long hair though. |
| 137 | * BrickJoke: "Not forgetting the President, of course." |
| 138 | * BrutalBonusLevel: All of them on Perfect Agent, especially "Maian SOS" (playing as Elvis, beginning with half of your health missing) and "The Duel" (where Joanna is a OneHitPointWonder, regardless of the difficulty setting). |
| 139 | * BugWar: The war against the Skedar is like this, despite their not actually being bugs. |
| 140 | * BulletProofHumanShield: All [=NPCs=] will act as this unless using a weapon with very high penetration, such as the [=DY357=] revolver or the [=FarSight=]. This can be handy when one needs to be used as a meat shield. |
| 141 | * TheCanKickedHim: A guard can found unconscious and face-down in Carrington's bathroom in the Villa level. |
| 142 | * CantKillYouStillNeedYou: |
| 143 | ** The first mission requires you to break into Cassandra's office to knock her out and steal her necklace. What's stopping you from [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just blowing her brains out]] so that she can't cause any further trouble for the Carrington Institute? Her necklace has a code key to access the basement laboratories, and it will only operate while she's still alive. |
| 144 | ** On Perfect Agent in "Carrington Villa: Hostage One", one of your objectives is to knock at least one guard unconscious instead of killing him so that he can be captured/interrogated later. |
| 145 | * {{Cap}}: You can plant a large number of remote mines but the program and hardware limitations won't allow all of them to detonate at once (otherwise it would've froze or crashed the game). Instead, the remote mines will detonate in sequence going from the first mine that was planted to the last one. |
| 146 | * CaptainsLog: A few levels begin with Joanna recording one. |
| 147 | * CaptainObvious: |
| 148 | ** Joanna, according to her inner monologue. |
| 149 | -->"They'll be unable to conduct operations without any power." |
| 150 | ** There's also: |
| 151 | --->'''Elvis:''' I'm alive! I thought I'd be chopped up like the others by now. ''(notices Jonathan)'' You're from the Institute, aren't you? I recognize you from before. You helped me. Thank you.\ |
| 152 | '''Joanna:''' You... [[AliensSpeakingEnglish you speak our language]]?\ |
| 153 | '''Jonathan:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Watch her, she's sharp]]. |
| 154 | * CasualDangerDialogue: Many things Joanna and Elvis say to each other. |
| 155 | -->'''Elvis:''' Look out, Joanna! I think they may be angry... |
| 156 | * CasualInterstellarTravel: The Skedar Assault ship ends up near a triple-stellar system (that is somehow habitable to Joanna) likely a few hours after the Institute attack. The Skedar obviously have super FTL travel down pat. |
| 157 | * TheCavalry: The Maian troops that show up to assist Joanna in "Attack Ship: Covert Assault". |
| 158 | * ChangingClothesIsAFreeAction: Joanna seems to be able to switch outfits between levels effortlessly. |
| 159 | * ChargedAttack: The Skedar Mauler's SecondaryFire. Unusual in that the charge happens automatically when not firing: the gun consumes a few extra bullets (up to five) and starts [[PowerGlows glowing red]]. |
| 160 | * ChasingYourTail: The final boss fight contains some of this, since he will occasionally cloak and chase you around the room. The only way to avoid it is to run around in circles. |
| 161 | * CheckPointStarvation: |
| 162 | ** In the original game, being built on [=GoldenEye007's=] engine, there are NO continues; die, and you restart the whole mission. On higher difficulties and longer missions (like Deep Sea or Skedar Ruins) this can mean losing a ''lot'' of time and work. |
| 163 | ** In the Game Boy Color game, checkpoints only occur after you reach a very specific part of a mission, such as a boss battle or when you pass through certain doorways. Good luck getting far enough to reach those points without dying. |
| 164 | ** ''Perfect Dark Zero'' has only 2 checkpoints per mission; one at the very beginning, and one about 3/4ths through or before the end level boss fight. This is fine for the shorter missions, but very noticeable on the longer ones. |
| 165 | * ChekhovsGun: Several: |
| 166 | ** The backup of Dr. Caroll. |
| 167 | ** The recording of the meeting in the G5 building. |
| 168 | ** The shield tech item from the second level that [=dataDyne=] is working on. [[spoiler: Guess what the troops that storm the CI later in the game have?]] |
| 169 | ** The K7 Avenger is also first seen on that level as a prototype, and is later used as the primary assault weapon for the rogue NSA troopers as well as dataDyne's forces. |
| 170 | * CherryTapping: |
| 171 | ** Tranquilizer weapons in the first game. The sedation feature, which causes the screen to blur and darken each time you're punched or hit by a tranq weapon, is one of the quirkier features of the game, largely because ''your sedation level doesn't drop to zero when you're killed''. You'll respawn as trippy as you were before your buddy finished you off. Better hope it wears off before he finds you again! |
| 172 | ** The N-Bomb (NeutronBomb) is a special grenade that explodes with a very persistent, light-absorbing sphere of energy that can completely mess up your vision and kill you (albeit very, ''[[DeathOfAThousandCuts very]]'' slowly). It is also the only weapon in the game that bypasses shields. |
| 173 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: The Skedar. |
| 174 | %%* CityNoir: The Chicago level. |
| 175 | * CodeName: |
| 176 | ** Joanna gets Agent Dark for the most part in the first game, with one or two occurrences of a TitleDrop instead. |
| 177 | ** Elvis is Protector-1. |
| 178 | ** In the first few levels of ''Zero'', Joanna and Jack both get codenames, respectively "Dark Zero" and "Point Forward". |
| 179 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: [=dataDyne=] troops wear dark blue or black while CI agents wear light blues and greys. Even your crosshairs are colored to reflect this (red for enemies, blue for civilians/friendly fire). |
| 180 | * CombatStilettos: |
| 181 | ** Cassandra's bodyguards wear high-heeled boots for some reason. |
| 182 | ** Joanna wears heels herself in a few of her outfits, not that seems to slow her down. |
| 183 | * CommLinks: How you receive your orders from Carrington. Several missions will have your signal jammed, with a secondary objective to destroy the interference so you can communicate with your boss again. |
| 184 | * CompensatingForSomething: Joanna doesn't like the fact Jonathan uses a magnum for covert work and secretly accuses him of this. |
| 185 | * ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike: Dr. Caroll is infamous for this. |
| 186 | -->"Do you ''actually'' know what you are doing?"\ |
| 187 | "We're going to the helipad, I assume?" |
| 188 | * ComputerEqualsMonitor: In Area 51, apparently all records are kept on the monitor (!) of a single computer [[note]]What, no cloud computing in 2023?[[/note]]. As well, destroying the monitor of a mission-critical computer will result in a failure. |
| 189 | * TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: |
| 190 | ** The toughest of the [=AI=] opponents you can fight against in multiplayer are Dark Sims, who move faster than you, always get headshots with hitscan weaponry even if they don't actually have a line of sight to your head, spawn armed with the best weapon in the current setup, and teleport when you aren't looking. |
| 191 | ** The computers. Even the super-easy [=MeatSims=] can fire semi-automatic weapons faster than you, reload every weapon at the same speed, use lock-on weapons while moving, and have perfect aim with non-hitscan weapons. [=PerfectSims=] also act as if they can see the radar even when it's set to off. |
| 192 | ** One former Rare developer [[http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=205252&view=findpost&p=6364936 has said]] that enemies were even harder in pre-release builds of the game: in one version, [=DarkSims=] had the ability to strafe out from behind cover, fire, and move back behind cover - all within the space of three frames! |
| 193 | ** In missions that have respawning enemies, it's important to complete your objectives as soon as possible or prevent an alarm from being raised as the spawned enemies [[TheAllSeeingAI will always know where you are]]. This can be averted with cloaking but only if you use cheats to get cloaking outside of Mission 7. Disguises will also work as long as you weren't seen during changing and your cover isn't blown. |
| 194 | * ConspicuousTrenchcoat: Joanna wears a trench coat in "Chicago: Stealth", as well as all of the CIA and FBI personnel, which ironically makes them stand out even more. |
| 195 | * ConspiracyKitchenSink: Apparently {{Area 51}}, TheGreys, AncientAstronauts, ReptilianConspiracy and a SecretWar [[AllMythsAreTrue are all true]] and related to the RoswellIncident. |
| 196 | * ContainerMaze: "Area 51: Rescue" begins with a section in a warehouse. |
| 197 | * ContemplateOurNavels: Right at the end of ''Zero'', Jo and the final boss all of a sudden get philosophical about the nature of death and decay. |
| 198 | * ContinuingIsPainful: In the Game Boy Color game, even if you die after reaching a checkpoint, your health will remain exactly as it was when you first reached the checkpoint instead of completely refilling (for instance, if your health was at 45%, then it will still be at 45% when you retry). Also, your ammunition won't be refilled, but at least you won't lose weapons you've already collected [[BagOfSpilling until the mission is complete and you've moved on to the next one]]. Also, there are health pick-ups in the game, and your health will be restored at the start of the next mission |
| 199 | * ContinuityNod: ''Zero'' has two scientists in a Mayan shrine, arguing over whether the Mayans were visited by Gods or Aliens, and who exactly gifted them with the MacGuffin [[BigBad Zhang Li]] wants so badly. It's clear they are talking about the aliens. |
| 200 | * ContinuitySnarl: The books don't mesh very well with the games. The original game states that Joanna is a recent graduate from the institute's training program, while the books would indicate that she had done several missions for them. The books also indicate that Carrington was practically in love with Cassandra and portray him as blindly idealistic, which don't match with his game portrayal. Unless the books' events caused him to loose both. Finally Jonathan in the game is the institute's top infiltrator, while the books portray him as the institute's security chief with no sense of subtlety. Though those could be different Jonathans. |
| 201 | * CoolBike: The hoverbike from Area 51 is surprisingly useful. It's fast, indestructible and you can fire weapons while sitting on it. It can even be used in later levels! |
| 202 | * CoolButInefficient: |
| 203 | ** The Laptop Gun's secondary turret tends to be this. It will usually expend much more bullets killing mooks than a decently accurate player would. |
| 204 | ** The K7 Avenger, suffers from having a 25-round magazine which can be depleted ''within seconds'' due to the weapon's very fast 950RPM rate of fire. The reloading of his assault rifle is a slow and frequent annoyance that can be potentially fatal in a heavy firefight. |
| 205 | * CorporateWarfare: dataDyne is not a company that plays well with others. It's taken most literally in the penultimate level of ''Zero'', which is an ''actual'' battle between them and the Carrington Institute. |
| 206 | * CorridorCubbyholeRun: "dataDyne: Extraction" has a sequence in which you must sneak past the helicopter outside the building by hiding in the offices. (Or you can just run past it, but you'll take damage.) |
| 207 | %%* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Cassandra de Vries serves as the CEO of [=dataDyne=]. |
| 208 | %%* CorruptPolitician: Trent Easton. |
| 209 | * CoupDeGraceCutscene: After defeating the final boss in the original game, the cutscene shows Joanna [[spoiler:shooting off a shard from an altar]] which [[spoiler:impales the boss]]. |
| 210 | * CoversAlwaysLie: [[https://i.redd.it/g6sp0o5e0ed01.jpg The Japanese box art]] makes the game look more like a ''Franchise/SilentHill''-esque psychological horror game than the ''Franchise/JamesBond''-inspired action game it is. It's mostly [[TheArtifact a holdover]] from when Nintendo was pushing to [[MarketBasedTitle rename the Japanese version]] to "Red & Black", since they thought a direct translation wouldn't sound quite as good in Japanese. |
| 211 | * CriticalExistenceFailure: For some reason, being pistol-whipped or punched will cause you to stumble and your vision to blur, but not being shot multiple times to the point of near death. |
| 212 | %%* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Elvis. |
| 213 | * CrypticallyUnhelpfulAnswer: Many things Carrington says for the first half of the game. |
| 214 | * CutsceneIncompetence: The ending of "Carrington Institute: Defense". [[spoiler: Apparently Joanna can defeat dozens of enemies per level, but can be captured by a single unarmed Skedar which knocks a pile of crates onto her]]. |
| 215 | * CyberpunkIsTechno: The soundtrack in several levels. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Abugl40zsM Exhibit A:]] |
| 216 | * CyanidePill: An actual item for the game's competitive campaign mode - one player is Agent Dark as normal, while the other takes control of one mook at a time, switching if their host is killed. If they take control of someone far away from the action, they can take the "suicide express" to try to get closer. |
| 217 | [[/folder]] |
| 218 | |
| 219 | [[folder:D - H]] |
| 220 | %%* DaddysLittleVillain: Mai-Hem in ''Perfect Dark Zero''. |
| 221 | * DamageDiscrimination: Averted in the original game. Enemy guards can injure and kill other enemy guards. Likewise, Joanna is capable of injuring and killing mission-critical characters with wayward fire. |
| 222 | * DarkenedBuildingShootout: In "dataDyne Central: Extraction", the level begins with the lights turned off, forcing Joanna to use night vision. At the end, Cassandra's bodyguards do the same thing and must be fought in the dark. Since they're wearing night vision goggles as well, [[BlindedByTheLight turning the lights back on temporarily blinds them, making them easy to kill.]] |
| 223 | * DarkerAndEdgier: |
| 224 | ** The canceled sequel, ''Perfect Dark Core''. |
| 225 | ** The game itself compared to ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'', considering it has much more blood, as well as swearing. ''Perfect Dark'' was rated M while ''[=GoldenEye=]'' was rated T (or 18+ and 15+, both BBFC, in the UK). |
| 226 | * DarkReprise: The "Carrington Institute: Defense" theme is a remixed version of the BGM played when you exit the Main Menu and venture around the Institute, which also serves as the main theme of the series. |
| 227 | * DeadlyDoctor: The scientists and biotechnicians in Area51 will attempt to attack you by firing {{TranquilizerDart}}s, although these are more annoying than anything. Of course, then [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable there's also what they plan to do to Elvis...]] |
| 228 | * DeadlyEuphemism: "[[Film/BladeRunner Retire]] presidential clone." |
| 229 | * DeadlyGas: Joanna Dark infiltrates Area51 to rescue an alien survivor. When she reaches the room where he is located, the scientists flood the room with poison gas. Of course, [[TooDumbToLive the scientists kind of forgot that they're still in the room as well]]. |
| 230 | * DeadMansTriggerFinger: Enemies do this on some occasions in the original. |
| 231 | * DeadpanSnarker: Joanna, but also Jonathan. [[TeethClenchedTeamwork Forcing them to work together results in a lot of snarking.]] Even the President gets a few snarks in himself. So if you stand in front of him blocking his path on Air Force One, he will sarcastically comment, "Are you ''sure'' this is the way to the escape pod?" |
| 232 | * DealWithTheDevil: The alliance between [=dataDyne=] and the Skedar doesn't work out so well for them in the end. |
| 233 | * DeathWorld: The Skedar homeworld/battle shrine planet orbits three stars, and as such, experiences a lot of tidal forces. Earthquakes ravage the desert world's surface, to the point where the natives can't keep repairing all the accumulating damage to buildings and doorways. |
| 234 | * DeflectorShields: The personal variety. Makes thrown weapons like the Combat Knives bounce off. Also averts OneHitKill on the weapons that would normally play it straight, but at the cost of the entire shield's energy. The shields also take the same amount of damage no matter what portion of the shield is hit, making head shots not immediately fatal until the shield is dropped. |
| 235 | * DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Elvis' description of the Skedar homeworld. |
| 236 | -->'''Elvis:''' This is the Skedar fanatics' most holy place. They believe this planet is sacred ground. The Battle Shrine is located at the most holy part of this holy planet.\ |
| 237 | '''Joanna:''' So let me get this straight: it's holy. |
| 238 | * DescriptionPorn: All of the weapons and items in the game have detailed descriptions in the menu, and even more descriptions at the firing range. The sheer number of weapons is bordering on GunPorn, too. |
| 239 | * DevelopersForesight: Impressive detail is one of the good reasons why ''Perfect Dark'' remains acclaimed: |
| 240 | ** Shoot someone in the leg and they'll limp around unable to run anymore. Shoot them in the arm and they'll hold it while moving. They will even trickle blood to show that they're wounded. |
| 241 | ** When you kill someone while their back is against the wall or a solid object, they'll fall against it. |
| 242 | ** When you kill someone who is sitting on a chair, they'll remain slumped over in their seat. |
| 243 | ** When you kill someone who is on the second floor behind a handrail with explosives, [[RailingKill their body will fly over the railing and down to the first floor.]] You can't do that in ''[=GoldenEye=]''. |
| 244 | ** The Carrington Villa Mission features rooftop snipers and soldiers that go prone to shoot you. The snipers will roll down off the roof and the prone soldiers will simply spazz out with their face in the dirt when you kill them. |
| 245 | ** When someone falls down from lethal force, they cry out and a pool of blood appears to indicate that they are dead. If they fall down from non-lethal force (punch, pistol whip, sedatives), then they are simply unconscious but will continue to react to non-lethal blows with cries of pain. |
| 246 | ** Completing levels results in a green colored "mission stats" menu. The Mission Status is listed as completed, and Agent Status as active. At the end of "Carrington Institute: Defense", Joanna is knocked out and the menu is instead grey with Mission Status: Unknown and Agent Status: Missing. Taking it a step further, it even changes in regards to failing, aborting, and using cheat codes.[[note]]Failing and Aborting are both red, and (respectively) are Mission Status: Failed and Agent Status: Deceased, and Mission Status: Aborted and Agent Status: Disavowed. Cheating is green, but is Mission Status: Cheated and Agent Status: Dishonored.[[/note]] |
| 247 | ** In Area 51: Infiltration, if you knock out the tech carrying the lift keycard instead of killing him, he shows up in the next mission behind a locked door. Take the elevator in the hangar he was in and you'll find a [[DiscOneNuke Phoenix]]. |
| 248 | ** When escaping from Area 51, you can choose to have Jonathan escape with Elvis, or have him stay and escape on his own. If you choose the former, Jonathan will appear on the mission where [[spoiler:when the Carrington Institute is attacked]] and cover you. If you choose the latter, he does not. |
| 249 | ** In Area 51 - Rescue, you have to [[EscortMission escort a crate of explosives]] to a hole in the wall. If the box explodes prematurely, you will fail the mission. However, enemy soldiers in the mission carry Dragons, which have a Proximity Mine as their secondary effect, and will explode when shot in that mode. If you use this mode to destroy the hole in the wall, you will UNFAIL the mission and can continue as normal! You can also use the explosive setting on the Phoenix for this purpose if you went to the trouble of getting it in the last level. |
| 250 | ** Enemies in ''[=GoldenEye=]'' react to the noise of loud weapons and near-misses (bullets that hit or pass by close to them) but not nearby explosions. In Perfect Dark, they now react to nearby explosions and will also check unconscious and deceased people that they come across. |
| 251 | ** When you are ambushed by Cassandra's Bodyguards in Mission 1-3, they'll turn off the lights to make you vulnerable in the shootout. You can turn the lights back on which will overload their Nightvision Goggles and temporarily stun them as they grab at their faces in a pained reaction to the blinding light. |
| 252 | ** ''Not including'' Dr. Caroll in Combat Simulator. Rare got a lot of flak from gamers for featuring Oddjob in ''[=GoldenEye=] 007's'' multiplayer, due to his short height making him harder to hit. Game Shark codes reveal [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9i9vu5SQ_I how easily accessible Dr. Caroll is]]. Thankfully averted in the game proper, as the fast-moving floating sapient with a very small hit-box would have been the stuff of nightmares. |
| 253 | * DiagonalSpeedBoost: Like ''[=GoldenEye=]'', it's essential for getting most of the cheats. |
| 254 | * DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler: Did you just assassinate the Skedar leader?]] |
| 255 | * DieChairDie: Not as much as ''[=GoldenEye=]'', but most computers and panes of glass can be destroyed, as well as the obligatory ExplodingBarrel. |
| 256 | * DiegeticInterface: The game's menu is contained in the headset that Joanna wears. It can also be accessed from the computers at the [[HubLevel Carrington Institute]]. |
| 257 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: Daniel takes Dr. Caroll to his lightly-defended villa rather than the heavily secured Carrington Institute, sells dataDyne the sniper rifles and handguns the force storming the building used, and repeatedly ignores the recommendations of his top agent and pointlessly endangering the life of the President of America. |
| 258 | * DilatingDoor: All over the place. Coupled with SlowDoors, this can be very annoying. |
| 259 | * DirtyCop: The FBI agents you encounter in Chicago are most likely on [=dataDyne=]'s payroll. |
| 260 | * DiscOneFinalDungeon: [[spoiler: The Cetan warship in the original game.]] |
| 261 | * DisintegratorRay: two, in the Platform/GameBoyColor game. Late in the Jungle/dataDyne level, Joanna obtains a Mayan raygun that completely eradicates anyone she hits in a single shot (she sadly loses it soon after.) Additionally, the game has a rocket launcher weapon, which arbitrarily causes bodies to fade away shortly after death (rather than leave behind a body for Joanna to collect items from). While the rocket launcher effect is most likely a family-friendly version of the ChunkySalsaRule, it's still jarring since the effect isn't present in the far more violent N64 game. |
| 262 | * DisposablePilot: UsefulNotes/AirForceOne's pilots are killed while Trent is executing his coup, forcing Joanna to reach the cockpit and activate the auto pilot. With some SequenceBreaking, Joanna [[VideogameCaringPotential can kill the assassins before they reach the pilots]], and [[DevelopersForesight they will stabilize the plane]] when things go awry. |
| 263 | * DistaffCounterpart: |
| 264 | ** Joanna is basically a female Film/JamesBond, only with a more serious personality instead of a hedonist. |
| 265 | ** In-game, Joanna and Jonathan are counterparts. |
| 266 | * DistractedByTheSexy: Mentioned by [[EnemyChatter a guard]] in the intro to an early mission: |
| 267 | -->"... [[{{Stripperific}} it's like she had nothing on!]] Mai Hem's giving orders, but [[MaleGaze I don't know where to look!]]" |
| 268 | * DistressCall: |
| 269 | ** The distress beacon Joanna has to activate in "Crash Site: Confrontation". |
| 270 | ** In "Maian SOS", Elvis must sneak through Area 51's underground base to send one to Mr. Carrington. |
| 271 | * DistressedDamsel: Believe it or not, Joanna, when she [[spoiler: wakes up in a cell aboard a Skedar ship.]] |
| 272 | * DoNotDropYourWeapon: Averted, unlike in ''[=GoldenEye=]''. Shoot an enemy in the hand/gun or use a disarm mode punch and they'll drop the weapon, but aren't dead yet. If you grab their weapon in the process, they may surrender, but not all the time. In fact, most of them [[SuicidalOverconfidence still try to punch you out.]] |
| 273 | * DoNotRunWithAGun: Inverted. The enemies actually seem to be ''more'' accurate when they're walking towards you and spraying bullets, though most attack animations in the latter still have the enemy standing otherwise still. |
| 274 | * DoubleAgent: [[spoiler: Chandra. This could also be considered a FaceHeelTurn, considersing she used to be a good guy, until she sold herself to dataDyne]]. |
| 275 | * DoomsdayDevice: The Cetan ship's Weak Nuclear Force Decoupler. |
| 276 | * DoppelgangerAttack: Halfway through the deathmatch with Mai Hem in ''Zero'', she starts summoning clones of herself. Unlike her, they don't "[[DisappearsIntoLight derez]]" (in the words of ''{{Franchise/Tron}}'') when defeated, and you can pick up their weapons and ammo. |
| 277 | %%* DramaticGunCock: Frequently in cutscenes. |
| 278 | %%* DramaticUnmask: Mr. Blonde. |
| 279 | * DressingAsTheEnemy: In "Area 51: Rescue" and "Air Base: Espionage", Joanna has to acquire and wear uniforms to wear in order to fool security. |
| 280 | * DropShip: The Skedar shuttles. Joanna and Elvis commandeer one to get to the last level. |
| 281 | * DrugsCausingSlowMotion: Some levels give you a dose of Combat Boost. When used, time slows down for the player for a short period. While you don't actually move any quicker, with your character's movement slowed down as well during this time, it still becomes a lot easier to react to enemy actions, and to quickly line up headshots. |
| 282 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: |
| 283 | ** Some of the workers at the Carrington Institute are less than polite towards Joanna, considering she saves their asses in one level. |
| 284 | ** Jo herself comes across as being cranky, particularly in the novels. Going by this she withdraws into herself after failed attempts to socialize by the time of the first game's events. |
| 285 | ** Dr. Caroll is less than polite to Joanna when they first meet, considering [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike she's trying to rescue him.]] |
| 286 | * EasterEgg: Quite a few, including the infamous cheese. |
| 287 | * EasyLevelTrick: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O89jBb1BnGU Extra Mission 2]], there are 4 guards hidden in certain areas of the level that serve as placeholders for the guards that will be infinitely spawned to hunt you down after the alarm is triggered. By killing them, you can completely prevent them from spawning and attacking you altogether. |
| 288 | * EarthShatteringKaboom: The Skedar [[spoiler:intend to test-fire the Cetan warship's superweapon on the planet it's currently residing in]] before wiping out the Maians. The target is ''planet Earth''. |
| 289 | * ElaborateUndergroundBase: |
| 290 | ** The [=dataDyne=] basement labs, as well as Area 51, the Alaskan air base and the Carrington Institute itself. |
| 291 | ** Carrington's private villa also has an extensive network of tunnels in the basement. |
| 292 | * ElevatorActionSequence: |
| 293 | ** "Mr. Blonde's Revenge" has a fight with a guard on the elevators. |
| 294 | ** In the second level, Joanna pistol-whips a guard in the elevator (possibly a MythologyGag since ''[=GoldenEye=]'' can allow Bond to gun down a KGB soldier in a bathroom stall while exiting out of a vent in ''Facility''). |
| 295 | * EleventhHourSuperpower: |
| 296 | ** The [=RC-P120=] comes at ''just'' the right time in the game's hardest level. |
| 297 | ** In Mission 1-3, you ''can'' destroy the hovercopter with normal gunfire but why risk losing most of your life and ammo when you can use the rocket launcher ''that was just conveniently assembled'' on the top floor? |
| 298 | * EliteMooks: The masked dataDyne guards, and also the black-clad dD soldiers. |
| 299 | * EnemyChatter: |
| 300 | -->''What a mess!''\ |
| 301 | ''Aw, I never liked that robot anyway...'' |
| 302 | * EnemyCivilWar: An [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILdcir7VHWY VERY]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG8mSiaSlMs interesting]] (and hilarious!) example (which, for some reason, only occurs in Co-Op mode) is the mission on board the ''Pelagic II''. Apparently, there are two separate camps inside the ship that you're dealing with. |
| 303 | -->1. Datadyne soldiers disguised as Pelagic II Guards.\ |
| 304 | 2. Pelagic II Guards who are loyal to the government but are unaware that Datadyne has taken over the ship. |
| 305 | * EnemyChatter: The original game gives the guards a few lines. Some of the more amusing ones include "I bet this is ''another'' drill" (said by a guard who has heard/seen you, but can't find you now), and "Ah, I never liked him anyway" (said by a guard who found one of his comrades dead). Other guards scream out the BigNo when finding an ally dead. It's possible to shoot someone in the middle of a line. |
| 306 | * EnemyDetectingRadar: Like ''Goldeneye'', the game has one, explained as the function of one of Joanna's gadgets. Oddly enough, you have to unlock a cheat code to ''turn the radar off''. The most common reason for bothering unlocking this cheat is when you have a friend who is so good at the game in multiplayer you have to do ''something'' to make things harder for them to hunt everyone down. |
| 307 | * EnemyMine: Joanna and Cassandra after being imprisoned aboard the Skedar ship. It doesn't last long, as [[spoiler:Cassandra sacrifices herself to [[WeNeedADistraction distract the Skedar]]]]. |
| 308 | * EnemySummoner: In the Chicago mission, the FBI agents will summon EliteMooks with [[HandCannon .357 magnums]] if you don't quickly kill them. |
| 309 | * TheEnemyWeaponsAreBetter: In some cases. The K7 Avenger and Mauler are generally more useful than the AR-34 and Phoenix, for example. |
| 310 | * EnergyWeapon: The Mauler and the Phoenix are quite weak on their primary setting, but can be fired rapidly for plenty of BeamSpam. |
| 311 | * EpisodeZeroTheBeginning: ''Perfect Dark Zero'', which takes place chronologically before the original game. |
| 312 | * EpunymousTitle: The game's title refers to the protagonist (Joanna ''Dark''), her in-game rank ("Perfect Dark", which in turn is above the rank "Perfect Agent"), and the somber themes and situations dealt with in the adventure. |
| 313 | * EscapePod: One vaguely resembling the command module of a spacecraft like the Apollo series is one of the many additions to the new craft used as Air Force One. When the main craft goes down, one of your objectives in the next mission is to locate the escape pod and activate a distress beacon built into it. |
| 314 | * EscortMission: Both console games have their fair share of these, some much more annoying than others. Especially with the President, who just ''loves'' to [[TooDumbToLive run in front of you while you're firing at enemies]]. |
| 315 | * ETGaveUsWiFi: |
| 316 | ** [[ArtificialGravity Antigravity technology]] and other advances are due to help that dataDyne and the CI received from the alien races. In the second level of ''Perfect Dark'', you must steal some technology from dataDyne that is heavily hinted to be reverse-engineered from the Skedar, specifically the prototype shield and the K7 Avenger and its threat detector. The night vision visor though... we already have that in real life. |
| 317 | ** Two of the special assignments spell this out in their objectives. "Mr. Blonde's Revenge" has an objective to plant a bomb in the elevator of [=dataDyne=]'s headquarters, outright stating that the scientists of [=dataDyne=] should no longer be allowed to research the Skedar's technology. "Maian SOS" likewise has an objective to destroy the ship Elvis got shot down in before the Area 51 personnel can examine it, the objective noting that the Carrington Institute will be put in danger if anyone realizes the similarity between their "inventions" and the technology on the UFO. |
| 318 | * EverythingFades: Played with. The game will try to preserve framerate performance by removing deceased or unconscious entities and destroyed objects while still allowing a few to persist. There is even a limit to the amount of bullet holes, explosion marks, and bloodstains allowed in-play. |
| 319 | * EvilIsHammy: All of the villains, but especially Trent. |
| 320 | %%* EvilSoundsDeep: Mr. Blonde. |
| 321 | * ExactEavesdropping: The meeting in the G5 building. |
| 322 | * ExecutiveSuiteFight: In [=dataDyne=] headquarters. |
| 323 | * ExpandedUniverse: The novels ''Initial Vector'' and ''Second Front'' by Creator/GregRucka, and the Comic ''Janus Tears'' by Eric Trautmann. |
| 324 | * ExpectingSomeoneTaller: The first thing Joanna says when she sees UsefulNotes/AirForceOne is that it's smaller than she thought, although it's actually pretty damned big. |
| 325 | * ExpendableClone: Of the President. The Skedar King has several clones of his own. |
| 326 | * ExploringTheEvilLair: Many levels such as "dataDyne Research: Investigation", "Area 51: Rescue" and "Deep Sea: Nullify Threat" have elements of this. |
| 327 | * ExplosiveInstrumentation: Nearly any kind of computer, console, or keypad you can shoot at blew up in a [[ImpressivePyrotechnics spectacular fireball]]. In fact, some already exploded objects would explode ''again'' if shot a few more times. |
| 328 | %%* ExposedExtraterrestrials: The Maians. |
| 329 | * ExposedToTheElements: |
| 330 | ** In ''Perfect Dark Zero'' Joanna Dark's outfit in a freezing cold snow covered mountain is torn jeans, a half jacket, and a half sweater that exposes her midriff. |
| 331 | ** In the original game, she wears her standard spysuit in cold climates, which one can assume is well insulated. |
| 332 | * {{Expy}}: An in-game example is Cassandra de Vries' obvious jealousy of the Carrington Institute, to the point where the [=dataDyne logo=] is almost exactly the same as the Carrington Institute logo. |
| 333 | * ExtranormalInstitute: The Carrington Institute's other role besides being a SpySchool. |
| 334 | * EveryBulletIsATracer: A trope inherited from ''Goldeneye''. For many weapons, every bullet fired from a weapon is a visible tracer round. |
| 335 | * FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Subverted once. You cannot get "Mission Completed" on the Carrington Institute Defense level, you'll always get "Missing In Action". You can also unfail Area 51 - Rescue. |
| 336 | * FakeDefector: Subverted in ''Second Front'', [[spoiler: as Joanna approaches Portia DeCarcareas, who believes Jo is defecting Carrington, but Joanna clears the misunderstanding quickly]]. |
| 337 | * FastKillingRadiation: Joanna Dark was infiltrating a lab only for her superior Daniel Carrington to stop her as she was about to enter a room full of high-level radiation and orders her to use the cam spy. Should she disregard the order, she will die from exposure to it. |
| 338 | * FastRoping: A couple of levels begin with Joanna rappelling from a DropShip. |
| 339 | * FiringOneHanded: Joanna does it in a few cutscenes, with an assault rifle no less. |
| 340 | * FirstContact: Between humans and Maians, setting up the rest of the story. |
| 341 | %%* FlyingCar |
| 342 | %%* FlyingSaucer: The Maians use them. |
| 343 | * FriendlySniper: Elvis, who cracks lame jokes while shooting down guards with the [=FarSight=]. |
| 344 | * GangstaStyle: For [[RuleOfCool some reason]], Joanna will fire her pistol sideways at close targets. The grenade launcher on the [=SuperDragon=] also requires the gun to be held sideways, probably for the same reason. |
| 345 | * GatlingGood: The Reaper is a chaingun with ''three'' barrels and an impressive rate of fire. It takes a while to spin up, though. |
| 346 | * GentlemanSnarker: Dr. Caroll. |
| 347 | * TheGhost: The Cetans are never seen in the game. "The making of Perfect Dark" shows them to be a strange insectoid/cyborg race, depicting they were once possibly MechanicalLifeforms, millions of years ago became [[LivingShip Living Ships]]. Jump ahead to today, and they're most likely now [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]]. |
| 348 | * GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: "The Brothers" in ''Zero''. Their appearance has no build-up, they're not mentioned after their battle and it's never elaborated what their deal is. |
| 349 | * GiveMeYourInventoryItem: It's necessary to sacrifice one of your weapons to enter the boss chamber in the Skedar battle shrine. |
| 350 | * GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: |
| 351 | ** The IR scanner, which can detect enemies using cloaking devices, and even find weak spots in walls. (Needless to say, RealLife infrared technology does not work that way.) |
| 352 | ** The X-Ray Scanner can detect hidden switches and items required to complete objectives. It's also fun to see through walls and spy on unsuspecting characters. |
| 353 | * GondorCallsForAid: [[spoiler: Carrington sends a message to the Maians asking for help in foiling the conspiracy between dataDyne and the Skedar.]] |
| 354 | * GottaCatchThemAll: The game has a large number of weapons to collect... and the countless Easter eggs, such as the cheese slices. |
| 355 | * GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: In the game, the NSA is practically Trent Easton's private army and joins the [=dataDyne=] corporation and the Skedar in an attempt to lead a coup against the President. In RealLife, the UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} is the United States government's [[BigBrotherIsWatching signals intelligence]] branch and deals with cryptography and other fairly boring stuff like that. Amusingly, everyone ''but'' the UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} is part of the GovernmentConspiracy Easton has going. |
| 356 | * GravityBarrier: And if you fall in them, you ''will'' die. |
| 357 | * GrenadeSpam: The [=SuperDragon=], definitely. Repeating grenade launcher with a magazine of six and a reserve of 40? Yes please. |
| 358 | * GrenadeTag: Mines can be thrown on enemies and then detonated. |
| 359 | * TheGreys: The Maian race is a textbook example. They're even referred to as such in-game. |
| 360 | * GroinAttack: |
| 361 | ** A "critical hit" will make the enemy clutch his bereaved area for a few seconds, giving you ample time to put him out of his misery. It even works on female enemies. And just like in ''[=GoldenEye=]'', there are death animations for killing someone with a groin shot. |
| 362 | ** [[ShotInTheAss Shooting unaware enemies in the ass]] often results in a ''hilarious'' butthurt animation! |
| 363 | * GrowBeyondTheirProgramming: To retrieve the Cetan warship from the Pacific Ocean, the Skedar employ [=dataDyne=] to create an AI capable of cracking alien codes and advanced languages. As it did so though, the AI unlike its makers developed morals, realizing restarting such a dangerous weapon was not only ethically wrong, but ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard incredibly stupid]]'', as they risked being double-crossed by the Skedar. |
| 364 | * TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Enemy AI is variable in this regard. Some enemies will go immediately for the alarm if you attack, while others you can shoot from behind and make them ask in an astonished voice, "Was that a bullet?" It's also sometimes possible to eliminate almost an entire floor's worth of guards if you're careful, as long as you get rid of each one out of the others' line of sight. |
| 365 | * GuideDangIt: |
| 366 | ** One of the main criticisms of the game nowadays. It can be very confusing to find out what the level objectives are when there are no hints besides a few paragraphs of briefing. (Ironically, whenever Joanna's in close proximity to an objective, someone will speak up and bring it to her attention.) |
| 367 | ** The "Crowning Glory" achievement in the XBLA remaster for earning all the Leaderboard Crowns. Each Crown requires you to do a specific thing on a specific level on a specific difficulty, and there's no description of what these might be in the game, other than a crown's name and icon. Some are almost impossible to complete in Solo because they require the player to be in two places at once. |
| 368 | ** The Area51: Escape level actually has two endings. While both endings lead to the same conclusion at the beginning of the next mission, the less immediate takes much less time to complete and is almost mandatory if you want to beat the timer needed for one of the cheat codes. |
| 369 | * GunsAkimbo: |
| 370 | ** Only certain small weapons, primarily pistols and submachine guns (and not even all the [=SMGs=] in ''Zero'') can be dual-wielded. |
| 371 | ** Elvis frequently wields dual Phoenixes and the Skedar sometimes carry dual Maulers. |
| 372 | ** Taken to ridiculous extremes with Dual Cyclones on Magazine Discharge (see: MoreDakka) |
| 373 | * GunsDoNotWorkThatWay: The Tranquilizer is a dermal spray injector that uses liquid sedatives contained in capsules to operate. This makes sense when your using the weapon in secondary mode but when you're using it in primary mode... well, let's just say that HollywoodScience somehow allows the Tranquilizer to shoot the sedative drugs '''as liquid bullets''' without the need for darts as a delivery system. |
| 374 | * GunshipRescue: The helicopter that appears to rescue Joanna when she's trapped on the roof of the dataDyne building. Downplayed in that it's not actually armed, so you have to find some way to take care of dataDyne's own gunship first. |
| 375 | * HackingMinigame: In multiplayer. |
| 376 | * HalfwayPlotSwitch: You thought this was a futuristic CyberPunk thriller about rival {{MegaCorp}}s? Nope, it's a SciFi thriller involving aliens. |
| 377 | * HandCannon: The [=DY357=] Magnum. |
| 378 | * HandicappedBadass: Jo was born with a broken spine and spent her first several years paralyzed. Once past that she kills gods and stops alien invasions. |
| 379 | * HarderThanHard: |
| 380 | ** "Dark Agent" is the fan name given to a setting where all the Perfect Dark mode sliders are set to full. Unlike in ''[=GoldenEye=]'', a headshot is fatal even when an enemy has 1,000% health (as opposed to requiring ten), so it's actually doable. You can also throw on the Enemy Shields cheat, which prevents scoring instant kills by head shot so long as the shield is active. This is a purely SelfImposedChallenge however, as you don't get any in-game rewards for doing this. |
| 381 | ** Played straight in ''Perfect Dark Zero'', which has an official Dark Agent mode that you unlock for completing Perfect Agent. |
| 382 | * HeroInsurance: Joanna kills a ''lot'' of government agents in the first game with no consequence. |
| 383 | * HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: Joanna Dark blames herself for the death of her father.]] In ''Initial Vector'', [[spoiler: she considers herself a killer and responsible for the death of Benjamin Able.]] In ''Second Front'' [[spoiler: she also comes to the conclusion she's a failure, who disappointed her father and Carrington]]. |
| 384 | * HeroicSacrifice: |
| 385 | ** [[spoiler: Dr. Caroll]] destroys the Cetan ship and himself along with it. |
| 386 | ** [[spoiler: Cassandra]] of all people makes one to save Joanna's life. Though [[spoiler: Cassandra claimed]] it was so Joanna could kill the Skedar, [[spoiler: giving Cassandra posthumous revenge, the woman might have seen it as her chance of redeeming herself. In ''Second Front'', she tries to do it when she realizes how rude she's become, yet she ultimately becomes what she is in ''Perfect Dark'']]. |
| 387 | ** [[spoiler: Jack Dark]] pulls one in ''Zero'', and he actually takes out a fair deal of the mooks and saves Jo, but [[spoiler: Mai Hem ducks his bullets, and shoots him in the gut, bringing him down. She then aims her Magsec at his head and kills Jack.]] |
| 388 | * HigherTechSpecies: The Maians. [[GameBreaker Just look at their weapons!]] |
| 389 | * HighHeelFaceTurn: Cassandra [[spoiler: sacrifices herself to allow Joanna to escape the Skedar ship.]] |
| 390 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: |
| 391 | ** Two doctors attempt to use Area 51's nerve gas system on Joanna... which includes the room they're in. Joanna makes it out, of course. |
| 392 | ** The Skedar Leader, with the statue that he worships [[DeathByLookingUp right above his head.]] |
| 393 | * HollywoodHacking: The Data Uplink can access any computer and bypass any security measures in a matter of seconds. |
| 394 | * HollywoodScience: |
| 395 | ** The [=RC-P120=] ''[[RuleOfCool somehow]]'' converts bullets into energy to power the prototype cloaking device it has. |
| 396 | ** The Tranquilizer is a dermal spray injector that uses liquid sedatives contained in capsules to operate. It can dispense the sedatives with a direct injection or as liquid bullets. |
| 397 | ** The IR scanner detects weak points in walls. |
| 398 | * HollywoodSilencer: Roughly the same as ''[=GoldenEye=]'', though the 'first shot from any weapon is silent' rule seems to have been taken out. |
| 399 | * HolographicTerminal: In the Skedar mothership. |
| 400 | * HomingProjectile: The Rocket Launcher has a lock-on feature, although it's not perfect and its use greatly slows the velocity of the rocket, and it's also possible to [[ShootTheBullet shoot the rocket down]]. |
| 401 | * HotterAndSexier: Here is Joanna [[http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_medium/1/10392/906028-20090228_000333.jpg in the N64 version.]] Here is Joanna [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2c/29/7f/2c297f51d8cf4805116f327d274aba9f.jpg in ''Perfect Dark Zero'']], showing tons of cleavage. (She was [[http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/40611320050925_234236_0_big.jpg on the cover of FHM magazine]] (!)) For the Xbox Live remaster, they went back to her conservative way of dressing, [[http://external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQCKcUPQSX0E_MBd&w=200&h=434&url=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F9%2F91%2FJoanna_dark_N64_render.png but still couldn't resist dolling her up a bit.]] Maybe playing a sexpot just appeals to the [[EscapistCharacter female]] (and [[ThirdPersonSeductress woman-loving]]) audiences more? |
| 402 | %%* HumanoidAliens: The Maians. |
| 403 | * HumansAreBastards: The mission briefing to "Maian SOS" implies this. |
| 404 | -->''Emergency capture protocols activated. Ship XD-310372 suffered hostile planetfall. Maian Protector One (Aelphaeis Mangarae) sole survivor. Planet designated pre-contact status: paranoia grade 'B+', intolerance grade 'B', xenophobia grade 'A'.'' |
| 405 | * HumanityIsInsane: What the Maians regard humans as. They've watched man for thousands of years and experienced disappointment after disappointment, remaining hopeful mankind will eventually [[HumansAreSpecial start to tap into its potential after it matures]]. |
| 406 | * HurlItIntoTheSun: Averted. Millions of years ago the advanced Cetans, as part of a disarmament program, agreed to scuttle their nuclear force de-coupler (a superweapon that screws up one of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_interaction fundamental forces of the universe]]). They decided to dump it in the depths of Earth's Pacific Ocean. To their credit, it's not easy to salvage something that big and that deep, but [[NeglectfulPrecursors it's still a possible feat nonetheless]]. |
| 407 | * HypercompetentSidekick: Elvis, [[AIRoulette at times]]. |
| 408 | * HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: The always entertaining "Proximity Pinball" secondary function for a grenade, which causes the explosive to ricochet around before detonating next to someone-possibly even ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard yourself]]'' if you're unlucky. |
| 409 | * HyperspaceArsenal: |
| 410 | ** Though the "quick select" menu only shows up to ten items (weapons ''and'' gadgets), they all are still in there somewhere; the rest have to be accessed through the Pause menu. Expect to do so very often if using the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "All Guns in Solo"]] cheat, especially given the very, very diverse arsenal. |
| 411 | ** Some guards pull guns out of nowhere, even large ones like the Cyclone. And where the heck was Grimshaw hiding that grenade launcher when he was taken hostage? |
| 412 | ** Averted in ''Zero'', where [[LimitedLoadout you can hold 4 slots]]. Pistols and grenades take one, [[{{BFG}} plasma rifles, rocket launchers, M60s and sniper rifles]] take three. Gadgets get their own set of slots but each option takes two, so you're stuck with one gadget determined on a per-mission basis like the [=CamSpy=] and one optional, more universal gadget like the Data Thief. |
| 413 | [[/folder]] |
| 414 | |
| 415 | [[folder:I - R]] |
| 416 | * ICantReachIt: A very lame example when Joanna complains that she can't throw a bug onto the antenna in Area 51 without lowering it first. Any fit person should be able to do it. In fact, she ''can'' throw it that far, it's just much easier to lower the antenna first. |
| 417 | * ImpairmentShot: The screen blurs and darkens if you're hit with a weapon causing... |
| 418 | * ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler: The Skedar Leader's fate.]] |
| 419 | * ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: All of the guards are fairly bad shots on Agent, but the revolver-wielding guards from the G5 Building really stand out. They're unable to hit you at ''point-blank range'' and [[LeeroyJenkins yet they keep swarming in and getting killed]]. |
| 420 | * ImplacableMan: Mr. Blonde, apparently. He doesn't even flinch when Trent points a revolver in his face. [[spoiler: Of course, he's actually an alien wearing a holographic disguise, so...]] |
| 421 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: Elvis, to some extent. Jonathan also counts since he's equally deadly with a revolver as enemies are with scoped rifles. |
| 422 | * ImprovisedWeapon: The [=SpyCam=] is a tiny, floating camera that can be used to go into hostile territories. Once it's part of the mission is over, you can find some bad guys. Float in front of a guard's head and his partner will recognzie the Spycam and SHOOT IT. The explosion kills the first guard. |
| 423 | * IncrediblyObviousBug: |
| 424 | ** In Mission 1-1, you must plant an [=ECM=] Mine on the Internal Comms Hub and External Comms Hub. The only clear place to put it is directly on the monitor. |
| 425 | ** In Mission 3-1 (Chicago), you must place a Tracking Device on a Datadyne limo. So obvious, you'll actually fail if you put it in a spot where they can see it. [[spoiler:You have to put it on the underside of the car]]. On an additional note, you'll fail the mission if the guards see you planting the device. |
| 426 | ** In Mission 4-1, you must plant a Comms Rider bug in the dish of the communications antenna. How can you expect a routine patrol to look at the antenna and NOT notice that? |
| 427 | * TheInfiltration: Numerous levels, including "dataDyne Central: Defection", "G5 Building: Reconnaissance", "Area 51: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Infiltration]]", "Air Base: Espionage", etc. |
| 428 | * InfinityPlusOneSword: The [=FarSight=] from ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'': an ImportedAlienPhlebotinum sniper rifle that's [[OneHitKill massively overpowering]] and features tremendous penetration to the point of being able to shoot through almost any wall and barrier, coupled with an InfraredXRayCamera scope that ''tracks other players for you''. Yes, that's right: it can see through walls. The only disadvantages to it were a slight SniperScopeSway and a slow firing rate, but the rest of its attributes more than made up for it. |
| 429 | * InfinityMinusOneSword: The [=RCP-120=], although the K7 Avenger might be a better candidate since it appears in many more levels. |
| 430 | * InnocentAliens: Elvis, as with most Maians, is on the good guys' side, and in fact will need Jo's help to defeat the malevolent Skedar race of aliens. |
| 431 | * InsaneEqualsViolent: The Psychosis Gun. At least the game got the definition of the word right, though. [[note]]"Psychotic" is often believed to mean "violent psychopath", but it really just means "disturbance in the ability to tell what is real or not". Mooks who get infected kill each other because it gives them the delusional belief that their comrades are enemies.[[/note]] |
| 432 | * InsecurityCamera: An element inherited from ''Goldeneye''. [[MadeOfExplodium They're highly explosive]] as well. Be careful while blasting them on the run, as they can and will damage you. Oddly, shooting them through the lens is more effective than shooting them through the side. Strangely, the cameras can be oddly finicky; sometimes, the alarm may sound the instant you set foot in their range, other times they'll stare at you for several seconds before it happens. It's partially connected to you shooting in the camera's line of sight- it will auto-notice you if you shoot and it sees it. |
| 433 | * InstantAIJustAddWater: Dr. Caroll, who was created to decipher codes and languages but became sentient and [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turned against dataDyne]]. |
| 434 | * InstantDeathBullet: Although guards usually die instantly when shot in the head, this is averted at times when they die slowly and make horrible choking sounds as they expire. |
| 435 | ** Trent's DY-357 LX magnum. |
| 436 | ** The [=FarSight=] XR-20. |
| 437 | ** The secondary functions of both the Tranquilizer and the Crossbow. |
| 438 | ** Of course, if [[OneHitPointWonder the one-hit kill rule is active]] in multiplayer, then all attacks are instantaneously fatal -- even the fire from an explosion. |
| 439 | * InstantSedation: With tranquilizers, it only takes a few hits to become completely disoriented. This is particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} in the cutscene where Elvis is hit by ''one'' dart and keels over unconscious. |
| 440 | * InsurmountableWaistHighFence: Super spy Joanna Dark lacks any kind of jumping abilities, so her path can be blocked by such trivial things as a handrail, a couch, or ''a potted plant''. |
| 441 | * InterserviceRivalry: Apparently the Secret Service is completely loyal to the President while the NSA isn't. |
| 442 | * InterfaceScrew: |
| 443 | ** Melee attacks apply a heavy after image filter to your screen for a while to reflect stunning. Tranquilizer darts apply an even stronger version of this effect. Get hit by 2 or 3 darts guarantees you are not seeing your own weapon for the next minute. [[GameBreakingBug In multiplayer, it sticks around even after getting killed and respawning.]] |
| 444 | ** Poison gas, poison-tipped knives (when thrown), tranquilizer darts, and the dreaded N-Bombs all blur their victims' vision which makes it ''very'' hard to shoot straight, much less walk in a straight line. Taking more than a few punches from an unarmed foe can result in a similar effect. |
| 445 | * InterfaceSpoiler: Carefully averted -- upon clearing the DiscOneFinalDungeon, [[spoiler:Deep Sea: Nullify Threat]], instead of the briefing for the next level, you get a simple "Replay Last Level/Continue" dialog. |
| 446 | * InTheFutureWeStillHaveRoombas: In one level, Joanna must follow little cleaning robots to get into secret passages that only open for them. |
| 447 | * InvisibilityCloak: Of the technological sort. The RC-P120 has an ammunition-powered cloaking device as its secondary function. The game also features stand-alone versions. |
| 448 | * InvisibilityFlicker: Aside from an actual faint flicker that can be caught with a sharp eye by human players, the game's cloaking devices make the wearer become fully visible for a brief moment when firing a weapon. |
| 449 | * IrrelevantImportance: {{Inverted}}. One level requires you to carry a crate of bullet-sensitive explosives for a while to blow a hole in a wall. If they blow up while still relevant, you'll get the "Mission Failed" message, but it turns out they were never really relevant to begin with; there are other ways to blow the hole in the wall, and doing so will give you a "Mission Incomplete" message as the game realizes you still had a chance. |
| 450 | * IShouldHaveBeenBetter: Joanna says "I should have been quicker" when she rescues Mr. Carrington from being held hostage. [[StockPhrases Of course]], [[YouDidEverythingYouCould he tells her it's not her fault.]] |
| 451 | * ItHasBeenAnHonor: One of the last things [[spoiler:Dr. Caroll]] says to Joanna before his death. |
| 452 | * ItIsDehumanizing: [=dataDyne=] always refers to Dr. Caroll this way, since they believe he's JustAMachine. |
| 453 | * ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: Elvis seems fond of giving you items which become extremely handy later on the level. |
| 454 | -->''Good to see you, Joanna! Take this - you should find it useful...'' |
| 455 | * JeanneDArchetype: Loosely. The game's creators seem to have taken Joan of Arc as a [[TropeCodifier template]] for {{ActionGirl}}s. |
| 456 | * JustEatGilligan: The conspirators go through a lot of trouble to get permission from the President of the United States to use a high-tech government submarine to reach a hidden DoomsdayDevice. They even enact a unnecessarily complicated plan to replace the President with a clone. When ''that'' fails, they just steal the submarine anyway; hey, once they've got their hands on the DoomsdayDevice it's not like anyone will be arguing with them, right? For obvious reasons, the Skedar weren't exactly forthcoming with their human accomplices about their intentions with the DoomsdayDevice (namely, using Earth as target-practice), hence all the high-tech espionage. |
| 457 | * JustFollowingOrders: One of the pleas by a surrendered enemy. |
| 458 | * KaizoTrap: In ''Zero'', after defeating Killian's gunship, it will try to kamikaze into you as a LastDitchMove, but the real Kaizo trap is his [[FlunkyBoss reinforcements]], which can still kill you after you beat him. |
| 459 | * KeystoneArmy: The Skedar seem to have a HiveMind dependent on their leader. Interestingly, they do actually have a backup plan for what happens if the leader bites it - clones of the leader that activate as soon as he dies. ''Three'' of them, in fact, in one of the bonus missions. |
| 460 | * KilledMidSentence: Plenty of enemies. |
| 461 | * KlingonsLoveShakespeare: All Maians have an affinity for [[IntriguedByHumanity humans and their culture]], and Protector One makes no effort to hide his passion, insisting Carrington Institute operatives call him "Elvis" and even later dons the [[ImmigrantPatriotism stars and stripes of the USA.]] |
| 462 | * LaserHallway: A few levels have laser barriers which must be bypassed. There's one in an early level that can only be circumvented by waiting for a maintenance robot to pass though and temporarily deactivate it. A later level has a huge laser grid surrounding Air Force One that required you to find a way around it. |
| 463 | * LaserSight: The Falcon 2 comes with one. |
| 464 | * LawEnforcementInc: The Carrington Institute is a supposed [=R&D=] center that secretly conducts espionage and paramilitary operations in league with aliens while killing U.S. government personnel and the security guards of a private corporation. They're the good guys. |
| 465 | * LeetLingo: ''Perfect Dark'' includes an unlockable version of the Klobb gun from ''[=GoldenEye=]'', renamed the "[=KL01313=]". Also, in the Attack Ship level, the information screen for Cassandra de Vries' necklace displays the message "Password: [[LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair I8MOZYM8NDI8S]]". |
| 466 | * LimitedLoadout: ''Zero'' implements this via a form of GridInventory. Both weapons and gadgets have four slots, with weapons taking up either one (handguns, explosives, and the Hawk boomerang and viblade), two (submachine guns, assault rifles, the shotgun and the combat shield) or three (sniper rifle, M60, rocket launcher and plasma gun) slots, requiring you to drop enough weapons to make room for a new one. Inventory items have the same limit, but every option takes two slots, and two of the four are restricted to mission-specific gadgets like the audioscope or [=CamSpy=] (even for missions where you don't have them), leaving you your choice of either the Locktopus, Data Thief or Demo Kit, all of which ''can'' be used in every mission but are never required. |
| 467 | * LittleGreenMen: The Skedar, in contrast to the Maians (who themselves only reach past half an adult human's height by way of their [[TheGreys enlarged heads]]). The "little" part is especially emphasized by the fact that they're actually tiny, snake-like creatures [[MobileSuitHuman piloting mid-sized mechas]]. |
| 468 | * LockAndLoadMontage: Before the last level. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BtX2hOUGrw Check out this delightfully cheesy commercial for the game as well]]. |
| 469 | * LostSuperweapon: The Cetan megaweapon is a [[EarthShatteringKaboom planet killer]] that has been resting on the floor of the Pacific Ocean for millennia. The plot revolves around a conspiracy to retrieve the weapon and use it on Earth. |
| 470 | * LowCultureHighTech: The Skedar, who have spaceships and cloning technology but no culture to speak of besides warfare and violence. |
| 471 | * LuckBasedMission: Obtaining the dual CMP-150's on the second level requires you to reach the weapons cache computer without being detected, which heavily depends on the positioning and behavior of the guards. On Perfect Agent, this is close to impossible due to the AI's keen senses. |
| 472 | * MadeOfExplodium: While not as common as in ''[=GoldenEye=]'', things like computers and television monitors will explode when shot. In one level, the flying cars seen outside a tower can be picked off with good enough accuracy, and will go up in a fireball regardless of what type of gun you shoot them with. Any car that blows up after one shot from a handgun at a distance must be very volatile. |
| 473 | * MadeOfIron: |
| 474 | ** Just like in ''[=GoldenEye=]'', graphics limitations include no dismemberment and disintegration. Invoked heavily when you set Enemy Health at 1,000%. |
| 475 | ** When you're roaming around the Carrington Institute, nobody, yourself included, can run out of life and die no matter how many times they are shot at or blown up. |
| 476 | * MagneticWeapons: The Farsight XR-20, which is a OneHitKill sniper rifle that can track and shoot enemies through walls. It doesn't track particularly quickly, and its low rate of fire makes it awkward at close range, but it's still very powerful in multiplayer. |
| 477 | * MajorInjuryUnderreaction: If you shoot any enemy in anywhere but the head, they'll stagger for a moment, then recover and start shooting back at you. |
| 478 | * MarathonLevel: The Cetan Ship is huge, features a difficult EscortMission, and has enemies with cloaking devices or very tiny ankle-biting aliens who attack you in dark places. Worse yet, the level is actually longer on the higher difficulty settings, both extending the time spent there and decreasing the odds of success. |
| 479 | * MartyrdomCulture: The vicious Skedar believe that death on the battlefield the [[GlorySeeker highest honor attainable]]. |
| 480 | * TheMasquerade: Nobody but the CI, [=dataDyne=] and certain parts of the US government knows that [[spoiler: aliens have visited Earth before and are supplying us with advanced technology]]. |
| 481 | * MatrixRainingCode: The computers tend to show this. |
| 482 | * MeaningfulName: [[JeanneDArchetype Joanna]], of course. Elvis also counts, since it suits his fascination with American culture. [[CassandraTruth Cassandra]] ... that's a bit more dubious. |
| 483 | * MegaCity: Also the CityWithNoName and a SkyscraperCity. |
| 484 | * MegaCorp: The dataDyne corporation, along with others in the novels. |
| 485 | * MegaManning: In the first game, you can't dual-wield weapons without taking them from an enemy carrying two of them. |
| 486 | * MiniatureSeniorCitizens: Zhang Li stands at half the height of any other character in the game. Ironically, Joanna's father and Daniel Carrington, each with more reasonable heights, are actually ''older'' than he is. |
| 487 | * MissileLockOn: The Slayer rocket launcher can be manually directed by using the Fly-By-Wire secondary mode, though a player can slow its speed to help whenever they must turn around corners. |
| 488 | * MissionControl: The Carrington Institute. |
| 489 | * MissingMissionControl: Carrington is unavailable in the last two levels. Elvis takes over the mission briefing at this point. He's also unavailable in the Villa, for obvious reasons since the level centers on rescuing him from being held hostage. |
| 490 | * MixAndMatchWeapon: As each weapon in the game has a secondary fire mode, a few of them invoke this trope: |
| 491 | ** The Dragon is an assault rifle that just happens to have a proximity mine built in. |
| 492 | ** The Super Dragon combines an assault rifle and a [[GrenadeSpam grenade launcher]]. |
| 493 | ** The RC-P120 gives the user the option of turning on a cloaking device, though this feature eats up ammo like crazy. |
| 494 | ** The Phoenix has the option of turning regular pistol ammo into miniature rockets that explode on contact. |
| 495 | ** The most (in)famous weapon, the alien [=FarSight=] XR-20, combines a OneHitKill sniper rifle with a target-seeking X-ray scanner. |
| 496 | * MoneyDearBoy: [[invoked]] [=dataDyne=]'s motives for [[LesCollaborateurs cooperating with the Skedar]]. |
| 497 | %%* MookChivalry |
| 498 | * ModularDifficulty: Like ''VideoGame/Goldeneye1997'', there is an unlockable Perfect Dark difficulty setting which allows you to adjust enemy health, damage, and accuracy. (Though it lacks the ability to adjust reaction times.) Similar to Goldenye, fans have established ''License To Kill'' (Maximum damage and accuracy, minimum health) and ''Dark License To Kill'' (Maximum health, damage, and accuracy) fan challenge difficulties. |
| 499 | * MookFaceTurn: The infamous "Janus guard" glitch in the first game, which randomly causes a guard to side with the player and attack other guards, as if he/she were under the effects of the [[SetAMookToKillAMook Psychosis Gun]]. |
| 500 | * MoralGuardians: |
| 501 | ** Nintendo might have geared things back enough to allow blood and mild swearing, but there were still demands made; Nintendo forbade any depictions of alcohol or drug use. The "Combat Boosts" were originally "Adrenaline Pills," and the abandoned, useless basement bar in Chicago (which has a stripper pole, no less) was probably a casualty of the same policy that forbade there being a bar in one of the [=N64=] ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' games. |
| 502 | ** Then there was the story of using the Game Boy camera to put faces of anybody in the game. Rare at first said this was due to technical limitations; however, they later said it was taken out due to the Columbine massacre and [[NewMediaAreEvil video games being blamed for the shootings.]] |
| 503 | * MoreDakka: |
| 504 | ** The Cyclone is a fairly average machine gun with the extraordinary ability to empty its entire clip in a second or two. The Skedar Reaper is horribly inaccurate, but has an incredibly high firing rate best used to clear corridors (plus the highest-capacity magazine in the game - it can hold 200 bullets!). Then there's the RC-P120, which can hold [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 120 rounds per magazine]]. |
| 505 | ** The Magazine Discharge on the Cyclone spews so many bullets that you're guaranteed to kill and destroy anything, even though it looks like you're missing it. You can also dual-wield the Cyclone for twice the destruction. |
| 506 | * MuggedForDisguise: Which involves punching out the owner. |
| 507 | * MusicalSpoiler: At the end of Carrington Institute: Defense, [[spoiler: Joanna is overwhelmed and knocked out by the Skedar.]] Instead of playing the normal 'Mission Complete' music, a slow, ominous tune plays over the level statistics (in addition to the screen going monochrome instead of green with dark-blue background). You knew something '''bad''' was going to happen next. |
| 508 | %%* MutualKill: [=dataDyne=] and CI soldiers will occasionally do this. |
| 509 | * MyFriendsAndZoidberg: It becomes something of a RunningGag that nearly every time the President is mentioned by other characters, it's almost like he's an afterthought. |
| 510 | * NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Elvis. In a slight twist, it appears he chose the name himself. |
| 511 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Played straight with the Devastator grenade launcher and Slayer rocket launcher, which really are deadly; averted with the wildly inaccurate Reaper, which might well be the single most useless weapon in the game. Unless it's a Skedar warrior wielding it, as the weapon was designed for Skedar physiology and not humans. |
| 512 | * NeuroVault: In ''Perfect Dark Zero'', atter rescuing Nathan Zeigler and his important classified data, Zeigler downloads that data into Jack Dark's brain for safekeeping, then promptly dies. |
| 513 | * NeutronBomb: The aptly named [=N-Bomb=], which is essentially a grenade that knocks out everyone in a radius of several meters. |
| 514 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: Absolutely pissed the Cetan superweapon gets destroyed, the Skedar abduct both Cassandra and Joanna to [[EvilIsHammy ritualistically slaughter them]] on their holiest of holy shrines to satisfy their blood-lust. By doing so, they gave away its concealed location to their enemies, the Maians. |
| 515 | * NightVisionGoggles: The game has night-vision goggles in some levels which are somewhat realistic, eg. if the lights come on or you walk out into sunlight you'll be blinded until they're taken off. Human targets still appear a bright, glowing green though, making them much easier to spot. There is also one place in the game where you fight enemies who wear night vision goggles. If you turn on the lights, they won't be able to shoot you for a few seconds while they take them off. |
| 516 | * NintendoHard: Completing certain solo missions, especially when you're trying to unlock cheats, will often have you [[RageQuit tear out your own hair]] even [[GuideDangIt when you know]] what you are doing. This game pulls no punches: you either do it ''perfect'', or you die. Perfect Agent in the campaign, and Challenges #16 to #30 in the Combat Simulator especially stand out: |
| 517 | ** Perfect Agent, unlike the 00 Agent difficulty in ''Videogame/GoldenEye'', doesn't allow for any additional defense, meaning shields in this case, as opposed to [[BodyArmorAsHitPoints body armor]], are nowhere to be seen here. And just as in ''GoldenEye'', expect levels to be more complex, have less ammo, and have better damage output and aiming from enemies. |
| 518 | ** Challenge #16 introduces the [=PerfectSim=], who will be a mainstay until they're eventually replaced with the even more frustrating [=DarkSim=]. |
| 519 | ** Challenges #28-30 place the player against a pair of the aforementioned [=DarkSims=], with the first two challenges being handicapped in favor of an unfair advantage in numbers. |
| 520 | %%* NoBiochemicalBarriers |
| 521 | * NoCutsceneInventoryInertia: During most ending cutscenes, she will use whatever one-handed firearm she was using when the cutscene is triggered. However, if you were using a two-handed weapon, she will revert to a Falcon 2. |
| 522 | * NoFairCheating: You can use the cheat codes on any level you have access to, but you can't unlock any other cheats or any further missions while any of them are active. |
| 523 | * NoGearLevel: "Attack Ship" begins with Joanna armed with nothing but a knife. |
| 524 | * NoisyGuns: There are clicking sounds every single time you pick up ammo or reload, often followed by a DramaticGunCock. |
| 525 | * NoOSHACompliance: Very few in the ''Perfect Dark'' universe has ever heard of railings. |
| 526 | * NoNameGiven: Or maybe his name is "Theodore President" and they're just shortening it, who knows? |
| 527 | * NoScope: Possible with any of the guns, even with the [=FarSight=] (although it's quite difficult). |
| 528 | * NostalgiaLevel: |
| 529 | ** The original game has a couple of ''[=GoldenEye=]'''s multiplayer maps, including the classic Facility. Although in ''Perfect Dark'', the name of the map is changed to Felicity, which is a clever nod to ''Perfect Dark'' being starred by a woman. |
| 530 | ** ''Zero'' has DLC of a few ''[=GoldenEye=]'' and ''Perfect Dark'' maps, including Facility. |
| 531 | * NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Joanna is supposed to be American, yet she speaks like an authentic Brit in the first game. We know the lads from Rare are Brits, but it's not like any part of the game is set in the UK. |
| 532 | %% NothingCanStopUsNow |
| 533 | * ObviousRulePatch: In counter-op mode, the counter-operative can't deal damage to the subject of an EscortMission. No exploiting ArtificialStupidity for you! |
| 534 | * OffscreenTeleportation: Your buddies can do this. [=DarkSims=] can also teleport around the map, but only if the radar option is disabled, enforcing the "offscreen" part. |
| 535 | * OhCrap: |
| 536 | ** Joanna, when she realizes [[DeathFromAbove the Maians are bombing the Shrine with her inside]]. |
| 537 | ** The [=dataDyne=] Scientist who is gathering data on the K7 Avenger until you come around and kill the volunteer who was test-firing it. |
| 538 | --> "Help! Help! She's got a gun!" |
| 539 | * OneBulletClips: Averted in ''Perfect Dark'' on Game Boy Color, where a gun cannot be reloaded until it is emptied or another clip is "equipped" on the inventory screen. However, doing so disposes of all remaining ammo from the replaced clip, so you won't have any left over once you've emptied your last clip. |
| 540 | * OneHitKill: The [=DY357=]-LX. The alt-fire modes of the Tranquilizer (a melee attack) and Crossbow as well, and especially irritatingly, the [=FarSight=] XR-20, which can ''shoot through walls''. Got a [[DeflectorShields shield]]? Good, now it's just a Two-Hit Kill (draining the shield first with no health damage) and you have about half an extra second to live before you get hit with the next one. |
| 541 | * OneHitPolykill: The [=DY357=], Callisto [=NTG=] and particularly the [=FarSight=] are capable of this. |
| 542 | * OneManArmy: While stealth is generally encouraged (and at times forced), Joanna is such a good fighter and so much more durable than her opponents that it's equally possible to simply blast the enemies and still win the missions, so long as said mission doesn't actively ''require'' you to avoid alerting or shooting guards. |
| 543 | * OnlyAFleshWound: |
| 544 | ** Shooting someone in the head with a Crossbow bolt won't kill them, just as long as the weapon is not set on Instant Kill. |
| 545 | ** Any [=NPCs=] that are specially coded to be invincible (aka. PlotArmor) can be shot up with every weapon and show nothing for it but some bloodstains and a few bolts and knives sticking on their skin. |
| 546 | * OnlySixFaces: The same enemies keep showing up in single-player, but this is averted in the Combat Simulator where you have a wide variety of skins to choose from. |
| 547 | * OohMeAccentsSlipping: The amount of voice acting in the first game was very impressive for its time, but Rare made the mistake of using British actors for a game primarily set in America. This is most apparent with the President, who comes off like a Creator/SeanConnery {{Expy}} when it happens. |
| 548 | -->"You can't make accusations like that without evidence! I [[FakeAmerican a-shume]] that you have some?" |
| 549 | * OptionalStealth: ''Perfect Dark Zero'', but only on the lowest difficulty setting. It is a stealth title, but on the easiest setting stealth is mostly not required. |
| 550 | * OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Of the "President Target" variety. Also "President Minority", which hadn't happened yet at the time the game was made. |
| 551 | * OutrunTheFireball: When alien ships are destroyed, some unknown phlebotinum causes them to erupt into massive explosions. This isn't a problem if you run away fast enough. |
| 552 | * OutsideTheBoxTactic: In ''Zero'', the two bosses go down really easily if you know what to pack [[spoiler: Pack a Plasma Rifle for Mai Hem, and a Viblade for Zhang Li.]] |
| 553 | * OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank: ''Perfect Dark'' can be modified [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ecSckXvQ8 to have more blood]]. |
| 554 | * PaletteSwap: The second player's primary character Velvet, in the N64 game, during most of the co-op missions (before the missions where Jonathan or Elvis become the second-player character). [[Franchise/StreetFighter Velvet even resembles Ken to Joanna's Ryu.]] |
| 555 | * ParkingGarage: |
| 556 | ** In the G5 building. [[spoiler: It's where you get ambushed by cloaked guards.]] |
| 557 | ** There is a multiplayer level called the Car Park. |
| 558 | * PeopleJars: |
| 559 | ** The bodies of the Maians being kept in cryogenic storage at Area 51. |
| 560 | ** The Skedar have cloning tanks which hold warriors in suspended animation. |
| 561 | * PercussiveMaintenance: In one cutscene, Elvis [[FunnyBackgroundEvent fixes his spaceship by banging on it with a hammer.]] |
| 562 | * PersonalityChip: Dr. Caroll's backup disk, which (fortunately for the population of Earth) is also his MoralityChip. |
| 563 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: The Maians. Despite being three feet tall, they're still able to punch out Skedar over twice their size. |
| 564 | * PistolWhipping: The secondary fire mode of the Falcon 2 and [=DY357=] is a melee smack. And in ''Zero'', any gun can do this with the 'B' button. |
| 565 | * PlanetOfHats: The MartialPacifist Maians against the AlwaysChaoticEvil Skedar. |
| 566 | * PlayerMooks: One of the multiplayer modes has player 1 try to complete a single-player mission while player 2 controls the mooks. The mook usually has only 2 weapons. If the mook gets stuck (or player 2 needs to get to a closer mook) he can use a cyanide pill to effectively BodySurf to another mook. |
| 567 | * PlayerVersusPlayer: The counter-operative mode. |
| 568 | * PlayfulHacker: Elvis, who appears to be perfectly familiar with both the Cetans' and the Skedars' computers. |
| 569 | -->''It looks like this would benefit from a little bit of sabotage...'' |
| 570 | * PlotArmor: On some levels, certain characters will have an indestructible protective shield around them to make sure they aren't killed. One particular instance is in the Chicago level, where a police robot patrolling the streets is made completely immune to ''all'' weapons and explosives, so that it can only be destroyed by reprogramming a taxi to crash into it for one of your objectives. This is made particularly JustForFun/{{egregious}} by the fact that robots of the ''exact same model'' turn up in a later level, but can be gunned down with just a few rounds from your gun. |
| 571 | * PlugNPlayTechnology: Your Data Uplink is compatible with anything the game requires it to be. |
| 572 | * PoisonedWeapons: The Combat Knife has a poison tip which will slowly kill enemies if thrown accurately. |
| 573 | * PoisonMushroom: The SecondaryFire mode for the Dragon assault rifle turned it into a proximity mine you plopped on the floor. Unless they have one of the game's hazard-detecting items, an opponent in multiplayer is going to be ''very'' surprised when they try to pick up their free gun. Ditto for the UGL Liberator SMG in ''Zero''. |
| 574 | * PoliceAreUseless: The CIA agents in the Chicago level of the first ''Perfect Dark''. Despite being a major law enforcement agency in RealLife, the agents featured in PD might as well be ordinary civilians, and don't even attempt to maintain law and order. They carry no weapons, show no indication of any experience in combat whatsoever, flee at the sight of Joanna carrying a weapon in front of them, and seem to only exist as an excuse for you to fail your objectives. The FBI agents, the SWAT guards they call in if they see you, and the police robot on the same level, on the other hand, are indistinguishable from the dataDyne thugs that are patrolling the streets outside the G5 Building. |
| 575 | * PowerGlows: The charged-up Mauler glows bright red. |
| 576 | %%* PowerHair: Cassandra has it. |
| 577 | * PressXToDie: This was in one of the multiplayer modes. One player plays through the mission, while the other plays as a Mook, trying to impede Player 1. When changing weapons, the mook player could select "Cyanide Pill" which would instantly kill you. However, this actually served a purpose; you would respawn at a different point on the level, so it was helpful for letting you catch up to the player. |
| 578 | * PrivateMilitaryContractors: There's has an excessively large security division of the [=dataDyne=] hyper-corporation, which is contracted to an alien race (albeit somewhat unwillingly), as well as the protagonists workplace, Carrington Institute. The sequel and extended universe adds the contractable security sectors of another two hypercorps; Zentek and Core-Mantis Omniglobal. |
| 579 | * PunchClockVillain: Some of the guards say things like "I'm only doing my job!" when they surrender. |
| 580 | * PunchPackingPistol: The Phoenix pistol, like every other weapon in the game, has an alternate-fire mode. In this case, the rate of fire drops considerably but each round [[StuffBlowingUp explodes]], and can one-shot almost any enemy in the game. Even a near-miss will still cause damage. |
| 581 | * PunnyName: |
| 582 | ** Joanna Dark is "[[JeanneDArchetype Joan of Arc/J'eann D'arc]]". |
| 583 | ** Mai Hem is "Mayhem". |
| 584 | * PurelyAestheticGender: It makes no difference whether you're playing as the skinny Joanna or the hulking Mr. Blonde; everything about the gameplay is exactly the same. |
| 585 | * PurposelyOverpowered: The [=FarSight=], and also the [=DY357-LX=]. |
| 586 | * RaceLift: In the Japanese release Jo was given Asian features, despite looking Caucasian in every other release. |
| 587 | * RailingKill: Quite a few, especially in the Villa level. |
| 588 | * RammingAlwaysWorks: Elvis' way of dealing with the Skedar UFO attached to Air Force One. |
| 589 | * RankInflation: In-universe. Joanna is the first agent to achieve an A++ score in training, hence the call sign "Perfect Dark". |
| 590 | * RapidFireFisticuffs: The "Hurricane Fists" cheat boosts your melee rate of attack to ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' levels. |
| 591 | * RayGun: The Phoenix. |
| 592 | * Really700YearsOld: The Maians are a long-lived species. Elvis' age is given as 320. |
| 593 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The President. |
| 594 | * RecurringRiff: The main theme of ''Perfect Dark Zero'' is played (at different tempos and in different arrangements) in nearly every piece of music in the single-player campaign. |
| 595 | * RedFilterOfDoom: Whenever the player dies. |
| 596 | * RegeneratingHealth: |
| 597 | ** ''Perfect Dark Zero'' has a unique version where most damage you take being "shock damage" that will go away if you aren't hit again after a short period, with a small amount being lost forever every time you get shot. Combined with a complete absence of health kits or other healing items, and you can eventually end up stuck with only a sliver of health towards the end of a level if you get shot a lot. Furthermore, each weapon has different levels of shock damage. Viblade? Say goodbye to your health permanently. [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou Fell a long way]] or getting poisoned? All Shock Damage. On the hardest difficulty, all damage is permanent. |
| 598 | ** In the original game, this is how you recover from poison/punching/N-Bomb effects. In fact, you have to ''actually'' walk it off; the effects don't fade if you just stand still. |
| 599 | * ReliablyUnreliableGuns: The enemies' guns will sometimes randomly jam for no reason at all, which is quite convenient for you. |
| 600 | * RenegadeSplinterFaction: The Trent Easton-controlled NSA. |
| 601 | * ReptilesAreAbhorrent: The Skedar are weird dinosaur-like aliens, whose offspring resemble small lizards (that can jump and bite you). |
| 602 | * ReptilianConspiracy: The Skedar race appear to be inspired by the Reptilian myth, being [[spoiler: aliens that disguise themselves as Scandinavian men]]. Though, they are more open about allying with human governments. |
| 603 | * RespawningEnemies: Most levels have a finite number of enemies, but if they sound an alarm or call for backup, wave after wave of baddies will appear. |
| 604 | * RestrictedExpandedUniverse: The series leaves a large gap between the original and the prequel game, leaving the Greg Rucka novels (and comics) to expand and improve the characters and conspiracies of the universe. Those also change the backstories of [[spoiler:Daniel Carrington and Cassandra Devries]] by placing them into a relationship. |
| 605 | * TheReveal: Mr. Blonde is [[spoiler: a Skedar with a holographic disguise.]] |
| 606 | * ReverseThePolarity: Confusingly, the firing range says this is how the Devastator's StickyBomb function works. The game's menu just says the grenade is coated in some kind of adhesive. |
| 607 | * RevolversAreJustBetter: The [=DY357=] Magnum is a ''beast'' of a handgun. There's even a gold-plated version, the [=DY357-LX=] carried by Trent Easton, which is a OneHitKill, as you might expect from it being a [[Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun Golden]] [[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 Gun]] and all. |
| 608 | %%* RichBitch: Cassandra. |
| 609 | * RoboCam: The [=BombSpy=], [=CamSpy=] and [=DrugSpy=] appear this way when you're piloting them remotely. |
| 610 | * RoboticReveal: When Joanna discovers that Dr. Caroll is an AI. |
| 611 | * RooftopConfrontation: At the end of "[=dataDyne: Extraction=]". |
| 612 | %%* RuinsForRuinsSake: The Skedar Ruins. |
| 613 | [[/folder]] |
| 614 | |
| 615 | [[folder:S - Z]] |
| 616 | * SapientShip: The Cetans are implied to be this, although gameplay-wise, the Cetan ship you explore doesn't really do anything special. It's in some kind of ConvenientComa. It's not completely docile considering the first sight you see when you enter the ship is a Skedar corpse as well as the mutually hostile ship defense turrets. |
| 617 | * SayMyName: Joanna and Elvis seem to do this a lot, particularly in cutscenes. |
| 618 | * ScareChord: [[spoiler: When Trent is killed by Mr. Blonde.]] |
| 619 | * ScaryDogmaticAliens: The Skedar, who are depicted as aggressive [[ReligionOfEvil religious fanatics]], as opposed to the peaceful Maians. |
| 620 | * SchizoTech: Flying cars and police drones coexist alongside computers that look like they're from 1985 and a "smartphone" of sorts (the Data Uplink) which looks like an old satellite phone. |
| 621 | * SchmuckBait: That Dragon assault rifle lying on the ground there looks awfully tempting...[[spoiler:better hope its' explosive booby trap alt-fire isn't engaged!]] |
| 622 | * SchrodingersGun: Whether you or Jonathan stays behind in Area 51 is determined by whether you bring the hoverbike with you into the hangar or not. If you stay behind, he appears in "Carrington Institute: Defense" and helps you out a bit. |
| 623 | * ScreamDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: The camera cuts away right before Mr. Blonde kills Trent. Also, Cassandra's death happens offscreen.]] However, [[spoiler: you see Trent's death in his POV]] so it's a subversion. |
| 624 | * SecondaryFire: |
| 625 | ** Save for the ''[=GoldenEye=]'' weapons, every weapon has a secondary firing mode. Some are basic, like the Falcon 2 and [=DY357=]'s PistolWhipping, the Reaper's Grinder mode, the Combat Knife's throw instead of a melee slash, the [[AKA47 AR34's]] scope zoom in non-aim mode, and the Sniper Rifle's crouch[[note]]This was needed since crouching in the N64 original was done by going into aim mode and pressing down on the D-Pad or C-button layout, except in the Sniper Rifle’s case where it adjusts the zoom. Due to the remapped controls of the Xbox 360 version including a dedicated input for crouching, this was no longer needed and thus the Sniper Rifle is the only non-''[=GoldenEye=]'' weapon without a secondary mode in that version[[/note]]; to burst-fire modes like the [=MagSec=] 4, Cyclone, and shotgun; to explosives like the Phoenix's small explosive rounds, the [=SuperDragon=]'s underslung grenade launcher, and the Dragon's [[SchmuckBait proximity mine booby-trap]]; to the downright exotic like the "Proximity Pinball" function on the grenade, the Laptop Gun's sentry mode, the [=CMP150=]'s aimbot and [=FarSight=] XR-20's auto-tracking, the K7 Avenger and explosive mines' threat detector (picks up armed mines and booby-trapped Dragons), the Devastator's sticky grenades, and the RC-P120's cloaking device. |
| 626 | ** Then there's the Laser (Short Range Burst), the Crossbow (Instant Kill), the Mauler (Charged Shot), the Callisto NTG (High-Impact Shells), the Tranquilizer (Lethal Injection), the Rocket Launcher (Homing Rocket), and the Slayer (Fly-By-Wire Missiles). Also, the N-Bomb has a proximity option. |
| 627 | ** Even when unarmed, you can choose between "Punch" and "Disarm." |
| 628 | %%* SecretGovernmentWarehouse: Area 51. |
| 629 | * SecretLevel: In this game's case, they are retreads of previous levels from a different point of view, which reveal different parts of the story. The first one shows how [[spoiler:the CEO of dataDyne ended up in the Skedar ship's prison cell with you: an alien {{Mook}} went in, kidnapped her, and set a bomb to implode the dataDyne building, effectively destroying the company]]. The other two missions let you play as the [[TheGreys grey]] aliens: the first is where Elvis alerts the Institute of being captured at Area51, and you play through the entire level with diminished health. The other has you play as a random soldier among a platoon who landed on the Skedar homeworld after Joanna dropped the shields. Both missions are ''[[BrutalBonusLevel insanely]]'' difficult. |
| 630 | * SecretWar: The novels indicate this has been going on [[CorporateWarfare between the Carrington Institute and dataDyne]], out of the public eye. ''Zero'' shows it, with the last set of missions being an all-out battle between the two. |
| 631 | * SequenceBreaking: Many levels can be completed in more than one way. In fact, the game often encourages it and [[DevelopersForesight even has HUD messages for when you find alternative means to complete an objective.]] |
| 632 | ** Finding the Bombspy allows you to use it to blow up the guards blocking the entrance to the G5 building. With no one to lock the door down if you're spotted the game immediately completes the final objective before getting to the entrance because you don't need to make a distraction now that the people you'd need to distract are dead. If for whatever reason you decided to destroy the taxi you're supposed to reprogram for the objective, which normally fails it, the game will undo this and congratulate you on finding an alternate means of distraction. |
| 633 | ** The game (and Jonathan) explicitly go out of their way to drill into your head "DO NOT BLOW UP THE BOMB CRATE BEFORE GETTING IT TO THE WALL YOU NEED TO BLOW UP!!!" in the second Area 51 mission. Obviously doing so immediately causes the first objective to fail as you're intended to use it to get into the labs. However the game gives you the Dragon and, with some setup in the previous mission, the Phoenix in this mission, and their secondary features are explosives. By detonating the Dragon or firing the Phoenix's explosive shells at the wall, the objective will change from failed to completed and alert you that it's been rescinded due to alternative means of access being found. |
| 634 | ** Opening the safe door in the G5 building takes [[SlowDoors 90 seconds]] while you deal with DemonicSpiders. Or you can trigger the AsYouKnow cutscene within 3 seconds after you begin unlocking the safe, as the door will actually finish opening during the cutscene but the enemies will not spawn and attack you. |
| 635 | ** The Pelagic II has a hidden entrance to the submersible, simply by finding the switch for the big doors with the x-ray goggles and triggering it through the wall, which allows you to beat the level much more quickly than taking the conventional route. |
| 636 | ** The sensitive information in Carrington's office can be destroyed with a grenade instead of having to go downstairs, then go back up to open the safe with the laser. |
| 637 | ** By putting the [=BombSpy=] in the other elevator, you can kill the [=dataDyne=] captain much more easily in "Mr. Blonde's Revenge". |
| 638 | * SpaceColdWar: The real conflict in this series is not between the Carrington Institute and dataDyne, but rather the Maians and the Skedar. Earth itself is not that important; the only reason the Skedar have even bothered to take an interest in Earth is because they're losing the war against the Maians but have learned about [[ArchaeologicalArmsRace the existence of a lost superweapon]] under the ocean that was left behind by a third alien race, the Cetans. In the end, humanity isn't considered a major player in this war; the Skedar plan to activate the weapon on Earth just to test it, and if successful, then they'll deploy it against the Maians. |
| 639 | * SetAMookToKillAMook: |
| 640 | ** The Psychosis Gun, which makes enemies BrainwashedAndCrazy so they attack each other. |
| 641 | ** It's possible to get enemies to fire at each other just by dodging out of the way fast enough. |
| 642 | * ShoePhone: The Laptop Gun, which unfolds out of - you guessed it - [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a laptop]]. It even has a kickass secondary mode where you attach it to a surface and it serves as a SentryGun, which you can [[RemovableTurretGun pick up again and take with you.]] It also [[AvertedTrope Averts]] BottomlessMagazines in this mode, as it'll only have whatever was left in the magazine when you throw it. |
| 643 | * ShootTheHostageTaker: In "Carrington Institute: Defense". This is much easier if you take the Combat Boost first. |
| 644 | * ShootTheShaggyDog: [[spoiler: Rescuing Dr. Caroll ends up being this: Joanna succeeds in rescuing him (and Carrington learns plenty about dataDyne's plans, including about Dr. Caroll's backup) but he's ultimately recaptured and forced to resume his work on the Cetan megaweapon, eventually dying as a result. The one good thing is that Joanna was able to restore his backup, allowing him to pull a HeroicSacrifice to stop the megaweapon's activation.]] |
| 645 | * ShootingGallery: The firing range, where you can try out any weapon you want. |
| 646 | * ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon: |
| 647 | ** Guards will not fire at you past a certain distance, even assault rifles (except snipers). When you get close enough, they try to punch you out instead of shooting you. |
| 648 | ** The accuracy of the [=AR34=] is so bad, it might as well be a "close-range only" assault rifle. You have to crouch in order to hit anything at a distance. |
| 649 | * ShoutOut: Numerous ones to other sci-fi and {{cyberpunk}} works. Has [[ShoutOut/PerfectDark its own page]]. |
| 650 | * SigilSpam: |
| 651 | ** The weapons-manufacturing {{Megacorp}} dataDyne likes plastering their "dD" logo on all their architecture (admittedly, it is quite a cool logo). Not to mention the fact that the Carrington Institute's logo appears on Joanna Dark's SpyCatsuit. [=DataDyne=] troops also have the same logo on their uniforms, and it even appears prominently on the dataDyne-designed shotgun. |
| 652 | ** The Skedar also seem to like etching their symbol into every available surface and sculptures of it appear all over the place in the Battle Shrine. |
| 653 | ** For a top-secret government installation, Area 51 makes it pretty clear what the name of the facility you're in is. |
| 654 | * ShowdownAtHighNoon: The bonus mission "The Duel", complete with back to back stance and scripted steps. Higher difficulties demand you to best more duelists in a row. |
| 655 | * SillinessSwitch: The Paintball Cheat replaces bullet holes with paintball splotches and blood with multicolored puddles. |
| 656 | * SimpleYetAwesome: |
| 657 | ** The Falcon 2 is a surprisingly decent handgun, considering it's the first weapon you get in the game. It's fast, accurate and even comes with a handy little scope. The CMP-150 also qualifies: it's the most common gun in the single-player mode, but it has a high firing rate, plentiful ammo and a nifty auto-targeting system. It can also be [[GunsAkimbo dual-wielded]]. |
| 658 | ** There's always the option of disarming an enemy, which works wonders in multiplayer. |
| 659 | * SingleBiomePlanet: The Skedar homeworld is implied to be [[CrapsackWorld one big battle-scarred wasteland]], due to a combination of earthquakes, scorching heat from [[AlienSky the star system's three suns]], and thousands of years of constant warfare on the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Skedar's]] behalf. |
| 660 | * SinisterGeometry: The weird polyhedral structures that are scattered all over the Skedar planet. (Overlaps with SpikesOfDoom.) |
| 661 | * SlowDoors |
| 662 | * SmallNameBigEgo: Trent Easton is head of the NSA (National Security Agency), a high-but-not-that-high position in the US intelligence hierarchy that would make him report to the Director of National Intelligence. He ''acts'' like he ''is'' the NSA (National Security Advisor), which is a far more influential position. |
| 663 | * SmugSnake: Trent. He almost succeeds in his plan to capture the President, but ends up failing thanks to Joanna [[spoiler:and getting mauled to death by the Skedar for it.]] |
| 664 | * SnarkToSnarkCombat: Joanna and Jonathan engage in this in every interaction between them. |
| 665 | * SniperPistol: Joanna's trusty Falcon 2 pistol can be fitted with a scope to make a surprisingly accurate medium-ranged sniper weapon. Note that the scope attachment, much like the silencer, cannot be applied or removed at will; they're treated as separate weapons, and getting the scoped, silenced, or basic version of it is decided by the game on a per-mission basis. ''Zero'' has the similar [=P9P=] pistol, which always has a scope attached and can also attach or remove a silencer at the player's discretion, which in fact makes the gun ''more'' accurate in return for lesser damage. |
| 666 | * SniperScopeSway: The game has this feature for all scoped guns, but it's especially bad on the sniper rifle. To compensate, you can crouch while firing for greater stability. Also, unlike in ''[=GoldenEye=]'', you can just turn this feature off through the menu if you like. |
| 667 | * SnipingMission: The first part of the Villa. Averted on the Perfect Agent difficulty; instead of sniping the guards to save the diplomat, you ''are'' the diplomat and have to use the laptop gun. |
| 668 | * SoftGlass: You can even punch through it. |
| 669 | * SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb: Twice - in Area 51, and [[spoiler:the Carrington Institute]]. |
| 670 | * SongsInTheKeyOfPanic: Nearly every level has a faster variant of its music, which plays during critical junctures. {{Exaggerated|Trope}} with [[spoiler:Carrington Institute: Defense]]; the normal level music is already more frantic than the [[spoiler:Institute]]'s usual theme, and still has an ''even faster'' variant. |
| 671 | * SoundTest: The game allows players to choose the combat music for multiplayer and listen to it (and any other track available) prior to starting the match. It comes with both music from the single-player campaign and its own multiplayer-only music. |
| 672 | * SpitefulAI: In ''Defense'' when hostages are taken, the hostage takers have no self preservation whatsoever, eagerly gunning down their captives regardless of how many times they're shot just to make you fail to save them. |
| 673 | * SpoilerCover: Look closely at the [[https://images.nintendolife.com/4d83242dd69b3/na.original.jpg box art for the game]]. [[spoiler: You can see a reflection of Elvis in Joanna's left eye.]] |
| 674 | * SpreadShot: The shotgun, obviously, but the Cyclone has a ridiculous spread as well, as does the Reaper. |
| 675 | * SpyCatsuit: One that has has armored surfaces and is a mixture of blue and gray material rather than black leather. She does wear a literal spy catsuit in the G5 Building level. The Carrington Institute uniform she wears in the second half of PDZ counts too. |
| 676 | * StarfishAliens: Opposite of the benevolent Maians, aka TheGreys, there are the evil Skedar, which are squid-like Starfish Aliens who literally worship war, although equipped with anthropomorphic PoweredArmor. |
| 677 | * StateSec: The NSA headed by Trent Easton. Unlike the real world agency, the video game counterpart has its own troops and controls Area 51. Somewhat justified since Easton is part of a conspiracy, using the NSA to accomplish his agenda. |
| 678 | * StealthBasedMission: Numerous examples, but being stealthy is rewarded in almost every level. |
| 679 | * StealthPun: [[JeanneDArchetype Joanna Dark]]. |
| 680 | * StickyBomb: The Devastator's grenades have this option. Mines also qualify. |
| 681 | * StrappedToAnOperatingTable: This nearly happens to Elvis. |
| 682 | * {{Stripperiffic}}: |
| 683 | ** Mai-Hem's outfits have to be [[https://perfectdark.retropixel.net/pdzero/renders/pdz_character_04.jpg seen to be believed]]. |
| 684 | ** Joanna's UsefulNotes/{{Qipao}} in the Xbox Live version is considerably more revealing. |
| 685 | * StuffBlowingUp: The ending cutscene for "Deep Sea" contains plenty of SceneryPorn. |
| 686 | * SuperPersistentMissile: When you [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrm06-UXto fire a Homing Rocket at a stationary enemy.]] |
| 687 | * SuperSoldier: Joanna is something like this. |
| 688 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Max Danger from the Game Boy Color game for Jonathan Dark/Steinberg from the other games. He's an undercover agent for the Carrington Institute who provides Joanna with objectives/intel, and he even has the same voice actor as Jonathan from the N64 game. |
| 689 | * SuspiciouslySmallArmy: Joanna believes that seven Skedar constitutes an 'army'. |
| 690 | -->"OH NO!!! A Skedar army in suspended animation!" |
| 691 | * SwissArmyWeapon: The Laptop Gun has three functions (laptop, SMG, and SentryGun). Note however that it's not actually possible to carry the weapon out as a laptop e.g. to enhance any disguise you may be wearing. |
| 692 | * TapOnTheHead: Punching out civilians is easy and painless. Occasionally, there will be one who puts up a lot more resistance than others though. |
| 693 | * ATasteOfPower: You can get the K7 Avenger as early as the second level, which doesn't appear again until halfway through the game. It's also possible to get the Phoenix in Area 51, which makes the level much easier. It doesn't appear again until the last few levels. |
| 694 | * TechnicolorToxin: The bright green nerve gas in Area 51. |
| 695 | %%* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Joanna and Jonathan. |
| 696 | * TeleportersAndTransporters: "Deep Sea" has warp portals. |
| 697 | * TenPacesAndTurn: The bonus mission "The Duel," in which Joanna is pitted against simulated opponents of increasing difficulty in the Carrington Institute's training center. Each round Jo and her enemy will start back-to-back and take several scripted steps away from each other before turning to fight. The second opponent, Agent Jonathan, will actually cheat and duck behind a wall while your back is turned. |
| 698 | * ThemeMusicPowerUp: The "CI Operative" theme plays during some cutscenes, usually after Joanna does something awesome. |
| 699 | %%* TheyLookLikeUsNow: Mr. Blondes. |
| 700 | * ThrowawayGuns: The Dragon and Laptop Gun on their secondary mode, [[JustifiedTrope which turns it into a disguised proximity bomb, or sentry gun respectively]]. The UGL Liberator in ''Zero'' gets the Dragon's secondary mode. Also, there is one point in the last level of the original which requires you to leave one of your guns behind before progressing. Unfortunately, the completely worthless Reaper can't be used for it. |
| 701 | -->''Make your sacrifice to the god of war.'' |
| 702 | * ThisIsTheFinalBattle: |
| 703 | -->'''Joanna:''' This is it. [[KeystoneArmy Cut off the head, and the body will perish.]] |
| 704 | * TimedMission: Several levels have segments which must be completed in a certain time limit (these are usually AlwaysClose). In particular, "Mr. Blonde's Revenge" must be completed in about four minutes before the bomb you've planted in the basement of [=dataDyne=] headquarters goes off. It's possible to do it the long way and kill everyone in the building before planting it, but very difficult and time-consuming. |
| 705 | * TitleDrop: Perfect Dark is Joanna's agent title at Carrington Institute. So sometimes she'll be called that (Carrington also uses the codename to call her over the radio after Air Force One crashes in the Alaskan wilderness). |
| 706 | -->'''Carrington:''' Good luck, Perfect Dark. |
| 707 | * TookALevelInBadass: There's one animation [[BossInMookClothing all the guards can potentially do]], mercifully don't, but when they ''do'', it strikes fear into most gamers. Its unofficially called the "Terminator walk". Guards in the game generally either go prone, crouch or stand still, all while adjusting their aim. In the Terminator walk they start advancing towards you with no regard for their own safety like a ''badass'', and unload their entire magazine at you. If this happens on a harder difficulty, expect to get massacred. |
| 708 | * TrappedInContainment: The surgeons at Area 51 who kill themselves with nerve gas. |
| 709 | * TranquillizerDart: The tranquillizer gun, but instead of knocking targets out, it blurs their vision, lowering their accuracy. The alternate fire gives the darts a lethal overdose. |
| 710 | * TranslationConvention: The mission briefing for the bonus levels which let you play as a member of an alien race is written to reflect the style that the alien races might be expected to use. |
| 711 | * TrialAndErrorGameplay: The original game's lack of mid-level saving of any kind means that if you get killed in ambush, use an expendable gadget in the wrong place, or allow your [[EscortMission braindead AI companions]] to get themselves killed, it's back to the start of the level. More evident on the two higher difficulty settings. |
| 712 | * {{Troperiffic}}: Rare more or less attempted to cram as many action movie and sci-fi tropes as possible into a single game. It worked pretty well. |
| 713 | * TryNotToDie: |
| 714 | -->'''Jonathan:''' That crate? It ''really'' [[MadeOfExplodium doesn't like being shot]]. |
| 715 | * TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Apart from the flying cars and alien technology, this could almost be a modern shooter. Canonically, the game is set in 2023. The prequel is only set three years earlier and completely drops both of these, leaving the only real hints that it's the future as some of the odder weapons (plasma rifle, sword with an energy shield, etc.), the fact that the only flying vehicles all seem to be Osprey-inspired, jet-powered VTOL craft, and the in-universe existence of [[BloodSport Deathmatch]]. |
| 716 | * UnexpectedGenreChange: From normal, if futuristic, spies versus evil conglomerates to epic sci-fi action ending with the main characters storming an alien planet. |
| 717 | * TheUnfought: None of the main villains (Cassandra [=DeVries=], Trent Easton, Mr. Blonde) get boss fights, and Joanna never even meets the specific Mr. Blonde who's leading the conspiracy. [[spoiler: Cassandra at least gets an EnemyMine DyingMomentOfAwesome.]] |
| 718 | * UnguidedLabTour: Joanna's missions sometimes require her to sneak into and investigate several high-tech, top-secret labs such as [=dataDyne=] Central (her institution's rival), Area 51 (Government facility, hints about the existence of aliens), and the Pelagic II (Government ship overtaken by [=dataDyne=]). {{Justified|Trope}} because she's a secret agent --it's literally her job to go unnoticed. |
| 719 | * UniquenessRule: In the Combat Simulator, each player is only allowed to deploy one Laptop Gun as a sentry weapon at any time. Attempting to deploy a second Laptop Gun as a sentry gun will result in the first deployed gun destroying itself. |
| 720 | * UniversalAmmunition: The game uses the same ammo setup as ''[=GoldenEye=]'', with a few weapons having unique ammo types and the rest drawing from shared pools, differing only in that a third "generic" pool is added for submachine guns. A fairly ridiculous example, not only in that (at least going by the OneBulletClips rules) it already made sense for submachine guns to use pistol rounds, but that the '''alien weapons''' also draw from these pools. |
| 721 | * UnlockableContent: Perfect Dark inherits this structure from ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'', in that, if you want to have the full experience, to explore everywhere, and complete various objectives, you ''are required'' to play the missions in the harder difficulties. This however, [[HarderThanHard is no cake-walk]]. |
| 722 | * UnnecessaryCombatRoll: |
| 723 | ** It seems like the first day of security guard school is spent teaching cadets how to perform this. Averted in that it's as woefully ineffective as it should be (it leaves guards open to attack for several seconds) but played straight in that Joanna herself performs a few shoulder rolls [[CutscenePowerToTheMax during cutscenes]]. |
| 724 | ** One of the changes made from ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' involved making the rolling animation interruptible - that is, a guard no longer finishes his roll, stands up and ''then'' dies if shot mid-roll. |
| 725 | ** ''Zero'' lets Joanna do this as a command. It breaks enemy lock-ons, forcing them to get their bearing. They are also substantially quicker. |
| 726 | * UnorthodoxReload: |
| 727 | ** The Cyclone's bizarre reload animation where the magazine is fed into the side of the gun and passes out the other side. |
| 728 | ** Maian weapons have a magazine which looks like a greenish ball and is absorbed into the side of the gun like a liquid. |
| 729 | ** The [=DY357=] has a cool-looking but pointless reloading move where you insert the moon clip into the chamber and then flick it sideways [[OneHandedIsCool one-handed]]. |
| 730 | ** When you're dual-wielding. How the heck can you even reload two guns at the same time so quickly if you're holding them in each hand? |
| 731 | * UnusableEnemyEquipment: Taken to absurd levels in the GBC title. Most enemies will be armed with assault rifles, yet only a few guards will have usable weapons, or even ammo, on them when they are killed. |
| 732 | * UnusualUserInterface: Joanna's headset, which is essentially a wearable computer that deploys over her field of vision when you access the menu. |
| 733 | * UpdatedRerelease: Re-released for the Xbox Live Arcade on March 17th 2010 with bright, shiny new high-def visuals and online play! [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFI7kRo6eaU&feature=related Feast your eyes]]. |
| 734 | * UnwinnableByDesign: |
| 735 | ** You can actually (and on higher difficulties, ''have to'') encounter the DiscOneFinalBoss in the ''very first mission''. You can freely gun her down, but it will fail the mission and prevent you from progressing. (The InUniverse justification is that she has a key you need to get into the secret lab, but it will stop working if she dies - and the mission's intro cutscene even tells you as much!) |
| 736 | ** Rarely, mission objectives will have (non-obvious) [[TimedMission timers]]; two big examples in the ''same mission'' are the taxi and the limo on the Chicago stage. You need to bug both of them, but the taxi will leave permanently only a short time into the mission, and the limo will depart a short time after (they'll also both leave if you make too much of a ruckus.) Didn't bug them before they depart? Mission failed, abort and try again. |
| 737 | ** Also in the Chicago mission, you need to create an opening to sneak into the secret base. If you just casually waltz into the guards' line of sight, they'll ''permanently'' lock the door; mission failed. |
| 738 | ** Obviously, any mission where you need to [[EscortMission keep plot-critical NPC's alive]] will fail if they die. |
| 739 | ** You need a disguise to infiltrate Area 51 in the second self-named mission. If you get the disguise, but then botch it by raising the alarm anyway, you can't get into the room you need to to complete the mission. Time to restart! |
| 740 | ** In the start of that same mission, you need to escort a hovercrate to a weakened wall to blast an opening into the base itself. You have to move it through a warehouse full of enemies. The crate is fragile, and there is only one. You do the math. [[spoiler:However, you can still pull it off if you lose the crate, by throwing the assault rifle in proximity mine mode next to the marked wall, then shooting it with another gun to detonate it.]] |
| 741 | ** In the Airbase missions, raise the alarm in the airbase before you've infiltrated it, or on Air Force One before you've proven the conspiracy to the President (or don't have the evidence when you do, or leave before you present it, etc.) will turn the level hostile and prevent you from finishing. |
| 742 | %%* VaderBreath: Mr. Blonde has it. |
| 743 | * VideoGameCaringPotential: If you disarm or surprise some foes, they'll surrender and cause you no further trouble [[note]]And if you save the civilian with the keycard in Area 51, you can get a cool hidden weapon[[/note]]. But... |
| 744 | * VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Are ''you'' evil enough to shoot an enemy in the groin after they've been disarmed and surrendered? Yes. |
| 745 | ** In the original, foes who have been knocked out can then be killed rather easily, especially if you like headshots. |
| 746 | ** In the first mission, you can shoot down flying cars that go by, obviously killing whoever was inside. |
| 747 | ** Nothing says "guilty, sadistic pleasure" more than ''shooting a dead body curled up in the fetal position''. |
| 748 | ** The non-combatants in Area 51 will either surrender, run away to hide or alert security, or yell at you. You can kill them all without failing the mission... if you ''want to'', that is. |
| 749 | -->Scientist: "Leave this area now!" ''(gets shot in the head)'' |
| 750 | ** If you wasted time and ammo in breaking all of the bottles in the Wine Cellar of Carrington Villa, Daniel will call you out for destroying at least a million dollars worth of vintage alcohol. |
| 751 | -->Carrington: "Act your age, Joanna." |
| 752 | * VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: In some levels there are civilians wandering around. You are not allowed to shoot them, and if you do so you instantly fail the mission. |
| 753 | * VillainShoes: "Mr. Blonde's Revenge" is played from his perspective. |
| 754 | * ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption: Against the Skedar. |
| 755 | * VirtualGhost: Dr. Carroll is the mind of a dead scientist programmed into a floating laptop computer. He appears in human form in ''Perfect Dark Zero''. |
| 756 | %%* VirtualPaperDoll: In multiplayer. |
| 757 | * VirtualTrainingSimulation: The Combat Simulator room. |
| 758 | * VisibleInvisibility: The Cloaking Device leaves a faint trace of the user's outline. As well, users have to decloak to attack. |
| 759 | * VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Usually Mr. Carrington, although other CI staff sometimes fill this role. ''Zero'' gives you Chandra for half the game, [[spoiler:though she defects to [=dataDyne=] very shortly after Jack is killed.]] |
| 760 | * VoluntaryShapeshifting: The Skedar can shift between their true forms and their Mr. Blonde disguises. |
| 761 | * VulnerableCivilians: To complicate matters, some missions have many non-combatants and innocents wandering around. If you [[TriggerHappy kill too many of them]], (or just one or two on harder difficulties) you will fail the mission. |
| 762 | * WallOfWeapons: The guns in the glass cases at the firing range. |
| 763 | * WeakTurretGun: The Laptop Gun in its SecondaryFire mode. Most drone guns in the game can be destroyed without much effort, although the ones in Area 51 can be pretty tough. |
| 764 | * WearingAFlagOnYourHead: Elvis' stars and stripes vest. [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare The Maians really like America.]] |
| 765 | * WeCanRuleTogether: Cassandra invokes this when Joanna encounters her at the end of the dataDyne mission. |
| 766 | * WeNeedADistraction: |
| 767 | ** Reprogramming the taxi on Chicago to crash into the police robot. |
| 768 | ** Cassandra [[spoiler: gives her life]] to make one in "Attack Ship". |
| 769 | * WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture: Joanna's evidence of the conspiracy is a recording which the President proclaims "overwhelming" after seeing roughly three seconds of it. |
| 770 | * WeWillUseWikiWordsInTheFuture: [=dataDyne=], [=SuperDragon=], [=FarSight=], [=MagSec=] (what is that short for, anyway?), the [=BombSpy=], [=CamSpy=] and [=DrugSpy=]. The N-Bomb may count too, since the "n" is short for "neutron", though it's nothing like a real neutron bomb. |
| 771 | * WhamShot: Again, several. |
| 772 | ** Dr. Caroll [[spoiler: being revealed as an AI]] at the end of the second level. |
| 773 | ** TheGreys being real, at the start of the seventh level. |
| 774 | ** [[DiscOneFinalBoss Trent]] [[spoiler: being killed by Mr. Blonde, who is revealed to be a hostile alien]], at the end of the twelfth level. |
| 775 | ** Level fifteen's ending, [[spoiler: which sees Joanna captured]]. |
| 776 | ** Finally, level sixteen's opening, which shows Cassandra [[spoiler: a prisoner aboard the Skedar ship same as Jo]]. |
| 777 | * WhatAPieceOfJunk: Elvis says this about ''his own'' ship. |
| 778 | -->'''Elvis:''' Oh no, we have a problem. It's a single-seater. Two can get in, but no more.\ |
| 779 | '''Joanna:''' It's the only way out of here.\ |
| 780 | '''Elvis:''' Plus it's got no style, you know what I'm saying? |
| 781 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: |
| 782 | ** The negotiator that you have to save at the beginning of "Carrington Institute: Hostage One" (unless you choose Perfect Agent difficulty, where ''you'' are the negotiator) inexplicably disappears from the level when she runs away after you save her from the guards. |
| 783 | ** After being rescued in the Crash Site mission, the President is never heard from again, although a meeting with him is a plot point later on. |
| 784 | * WhatTheHellPlayer: Running around, ducking, and doing other wacky stuff in front of people will elicit a response. ''"Please don't do that, Joanna — it worries me."'' If you destroy all the wine bottles in your boss's wine cellar, he will tell you to act your age. Which is odd, as story-wise, your boss is tied up in the other room being beaten. |
| 785 | * WhatMeasureIsAMook: |
| 786 | ** Until you run up against the aliens directly, you're mostly mowing down security guards or government employees. Admittedly, they're working for a corrupt corporation and a treacherous NSA respectively, but you still spend a lot of time killing people just doing their jobs, although they're under orders to kill ''you''. However, if you feel like it you can just knock out human enemies if you like in most levels. It's just that this is usually only practical if you can surprise lone guards. |
| 787 | ** In the levels where you have to board or are actually ''on'' Air Force One, you will fail the mission if you kill guards, as they are not involved in [[spoiler:the conspiracy to kidnap the President]]. You can, however, kill NSA troops, since they are. |
| 788 | ** A particularly sad example is in Mission 4-2 where you must take a spare uniform from a scientist named Harry. On Agent difficulty, you can't avoid killing Harry as he is "conveniently" next to the crack that you must demolish. |
| 789 | * WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The game is rather vague about the location of most of its settings, aside from Chicago, Alaska and [[{{Area 51}} Nevada]]. Most of the CI staff are British, but the city where [=dataDyne=]'s headquarters are located isn't named, and Carrington's villa seems to be in Gibraltar or somewhere on the Mediterranean. |
| 790 | * AWolfInSheepsClothing: Whenever there is a group of scientists or people that you're not allowed to kill, one of them will invariably try to screw you over by sounding the alarm or pulling a gun. |
| 791 | * WordSaladTitle: Aside from being the codename of the main character, the name "Perfect Dark" doesn't mean anything in particular besides that it [[RuleOfCool sounds really cool]]. Because of the difficulty in localizing the title, the game was going to be renamed ''Red and Black'' in Japan for the same reason until they decided to just transliterate the English title. |
| 792 | * WouldHitAGirl: You are playing as a woman, and your enemies are perfectly willing to shoot or punch you. This is only fair, given you're trying to kill them as well. It would also be a pretty boring game if they didn't. |
| 793 | * WritingAroundTrademarks: In the XBLA remaster, the BigHeadMode was renamed from "[[Franchise/DonkeyKong DK]] Mode" to "Monkey Mode". |
| 794 | * WhyIsntItAttacking: When Joanna and Elvis enter the Cetan ship, they comment on how unusual it is that there are no guards around. [[spoiler: The reason is that they all have cloaking devices.]] |
| 795 | * XRayVision: There is an item called the X-Ray Scanner that can see through walls. One of the weapons (the infamously overpowered [=FarSight=]) is a railgun with one of these scanners built into it. |
| 796 | * YouAllLookFamiliar: All of the Skedar and Maians (except Elvis) look the same. |
| 797 | * YouAreTooLate: |
| 798 | ** Joanna rescues Daniel from being held hostage at the villa, but not before dataDyne recovers Dr. Caroll from him. |
| 799 | ** Trent invokes this when he has the President hostage at gunpoint. Jo has about a half second to disarm him before failing the mission. |
| 800 | * YouFool: Trent says this about the President. Cassandra also says "You won't shoot me, foolish child". [[spoiler:You can't shoot her without failing the mission, but you can knock her out]]. |
| 801 | * YouHaveFailedMe: |
| 802 | ** When Mr. Blonde [[spoiler: kills Trent]] at the end of the Alaska mission. |
| 803 | -->'''Mr. Blonde:''' You have failed, Easton. You are a flawed device, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and we need you no longer.]] |
| 804 | ** Cassandra gets this and YouHaveOutLivedYourUsefulness as well. |
| 805 | * YouKilledMyFather: In the sixth mission of ''Zero'', Mai Hem kills Joanna's father, Jack Dark. Jo retaliates by burning Mai Hem with her dropship's engine exhaust, although she's NotQuiteDead yet. |
| 806 | * YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Happens after you've blown up the undersea superweapon and saved the world. Time to put on your best dress and meet the President! Whoops, change of plans... time to defend your headquarters against a surprise invasion, get kidnapped, and single-handedly defeat a warlike alien race on its own planet. |
| 807 | * YouShallNotPass: |
| 808 | ** Joanna attempts this during the evacuation of the Carrington Institute. [[spoiler:While the ship she was defending manages to escape, she gets knocked out and captured.]] |
| 809 | ** During the evacuation of Area 51, either you or Jonathan covers the escape. If you do it, you find a way out on your own, and Jonathan shows up again at Mission 7. If Jonathan does it, the mission ends for you immediately and you don't see him again. |
| 810 | * YouWouldntShootMe: Cassandra rightly claims this. [[spoiler: You can still knock her out though.]] |
| 811 | * ZergRush: |
| 812 | ** The tiny Skedar in "Deep Sea" are particularly annoying as they just keep spawning and there's nothing to do but shoot them all as they regenerate. |
| 813 | ** On "War!", the enemies never stop coming; your only hope is to kill as many as you can and run like hell to avoid the rest. Luckily, they're terrible shots. The good news is that your army also respawns. Keeping them alive is essential. |
| 814 | * ZeroEffortBoss: The Duel mission, which is ordinarily difficult almost to LuckBasedMission levels... unless you're facing Jonathan Steinberg. The guy is actually fairly competent when he's helping you, but when he's in the Duel, he's apparently taken correspondence courses at the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy, and misses every single shot even at point-blank range. You can be standing perfectly still right in front of him, and he'll still merrily fire every single shot into the wall behind you. This is because he's still coded as an ally, and therefore to avoid friendly fire. The only way to get killed is to either get into extreme close range, at which he uses a melee attack, or use cheats to give him a rocket launcher, at which he can kill you by splash damage. |
| 815 | [[/folder]] |
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