DF Retro: Rare's N64 Classics - GoldenEye and Perfect Dark 

Perfect Dark has mechanics that modern games still grossly lack. Mechanics like being able to shoot the gun out of an enemy's hand with your last bullet, grab his gun, and force him to surrender. Once surrendered, some enemies would even unlock stuff for you in hopes you'll spare them. Other enemies would suddenly bolt when you look away, and either run for an alarm or even another room full of their buddies. Sometimes they'd even pull out a backup handgun and keep fighting you. Perfect Dark also had seriously some of the coolest weapons in any sci-fi anything ever. Such as the ever OP as f*** laptop gun with a cyclical fire rate of about 1,100rpm, a 50 round mag, the ability to be deployed as an automated turret that can stick to almost anything, and even folds up to pose as a laptop - capable of booting up - to pass airport security. It also had the Callisto NT, an alien rifle, and the Phoenix, an alien pistol. Both run on "blob" mags that feed into the weapon's side through what seems to be some sort of osmosis. The Callisto NT's primary fire mode was a very high rate of fire weak ammo, but the secondary mode, at no extra cost to ammo, slowed fire rate substantially, but each round now was high velocity and armor piercing. The Phoenix was similar, except the secondary mode switched to a lower fire rate, but with truly explosive rounds, capable of killing multiple enemies in a single shot. The alien sniper rifle, the "X-Ray," Was an alien sniper rifle that was guaranteed 1 shot kill, and could shoot through ANYTHING. Couple that with a scope that can not only see through anything, focusing on a given plane of focus, but it also had an auto tracking, life seeking mode that would find and track targets for you at great distances, which you could then kill. Also the RCP-180 (I think), which has a cyclical rate of 1,200rpm of armor piercing ammo and I think it was a 120 round mag, but it could also "eat" ammo to fuel a cloaking device, which would hide you until the ammo depleted or you switched it off. Another game play mechanic that I don't think was seen again until Splinter Cell, was the ability to shoot out lights to blind enemies in darkness. There's even a part near the beginning of the game where enemies with NVGs try this on you by shutting off the lights, but if you were quick and clever, you'd remember there was a light switch for that room where you entered, and if you activated it, the troops would be blinded by their NVGs for a moment, long enough to shoot them all. The game also had disguises you could acquire, and be used to infiltrate certain areas. The game also had a secondary melee mode, that instead of punching, you'd attempt to disarm the enemy, something I'm not sure if I've seen since. There was also the really cool aspect of alternative starting locations combined with additional objectives when playing higher difficulties. It also had a split screen single-player co-op that was done really well. Also hidden weapons in certain destructible objects, hidden wedges of cheese, enemies that would taunt you, or curse you as they died, and reacted to being shot, such as limping, clasping an arm, and they would leave a blood trail you could follow. Plus the soundtrack was dope, and they even had a firing range complete with challenges to showcase the awesome weapons, and get you very proficient with them. The rewards for completing the gold star challenges was the unlocking of the classic guns from GoldenEye 64. Oh, and there was the Dragon, my favorite rifle for multiplayer, as the secondary mode causes you to activate a proximity mine built into the gun, and then chuck the gun on the ground. Sure, you lose the gun, but it looked just like a legit weapon pickup to other players. If you got real crafty, you'd pick up the rifle, activate the mine, and toss it right on its ACTUAL weapon spawn. Sneaky as f***. Perfect Dark was so ahead of its time that I can't even list more, because I need to actually get things done today, but I certainly could go on. It's in my #1 spot of "Best FPS Game of All Time." I still judge modern shooters by the very high standards Perfect Dark set, which is why I truly hated Perfect Dark: Zero. PDZ is an okay shooter, but making it a Perfect Dark title was a complete insult to Perfect Dark, and was such a let down. Again, it's an okay game - if you never played the original. Kinda like how I enjoyed the "Avatar: The Last Air Bender" live action movie, because I had never seen the anime. Once I saw the anime, I understood why everyone said the live action movie was total and utter shit. That's how PD fans feel about PDZ, or Conker's Bad Fur Day fans feel about Conker: Live and Reloaded (which was originally called "Live and Uncut," and was gonna be even less censored than the original). What a shit-pit that ended up being.

7 fps is more cinematic

everyone remembers this game man. was awesome, and perfect dark. cant believe how the low the frames were, never realised back then

Wow. That 360 remake of Perfect Dark has to be the best example of how to do a faithful remake I've ever seen.

In GoldenEye, the map designs were ripped directly from the movie's actual set design floor plans. If you watch the movie and already know the game levels, it's kind of a trip to follow Bond through each area.

Never had problems with the low Fps back then. Golden Eye was epic

perfect dark in my opinion is one of the best fps games ever created

To those people who claim that 30FPS is unplayable, some of your childhood gaming was partly defined by a game that ran at 10FPS...

That Goldeneye soundtrack...

I didn't even know what a frame rate was back then, such a great generation to play games.

Original Deus Ex for the next episode would be perfect.

Update: Goldeneye is no longer N64 exclusive and Remake unfinished Rom has been leaked ever since.

Love these games to bits today and always knew the frame rate was sub par especially in multi player coupled with explosive weapons, but I had no idea it was so low even in the single player, it really didn't seem that bad, probably because it was so much fun.

3:43 heh.. never noticed this error before. That's not DOOM - that's DOOM 2 1994

Another awesome retro-analysis. I would love for you guys to do one on Metal Gear Solid 2. That was a technical masterpiece.

I don't care what anyone say nor what these performance test say perfect dark is the GOAT of multiplayer of the early days..... Me & my friends & family used to play that multiplayer til the wheels fell off WITH the bots & we didn't give no fucks about no frame rates all we cared about was FUN & we had PLENTY

Man, these two games used to fill my entire summers as a kid... and I still play til this very day

These framerates are very close to current gen consoles.

I still play goldeneye with friends.

to be honest, I really miss split screen multi-player matches, the good old days when we used to trash talk each other face to face...

DigitalFoundry should analyze real life sometime.

Those where the times, when devs actually gave their lives to bring content to games... nowdays "ok we will release this brand new game, AND we ALREADY have some dlc ready" wtf?

i do not need cocaine anymore just DF retro

So 4 years ago, you indirectly suggested that IO Interactive would be the ideal developers to create a Bond game. Well played 👏

I Really Like The Xbox 360 Version Of Perfect Dark Because The Framerate Is Great. Shame That Goldeneye Was Cancelled :(

One of the reasons why Hi-res perfect dark is so much sharper and clearer is because the higher resolution effectively means the VI can’t blur the image, usually it scales the game from 320x240 to 640x240 and makes a real mess of it, but when the game natively runs at 640x240 no scaling is needed.

Very good episode.

I am also adding - it's disgusting how publications and the Internet worldwide are trying to rewrite history - GoldenEye being described as only a console defining shooter is a disgrace - it received nearly 100 awards I believe in 1998 including Graphics technology and best game. In 1997 GoldeneEye redefined FPS on console AND PC, it's list of innovations is incredible - GE did it all first, games like Halo AND Half life are all credited with innovations which were lifted straight out of GoldenEye 007. GE was the reason for tearing so many of us away from Quake - Many N64 consoles were bought purely for GoldenEye, it was lavished with praise in multiplatform and PC magazines - it's sandbox level design, texturing, animations, environmental effects, particle effects, weapon animations, bullet holes in walls, damage modelling, sound, mission structures, stealth, dual wielding weapons, sniper scopes, cover system, artifical intelligence, NPC animation, escort missions, sky box, multiple ways of taking on missions, hit detection, level interaction, realistic explosions, console multiplayer were all way ahead of its time and thats just a small part of what GE brought in - it is still one of the most fun and playable shooters to this day. If Goldeneye was a Sony PlayStation game by Naughty Dog, or produced by Valve, ID or some other major developer praise would be rained from the rooftops, it would be the number one PlayStation game - there is a reason why GOLDENEYE is the BEST FPS/STEALTH game in its generation - because it is.

this guy looks like avgn and paul from newegg had a baby

It's amazing how passionate you guys are with these retro videos!! It really hits home for those of us in our 40's. Thank you and keep up the good work!

do OCARINA OF TIME

Come for benchmarks stay for DF Retro. I'm digging the stuff you're putting out John .

I spent an embarrassing amount of my life playing perfect dark's bot multiplayer without the expansion pack when I was a kid. Probably because bots were the only friends I had.

Fantastic breakdown of what made these games so fun and important in their day. I really enjoyed seeing the performance numbers. The crashing frame rates were something every player recognized at the time, but it was oddly acceptable. Well done!

Fantastic vid, probably the best DF Retro yet! I loved GoldenEye back in the day and I've actually been replaying it recently. It is mega hard on 00 Agent and I'm currently stuck on the Control level, even if I survive to the end I struggle to protect Natalya while she's sabotaging the GoldenEye satellite. I seem to have forgotten a lot of the tricks I developed for beating the game back in the day... The framerate is definitely dodgy but it is still playable. I could have sworn it hits 60fps when you go through the grate at the top of the Control level, but maybe 30fps feels like 60fps when the games runs at 15fps for so much of the time? One thing I was hoping to know is if using the 16:9 mode helps the framerate at all. I remember I always used to play the game in 16:9 with the music off because I felt cropping the picture slightly gave it a bit of a performance boost. I'd be interested to know if that's actually the case or if it was just in my head! It might actually have given a wider field of view in which case the framerate could have been lower but the wider image helped in other ways. I definitely agree that Perfect Dark's framerate just took things too far. I remember I always used to play it in low-res mode because it was smoother but even then it was hard to play. That said I was playing the PAL version and if it had a higher default vertical resolution maybe that also hindered the framerate compared to the NTSC version. I remember back in the day Rare were very proud they'd made a version of the game for PAL territories that didn't have unsightly borders on a 4:3 TV.

Thanks, John! Completely agree with you about design innovations and replayability of the levels in GoldenEye. I'd never played it before until finally got the opportunity to experience this game recently this year when I bought the original cartridge and played on the real hardware. And man, this game is INCREDIBLE! I've got so much FUN which is hardly available nowadays! And of course, we should pay homage to the original DEUS EX in the next episode first.

I feel that Spyro The Dragon is hugely underestimated in the technical department. Sure it didn't have Multiplayer l, but it had high frame-rates (30FPS most of the time), 3D everything, Good soundtrack and sounds, large open environments with long draw distances, seemingly seamlessly loading via the clever use of portals and smooth animations to name a few. Spyro 2 added 3D water effects interactive ambient AI (does it's own thing and yet you can still interact with them directly shooting fish for example), cheats, replayability, more transparency effects 3D explosion effects... Spyro 3 added more complex AI and even larger levels.

Thanks John, what a great look back episode covering both games! When you mentioned how maybe PD should have arrived on NGC instead got me think'in... Now that both of these have been covered. It would make an excellent companion piece, if you could do an episode on the Goldeneye/Perfect dark teams final chapter. With what came next when they left and formed.....Free Radical Design. In what i consider to be, those games spiritual successor..... .. . The Timesplitters trilogy! Maybe not right now as you're busy with other stuff but, at any rate....It's never to late for some "TIIIME TUH SPLIT!!!" ;)

OMG i'm just have to buy a Xbox One. With RARE Replay and experience Perfect Dark like i did when it came out when i was 8 years old.

As someone who loves video games, I really enjoy your channel. However, as someone who enjoys technology and science even more, I really have respect for you due to your scientific approach to them, especially videos like this where you look at not only the technology used in games, but also its impact on the technological space and paradigm of its time. You guys are very meticulous and the attention to detail is impeccable in all of your videos I have seen. Keep doing what you guys are doing, it really is top-notch quality.

GoldenEye 007 is great, but it still can't beat Perfect Dark, as that game improved upon the general mechanics.

It's insane how Goldeneye had a dual analog option back then.

lowkey he should've talked about timesplitters

This has become one of my most favorite series on RU-vid.

I was about to write you guys a note suggesting you made this exact video! Great minds think alike

Nice work John, these retro videos are quickly becoming one of my favourite series on RU-vid.

The remaster of PD is fantastic and we're lucky to have it for Perfect Dark. For those that don't own an XBox 360 but have a PC, you can Emulate the Nintendo 64 version. There's even a special Emulator Package (1964 - GE/PD Edition) that includes all the best optimized plugins to run the game at a smooth 60 FPS at 1080p or higher. I run Perfect Dark at 4K and it really plays super smooth. The Package also comes with a Mouse & Keyboard Input Plugin that makes both Goldeneye and Pefect Dark feel truly at home on the PC. In fact I'd argue that it feels and plays better than a lot of contemporary FPS games at the time, and even holds a candle to modern Action FPS games today. Everything else you say about Goldeneye and Perfect Dark's overall feel is true. It's unfortunate the poor performance on the Native hardware holds it back so much, as today I can't see myself playing Perfect Dark on the N64 Hardware. If you get it running smoothly though; you're in for such a treat. Destructible Environments were ramped up slightly in some maps when compared to Goldeneye, such as the Wine Cellar on the Villa Mission.

It's so sad that the 360 version of the original Goldeneye never came out. It would be so good with the graphics mode toggle, modern controls, online play and 60f/s

Today I stumbled upon your videos, man I got to say you've got a new suscriber, each video you upload is better than the one that came before it. Lot of knowledge there, keep up the good work.

GoldenEye N64 best game ever !

This was beautiful. An exploration of the games and studio and what made them great in many ways. I hope more DF Retro follows this sort of format.

Goldeneye is one of the absolute greatest FPS games ever i beat the entire game on 00Agent as a 9 year old and then perfect dark came and it was better than goldeney in almost every way, perfect dark imo is the greatest FPS of all time

I love your passion John. My gaming passion started in 98’ and it was also PC phase for me: TOCA 2, Colin 2, Age of Empires 2, Captain Claw.

Who is here after the XBLA Golden Eye leak?

That's pure quality YT and one of the best retro series ever created. Keep up the fantastic work!

Very interesting. I never knew the framerates were so bad. I think I remember slowdown in split screen MP, or just a general sense of sluggishness but I had no idea it was 10fps. Goldeneye Source 5.0 is fucking amazing btw. Also, you've convinced me to buy the 360 remake of Perfect Dark

What a fantastic episode! You mentioned different platforms, mods, abandoned projects, etc. Very complete stuff, I'm very impressed! Congrats, DF! And for the people who enjoyed these fantastic spy games, I recommend giving *No One Lives Forever 1* and *2* a try.

Growing up with these games and levels of performance is the reason why I don't care about 30 vs 60 fps. High framerates add to the experience, but great gameplay trumps everything else.

A very well written and interesting video. Probably the best DF Retro I've watched, thanks for that!

Oh shit... I thought Golden Eye was put into Rare Replay as an update and you were comparing the original to the Xbox One release... Well, back into depression I go! :p

Goldeneye and Perfect Dark....those games were my childhood. Perfect Dark is Forever.

Ahhh those days when a nitendo console was not only to play mario and zelda

Goldeneye was awesome but perfect dark blew my mind off! One of my favorite games till date and I'm 33 years old! Too bad that we're most likely not gonna get a N64 mini or proper remake from these 2 games.

The problem with Perfect Dark was that it had already been massively out-innovated my games like Half-Life before it was even released, so it wasn't just obsolete from day one, but it didn't even run well on its intended hardware.

So many memories playing this in high school in 1997-98 was simply the greatest...back then. Play it now and you wonder how in the hell you played the game.

DF retro is by far my favorites youtube videos right now. i really like your work and i really hope it continue!

Saying Goldeneye was "borderline unplayable" is tantamount to blasphemy. *Spanish Inquisition player enters*

I want u guys you know that this retro series is my favorite thing on RU-vid these days. keep up the great work!!

Imagine if Goldeneye was remade for Xbox One by Rare. Damn.

People say Goldeneye 007 hasn't aged well but playing it for the first time on emulator on PC a year ago made me enjoy the game a lot. It really is quite a timeless and industry revolutionizing game.

Nintendo 64 has the same frame rate as the ps4! PS64

11:45 It's available now for download on PC! It's absolutely fantastic.

So many nemories.... I was happy with 10 ~ 20 FPS.. '.'

I was 9 years old back then, had tons of fun playing GoldenEye with friends.

gamers from 1997 : 15 fps omg so awesome gamers from 2016 : 30 fps it's fucking slow

These two games were some of the best gaming moments of my life. I can still go back to them and get that same magical feeling all these years later.

what about the fan remake of golden eye on the Source engine?

this is astounding, excellent work!

Perfect Dark pushed the N64 too hard tbh, it should have been a NGC game but since the console was not out yet it got released on the N64. Rare's games in general were known to push systems to there limits which resulted in pretty but sluggish games, especially on the N64 which was bottlenecked in many ways.

MGS3 next? it looked amazing for a ps2 game.

Fantastic break down and analysis, DF Retro keeps getting better and better, can't wait for the next one.

I remember having so much fun with GoldenEye on the N64. "Unplayable" was not a thing as we weren't spoiled yet - we just played!

I really enjoy these videos. Always looking forward to more.

These games were ahead of their time

Im so glad I'm the age I am now to have played these games as a kid. So much nostalgia for these games, the 90s were just awesome

Nintendo were morons to let Rare go but given how incompetent they are now with their console side of things, perhaps it was a no-win situation. Look at the original Deus Ex, please, I almost get the feeling that not many modern gamers even know it exists.

Amazing how in low res the game has a realistic feel to it because it blurs everything, models, textures, but in high res you see the simplicity of the graphics

Still better performance than xbox one.

Never played it in 90s, but I think GoldenEye looks strangely cinematic. Like interactive early CGI cutscene.

Golden Eye, Turok: DH and Halo: CE were the games I would play the campaign over and over again back in the day. Those were the good ol' days, so much nostalgia!

funny how you fail to mention the 1964 emulator with mouse injection which brought 60fps 1080p high res textures to the games with proper shooting and aim with mouse and keyboard it was the best versions possible even today

That's beautiful! Nice video as always.

John how about revisiting GoldenEye in an upcoming DF Retro episode now that the XBLA version has leaked?! That would be epic!

In the late 90s, I remember seeing Goldeneye on a shelf in a store. It was labeled with "Over 2 million copies sold". That was the reason I bought it. I still remember the first time I used the sniper. That feeling was only surpassed by Halo.

Low res mode: Looks like arse High res mode: Still looks like arse

Week after week my opinion just gets more and more solid, THIS IS THE BEST CHANNEL ON RU-vid! AMAZING Video guys, congrats!

Considering The Frame Rate Problems Perfect Dark Had I Have No Idea Why They Would Make A "HI Res" Mode

Great deep dive on a couple of console classics. Keep up the great work!

The footage of "DOOM" is DOOM II. Just saying!

Those unique objectives have to be appreciated. Most shooters, even modern ones, have a singular goal: reach the end. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark made that open ended design possible by implementing numerous unique objectives that didn't always involve shooting things making you feel more like a spy than a soldier.