i picked up perfect dark. it's strange playing it after all these years. i still think the game did a lot of things well. it handles really well for a shooter, and the weapons and they way they work is really spectacular. damn near every subsequent shooter tried to throw in some wacky alternate game mechanic, or just wasn't particularly fluid in how the controls work, but i still think perfect dark works really well. it's really basic stuff, but they executed it all so well.
still, i can't help but find the game disturbingly boring. for me, there's not an awful lot to be nostalgic about in the game. the level and story design is really deplorable, and while the gameplay variety is nice, i don't really find any one thing in the game that interesting anymore. hard to feel nostalgic about the game's controls, which is all that really holds up at all. it's hard to resist comparing it to older generation stuff that made its way to xbox live arcade like rez or castlevania sotn, both of which hold up for a wide variety of reasons, particularly how worthwhile and inventive their presentation and visual styles were by ANY standards, not just the ones of that time. they really are as immersive and enjoyable now as they were then, in part because nobody has improved on what those games did. can't say that about perfect dark. too much has been done with first person shooters since that it's hard to really look at this game as anything but awkward novelty. anyone who thinks perfect dark is some pinnacle of first person shooters is just kidding themselves.
it's a shame. i was crazy about this game back in the day, but the magic is gone. i expected it would be to an extent, but i thought i'd be able to have a bit more fun with it. i last about five minutes doing any one thing in the game before getting bored enough to do something else.