Welcome back, Agent. Pay close attention. Time is of the essence… Out from the darkness and into the light shine two masters in their fields. First, incumbent agent Sam details the original Perfect Dark - the much-hyped spiritual successor to GoldenEye that continues to draw interest to this day. Then, interstellar traveller Vernon (@meektheraccoon) flashes back to the TimeSplitters series, itself both a contemporary and successor to Perfect Dark with a similarly devout fanbase. These twin titles separated at birth share many commonalities, but it is crucial that focus is not lost. Good luck, listener.

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Topics discussed: Perfect Dark (N64, GBC); TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

Also mentioned: Baldur’s Gate III, Midtown Madness 3, Metroid Planets; GoldenEye 007, Rare and the N64 in 2000, Donkey Kong 64, Glover, Conker: Twelve Tales; Free Radical Design, Second Sight, Haze, Punch-Out!!, Body Harvest, Shaun of the Dead, Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee, Doom, Halo: Combat Evolved, LittleBigPlanet

Music used:

dataDyne Central: Defection [from “Perfect Dark”] - Graeme Norgate
Frontend [from “Midtown Madness 3”] - Olof Gustafsson
G5 Building: Reconnaissance [from “Perfect Dark”] - Grant Kirkhope
Siberia [from “TimeSplitters 2”] - Graeme Norgate
Shop/Collection [from “Blinx: The Time Sweeper”] - Mariko Nanba
click clock [from “Swinging Circuit”] - nosleeves
Return to Planet X [from “TimeSplitters 2”] - Graeme Norgate

Further reading:

“The game’s Bond: the making of Nintendo classic GoldenEye 007” - The Guardian (Simon Parkin, 2022): https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/aug/19/nintendo-64-n64-goldeneye-007-rare-james-bond-making-of
“Perfect Dark: the oral history of an N64 classic” - Eurogamer (Wesley Yin-Poole, 2020): https://www.eurogamer.net/perfect-dark-the-oral-history-of-an-n64-classic
“Perfect Dark Turns 20 - The Definitive Story Behind The N64 Hit That Outclassed James Bond” - Nintendo Life (James Batchelor, 2020): https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/12/feature_perfect_dark_turns_20_-_the_definitive_story_behind_the_n64_hit_that_outclassed_james_bond
“Rare Revealed: The Making of Perfect Dark” - Rare (2015): https://youtu.be/7CxpdspOV5I?si=gRD2DYgL_OXyAstd
“What's So Great About Perfect Dark? - A Bright Future for First Person Shooters” - WhatsSoGreatAboutGaming (2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVmxvKeD1H0
“Perfect Dark - Playthrough Perfect Agent” (Graslu00, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yb-TcgLL9Q