Played Perfect Dark (Remaster) and Perfect Dark Zero back to back over the weekend
and I enjoyed Perfect Dark Zero a lot more. In fact I loved it. Perfect Dark was actually a replay for me, and I feel like it didn't hold up as well as my memory of it. I like the idea of the game, and gameplay flows nicely until it doesn't. Could be old design or skill issue on my part, but a lot of times where you need to go or what you need to do next wasn't very clear. This combined with bugs and some random softlocks killed my enjoyment of the game at certain points. The overall story and locations were not my favorite either. I will say that Joanna is great though, some of the other characters are cool too, and I liked the plot points with the Skedar.
Meanwhile Perfect Dark Zero fixed most of my issues with the original. Sure the gameplay was more streamlined but it really helped with the pacing and polish of this one. I much enjoyed the cinematic quality of the prequel, and generally preferred the locations, supporting characters (besides Elvis, my GOAT), and overall plot of the game. I also really found the mix of FPS and cover shooter to be neat, even if the transition between the two wasn't always smooth. Jo also still has her wit, and her look is perfect in my opinion.
I believe another big factor in why I loved the second game is that I didn't go into it hoping for just more of the first game, so the switch ups felt fresh to me. I also wasn't weighing it against the contemporary FPS greats like the Halo trilogy and Half-Life 2, just as its own thing. Thoughts on the Perfect Dark vs Zero comparison?