Perfect Dark: Initial Vector

Through the years, many games are translated into different media to capitalize on the brand-name and possible profits that follow. Some examples are the Resident Evil movies, the Halo action figures, and a smattering of books from multiple games and companies. Filling a gap between the two stellar games Perfect Dark and its prequel, Perfect Dark Zero, is the pair of books Initial Vector and Second Front. Initial Vector is already out, while Second Front is expected August ’06.

Synopsis

Initial Vector is rare in that it has good quality and makes you want to read it. Many books lack the sense of urgency or action that their respective games have, but Initial Vector captures both in scenes of chases, run and guns, espionages, affairs, and near the end of the 330-page book is a climactic battle. An interesting feature that adds to the experience of the book is the occasional dataDyne news release page that shows the great lengths they go to cover up their corporate dealings.

Joanna Dark shares the spotlight in the book between herself, Jonathan Steinberg, and a new character. This newcomer, Laurent Hayes, is the ‘son’ of pharmaDyne’s CEO. His relationship to dataDyne’s daughter company and to the outcome of the story adds an antagonistic role that isn’t the only one to plague Joana. Over the course of the book, Joanna is troubled by her father’s death and her view of the act of killing, which comes so unnaturally to her. Her personality becomes more unstable and angrier than she was in Perfect Dark Zero. Jonathan Steinberg, a trooper from the Carrington Institute, provides a stabilizing role while he must do his duty to Daniel Carrington before Joanna. Carrington’s character is much more detailed in the book, which is a great sight as the game did not exhibit his personality enough to get a good feeling of his intentions.

The story of the book starts approximately 3 years before Perfect Dark Zero with a killer plague in Canada that kills millions before pharmaDyne comes up with a cure. The horrifying truth behind pharmaDyne and dataDyne’s actions is the goal between multiple parties that include dataDyne itself, the Carrington Institute, and other mega-corporations such as Core-Mantis, Beck-Yama, and Zentek. The view of the future is chillingly possible as corporations today take shape into mega-corporations within Joanna’s world.

Conclusion

Overall, the book is a great adventure and was a rather quick read. Its most valuable characteristic is that it should make gamers want to read, a feat that eludes many books through history. The time it takes to read the novel is short, no more than several hours due to the fast pace of the book that makes you want to learn more and never put it down for a second. Only a few mistakes or typos end up in the book.

Rating: 4.5/5

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