Microsoft recently described the significance of Perfect Dark Zero as being of Halo proportions. PDZ will be XBox 360s new Halo, the title expected to bear the brunt of the launch and carry the console through until enough titles are available to suit all tastes. Things however, have not been off to a good start since the game will not be available immediately at X360s launch but later, during the holiday season.
Microsoft's PR drive for its flagship next-generation title will be based around the game's lead character, Joanna Dark, a vast improvement over the lead character last time around, Master Chief. In that light the software giant, who recently announced that the first XBox lost it a total of USD 4 Billion, has released some personal information on its leading lady. Maybe the information can also shed some light on why Ms. Dark's accent changed from a U.S. one, in this prequel, to a U.K. one in the original N64 game.
Read on to find Joanna Dark's deepest, darkest secrets...
Full Name : Joanna Dark
Date of Birth : 03/18/2000
Blood Type : O
Height : 5' 9"
Appearance : Red shoulder-length hair with distinctive blonde streak, blue eyes, pale complexion, and a slender, athletic build.
Distinguishing Features : Star tattoo on neck (left side).
Occupation : Bounty hunter and bail enforcement agent. Certified for international operations.
Known Relatives : Jack Dark, father and professional bounty hunter.
Associates : Chandra Sekhar, a young hacker who runs mission assist for Dark Bail Bonds.
Background/History : Joanna Dark is an eager bounty hunter, a raw talent with laser-sharp reflexes, a reckless streak a mile wide, and a flair for sniffing out trouble. Her father, Jack, still can't help thinking of her as 'daddy's little girl' and she often bristles at his overprotective tendencies.
Joanna is capable of deep, destructive anger, and often lacks the discipline to keep her temper in check, which leads her to undertake reckless, ill-advised actions. Despite this, she is also extremely gifted and adaptable, and this frequently gets her out of dangerous situations.
Growing up in the shadow of her father, Joanna was trained from birth to be self-reliant; this makes it nearly impossible for her to easily trust someone else, particularly since her youth was spent helping her father chase crooks, hoodlums, liars, and thieves from one end of the globe to the other.
Despite a childhood that could best be termed 'eccentric' - most adolescents don't catch crooks with their fathers - she is remarkably well-adjusted and content to live each day as it comes. Trained by Jack but untested outside of HoloMan-VR, Jo is desperate to demonstrate her talents, as much to herself as to her father.
Where was Joanna Dark born?
Joanna Dark was born in Atlanta, Ga. while her parents were on holiday. The family moved to England shortly afterwards.
How was Joanna Dark educated?
Home-schooled, if it could be called that. Joanna followed her father and Chandra across the globe as they tracked down the most elusive criminals. She spent a short time in an American school in Beijing but never quite managed to fit into such an ordered environment. Joanna was invited to leave after hospitalizing a bullying quarterback.
Her education as a result is patchy; online and remote teaching, some tutoring by stuffy AI lecturers. Joanna's practical nature means she'd much rather be refitting a bike's hydrogen fuel plant or field stripping a gun than find herself stuck at a keyboard. Jack and Chandra have taught her many combat and technical skills, with her innate curiosity filling in the gaps.
What are Joanna's like and dislikes?
Jo is an avid supporter and non-professional player of DeathMatch - 'Hey, if things had turned out a little different I coulda tried out for the Seattle Slayers'. She is intensely competitive, so as far as she's concerned DeathMatch is all about winning.
Jo also enjoys a variety of adventure sports - rock-climbing, Le Parkour (free running), dirt-biking and grav boarding (a mixture of surfing, skateboarding and skitching). As a result Jo has managed to have more than her fair share of bone-shattering accidents. As Jo likes to say, 'What's life without a little excitement?'
Jo's experiences with big business have lead her to be naturally distrustful of men in suits. 'What do I dislike? The Hypercorporations. I mean, sure there are some good guys out there, the ones that face up to their responsibilities, but in my line of work you get to see how lethal some of these companies can be. Not every cost of modern business shows up on the balance sheet. Those guys are interested in one thing, the bottom line. The law says they have to deliver for the shareholders, and if someone else gets their head stamped on in the chase for profits, well, that's business.'
What skills and attributes does Joanna possess?
Joanna is a naturally skilled marksman, a lethal fighter and a mean pilot and driver.
Her technical skills stretch as far as wiring up a charge, picking a lock or hacking a basic system. All pretty practical stuff. Jo's not big on theory - like the rest of us she still has to concentrate when some researcher starts rattling off facts.
NOTE: Perfect Dark Zero is an origin story, detailing how Joanna Dark comes into contact with the Carrington Institute and its nemesis, the shadowy dataDyne corporation. By the time the events of the original Perfect Dark (Nintendo 64) take place, Joanna is a fully-fledged and accomplished operative of the Carrington Institute, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship, defensive pistolcraft and counter-intelligence.
