Perfect Dark's novel

Three new novels set in Rare's Perfect Dark universe are going to hit bookstores just before the release of Xbox 360 title Perfect Dark Zero.

As part of a deal with TOR Books, Microsoft is allowing a series to be written, providing back-story and expansion of the sci-fi based world that surrounds main protagonist, Joanna Dark. The first novel will be Perfect Dark: Initial Vector, due for release in October and written by prolific scribe Greg Rucka, who's penned a number of crime/thriller novels and comic books. Initial Vector will act as an entry point for the X360 game, which is due to launch around the same time as the next generation machine this Christmas.

Perfect Dark now joins the growing number of games being made into novels, with Halo also getting the treatment in the shape of The Fall of Reach (Eric S. Nylund), The Flood (William C Dietz) and First Strike (Nylund). Slightly more ancient are the numerous Resident Evil books by S.D Perry, and the DOOM novel series, Hell on Earth, Infernal Sky, and Endgame, which were started during the 90s by Dafydd Ab Hugh, Brad Linaweaver.

Back to Perfect Dark Zero, it's emerged that EB Games in the US is also offering a Limited Collector's Edition, which provides a collectible Perfect Dark Zero Glyph Card, a special edition comic booklet and two discs. The first is a copy of the game, while the bonus disc contains music from PDZ, a video feature, Xbox Live gamer tiles, a HUD skin, and the first chapter of the previously mentioned novel, Initial Vector – all inside an embossed metal collector's case with a protective cover, for $59.99. There's no current word on whether we'll see this Limited Edition version in Europe, but hopefully we'll hear something at Microsoft's X05, in October.