James Bond 007: GoldenEye Reviews

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1. Thomas Briggs says:

   May 6, 2011 at 1:10 am

   117 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

   
   A Great Game Based On Its Own Merits, November 5, 2010

   By 

   Thomas Briggs (San Diego, CA) –
   
     

   Fun: 

   This review is from: James Bond 007: GoldenEye (Video Game)

   Goleneye for the Wii has some high expectations to live up to. The original N64 game was a classic, revolutionizing the FPS genre on consoles. Could this Wii game of the same name be just as important?

   I think your enjoyment depends on just how into modern FPS you are. Personally, I absolutely loved Goldeneye Wii. But that’s because I love the Call of Duty games…

   Finishing the single-player campaign and logging in dozens of hours into the multi-player game is an ENORMOUS amount of time for me to invest in a game, in fact the last time I can think of spending that much time gaming was when Modern Warfare 2 came out. Which makes sense, since the game is so similar to that series.

   Goldeneye isn’t at all a remake of the Rare game. Everyone throws out “re-imagining”, but that doesn’t really explain it. The game is completely new, relying only on elements of the movie script to move along the gameplay. Eurocom uses a few familiar locations to invoke memories of playing through the N64 title, and then promplty throw you off with completely new level designs. The game is definitely its own beast.

   The single player game is very fun. There’s four difficulty levels, and it follows the mission structure Rare made famous. On the lower two difficulty settings only one or two missions are required per level, and they are usually simplistic (like “follow the bad guy” or “get out alive”). The higher two difficulty settings, including classic mode, involve more missions, and while you can finish levels without completing everything, you’ll be unable to move on with that specific difficulty. I’ve been playing it on 007 difficulty (the equivalent of Secret Agent in the original) and have had to redo missions when missing something.

   Goldeneye apes a lot from the Call of Duty series. The single player is very cinematic, the gameplay is almost exactly the same (from the constant location icon, to the look down the sight of your gun, to the icon indicating you’re crouching), and the multiplayer might as well be called Call of Duty: James Bond. But is that such a bad thing?

   Yes, the game is much more cinematic than the original, but it’s VERY well-done. The voice acting is superb, the animation is excellent, and the pre-scripted events in the game just make it feel so much more alive than the original. And while you may or may not like the pop-up targeting, replenishing health, and down the sights view, you don’t have to play that way. Eurocom had the great sense to make Goldeneye extremely flexible, and that’s very much appreciated. Classic mode might be for you, and there’s a wealth of more traditional control options available.

   That said, I’m a big fan of the COD games, and I enjoyed playing Bond in that style. What separates Goldeneye from, say, Modern Warfare 2 is its reliance on stealth gameplay. I always thought the original’s focus on stealth gameplay was a bit artificial, I never felt overwhelmed when setting off alarms or having enemies call for backup. In this game, it’s practically required at the higher difficulty settings. This game does great job of allowing for different play styles. There’s usually more than a couple paths to get around enemies (including a large number of vents) and you’ll really have to take advantage of silencers on your pistol and sniper guns. The game also allows for melee stealth kills, which work great. Sneak up behind an enemy (by crouch-walking), and then snap your nunchuck forward and Bond will pull off a cinematic, and silent, kill. It works VERY well and gives the game its own feel.

   The enemy AI is certainly better than the original, which is to say it isn’t brain-dead, but not the best in the world. That’s partially because there’s a focus on stealth; because the game encourages you to sneak up and silently take out enemies, sometimes a fellow adversary a couple feet away might not even take notice. Again, it’s not that big of a deal. It always feels like the AI smartens up once a large firefight ensues. Backups are called in and they become aggressive about taking you out. They’ll flank you, throw well placed grenades to smoke you out, use cover, etc…

   While not as deliberate as in something like Gears of War, Goldeneye has a pretty well implemented cover system. There’s barriers around everywhere, and it’s always smart to crouch behind them and pop up for a couple of shots. The best part, of course, is that most cover options are destructible, forcing you to constantly search for a better cover option. It’s nothing super new, but it’s really obvious that more attention was given to this game than most other third-party Wii games.

   I’ve tried using three separate control schemes: Wiimote + Nunchuck, Classic Controller Pro, and the GC controller. And while the CCPro was instantly familiar and well-done, the Wiimote + nunchuck ultimately won out…

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2. That One Guy says:

   May 6, 2011 at 1:45 am

   40 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Classic, November 3, 2010

   By 

   That One Guy –

   Fun: 

   This review is from: James Bond 007: GoldenEye (Video Game)

   The Classic is back.

   007 Goldeneye for the Wii is the classic redone, only this time with the controls that we all know and love from Metroid Prime 3. It remains the same solid FPS that we all grew up with, with a few improvements in storyline and graphics (relatively speaking).

   THE GOOD:
   -The motion controls make this game so much easier than any other FPS I have played. Please see Halo for example.
   -Improved nuance. Ex. The sound of ears ringing when a grenade goes off nearby, or the way the head shifts with the movement of Bond’s body
   -Bring in the Daniel Craig. While the original GE was done with Pierce Brosnan, the modern Bond is a nice addition to an old classic.
   -The familiar: Judi Dench as our beloved M.
   -New Weapons: now kill with more ways than ever!
   -Options: Go in stealth or guns blazing. Take your pick. Either usually works in any scenario if you’re careful.
   -Multiplayer: It is incredibly true when they say “bringing multiplayer back to its roots.”

   THE BAD:
   -Graphics, dammit! “Metroid: Other M” is a clear example of what can be achieved with the Wii’s limited graphics. Or how about Mario Galaxy 2? The machine is better than most give it credit for.
   -The graphics again: Seriously, Nintendo, time to go HD. Gamecube graphics + 1 does not cut it anymore.
   -A bit of change to the original story. Forgivable, however. It’s GoldenEye.

   OVERALL:
   It’s a solid FPS for the Wii, something that is desperately lacking. We have Metroid Prime and that’s more of a puzzle/adventure than a true FPS. The controls are fluid, the nuance is great, and we have the lovely Judi Dench narrating our mission objectives to us. It is easily the best Bond game since Nightfire or Agent Under Fire for the GCN.

   Highly recommended.

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