[Wii] GoldenEye 007 Review

[AgtFox]

GoldenEye 007 Review

Title: GoldenEye 007
Platform: Wii
Developer: Eurocom
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
ESRB: T
MSRP: $49.99/$69.99 (Wii/Wii w/Golden Classic Controller Pro)
Editor: Loren 'AgtFox' Halek

What's Hot: Nostalgia factor as the overall blueprint of gameplay is similar to the original; a re-imagining of the N64 original; split-screen multiplayer; graphics and sound are top notch for Wii; ability to play online

What's Not: If you are expecting a straight port from the N64 game you will be disappointed; modern day James Bond actors fill in for original movie/game actors

Let’s get this out of the way first: Activision’s GoldenEye 007 is not a straight port of the classic 1997 N64 game. It is more of a re-imagination of the game with larger maps, extra locations and a different experience altogether. Eurocom has created a pretty good game here, but expecting this to be a port from Rare’s classic will lead to disappointment if you pick up the game. What is left is a classic game built around the same type of gameplay blueprint, but brought into more modern day first-person shooter experiences.

As with the N64 game, the story is based upon the movie, Pierce Brosnan’s first as the character. However Brosnan does not appear, instead the current Bond Daniel Craig has taken his place both in looks and voice. Some might not like this change, but once you start meeting other main characters from the movie (006, Natalya, etc.) and realize that those actors have also been replaced in this re-imagining it isn’t such a big deal. In fact, even from the beginning this game goes beyond the movie, showing 006 and Bond’s double team on the Russian dam and not just Bond alone. Early on you’ll jump into a truck and be the gunman while 006 drives you to the next destination.

The name of the game is still first-person shooting and much like the original you can go through the game however you want: guns blazing or using a quieter road. The P99 is still the gun of choice in this game with the silencer, but Bond has several guns he can choose from. The graphics are far better than the original game, not a big stretch since this is 13 years and two Nintendo console systems later. The sound is also very good and the voiceovers are well done. This game isn’t as talk intensive as the Bond game I reviewed yesterday, but then again the original GoldenEyep game wasn’t very talkative either.

There are a variety of controllers you can play this with. I tried the Wiimote and Nunchuck and found it lacking, so I whipped out my classic controller and had a fantastic time of it. You can also use the Wii Zapper, the Pro controller or the GameCube controller. I haven’t had the chance to play with the Pro controller, there is version of the game that comes with that controller in a golden hue. Looking at the Pro controller that is probably the ideal controller to play this on.

As you go through the game you’ll notice the same general locations, but the scope of each map is larger and the enemies are much smarter. Instead of just standing around and letting Bond shoot them down the line with no apparent reaction here they immediately react after a cohort near them is shot dead. They don’t come as close to Bond as the enemies do in Blood Stone and there is no melee attack other than the gun smack, but generally you will be taking care of your enemies at a variety of ranges with guns.

You are most likely picking this game up for the multiplayer aspect though, something that really kept the original game going. Much like the original you can play with split screen, but you can also play online. I had to do the latter since I don’t have as many friends or family members near me as I did 13 years ago and it was generally enjoyable. You can play as a variety of Bond characters and his arch nemeses have some nice weapons that you can play with. This is a fantastic party game and will really make you nostalgic to the original game.

I have to say that GoldenEye 007 is an excellent reimagining of a fantastic game from the Nintendo 64 years. It is too bad Microsoft and Rare never got the chance to sell their port, but Activision obviously ran with the nostalgia card now that they have the property license. The thing is Eurocom has done an excellent job of reigniting the memories of long ago and as long as you don’t expect a perfect port of the original game you should be pleasantly surprised by this game. Obviously if you were into the multiplayer from the original, the stuff presented here is top notch and should keep you occupied for a while both locally and online. Highly recommended and a better overall game than Blood Stone even though it is obvious that game probably had the higher budget.

Score: 4 out of 5 CoGs


Loren says, “A fantastic reimagining of the classic N64 game. Built upon the same general gameplay blueprint, but totally rebuilt and expanded, Eurocom’s version is exceptional. Multiplayer will keep you around for a long time both locally or online, something the original game didn’t have the ability to do.”

[divinechaos]

I got this last night and it's pretty damn awesome. After finishing the first level I jumped online and I was surprised at how fun it is.

[Ravenlock]

One nitpick - you say there's "no melee" apart from the gunsmack, but the sneaking up and eliminating enemies from behind melee attack is actually a huge part of the game, if you choose to play it stealthily. I would say on some levels almost half of my kills are of that variety, and those animations are well-done and have a lot of variety.

I also personally found the Wiimote and Nunchuk combination to be the best way to play the game, having tried both it and the Classic Controller Pro, but I suspect that's just going to come down to how you're most used to playing FPS games (I play most of mine on the PC with a mouse). I found that I could get headshots quicker and more accurately with the Wiimote, and since I try to play stealthily when I can that made the difference for me.

A mechanic I really like that didn't get brought up in the review - if you're undetected by the enemy and take one of them out with a headshot, you'll get about 1 to 2 seconds of "reaction time" (don't know what to call it, the manual didn't mention it) while the other enemies notice what's going on. You hear Bond's heartbeat and the audio gets quietly distorted. If you manage to kill them all in that time frame, you'll remain unnoticed and no alarms will go off. It's a nice touch that really encourages you to sneak around to avoid big firefights and rewards you for being quick and precise. For lack of better phrasing, it feels very Bond. For reasons like that, I wouldn't overlook the single-player campaign even if multiplayer is the primary draw. Actor replacement notwithstanding, it's very atmospheric and well-designed.

This is a really solid FPS, and one of the few games on the system where I don't feel like that needs to be appended with "for the Wii." Once my system gets back from repair, I'm really looking forward to working my way through the rest of the campaign and taking it back online again.

EDIT: Another thing unmentioned about the multiplayer is that they've implemented a somewhat CoD-esque ranking system tied to your game profile, with levels, weapon and gadget unlocks, etc. It isn't as sophisticated as something like CoD, but it is a reason to go back to the multiplayer and makes it feel like more than just the "let's play pistols this time" matches of the N64 game over and over again.

[CES]

I would say the game is actually less of a remake of the N64 game and more based around the movie proper. Beyond two major setpieces (the start of the Dam and Facility levels) it felt much closer to the movie than the old game ever was. Of course, that's probably down to the advances in technology that let the game be more true to the source.

[Stmfuller]

I agree with ravenlock about the wiimote. I like it much better than the classic controller, plus the wiimote has that cool tilt for around the corner peeking.
I'm pretty close to the end now and Have enjoyed all of it.

[axion]

Do you get that reaction time always with headshots? I only noticed it when you breach a room. Is what you're talking about different from that?

[Stmfuller]

I'm pretty sure it's only during a room breach/other "important" times.
doesn't really add anything to Goldeneye, but it does make you feel pretty cool

[Ravenlock]

No, you do get the reaction time any time you get a headshot with a silenced weapon from a "stealth" status - any time you haven't been noticed by the enemy. It isn't as pronounced as the breach situations - in those instances, it literally puts everything in slow motion and becomes like a quick draw. The "reaction time" thing I'm talking about is more like a grace period before the guards figure out where you are and start shooting / alert reinforcements.

I honestly can't tell whether it also literally slows things down - if it does, it's less so than when you breach a room - but it definitely distorts the audio (I think with the heartbeat sound, but with my Wii away I can't confirm), and if you kill everyone in sight before it expires, you aren't "discovered" - no alarms sound, nobody shoots at you, and the audio noticeably snaps back to normal. I first noticed it when I was sneaking around the facility under the dam; most of the guards were in groups of two, and by taking them out quickly enough with pairs of headshots from the silenced pistol, I was able to be pretty much untouched until predetermined setpiece gunfights.

[Wilkz07]

getting it for xmas.. going to be a long wait. got the ce edition.

[Stmfuller]

Ravenlock: I just got done with a session and the hints section says the slowdown stuff is only for breaches.

[Stmfuller]

also, I'm having a hellava time with the very end. Too many people to shoot...(how's the for mostly spoiler free disscussion )

[Ravenlock]

Unfortunately I can't find any Youtube videos of anybody interested in playing stealthily (which strikes me as crazy, that's the most fun way to play the game). But you can see what I'm talking about here:

At 2:18, he starts shooting at a guy with a silenced pistol, and there's a sound that essentially means "somebody knows you're there!" and you start hearing the heartbeat. At 2:22, after he's taken that guy out and nobody around has noticed, there's another sound that essentially means "you're back in stealth and nobody knows where you are."

At about 7:54 in the same video, there's an example of it going the other way - he blows up a barrel, and that notifies the guards, but obviously he isn't able to kill everyone in the area quick enough, so instead of getting the "back in stealth" sound, a gunfight breaks out.

It doesn't appear to involve any actual slowdown (that is clearly just in the breach sequences), but there's definitely a timing element involved where your speed in dispatching enemies determines whether or not you're noticed.

EDIT: This does also mean, I guess, that it isn't specifically tied to headshots, but any time you're noticed from stealth. Obviously, though, headshots are the easiest way to get back in stealth within the time limit.

[Stmfuller]

Oh, I know what you're talking about. Yeah, there's a period of about 5 seconds if you shoot a guard and don't headshot him OR he's there with another guard where they're like "omg wtf". If you can kill before that time is up your cover isn't exposed. If not, the alarms go off.

[axion]

Yeah I noticed that as well, just was confused about the slowdown and stuff.

[Ravenlock]

Right right, sorry for the confusion. Since I'm almost always zoomed in and headshotting when that happens, it seemed to me like I was getting a slight slowdown in addition to the audio cues while taking out the other guards. My misinterpretation.

Still, it is a very cool little mechanic to reward being stealthy, which was what I was getting at. GoldenEye encourages stealthy play in a more entertaining way than just about any other FPS I've played in a long time.

[Stmfuller]

Yeah, actually the combo of stealth and being able to run and gun is what makes the game so much fun. I had a good time stealthing it out as much as possible. Then of course when I blow my cover, I love being able to shoot the shit out of all the AI players.


The one annoying thing I've noticed about the game is that the AI runs designated routes. So, the AI isn't really smart, it just goings from one way point to another. That's a big bummer...but hey...who the fuck cares Goldeneye is fun!

[CES]

Originally Posted by Ravenlock

I honestly can't tell whether it also literally slows things down - if it does, it's less so than when you breach a room - but it definitely distorts the audio (I think with the heartbeat sound, but with my Wii away I can't confirm), and if you kill everyone in sight before it expires, you aren't "discovered" - no alarms sound, nobody shoots at you, and the audio noticeably snaps back to normal. I first noticed it when I was sneaking around the facility under the dam; most of the guards were in groups of two, and by taking them out quickly enough with pairs of headshots from the silenced pistol, I was able to be pretty much untouched until predetermined setpiece gunfights.

It doesn't seem to slow anything down but when you shoot someone with a supressed weapon you get 2-3 seconds of a heartbeat noise. Kill whatever enemy saw the action in that time and there's no alarm. I love that feature, it serves me well (seems to be yet another borrowed idea from MW2, you could do the same in the stealth challenges)

[axion]

Hopped in on some multiplayer last night. By the end of my third or fourth round I was on top of the scoreboard . My best round was 23-8 I think. Pretty fun overall, definitely want to keep playing to unlock the other modes.

[biosc1]

Man, I played some of this last night. Using the nunchuk/wii-mote combo does not feel right. I'll have to dig out my classic controller.

[JayK47]

I don't know how anybody can stand playing this game with the Wiimote. To be honest, I'm not that fond of the Wii. We have one, but the wife uses it and I just have had not interest in any games on it until this one. I have rented the game and I think I will send it back. I really am having a hard time with the Wiimote. I get the indicator that my Wiimote is out of the screen a lot. I just can't get used to it. I do NOT feel like a secret agent. More like a retarded side kick who has never used a gun before. I will need a regular controller. I may look into the classic pro version since I hocked my Gamecube a few years back. This is the type of game that should have come out on the 360. Period.