007s greatest video game outing
First off, I'd like to mention that I never used to refer to this game as GoldenEye 007, just GoldenEye, so, for the rest (or at least most) of this review, that will be it's title.
Anyway, that out of the way, GoldenEye is a brilliant First-Person Shooter. Sure, it didn't revolutionise the genre, but it did make a solid and most importantly, fun game.
If you want to know the story, go see the movie, as Goldeneye really doesn't add all that much too it, it just lets you play through the nine years between the pre titles sequence and the main film, and extends on parts of the film. So, not worrying about the story, let's talk about the most important part of any game, the gameplay. Most movie tie ins have around average game play, but Goldeneye shines in this regard. The game is pretty straight forward, the levels are pretty linear, and don't take much effort to get around, minus the enemies, especially on higher difficulty settings. The levels aren't just straight forward hallways that you can't possibly go the long way on, but there is really no way you could get lost. An upside of the level design is that they are well detailed (For the time at least) and at times, offer multiple ways to do things. Unfortunatly, the multiple ways are limited to either shoot this guy without him knowing, or shoot him once he's seen you. Don't let all my critisism put you off though, the gameplay is still great, and deserves the 9 I gave it, but these small things keep it away from that big 10.
The Graphics, would have to be the weakest part of the game. Not so much the graphics themselves, more so the frame rate, which slows down often in firefights. It's more acceptable for this game, as it is nearly 10 years old, but it's still an annoyance. It's not that bad, as you can still walk and shoot, and the enemies slow down just as much, but it is still something that can be annoying. The graphics themselves are actually pretty good for a game this old, and at the time, were very good. They might'nt hold up as well today, especially with people who are nit picky about graphics, but they aren't bad at all.
The sound is very good, the only down side being the lack of voice acting. I can understand that at the time, video games weren't AS big (the keyword being as), and it would've been hard to get all the actors in to record, especially as there is new dialogue, and switching between text and dialogue might be distracting. Having to read isn't a problem, it's just something that I think needed to be pointed out.
One of Goldeneye's best features is it's Multiplayer. The lack of Bots is a down side, but ignoring that, it's very good. The options are pretty basic, but offer a lot of fun. A few of the levels are levels from the single player campaign (But contain parts not avaliable on multiplayer, not sure why, but it's better than nothing), and a few are original levels. One good thing I'd like to point out, if you play as Oddjob (Who you have to unlock) you will be taller than him, and therefore may m iss him, especially if your unarmed and playing as Jaws (also an unlockable character). The Multiplayer is a very good aspect of the game, and though it may be overshadowed by the Perfect dark multiplayer (Though the frame rate seems to be better here in GoldenEye), it can still provide much fun.
And about those unlockable characters, there are four of them. Oddjob (Goldfinger); Jaws (The Spy who loved me and Moonraker): May Day (A View to a kill); and Baron Samedi (Live and let die). I'll be honest, I can't remember how I unlocked them all, but I think I got jaws and Baron Samedi by beating the secret levels they're in. Oh yeah, the secret levels. Not that secret, as there is space on the level selction page there waiting for you to get them, but they have to be unlocked. You unlock them by beating the game on the hardest difficulty (00 Agent). The levels are Aztec and Egyptian. I can't remember if you had to beat Aztec on 00 Agent to unlock Egyptian or if I had to play Aztec to unlock it at all, but that doesn't really matter. the point is both of these levels are fun and interesting, and add to the game quite a bit.
Now, about the difficulty levels. You start off with 3: Agent; Secret Agent; 00 Agent. A fourth one can be unlocked as well, called 007, which is essentially a customisable difficulty. You can customise the enemies reaction time, speed, gun power, health and more. It's all good, but I have one complaint. You have to do the 00 Agent missions on levels that they apply too. Not that bad, but I'd like to at time just have a bit of fun with 007 and not worry about to many objectives. Oh yeah, the objectives are sometimes added too on a higher difficulty setting, which is a good feature, as it really does up the difficulty, not just by making the enemies stronger (Which odes happen). If you're a newbie or just want to blast your way through the level, Agent is the setting for you. If you're a casual gamer who wants a bit of challange, go Secret Agent. If you're an avid gamer who wants to get the most out of the game, definatly go for 00 Agent. I myself probably would prefer Secret Agent, but just experiment with each diffulty setting, see which one suits you the most.
Now, let's get onto... more unlockables. Cheats really, but there not cheats you enter a code in to get. They are, in fact, unlocked by completing levels on certain difficulty levels, in certain times, or just finishing them plain and simple. Unlike Agent Under Fire, where they were forced upon you, here you have the choice to switch them on and off. The cheats include invincibility, invisibility, unlimited ammo, all guns and DK mode to name a few. These can be very fun and entertaining, and add a lot of replay value to the game.
Before i finish, I'd like to make one more complaint about the levels. A few levels, are nothing more than slightly altered versions of earlier levels. I'm not saying this was a time saving cheap way around making new levels, as they ARE the same same place, ussually just set in a different part, starting in a different place, or the aftermath of something that has happened in the time between. They don't really take away from the fun, as they have new objectives and all, it's just something worth mentioning.
(I'd like to add that I apologise for the things i've forgotten about)
Despite it's flaws, GoldenEye 007 is a great game that deserves to be in your collection, even if it is almost 10 years old. If only Rare had made more Bond games.