part of history
Better than the movies!?
It’s been awhile, but Everything Or Nothing had finally convinced me that great Bond games aren’t as much of a dying franchise as the movies. Agent Under Fire wasn’t a bad game by any means, but using an original storyline and the overplayed Goldeneye shooting system didn’t pay off as well as EA. had gambled. Then to everyone’s surprise, EA. puts down another couple million on the table and deals the PS2 a very similar hand of game play, only this time the game ends up being a winner! E.O.N. is an action-packed multi-task game that has James on his old routine, you know, foiling international billion dollar terrorist efforts and infiltrating army fortified hideouts while finding time to seduce some Barbie doll Hollywood actress with a name that would embarrass a porn star. Like Agent Under Fire, James carries out his majesty’s assignments on foot and in a variety of specially modified vehicles.
The improvements in E.O.N. from other Bond games is the third person view (instead of an eye level view) to not only widen the mobility and stunt actions of 007, but also to give the intensity of Bond’s high-octane scenes a cool Silver screen feeling. The rest of the game will have Bond test driving helicopters, motorcycles and cars that are all fully equipped with heavy weaponry and Q’s infamous spy devices like camouflage netting and acidic grease traps. The game doesn’t give you any in-depth remodeling/building options for Bond or any of his vehicles. You will start off with whatever Q gives you and pickup other weapons and war machines on the way. The presentation values, especially in some levels, gave the game an upgrade actually comparable to the high quality scenes in Bond movies. The new story developed just for the game also gets two thumbs up! That is a tremendous compliment considering the fact that I think that the newer Bond movies out today aren’t very memorable if you favor the Connery classics like Goldfinger the way I do. Bottom line is Bond has never looked better or been more thrilling and creative than in E.O.N. The game even stars some very sexy and talented voice actresses like Shannon Elizabeth and Mya! It’s nice to see the virtually 74 year old British swinger still has some new tricks up his sleeves! I give it a 4.5.
Gameplay:
Leaves fans shaken, not stirred.
Anyone who has seen a (decent) James Bond movie could guess what playing James might be like; some terrorist shooting, some fast paced racing in a car from your wildest dreams, maybe even some death defying stunt work. Well up to now, you couldn’t get that kind of game play and watch James Bond do it all at the same time. Like most action games, you will take James on a couple dozen fast but spaced out missions that have him do everything from escaping a national army to saving the busty damsel in distress. This is the first time Bond is actually starting to play out like he does in his movies; the shooting system is the best designed and most fun that I’ve seen in any 3rd person shooter all year! Since the game is only half about the shootouts, projectile bombs and the aiming schematics aren’t toned to perfection like in Socom or even Max Payne, but you won’t be doing it endlessly, and that makes it more refreshing and innovative. You still won’t get anywhere with all the machine guns in the world if you are running around all Rambo on everyone. James can take cover on any flat wall to lure the enemies out and blow them to bits by shooting around the corner when they are targeted; James can also usually head snipe his enemies by targeting them around the corner and using the right analog to aim at the peeking top of their skulls for a clean kill. The only stupid little problem I had with the game is how sometimes switching to new weapons will equip your night vision goggles in the middle of broad daylight, and I don’t think Bond has survived 42 years with a problem like that. I also wonder where the free aim option went; this is one of the first shooting games I’ve ever seen without it.
E.O.N. also has Bond performing some of his traditional British karate, he basically just gives thugs the left hook, right hook, and some slow motion Judo chops. He’s no Jet Li when it comes to laying the smack down, he’s not even a Clint Eastwood, but his moves come in handy when an armed soldier gets too close and personal. Another current trend found in this game would be times when stealth is necessary to get you out of a tricky situation unharmed. No Bond game would be complete without a few top secret Q gadgets to get him out of tight situations. Bond’s toys include some cute little remote controlled spider bombs and a grappling gun, perfect for sneaking in to bedroom windows or sliding down bunker wall. When Bond uses his grappling gun, he goes into this cool camera angle where you watch him walk up buildings like Spiderman with a gun in his hand, or watch him hop down steep walls as the floors under his feet explode and spew out flames with enemy grapplers sliding down your crosshairs! Speaking of Spiderman, it seems Bond is now gifted with not only the charm of a L.A. Mack daddy, but with a tactical spider sense he summons while time slows down around him. With 42 years on the job and never looking a day over 30, I guess it’s natural to start seeing the environment around you turn into a world of chain reactions that destroy everyone in your path. James may use the D-pad to show him were his next goal is or what he should shoot to save ammunition and let the background props do all the dirty work on your enemies. Executing these kinds of tricks and giving an efficient spy performance every stage could trigger “Bond moments”, completing these will give your score a fine boost at the end of the levels. Somehow, all of these work in enough harmony to give you a quick and delicious taste of not-so-secret agent action!
Hot women, hot cars, hot damn! For an international expert spy, Bond might as well drive to all of his missions in a limo with a British flag waving on top because his flashy double O agent “all-terrain vehicles” are about as far from secret as can be. E.O.N. once again pushes the limits and lets Bond drive the largest range of multi purpose spy transportation available to date. Driving “fully loaded” 150+max speed motorbikes, camouflage cloaked Porsche Cayennes, and apache helicopters with heat seeking missiles is like a walk in park. Much like in Spyhunter, James will be demon speeding to his rendezvous points in stylish cars like Aston Martins and losing tailgaters with the car’s built in tank artillery including missiles, gatling guns, and grease traps. The cars handle very nicely for a second rate driving game, top speed is set just fast enough to keep you from bumping in to walls at every twist and turn. Plus tight turns aren’t the end of the road here like they are in the British based game called the Getaway. It didn’t stop there though; Bond is of course no stranger to driving Warhawk helicopters. The air fights are just like one big clockwork rollercoaster ride. You pretty much follow the huge paths while blasting enemy vehicles and cannons into rubble. As you can see, every piece of transportation at Bonds disposal will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Aside from machine guns and motors, E.O.N. has some unique defining moments of pure adrenaline fun, I won’t ruin them for you but I’m sure you will FALL for them, because this game is TANKED with stunt sequences you won’t even see in Jackie Chan’s Stunt Master. The controls vary greatly on the missions during the game but they all pretty much work to your advantage without getting too crazy. The driving controls have very finely tuned handling and Bond acts every run and gun mission with his style and skill. When you start the game they throw you in the middle of a shoot out that quickly turns in to spy target practice, for some reason they chose to put the practice round after the real life simulation which is real confusing at first, but the live action tutorial will get you out of air field alive. The enemy A.I. is as good as you make it, on average (Agent) if you keep your distance they usually won’t make swiss cheese out of Bond, on hard (00 Agent) you better watch your ass at every turn with your finger on the kill switch! For all of you hardcore Bond fans, there is a huge assortment of bonus rewards for every few levels beaten with gold and platinum scores. With all said, this in some ways is the best Bond game ever, a perfect mixed action game for everyone!! Game play deserves a 4.5.
As well as being a mixed action game, there are also mixed values in the visual department. For instance, there was a race level in a jungle where the thick trees to the sides not only provide the scenery walls but looked like ugly walls at that. Then we have another race level in a dim neon-lit cityscape, here they used lighting textures and reflective shadowing to replicate the awesome graphical aspects of the Need for Speed: Underground game (which had dazzling architectural values and beautiful misty street puddles everywhere that created an illusion of the city reflecting on the ground!). The character’s nicely rendered bodies with few small facial details had no major problems. Like I said, some of the stage and background designs are perfectly up to date with the latest graphical achievements, and some are more on level with the PS1’s graphical capabilities. For the first time though, I think the camera system was the best aspect of the game visually. Though you tailgate James most of the game in a 3rd person view, they added in enough opportunities to change the adventure’s point of view to give the game that Hollywood-made feeling. The somewhat skippy frame rate was the only thing that kept the score from a 4.5. Graphics get a 4.
The audio was killer! The cast includes Brosnan….Pierce Brosnan as Bond, William Dafoe as the evil Diavolo, Shannon Elizabeth and Mya as the “Bond girls” Serena St. Germaine and Agent Starling, Heidi Klum as Katya the nanotech expert, and John Cleese as Q. So naturally, I don’t think I have to tell you how good the voice acting is with the real James Bond and William Dafoe on cast. The sound effects and music perfectly copy the quality of a Bond movie, every explosion or gun snap you hear will keep Bond on the tip of his toes since you never know where it’s really coming from, just how close it is to you. Basically there was absolutely nothing wrong with the audio, so make sure to get your highest quality stereo system ready for this game! Audio gets nothing less than a 5!
Best Features:
-Movie quality story and cast
-Tons of entertaining missions
-Just an awesome action game!
Worst Features:
-No free targeting gun mode