GoldenEye 007 (Wii) Review
And here we are, talking about a game that I would never have expected to come to fruition. A collaboration between Nintendo, Activision and Dead Space Extraction developer, Eurocom, GoldenEye 007 is the first true reimagining of the now famous 1997 shooter on the Nintendo 64, and the second reimagining of a game that I love on the Nintendo Wii. From the team that brought you the criminally underrated Nightfire and The World is Not Enough games, obviously there’s a lot to live up to here, and the question is how much of the amazing experience the original game gave us is translated across to this pseudo-sequel. Most of it, thankfully, but there’s a lot missing too. That being said, it’s amazing, and one of the best games on the Nintendo Wii. And that’s not a hyperbole.
GoldenEye 007 takes a few liberties with the script of the original game, namely by moving the settings into the modern day and so changing the script around to accommodate this modern day setting. Daniel Craig now stars as Bond, and is tasked with tracking down an EMP weapon possessed by a mysterious corporation run by an equally mysterious figure known as Janus. Set in the political climate of a world financial crisis, instead of just following the fall of Russia, GoldenEye 007 takes players through many familiar locations that have been updated to meet with today’s standards. The story is pretty shallow overall, however, and a lot of the new motivations for some of the villains aren’t explored as well as you would expect a game like this to.
A majority of your favourite characters return, playing largely the same roles throughout, however, for some reason, I feel some of the characters have really been put in the back seat of the narrative in order to give Bond some more solo screen time. In particular, a certain character is not featured anywhere near as much as they were in the original game, which was a bit of a disappointment (and a bit of a blessing for some players) too. Be warned, some characters’ roles have been completely removed. But at the same time, you’ll play through events you may have never experienced in the original game, but happened in the film.
The thing that most perplexes me with developers today is that they consistently try to reach for a realistic look on the Nintendo Wii, despite the hardware’s technical shortcomings compared to other consoles. GoldenEye 007, while doing a marvellous job, still looks a bit strange in places, particularly in the smaller details where textures and such look blurry. Environments, on the other hand, look amazing, with several detailed weather effects such as snow and rain not only falling, but creating effects as they hit objects in the world. Running through a destroyed Bunker while everything is on fire, and papers flying through the now multi-level complex as you hear Xenia slaughtering everyone on the bottom floor is an experience you will never have had without this game.
Everything in the game is rendered so dynamically, and animations are contextual to the position they are performed in – initiate an animation near a wall and Bond will smash his enemies into the wall instead of taking them out with a punch. Facial animation and expressions are, despite being quite limited in numbers, performed greatly to add another layer to the characters’ acting. The lighting effects in some levels are so well designed too, with one particular level shining lights in all directions and creating the most mesmerising light show that really draws players into the atmosphere of the game. Another similar section occurs towards the end of the game that utilises bloom lighting in a very modest manner to create an amazing effect.
All cutscenes that take place in the game engine take place through Bond’s eyes; there are no “directed” cutscenes so to speak, furthering the idea of making players feel like they’re James Bond. In between missions, there are video overlay sequences similar to the previously released Quantum of Solace, in which M or Tanner discuss the mission, with relevant images appearing as they are mentioned in speech. While these segments are very nice, their novelty wore off during the Quantum of Solace game and they just break up the sequencing in GoldenEye 007 – we would’ve preferred more cutscenes instead. That being said, they are a worthy replacement for the dossiers and countless amounts of text Bond had to flip through in the N64 original.
The only real let-down here, particularly in some of the busier levels, is that the frame rate can suffer quite abysmally. Although I personally did not find too many issues with this problem, those a bit more sensitive to it may find it more jarring. But what I’m perhaps most trying to say is that the game is amazing to look at. There’s a huge variety in environments, great fluidity in character animations and generally a nice artistic direction employed.
GoldenEye 007 allows players to use a combination of controllers to suit their own playing style, with support for the Wii Remote, Classic Controller and Gamecube Controller for those feeling a little bit nostalgic. Pointer controls take quite a bit of getting used to, and require a bit of tweaking to get the feel just right. But there is a reason Activision packed in a Classic Controller Pro with this game – it’s probably the most preferable and most competent control scheme. The game controls, however, like your typical shooter. GoldenEye 007 also takes advantage of a feature known as “ADS”, in which the aiming reticule automatically “snaps” to enemies while you’re crouching behind cover or standing, allowing for quick finishes and very much compensates for the lack of a true cover system. This feature is both a blessing and a curse; it makes the game a lot easier but sometimes throws off Bond’s aim when you’re trying to aim for something other than an enemy, like a nearby explosive.
The best thing about GoldenEye 007 is that everything in the game just has so much weight. Bond’s hands and gun move as he runs, and bullets have a lasting impact with very appropriate visual and audio feedback. Everything in this game just feels so tight to play around with. Enemies all die dynamically, without looking too unnatural, like in some modern games employing physics engines. Environments shatter, break, splinter and deflate as Bond shoots through a variety of scenery. Everything that Bond can crouch behind eventually crumbles when peppered with too many bullets, making the gameplay fast-paced and very intense in crowded situations. The physics of this game have just been done perfectly.
Players will run through multiple levels, all of which are varied, and complete various objectives. In GoldenEye 007, there are a total of five difficulty modes, with two of them being rather unique. The first three are your standard difficulty levels, in which objectives become compulsory as the level of difficulty goes up. “Classic” mode, however, removes the “regenerative” health component seen in many modern first-person shooters today, and replaces it with the old finite health and armour system seen in the original game. This is obviously the hardest difficulty, and is a great challenge and nostalgia trip for those who want to experience it – though the style of gameplay doesn’t necessarily suit it anymore. The final difficulty level is “Time Trial” and allows players to attempt a fast run through the game to unlock cheats – sound familiar?
Each level is meticulously detailed, with several different objectives and, surprisingly, several different ways to approach each level. The developers appear to have accounted for various play styles, adding vents and passages that can be moved through to keep stealthy, or allowing players to smash open weapon cases and go running and gunning. This diversity and great variety of giving players options on how to approach their objectives is a very nice addition, although we found it a bit hard to stay stealthy no matter how hard we tried – guards are just too suspicious! On that note, the game utilises a very clever audio cue to signify when Bond has been “noticed”, and if players take out the threat to their position, another audio cue will play to signify that everything is safe. This audio cue was invaluable during one particular level, and it kind of became synonymous with us gasping to make sure we kept our cover. For those worried that a more open level design creates the ability to miss items easily, particularly objectives, the game does warn players when they are near an objective, allowing them to hone their exploratory skills to find their goals.
In relation to objectives, a lot of them require gadgets – something you’d expect Bond to have a lot of. Well, with the newest “Daniel Craig” Bond, most fans know that gadgets do not have a huge role in the franchise anymore. As such, Bond relies on his smartphone to take photographs of intel, hack computers (and turrets) as well as unlock electronic doors. It’s a bit disappointing to see a lack of gadgets, especially since we now have the hardware to properly render their effects, but it still works pretty well overall.
Probably my biggest gripe with the system is that on harder difficulties, which we played through on, if all objectives are not completed, the mission is failed. This sounds okay, but when you consistently play through levels thinking that a final objective is coming up, but it never does, then players have to start all over again. This is not only annoying but slightly irritating if you’re trying to finish it on the harder difficulties and are strapped for time.
It’s pretty easy to praise the game, however, but it’s also important to consider just how much this game is like the original. I’ve already discussed that some characters are missing, as are some existing characters’ motivations. But as a whole, the game is pretty faithful to the original, with almost every level having a lot of nostalgic stimulants to bring players back to the original game and remind them of what they’re playing. You’ll still fight Xenia on a bridge in a jungle, you’ll still need to escape a burning train, you’ll still defend Natalya as she tries to hack into the GoldenEye’s systems, and you’ll definitely still chase Ouromov through the streets of St. Petersburg in a tank.
What’s perhaps more admirable about GoldenEye 007 is that it manages to evoke these memories and feelings of nostalgia while still adding new twists and such to them to make it so much more enjoyable for both new and old fans. You will know when certain events will happen as you progress through the game, but the way in which they play out will be entirely new to you. What’s best about this reimagining is that some of the cooler sequences from the film make their way into the game thanks to the hardware that allows it. Similarly, areas like the Dam and the Facility feel so “alive” now that they have more characters on screen and more power to render more realistic environments and such.
The game’s soundtrack is very well put together, although it fails to eclipse the original game’s soundtrack in any way. There are some nice allusions during some levels, but no stand-out tracks. The soundtrack in fact sounds very similar to the recent Daniel Craig Bond films, which isn’t a bad thing, but not amazing either. Judi Dench and Daniel Craig do a great job voicing M and James Bond respectively, while the supporting cast do an awesome job too. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls does a great rendition of the GoldenEye opening theme, and it’s a very nice addition to hear Deadmau5/Kaskade playing in a Nightclub level, brimming with atmosphere and ambience. My only real complaint with the voice work is that the new Trevelyan character is nowhere near as menacing as Sean Bean.
Of course, the game also includes multiplayer options, which are extensive and very welcome considering the legacy the original game left behind. While you don’t have the original weapons or the maps, the multiplayer action is very fast-paced, almost similar to some of the Call of Duty games. Online is very functional, with options to customise characters, unlockable accolades for certain performances during multiplayer, and the ability to form a party and go online together, however the lack of Wii Speak support is a bit disappointing – though this may be a blessing in disguise. There are heaps of modes available, including “modifiers” that mix up the action a bit to add more and more variety to the package. Some of these include a mode where everyone is tiny, a mode where players explode upon coming into contact with one another, and, of course, one where everyone races to find the coveted Golden Gun. There’s heaps more, but we won’t list them ALL here.
Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be any hacking in place just yet (although some of the leaderboard stats are questionable) so the playing field seems quite level. A host of both classic and contemporary characters are also available, which is a nice touch too. The only real gripe we had with multiplayer was that the game didn’t seem to run anywhere near as smoothly when playing in fuller, international matches, though a region filter can be toggled to resolve this problem in most cases. Still, it’s a great addition and easily one of the best online experiences available on the Nintendo Wii right now – hopefully it has a bit of longevity.
All in all, the main campaign took about 11 hours to complete on the hardest difficulty setting, and unfortunately, besides the cheats unlocked through the time trial mode, there were no unlockables like the Aztec or Temple levels seen in the original game. We should be a bit transparent though and say we didn’t complete the game on 007 Classic mode which may unlock things, although we’re not convinced it will. Outside of the campaign, which is superb, multiplayer is sure to keep your attention both online and offline with friends. It’s nice to see such a full and well-rounded package that doesn’t sacrifice single-player content for multiplayer content, or vice versa. It’s actually pretty much the perfect amount of content, almost. I do admit that I want to revisit the campaign since completing it – it was that good!
GoldenEye 007 is easily the best shooter on the Nintendo Wii, and easily one of the best reimaginings I’ve been able to experience since I fell in love with the Resident Evil remake on the Nintendo GameCube. Not only have gameplay mechanics been updated to compete with other games in the market today, but the story and essence of GoldenEye have been kept largely intact. It’s just a bit of a shame to see the soundtrack not living up to the original, though we could all agree the bar was set pretty high previously. Still, GoldenEye 007 is a game every Wii owner should own, whether they were a fan of the original or not. An absolute gem!
Graphics 8.0
Some weird low resolution and textures, coupled with some terrible frame rate bring this one down a bit, but otherwise GoldenEye 007 is an absolutely beautiful game. Effects and lighting are very admirable for the system.
Gameplay 9.0
Fast-paced, great variety of weapons, and a very faithful homage to the original game. Objective system is a welcome return, as are the newer features. Retooled areas feel similar to the old game but also believable as areas that would exist in our world today. Multitude of control options are also a nice touch.
Sound 8.5
Great use of voice acting and original pieces, although they dont live up to the original tracks. Use of licensed music from Deadmau5/Kaskade is a welcome addition that adds excellently to the games atmosphere. The music makes this feel like a full fledged Bond movie, which is great.
Tilt 8.5
The campaign isnt extremely long, but is still very enjoyable and features a lot of great experiences. Both online and offline multiplayer are great fun, and hopefully have some longevity following release. Its a shame to see a lack of unlockables outside of the Time Trial mode, but still, theres heaps to do here.
Value 9.9
Being a huge fan of the original game and film, and being relatively disenchanted with modern shooters, GoldenEye 007 hit all the right spots for me.
