by Sirfalcon aka Ric Simkowitz
Assistant Editor
After a decade of gaming a remake to the ever so classic Goldeneye has made it way to yet another Nintendo console. This time Activision has picked up the title instead of Rare. Goldeneye has gone through many changes since its predecessor; a more current Bond Film cast has replaced the entire cast for one. Daniel Craig takes the leading role as Bond to save the world yet again. But gamers will tend to ask themselves does this Goldeneye actually live up to the hype or is it just another company hoping to make money off an already popular franchise?
As far as nostalgia goes this game does little to none recreating the original Goldeneye experience. Think of it more as a reboot with new level designs and gameplay mechanics that resemble more of the Call of Duty game engine. The single player experience takes Bond to six different locations and spans about 7 to 8 hours. There are nuisances to the original game but will quickly change into a total new experience for the most part. If you are a fan of the movie it actually does a better job at retelling the story than the original game did. Goldeneye feels and plays like Call of Duty, find cover to get away from bullets then peak out and shoot. You’ll find yourself doing mostly room clearing and using Bonds ever so trusty Cell Phone that activates apparently everything. From time to time the action is broken up into a quick time or driving scenes where some of Bond’s classic scenes are relieved. There isn’t much to do other than complete the Campaign offline. So when all else fails its off to multiplayer!
When I first went online I really didn’t know what to expect. But from the start there are Loadouts allowing you choose what weapons and specialized gadgets to start with. The more you play is the more experience you gain to unlock better weapons and gadgets. There are 10 maps and 9 modes of play, which need to be unlocked through experience points. I didn’t find anything too original about the multiplayer most of the modes were taken from other games just cleverly renamed to fit the game persona. I did however like the Heroes mode, which randomly selects someone on a team to play as a classic character such as Bond or Jaws. Goldeneye does feature an offline multiplayer mode for local party enthusiasts the only huge difference from the online mode are the game modifiers that give that little nostalgia of the original multiplayer experience.
Goldeneye is definitely suited for both the Casual and hardcore gamer alike. Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk Classic or the Gamecube controller all gives the same experience to the player. With a great single player experience and a very worthy online experience to keep players returning for more action. Goldeneye does little to recreate the original game but does a great job recreating itself into one of the Wii’s best shooters. For the Goldeneye franchise, it’s true… “ You only live Twice.”
