Preview: His word is his bond, his name is Bond and he's gracing a console screen near you.
Whenever I get the chance I like to highlight the black mark in an otherwise glorious PC history whereby those blasted console developers dared to revolutionise one of the gaming genres that we so nicely gave to them. The genre in question is the first-person shooter and the specific title is none other than GoldenEye 007. Seriously, the odds were already stacked against Rare given that they were essentially forging a movie adaptation (and we know how well those usually turn out), let alone on a genre that other console developers hadn't been able to get their joysticks around. Not only did they make a kick-arse title; they pushed the first-person shooter genre towards the future.
But I digress.
While Nintendo is rumoured to be the stopping force behind an apparently finished Xbox LIVE Arcade version of GoldenEye 007, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners will be able to get a piece of the Bond action early next year. The Wii has already had their taste of a GoldenEye 007 remake of the same name late last year, but I personally found that to be mediocre at best. Walking into the presentation for GoldenEye 007: Reloaded at GamesCom, an HD version of the classic title, the thing that struck me immediately was just how similar it was to the Wii version. From the initial campaign section that was demo'd, it was clear that the Wii version had been used as a basis; at the very least in terms of level design.
Fans of blonde Bond Daniel Craig will be glad to hear that, as with the Wii version, his voice and likeness make a return as 007; despite the weirdness that the film the game is based on was brought to life by Pierce Brosnan. Dame Judi Dench whose managed to survive two different representations of Bond makes a welcome return as M. Sadly, Sean ‘I die a lot in my roles’ Bean has not leant any part of himself to the digital role of Alec ‘006’ Trevelyan, but Bond fans will notice the presence of English thespian Rory Kinnear, reprising his role as M’s Chief of Staff, Tanner. He will guide you through parts of the game with useful tidbits of information.
The first part of the demo took place in the revered Facility level with a scene that’s ripped from the script of the original film. A Russian soldier sits in a toilet stall reading the paper while Bond appears upside down in front of him for a one-hit KO. Throughout the presentation, the movement and physicality of the first-person-perspective game were suitably impressive, which the presenter accredits to some motion capture work taken from Bond stunt double, Ben Cooke.
In true post-Deus Ex fashion, there’s a certain level of emphasis on player choice. Players can choose between stealthy navigation of the environment with silent takedowns or going in loud and proud. Beyond this, there are also multiple entry points to particular areas, including handy vents and catwalks, both of which grant the element of surprise. Silenced weapons offer bloodthirsty players the ability to dispatch quietly and bloodily, while loot-loving players can explore nooks and crannies to find additional kit such as a silenced submachine gun.
As our demoer continued to take the stealthy approach, he came up on a henchman fixated on his computer screen. “This guy here is a very bad man. He does no work, he’s on Facebook all day, so we have to take him out.” A silenced gunshot. “Status update: Dead.” I laughed.
The next level on show was set on an airfield. Keen to showcase the gunplay on offer, the player took more of a “go loud” approach. Also, for added novelty, this section was played through with a Move peripheral. As far as I could see, it worked as well as I’ve seen Move work in the past with first-person shooters; that is to say, it’s no replacement for the accuracy of a mouse, but it still works quite well.
Both Bond and foes were scrambling for cover as the bullets started to fly. Certain cover items are degradable, which presents a great tactical option for players and also forces them to keep on the move when attracting too much heat. An overhead helicopter posed no threat when the demoer discovered a nearby surface-to-air missile battery, while the Black Hawk Down moment didn’t mark the end of the section as Bond continued to fell enemies that were pouring into the area
Although they didn’t show it, one of the presenters did touch on the topic of multiplayer. There will be support for 16 players, with new maps, characters and modes on offer. They weren’t willing to expand on any of the new stuff, suffice it to say they said that some of the new modes will make you feel more like a spy… whatever that means. But the greatest news of all for fans of old school gaming is that a four-player splitscreen option is set to be included.
Last on the list of the presentation was a feature that’s new to the HD version of GoldenEye 007: Mi6 Ops. These vary in nature and are comparable to Batman: Arkham Asylum’s Challenge maps. Some of them are stealth focussed, while others are more about balls-to-the-wall action. The latter is what they were showing off during the presentation. Certain modifiers were on offer before starting a map that allows you to tweak the difficulty of a level across a variety of factors (such as four AI difficulty levels). More interesting, though, was talk of a feature that allows you to click on leaderboard entries for a specific map that then loads the relevant level with the exact same settings the leaderboard player had activated, offering the best potential for besting their score.
There’s no story component with these missions; simply jump into the action and get the job done. The map design of the action-heavy level I saw was fairly cramped, with the idea being to see how quickly you could take down X amount of foes. While it didn’t look terribly exciting, these types of off-campaign solo missions tend to add extra bang for buck. I for one am definitely more interested in the possibilities of the leaderboard challenges: a form of multiplayer that doesn’t require the other player to be connected to you.
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is slated to hit in November for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012