Goldeneye Rogue Agent : Greatness or Disappointment?

The name says it all. Goldeneye was a top hit for the Nintendo 64, and they are looking to strike again. This time Rare isn't making it, and it has nothing to do with the original, so why the Goldeneye name? Well even though James Bond won't be playing the main role, EA thinks they can tell the story from a different perspective. Although this game will be nothing like it's first, it is still set to leave a punch behind it. I am a big fan of Goldeneye, as I loved the movie, and the game Rare created for Nintendo. I am not so excited for this one, as I was for the last, but we should give it a shot, as everything\one, deserves a shot...

Let's back-step a little bit, and explain what is up with this so called "Sequel". Rare who made the last Goldeneye game, is not making this one, which in my opinion lowers the hype of this game a lot, because Rare is probably one of the best developers, but that's besides the point. Goldeneye was a classic movie as well, and the game played the movie pretty well in plot, but this version of Goldeneye has absolutely nothing to do with the movie, or anything to do with the game, so how can this be a true sequel? Well... In a sequel changes are always made, and just because it isn't directly related the it's first, doesn't mean it can't fall into the sequel category, so in a way it has to be considered one, since it bares the name "Goldeneye". Xenia Onatopp who was a main character in the original Goldeneye, returns in this game, with a few other goodies. Returning the infamous name but none of the backup sounds to me like a smart way to either sell more, or bash many people's feeling in making them think they are in for a true sequel. I have seen many movies, and even played a demo of the game, and it doesn't feel quite like "Goldeneye". The controls are nice though, and the graphics are sweet, so EA didn't leave that out, but they did disappoint me big time when I heard most of the original cast was going to be left out. Bad EA! Bad EA!

I did say there are some good things about this game, and that we should all give it a chance. Goldeneye gives us the luxury of spying through eight missions, putting you in the role of a secret agent that has been fired from her original job. Auric Goldfinger fixes an eye injury you get from a fight, which then gives you a "golden eye". This golden eye, has powers to see through walls, etc. Throughout the game you gain more powers, like hacking machines, and such. This ability makes this game different from other shooters, so that should be a pretty cool difference. With the controls being pretty similar to the original Goldeneye, this leaves that alone, with a few minor changes, like the eye ability, etc. You will need to use X-Ray vision quite a few times to advance throughout the game, along with the hacking ability.

EA changed the line a little bit, and turned to the dark side. You play as a bad guy, which is not always a bad thing. Bad guys are fun to mess around with because usually with good guys, you try and save as many people as possible, now you can use guards as human shields, and kill innocent civilians, etc. EA didn't only make this a factor, as even though you play the role of a bad guy, you have to fight other bad guys, so it is like the war of the evil doers. This game is not going to be for everyone, so be ready for an evil cast, with not a lot of hero in this game.

Earlier in this review, I said there are eight missions... That doesn't sound like a lot, but every single level is very tedious, and requires a lot of skill, and strategy. With that being said, the levels are not that well made, so that would explain why they are so long. The AI is very poor, as many of the characters are stupid, and just stand there when a gun is pointed to there heads, so that is a negative. The good points to make is that there are a huge variety of weapons to work with, so you won't ever get bored of weapons. The multiplayer is cool because of the weapons, so if you don't mind playing around long levels, then your set for this game. Many first person shooter multiplayers are fun to play with so hopefully EA will resurrect older levels from the original game and put them in here. The sound is pretty nice, as there are different sounds for each gun, which make this game stand out a bit. The background music is fine, and again... Hopefully we will hear some older tunes from the original game. If I was the developer I would have had many plans for this game, to make it a true sequel, but that's just me.

Overall this game has many problems, and the way EA developed it was not smart at all. Putting Goldeneye in the name was wrong, and should of named it something else. It sure deserves something better than this. If you have played Everything or Nothing, you will see a lot of similarity to that in this game. I hate to say it, but if you are looking for the Goldeneye you found on the Nintendo 64, then fail to look any further, because you won't find it here. It is a decent first person shooter, than reminds you of any other one that has been made recently. I give it a 5 out of 10.