Goldeneye 007
Reviewed by Stryker
For years since the 1982 debate where four million copies of ET
ended up in a New Mexico landfill, movie licensed games have been
good sellers but terrible games. But, thanks to the patience of Rare,
there's finally a game BETTER THAN THE MOVIE, not to mention a
first-person game with actual thought required.
Graphics 10 out of 10
Goldeneye 007 has characters represented via 3-D polygon formations.
There's real faces pasted on, practically, to their faces. When they die,
there's numerous things that could happen. Shoot them in the neck, and
they go into a slow death dance. A head shot will spin them away. Blast
their butt, and they'll leap up in pain. Also, 007 has the best explosions.
It's more important than you'd think, with 7 explosive weapons and lots
of furniture that can blow up. Some of the rooms look exactly like
they do it the movie! I haven't even gotten to the backgrounds. From
the majestic Siberian tundra to a Cuban jungle, the cartridge keeps
pumping realistic scenery. There's the aforementioned climates, a
mountain-covered dam, a dreary chemical facility, three different
temples, underground caverns, and a French frigate in Monte Carlo.
Around the world, Goldeneye delivers.
Music and Sound 9 out of 10
There is a music track for each of the 20 one-player levels, with wide
varieties. Each includes a mixin of the Bond theme somewhere. The four
battle levels (the Stack and Basement are just from the Library) split
up the music from these, along with some of the themes from elevators,
bosses, dramatic points, cinema animations, and faster versions of other
tracks. As for sound, the gun firing make distinct noise all their own. The
sound of bullets tearing flesh, metal, and wood all have differing sound.
The silencer comes into play here and separates Goldeneye from all of
the mindless Doom clones. A silenced gun is vital to a spy, after all. You
need to avoid some guards with these silencers, or 1-shot blasts of guns
direct to the head.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
Well, obviously, there's already 4-player multiplayer, with a possibility
of 33 characters after you beat the game on Easy. There's 20 levels to
beat and there's tons of guns to experiment with before you find the
cheat options. In each level, there's a time limit you must beat on a
certain difficulty. Beat it, and you receive a cheat option you can flick
on and off. There's 23 cheats, counting three non-timed cheats in the
last three levels. Rare even built in a very easy cheat so you can stumble
upon the cheats without having to use strategy guides. The best "party"
cheat? No-Radar in multiplayer. Some of the cheats give you bonus
weapons, but the All Guns cheat is in the last level and gives you 31
weapons to use. 11 battle arenas counting the five 1-player levels
you get, 33 characters, 4 difficulties, 20 levels, whoaa!!
Rumble Pak 10 out of 10
Many were disappointed with Star Fox's limited use and Blast Corps
being without it. Well, here you are. The rumble pak shakes whenever
you shoot your gun or get hit, meaning you're going to be shaking like
you're a coffee achiever. It's adding to the realistic air: actual thought
needed, cameras, alarms, rumbling guns, and stealth.
Frustration
Well, I beat the game in 3 months, and over that time period I got
frustrated by a few things. But that is only part of regular play to
get stuck on levels, so it's ok. Rare is nice about that kind of thing.
The last level is easy, and the best cheat is simple. The hardest level
is the Aztec Complex, where you face an unlimited supply of Moonraker
Elite soldiers and Jaws. But the challenge is welcome where N64 has
been accused of putting out "easy" games.
Replayability 10 out of 10
After I finally completed the game with all cheats, I expected to be
bored until I re-upped my cash flow. Well, I've spent my time redoing
levels faster, trying to beat the game with a 2-player option (one
player moves and aims, the other looks and fires), and goofing around
with the four coolest cheats: Invincible, Invisible, Infinite Ammo, and
All Guns. Then there's the multiplayer with the tons of weapon varieties,
scenarios, characters, handicaps, arenas, time limits and stuff. The
multiplayer has gotten me friends around my neighborhood, I am
regarded as a champion of thought.
Game Value 10 out of 10
Ever notice that the best games are 59.99? They are. Mario 64, Blast Corps,
007, Extreme G, etc. I bought shadows for $10 more and it's collecting dust
in a spider web. Goldeneye's endless fun proves that delaying games is well
worth the wait, and worth the cash.
Strategy 10 out of 10
Well, most doom clones are just "kill everything, exit the level" and you
open doors to find guns lying there.
In this game, you have to contact double-agents, install modems, destroy
computers, activate computers, photograph stuff, steal documents, escape
from prisons, reprogram a shuttle, steal the Golden Gun, blow up cameras,
and copy CDs. Not to mention eliminating quite a few soldiers. You sure
can have a violent day with the cheats. Still, Goldeneye is revolutionary.
Overall 99 out of 100
Goldeneye 007 is a killer app and the best console action game of all time,
at least for now. Buy it or settle for Duke Nukem 64, aka Censored 64.