GoldenEye 007 (2010 video game)
Encyclopedia
GoldenEye 007 is a 2010 first-person shooter
video game developed by Eurocom
and published by Activision
for the Wii
video game console
, and the Nintendo DS
handheld game console. It is a reimagining of the 1995 James Bond
film GoldenEye
, and the 1997 Nintendo 64
video game GoldenEye 007. The game was officially announced by Nintendo at their E3 2010
conference presentation. The game was released on November 2, 2010 in tandem with another Bond game, Blood Stone
.
A remastering of the Wii game was released for the Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
consoles in 2011 re-titled as GoldenEye 007: Reloaded
.
starred as Bond in GoldenEye
and was featured in the 1997 game, subsequent Bond actor Daniel Craig
's likeness and voice are featured in the 2010 game and the plot has been modified to fit with the current style of James Bond films. Judi Dench
, who has portrayed M
since GoldenEye, reprises her role for the game, though in voice only. With the exception of M, all other main characters from the film have had their appearances altered, though they still retain their original names.
Unlike the original video game and therefore movie, the whole story takes place after the Cold War
due to the Soviet Union
's replacement by the Russian Federation, so the story does not jump nine years ahead after the opening sequence.
. James Bond
(007) and Alec Trevelyan
(006) (Elliot Cowan
) are on a mission infiltrating a chemical weapons facility in Arkhangelsk
, Russia
, which is believed to be the source of weapons used by a terrorist cell to target British embassies around the world. The mission goes awry when Trevelyan is caught and apparently shot by General Ourumov (Laurence Possa). Bond escapes by detonating explosives he had placed throughout the facility before stealing a motorcycle and chasing a plane over the edge of a cliff, fleeing Arkhangelsk.
Later, a phone call intercepted from Ourumov connects him to Russian gangster Valentin Zukovsky (Alec Newman
) as Ourumov attempts to acquire a helicopter that has been modified to survive an electromagnetic pulse
. Bond travels to Barcelona
, and through a local agent placed inside Zukovsky's nightclub, Bond is able to make contact with the Russian and enquires about the helicopter. Zukovsky directs him to an arms fair in Dubai
before being killed by Xenia Onatopp (Kate Magowan
), disguised as a waitress in Zukovsky's club.
Bond tracks Onatopp to the same arms fair Zukovsky mentioned, but is unable to stop Onatopp and Ourumov from stealing the EMP-resistant helicopter. He is, however, able to plant his smartphone on-board, and MI6 is able to track the helicopter to Severnaya, a remote base in Siberia
which the Russians claim is being used to observe the effects of climate change. In reality, it is a tracking system for "GoldenEye", a series of nuclear weapons in orbit designed to disable an enemy target with an electromagnetic pulse upon detonation. Bond is unable to stop the theft of the GoldenEye weapons satellite, with Ourumov detonating one of the satellites in orbit so as to cover up the theft. Negotiating his way through the lower levels of the Severnaya facility, Bond rescues Natalya Simonova
(Kirsty Mitchell
) before being arrested by the Russian army.
Believing Bond and Natalya to be responsible for the GoldenEye blast, Russian Defense Minister Dmitri Mishkin (Ed Stoppard
) interrogates the two in St. Petersburg, but is interrupted by Ourumov - now working for the shadowy Janus crime syndicate - who murders Mishkin and abducts Natalya. Bond pursues Ourumov through the Russian military archives, before hijacking a tank and chasing Ourumov. Ourumov leads Bond to a rail yard where he boards a train with Xenia. Bond derails their carriage by crashing into it with the tank, leading to a confrontation with Ourumov over his plan for the GoldenEye satellite. He attempts to pit Ourumov and Xenia against one another, but Xenia betrays Ourumov and kills him. Bond is able to help Natalya off the train before it explodes and Natalya admits she overheard Ourumov arranging a meeting with someone for that night.
Bond goes to the meeting in Ourumov's place and is shocked to learn that Trevelyan survived his execution at the hands of Ourumov and is now Janus, the head of the Janus crime syndicate and the mastermind behind the GoldenEye theft. Trevelyan expresses disdain for his previous life, claiming that where they once fought for Queen and country, their cause had become corrupted by bankers and financiers seeking to make billions of dollars in profit by manipulating the course of governments around the world. He then leaves with Natalya, who is instrumental to his plan now that Ourumov is dead.
MI6 traces Trevelyan to a solar energy station in Nigeria
. Bond is able to infiltrate the facility, killing Xenia in the process. Trevelyan's plan is to steal billions of dollars from all the banks in London and everything the banks have touched (stock markets, financial records, etc.) before detonating the second GoldenEye satellite, erasing all evidence of the theft; Bond, however, is able to trick him into destroying his own supercomputers before telling Natalya to deorbit the satellite. Trevelyan then makes his way to the top of the satellite array to defend the override module that will sabotage it; after fighting Trevelyan, Bond is able to overload the facility control room, causing the entire facility to collapse around them. Bond shoots Trevelyan, sending him to his death over the edge of the tower. Natalya and Bond escape the base by helicopter, with the couple kissing in the aftermath of the mission.
Eurocom has also added a few updated features while retaining some features from the original game. Instead of a watch, players use a mobile phone to scan documents, take photos, and communicate with MI6. The original GoldenEye 007 featured a cheat menu which is available from the start in the re-make. The game updates the A1-Bot system which is built upon Eurocom's previous game, Dead Space: Extraction
. Each computer player possesses its own AI-bot system to make them dynamic and challenging.
The game offers players several choices of controllers: Wii Remote
with Nunchuk, Wii Zapper
, Classic Controller
, Classic Controller Pro, or a Nintendo GameCube controller
. GoldenEye 007 also provides players using the Remote with Nunchuk or Wii Zapper with the ability to peer around cover by tilting the Nunchuk. The game includes twenty-five weapons based upon counterparts from the Bond franchise.
, and though up to eight players can connect to a game remotely, only one local player is allowed at a time. Multiplayer includes characters from the single player campaign, such as James Bond
and Alec Trevelyan
, as well as classic Bond-series characters including Jaws, Oddjob, and Julius No. Additionally, online multiplayer offers XP progression, unlockables and multipliers. Split screen combat provides over a dozen modifiers, including Paintball Mode from the original game.
, despite a complicated situation in which the game's developer Rare is owned by Microsoft (producers of the rival Xbox 360
console) and the video game rights to the James Bond franchise are held by Activision. He stated, "We would love to see it [on the Virtual Console
], so we're exploring all the rights issues.
On January 7, 2008, Xbox Evolved reported that an updated version of GoldenEye 007 would be released on Xbox Live Arcade. However on January 11, 2008, 1UP.com reported that a GoldenEye port (as opposed to a remake) had been in development at Rare for several months, but stated that the title would not be released on the Xbox Live Arcade since "Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't agree on the financial side of things". Perfect Dark
, a Nintendo 64 title which used the same engine as GoldenEye would later make it to Xbox Live Arcade, however. As of November 2011, Microsoft has made no comment on further effort to acquire the rights to the game and release GoldenEye 007 on XBLA. It was revealed at E3 2010 that a new Goldeneye video game would be released for the Wii in November 2010. GoldenEye 007 is built on a modified version of the IW engine
and the game engine
from another Wii game by Eurocom, Dead Space: Extraction
.
Bond film producer Michael G. Wilson spoke in June 2010 about Daniel Craig
's participation in revisiting the story from the original film. "When we first pitched the game to him, he was really excited about it. He thought the original game was great. Daniel plays a lot of games and... gives us a lot of good criticism. We'll show him what the plan is and he'll suggest changes and get very hands-on." Wilson went on to say that Craig is aware of the original game's impact, but that his on-screen interpretation of James Bond also required changes to the tone of the story and an increased physical nature to the gameplay.
David Arnold
, composer of every Bond film score since and including Tomorrow Never Dies
, composed the game's score. Nicole Scherzinger
performs the title song
, a cover version of the film's theme which was originally performed by Tina Turner
. The game's script is penned by Bruce Feirstein
, the co-writer of the GoldenEye film, who has described several changes made to update the story in the fifteen years since its release; for example, Alec Trevelyan
's motivations have changed, as the character's backstory involving a Lienz Cossack father would make Trevelyan seventy-one years old in 2010, while Valentin Zukovsky no longer has any connection to the KGB
. Feirstein also cited a sequence of the game set at a Dubai
arms fair. Rory Kinnear
reprises his role from Quantum of Solace as Bill Tanner
, M's Chief of Staff.
awarded the game a 9.0 out of 10 and an Editor's Choice Award, praising its multiplayer component and its well-crafted story while criticizing the lack of voice chat. The reviewer, Craig Harris, concluded by acknowledging that the game—as of its release—is the Wii's best first person shooter. Gaming Nexus gave GoldenEye 007 an A–, stating, "instead of standing in the original GoldenEyes shadow, Eurocom has created a brand new game that is just as compelling and addictive as the original." GameSpot
reviewer Tom McShea also praised the game, awarding it an 8.5 out of 10. Joystiq scored the game 4 out of 5. Nintendo World Report awarded the game an 8.5/10, with the reviewer stating, "Frankly, I haven't seen a more impressive Wii shooter." The Official Nintendo Magazine gave GoldenEye 007 a score of 90%. GameTrailers
scored the game at 8.6 of 10, indicating that while most aspects are well-done, the game's performance suffers from inconsistent framerates, particularly during splitscreen play. They also derided the menus as "bland" and the "not very crisp" overall picture due to aliasing. Digital Trends' gave the game 8 of 10, complaining of the enemy AI's simplistic strategies and lack of adaptability. While the multiplayer gameplay was highly praised by the reviewer, the lack of voice chat was seen as a significant omission.
GamesRadar
, although less positive, were still pleased with the result, awarding the game a 7 out of 10, stating that it was impossible for the game to live up to the original, but that it was still "a damn fine, 'serious' shooter on the Wii, and that's saying something," adding that "even without the limited options for mature action for Wii owners, GoldenEye 007 is a solid game in its own right." In contrast, however, Game Informer was less impressed, giving the game a 6.5/10, calling it "a lackluster game that fails to hit the same high notes of the original, or keep pace with modern shooters".
and PlayStation 3
consoles. The game is to feature high-definition graphics due to running on a new game engine, an achievement system, new "Mi6 Ops Missions", and PlayStation Move compatibility for the PS3 version. On Sept. 14, 2011, Activision
announced plans to release an exclusive PlayStation 3 bundle called "007: GoldenEye Reloaded Double 'O' Edition" which will include access to the downloadable character Hugo Drax
. The bundle will include a PlayStation Move motion controller, navigation controller, PlayStation Eye camera, and Sharp Shooter peripheral along with the game on Blu-ray Disc. The game was released on November 1, 2011 in North America and on
November 4, 2011 in Europe.
and PlayStation Network, and though up to 16 players can connect to a game remotely, only one local player is allowed at a time. Multiplayer includes characters from the single player campaign, such as James Bond and Alec Trevelyan, as well as classic Bond-series characters including Jaws, Oddjob, and Julius No. Additionally, online multiplayer offers XP progression, unlockables and multipliers.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game developed by Eurocom
Eurocom
Eurocom is a British video game developer founded specifically to develop games for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since then Eurocom has expanded to several other platforms including handheld game systems and most major video game consoles.The company was once famous for its arcade to console...
and published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
, and the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
handheld game console. It is a reimagining of the 1995 James Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
film GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
, and the 1997 Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
video game GoldenEye 007. The game was officially announced by Nintendo at their E3 2010
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010, commonly known as E3 2010, was the 16th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. The event took place on June 14–17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software...
conference presentation. The game was released on November 2, 2010 in tandem with another Bond game, Blood Stone
James Bond 007: Blood Stone
James Bond 007: Blood Stone is an action-adventure video game, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Activision for the Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. It is the 24th game in the James Bond series although it is not a direct sequel to any game; it is...
.
A remastering of the Wii game was released for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
consoles in 2011 re-titled as GoldenEye 007: Reloaded
GoldenEye 007 (2010 video game)
GoldenEye 007 is a 2010 first-person shooter video game developed by Eurocom and published by Activision for the Wii video game console, and the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is a reimagining of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, and the 1997 Nintendo 64 video game GoldenEye 007...
.
Setting
Although Pierce BrosnanPierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
starred as Bond in GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
and was featured in the 1997 game, subsequent Bond actor Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
's likeness and voice are featured in the 2010 game and the plot has been modified to fit with the current style of James Bond films. Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
, who has portrayed M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
since GoldenEye, reprises her role for the game, though in voice only. With the exception of M, all other main characters from the film have had their appearances altered, though they still retain their original names.
Unlike the original video game and therefore movie, the whole story takes place after the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
due to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's replacement by the Russian Federation, so the story does not jump nine years ahead after the opening sequence.
Plot
The story is set some time after the events of Quantum of SolaceQuantum of Solace (video game)
007: Quantum of Solace is a first-person shooter video game based on the films Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360...
. James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
(007) and Alec Trevelyan
Alec Trevelyan
Alexander "Alec" Trevelyan , also known as Janus, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, portrayed by actor Sean Bean...
(006) (Elliot Cowan
Elliot Cowan
Elliot Cowan is an English actor, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in Ultimate Force, Mr Darcy in Lost in Austen and Ptolemy in the 2004 film Alexander.-Background:...
) are on a mission infiltrating a chemical weapons facility in Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, which is believed to be the source of weapons used by a terrorist cell to target British embassies around the world. The mission goes awry when Trevelyan is caught and apparently shot by General Ourumov (Laurence Possa). Bond escapes by detonating explosives he had placed throughout the facility before stealing a motorcycle and chasing a plane over the edge of a cliff, fleeing Arkhangelsk.
Later, a phone call intercepted from Ourumov connects him to Russian gangster Valentin Zukovsky (Alec Newman
Alec Newman
Alec Newman is a Scottish stage, television and film actor. He was born in Glasgow on 27 November 1974. Prior to joining the National Youth Theatre in London at age 17, he considered becoming a professional footballer...
) as Ourumov attempts to acquire a helicopter that has been modified to survive an electromagnetic pulse
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
. Bond travels to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and through a local agent placed inside Zukovsky's nightclub, Bond is able to make contact with the Russian and enquires about the helicopter. Zukovsky directs him to an arms fair in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
before being killed by Xenia Onatopp (Kate Magowan
Kate Magowan
Katie Victoria "Kate" Magowan is an English actress. She has been in film, theatre, television and radio productions.-Early life:...
), disguised as a waitress in Zukovsky's club.
Bond tracks Onatopp to the same arms fair Zukovsky mentioned, but is unable to stop Onatopp and Ourumov from stealing the EMP-resistant helicopter. He is, however, able to plant his smartphone on-board, and MI6 is able to track the helicopter to Severnaya, a remote base in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
which the Russians claim is being used to observe the effects of climate change. In reality, it is a tracking system for "GoldenEye", a series of nuclear weapons in orbit designed to disable an enemy target with an electromagnetic pulse upon detonation. Bond is unable to stop the theft of the GoldenEye weapons satellite, with Ourumov detonating one of the satellites in orbit so as to cover up the theft. Negotiating his way through the lower levels of the Severnaya facility, Bond rescues Natalya Simonova
Natalya Simonova
Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova is a fictional character and the main Bond girl in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Izabella Scorupco.-Biography:...
(Kirsty Mitchell
Kirsty Mitchell
Kirsty Loretta Mitchell is a Scottish actress.Mitchell was born in Glasgow and was a student at Park Mains High School in Erskine. She trained as a ballet dancer before turning to acting and won the Miss Scotland title at aged just 17....
) before being arrested by the Russian army.
Believing Bond and Natalya to be responsible for the GoldenEye blast, Russian Defense Minister Dmitri Mishkin (Ed Stoppard
Ed Stoppard
Edmund Stoppard , often credited as Ed Stoppard, is a British actor.-Life and career:Stoppard was born in London, United Kingdom, the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and physician/author Miriam Stoppard , through whom he is related to former MP Oona King...
) interrogates the two in St. Petersburg, but is interrupted by Ourumov - now working for the shadowy Janus crime syndicate - who murders Mishkin and abducts Natalya. Bond pursues Ourumov through the Russian military archives, before hijacking a tank and chasing Ourumov. Ourumov leads Bond to a rail yard where he boards a train with Xenia. Bond derails their carriage by crashing into it with the tank, leading to a confrontation with Ourumov over his plan for the GoldenEye satellite. He attempts to pit Ourumov and Xenia against one another, but Xenia betrays Ourumov and kills him. Bond is able to help Natalya off the train before it explodes and Natalya admits she overheard Ourumov arranging a meeting with someone for that night.
Bond goes to the meeting in Ourumov's place and is shocked to learn that Trevelyan survived his execution at the hands of Ourumov and is now Janus, the head of the Janus crime syndicate and the mastermind behind the GoldenEye theft. Trevelyan expresses disdain for his previous life, claiming that where they once fought for Queen and country, their cause had become corrupted by bankers and financiers seeking to make billions of dollars in profit by manipulating the course of governments around the world. He then leaves with Natalya, who is instrumental to his plan now that Ourumov is dead.
MI6 traces Trevelyan to a solar energy station in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Bond is able to infiltrate the facility, killing Xenia in the process. Trevelyan's plan is to steal billions of dollars from all the banks in London and everything the banks have touched (stock markets, financial records, etc.) before detonating the second GoldenEye satellite, erasing all evidence of the theft; Bond, however, is able to trick him into destroying his own supercomputers before telling Natalya to deorbit the satellite. Trevelyan then makes his way to the top of the satellite array to defend the override module that will sabotage it; after fighting Trevelyan, Bond is able to overload the facility control room, causing the entire facility to collapse around them. Bond shoots Trevelyan, sending him to his death over the edge of the tower. Natalya and Bond escape the base by helicopter, with the couple kissing in the aftermath of the mission.
Gameplay
While GoldenEye 007 is a re-imagining of the film, the game does have noticeable differences. Levels have been altered to reflect the game's modified story. According to Craig Harris of IGN, "GoldenEye still retains the basics of GoldenEyes story, but retells it in a way that makes sense with Daniel Craig's interpretation of James Bond." Likewise, the game features modern game elements to coincide with other modern first person shooters, such as destructible environments and online multiplayer.Eurocom has also added a few updated features while retaining some features from the original game. Instead of a watch, players use a mobile phone to scan documents, take photos, and communicate with MI6. The original GoldenEye 007 featured a cheat menu which is available from the start in the re-make. The game updates the A1-Bot system which is built upon Eurocom's previous game, Dead Space: Extraction
Dead Space: Extraction
Dead Space: Extraction has received favorable reviews, with an average rating of 82/100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Official Nintendo Magazine awarded the game 84 percent and called it "A first rate introduction to one of the finest survival horror franchises of recent years." The website...
. Each computer player possesses its own AI-bot system to make them dynamic and challenging.
The game offers players several choices of controllers: Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
with Nunchuk, Wii Zapper
Wii Zapper
The Wii Zapper is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote. The name is a reference to the NES Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
, Classic Controller
Classic Controller
The is a video game controller produced by Nintendo. It is used to play games on the Nintendo Wii video game console.-Classic Controller:The Classic Controller is plugged into the Wii Remote in order to be used. It features two analog sticks, a D-pad, face buttons labeled "a", "b", "x" and "y",...
, Classic Controller Pro, or a Nintendo GameCube controller
Nintendo GameCube controller
The Nintendo GameCube controller is the standard controller for the Nintendo GameCube video game console.-Overview:Released alongside the Nintendo GameCube console, the standard GameCube controller has a wing grip design. This controller was bundled with all new GameCube systems throughout the...
. GoldenEye 007 also provides players using the Remote with Nunchuk or Wii Zapper with the ability to peer around cover by tilting the Nunchuk. The game includes twenty-five weapons based upon counterparts from the Bond franchise.
Multiplayer
GoldenEye 007 features both offline split screen for up to four local players and online play for up to eight players. There are 10 multiplayer maps. There are four different game modes for offline multiplayer and nine different game modes for online multiplayer. Online multiplayer is provided through the free Nintendo Wi-Fi ConnectionNintendo Wi-Fi Connection
The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...
, and though up to eight players can connect to a game remotely, only one local player is allowed at a time. Multiplayer includes characters from the single player campaign, such as James Bond
James Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
and Alec Trevelyan
Alec Trevelyan
Alexander "Alec" Trevelyan , also known as Janus, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, portrayed by actor Sean Bean...
, as well as classic Bond-series characters including Jaws, Oddjob, and Julius No. Additionally, online multiplayer offers XP progression, unlockables and multipliers. Split screen combat provides over a dozen modifiers, including Paintball Mode from the original game.
Development
During November 2006, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime announced that Nintendo was exploring the possibility of adding the Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye 007 to the Virtual ConsoleVirtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
, despite a complicated situation in which the game's developer Rare is owned by Microsoft (producers of the rival Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console) and the video game rights to the James Bond franchise are held by Activision. He stated, "We would love to see it [on the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
], so we're exploring all the rights issues.
On January 7, 2008, Xbox Evolved reported that an updated version of GoldenEye 007 would be released on Xbox Live Arcade. However on January 11, 2008, 1UP.com reported that a GoldenEye port (as opposed to a remake) had been in development at Rare for several months, but stated that the title would not be released on the Xbox Live Arcade since "Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't agree on the financial side of things". Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is considered the spiritual successor to Rare's earlier first-person shooter GoldenEye 007, with which it shares many gameplay features...
, a Nintendo 64 title which used the same engine as GoldenEye would later make it to Xbox Live Arcade, however. As of November 2011, Microsoft has made no comment on further effort to acquire the rights to the game and release GoldenEye 007 on XBLA. It was revealed at E3 2010 that a new Goldeneye video game would be released for the Wii in November 2010. GoldenEye 007 is built on a modified version of the IW engine
IW engine
The IW engine is a game engine developed by Infinity Ward for the Call of Duty series and has recently become the main engine for the James Bond video games. The engine itself is proprietary with inclusion of GtkRadiant by id Software...
and the game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
from another Wii game by Eurocom, Dead Space: Extraction
Dead Space: Extraction
Dead Space: Extraction has received favorable reviews, with an average rating of 82/100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Official Nintendo Magazine awarded the game 84 percent and called it "A first rate introduction to one of the finest survival horror franchises of recent years." The website...
.
Bond film producer Michael G. Wilson spoke in June 2010 about Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
's participation in revisiting the story from the original film. "When we first pitched the game to him, he was really excited about it. He thought the original game was great. Daniel plays a lot of games and... gives us a lot of good criticism. We'll show him what the plan is and he'll suggest changes and get very hands-on." Wilson went on to say that Craig is aware of the original game's impact, but that his on-screen interpretation of James Bond also required changes to the tone of the story and an increased physical nature to the gameplay.
David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
, composer of every Bond film score since and including Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies is the eighteenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Bruce Feirstein wrote the screenplay, and it was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. It follows Bond as he tries to stop a media mogul from engineering...
, composed the game's score. Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....
performs the title song
GoldenEye (song)
"GoldenEye" is a hit James Bond theme performed by Tina Turner used for the 1995 film, GoldenEye. The song was written especially for Turner by Bono and The Edge of U2 when they learned that she had been offered to sing the theme to the upcoming Bond movie, and the track was produced and mixed by...
, a cover version of the film's theme which was originally performed by Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
. The game's script is penned by Bruce Feirstein
Bruce Feirstein
Bruce Feirstein is an American screenwriter and humorist, best known for his contributions to the James Bond series and his best-selling humor books, including Real Men Don't Eat Quiche and Nice Guys Sleep Alone. Real Men Don't Eat Quiche was on the New York Times best seller list for 53...
, the co-writer of the GoldenEye film, who has described several changes made to update the story in the fifteen years since its release; for example, Alec Trevelyan
Alec Trevelyan
Alexander "Alec" Trevelyan , also known as Janus, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, portrayed by actor Sean Bean...
's motivations have changed, as the character's backstory involving a Lienz Cossack father would make Trevelyan seventy-one years old in 2010, while Valentin Zukovsky no longer has any connection to the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. Feirstein also cited a sequence of the game set at a Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
arms fair. Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear
Rory Kinnear is an award-winning English actor who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.-Early life:...
reprises his role from Quantum of Solace as Bill Tanner
Bill Tanner
Bill Tanner is a fictional character in the James Bond film and novel series.-Character summary:Superb in a crisis, and blessed with a dry sense of humour, Tanner is M's Chief of Staff. He is also Bond's staunchest ally in the Service, and they often enjoy a round of golf when off-duty...
, M's Chief of Staff.
Reception
Reviews for GoldenEye 007 have been mostly positive. GameRankings's aggregated review score for the game is 83.77% , based on 62 reviews, about 13% less than the original game. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the game a 9.0 out of 10 and an Editor's Choice Award, praising its multiplayer component and its well-crafted story while criticizing the lack of voice chat. The reviewer, Craig Harris, concluded by acknowledging that the game—as of its release—is the Wii's best first person shooter. Gaming Nexus gave GoldenEye 007 an A–, stating, "instead of standing in the original GoldenEyes shadow, Eurocom has created a brand new game that is just as compelling and addictive as the original." GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
reviewer Tom McShea also praised the game, awarding it an 8.5 out of 10. Joystiq scored the game 4 out of 5. Nintendo World Report awarded the game an 8.5/10, with the reviewer stating, "Frankly, I haven't seen a more impressive Wii shooter." The Official Nintendo Magazine gave GoldenEye 007 a score of 90%. GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
scored the game at 8.6 of 10, indicating that while most aspects are well-done, the game's performance suffers from inconsistent framerates, particularly during splitscreen play. They also derided the menus as "bland" and the "not very crisp" overall picture due to aliasing. Digital Trends' gave the game 8 of 10, complaining of the enemy AI's simplistic strategies and lack of adaptability. While the multiplayer gameplay was highly praised by the reviewer, the lack of voice chat was seen as a significant omission.
GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
, although less positive, were still pleased with the result, awarding the game a 7 out of 10, stating that it was impossible for the game to live up to the original, but that it was still "a damn fine, 'serious' shooter on the Wii, and that's saying something," adding that "even without the limited options for mature action for Wii owners, GoldenEye 007 is a solid game in its own right." In contrast, however, Game Informer was less impressed, giving the game a 6.5/10, calling it "a lackluster game that fails to hit the same high notes of the original, or keep pace with modern shooters".
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded
At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Activision unveiled GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, a remastering of the Wii game for the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
consoles. The game is to feature high-definition graphics due to running on a new game engine, an achievement system, new "Mi6 Ops Missions", and PlayStation Move compatibility for the PS3 version. On Sept. 14, 2011, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
announced plans to release an exclusive PlayStation 3 bundle called "007: GoldenEye Reloaded Double 'O' Edition" which will include access to the downloadable character Hugo Drax
Hugo Drax
Sir Hugo Drax is a fictional character created by author Ian Fleming for the James Bond novel Moonraker. Fleming named him after his friend, Sir Reginald Drax. For the later film and its novelization, Drax was largely transformed by screenwriter Christopher Wood. In the film, Drax is portrayed by...
. The bundle will include a PlayStation Move motion controller, navigation controller, PlayStation Eye camera, and Sharp Shooter peripheral along with the game on Blu-ray Disc. The game was released on November 1, 2011 in North America and on
November 4, 2011 in Europe.
Multiplayer
GoldenEye 007 features online play for up to 16 players. There are 14 multiplayer maps. There are nine different game modes for online multiplayer. Online multiplayer can be used by Xbox LiveXbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
and PlayStation Network, and though up to 16 players can connect to a game remotely, only one local player is allowed at a time. Multiplayer includes characters from the single player campaign, such as James Bond and Alec Trevelyan, as well as classic Bond-series characters including Jaws, Oddjob, and Julius No. Additionally, online multiplayer offers XP progression, unlockables and multipliers.
Differences compared to GoldenEye 007
Reloaded has some changes to its Wii counterpart. There's new added gameplay, peripheral compatibility and improved graphics.- The game is developed from scratch with a new game engine featuring high-definition graphics, which wasn't possible on the Wii due to the console lacking HD support.
- Support for the Xbox 360 achievements system and PlayStation 3 trophy system
- New single player campaign mode: Mi6 OPS Missions
- New multiplayer mode: Escalation
- New multiplayer features: Online multiplayer support for up to 16 players, as well as additional maps and weapons
- PlayStation Move compatibility for the PlayStation 3 version. Activison is also releasing an exclusive PlayStation 3 bundle called "GoldenEye 007: Reloaded - Double 'O' Edition." The bundle features the game on Blu-Ray DiscBlu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, the PlayStation Move motion and navigation controllers, PlayStation EyePlayStation EyeThe PlayStation Eye is a digital camera device, similar to a webcam, for the PlayStation 3. The technology uses computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the camera. This allows players to interact with games using motion and color detection as well as sound through its...
Camera, the Sharp Shooter peripheral, and access to the downloadable character Hugo DraxHugo DraxSir Hugo Drax is a fictional character created by author Ian Fleming for the James Bond novel Moonraker. Fleming named him after his friend, Sir Reginald Drax. For the later film and its novelization, Drax was largely transformed by screenwriter Christopher Wood. In the film, Drax is portrayed by...
. The bundle will be released along with the standalone game.