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Activision's GoldenEye: James Bond Will Return (on PS3 & 360)
Grimthwacker
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E3 Trailer
Since nobody's brought this up in a dedicated thread yet, I've decided to kick-start the discussion: in case anybody missed it, Activision is indeed going through with remaking GoldenEye 007, Rare's seminal N64 FPS which arguably defined the modern console shooter. Great news for all the fans waiting for a revival that was never able to happen until now due to licensing issues and the fact that Rare is now a Microsoft-owned subsidiary, right? Well, considering Activision's recent business practices (that little incident with Infinity Ward, churning out franchise sequels like Ben & Jerry's ice cream, etc.), more than a few people - including some who frequent these boards, I'd wager - have seen this as an attempt to tap into gamers' nostalgia and fervor for the original, hoping it'll sell regardless. As a longtime Rare fan who loved the N64 version greatly I admit that I'm a little skeptical about the whole thing, but let's take a subjective look at what we know so far.
This is going to be a total remake, in every sense of the word: Activision's going so far as to retroactively have current Bond Daniel Craig star instead of Pierce Brosnan, the original Bond in both movie and game. Development tasks have been assigned to Eurocom, who have dealt mainly in franchise games, but have done some solid, if not very good work, most recently with Dead Space: Extraction. In case anybody's wondering what happened to Treyarch - the folks responsible for Acti's last Bond game, Quantum of Solace - they've been relegated to Call of Duty duty.
The basic plot appears to be intact, as British Secret Agent 007 (that's Bond, James Bond) is pitted against former friend and fellow MI6 Agent 006, Alec Trevelyan, for control of the titular GoldenEye, a satellite capable of unleashing a massively powerful strategic electromagnetic pulse. I say "the basic plot" because apparently much of the scenario is being rewritten to accommodate the "tougher, grittier" Bond that Craig has been portraying since his debut in Casino Royale a couple of years ago. No word yet on how the rest of the cast will be impacted - while I doubt anybody will miss Natalya's "artificial stupidity" from the original game if she's cut out or replaced, it'd be a shame to lose out on minor villains Xenia Onatopp (seriously, I love that name) and Boris "I am inwincible!!!" Grishenko.
Gameplay-wise, here's what we know so far: from the trailers it appears Eurocom's trying to be faithful to the original source material as far as level design goes - the familiar opening dam level looks to be an almost perfect replication from the footage, and a lot of stills released show great fidelity to the N64 version's levels. Multiplayer mode is also getting special attention, with 4-player split screen and, as can be seen in the trailer, a good bunch of the more popular game types (like Golden Gun and You Only Live Twice), as well as 8 player online support. Fans of the original should appreciate the little details being thrown into this.
That seems to be where the similarities end, though, as the rest of the game is being modernized: more varied actions, regenerating health, improved cover; that sort of thing. Unfortunately this also seems to be including quick time events and bullet time, two of the most played out - and, in the former's case, groan-inducing - mechanics developers have been using recently. I repeat, GoldenEye will now have QTEs. Just let that sink in for a bit. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to update the basic mechanics, but there really wasn't anything inherently wrong with the original's gameplay to begin with. The old health system - just one health meter, no recovery items and whatever body armor you could find to nullify any damage until it ran out - could be frustrating, sure, but that kind of challenge made getting through a tough stage by just the skin of your teeth (which happened more often than not) all the sweeter. Karate-chopping fools from behind never got old, and cover wasn't that hard to find, especially with the ability to lean out and fine aim a few shots before popping back to safety. And come on - do we really need QTEs to break the flow of play?
Keep in mind that this is still a game early in development, so things might change. I'm remaining cautiously hopeful for a good game first and foremost; if Eurocom can pull off a reboot as fun as Rare's original then they deserve the credit. GoldenEye may still be serious business around these parts, but let's keep the discussion civil.
UPDATE: Some hand-on impressions from our own APZonerunner:
Since nobody's brought this up in a dedicated thread yet, I've decided to kick-start the discussion: in case anybody missed it, Activision is indeed going through with remaking GoldenEye 007, Rare's seminal N64 FPS which arguably defined the modern console shooter. Great news for all the fans waiting for a revival that was never able to happen until now due to licensing issues and the fact that Rare is now a Microsoft-owned subsidiary, right? Well, considering Activision's recent business practices (that little incident with Infinity Ward, churning out franchise sequels like Ben & Jerry's ice cream, etc.), more than a few people - including some who frequent these boards, I'd wager - have seen this as an attempt to tap into gamers' nostalgia and fervor for the original, hoping it'll sell regardless. As a longtime Rare fan who loved the N64 version greatly I admit that I'm a little skeptical about the whole thing, but let's take a subjective look at what we know so far.
This is going to be a total remake, in every sense of the word: Activision's going so far as to retroactively have current Bond Daniel Craig star instead of Pierce Brosnan, the original Bond in both movie and game. Development tasks have been assigned to Eurocom, who have dealt mainly in franchise games, but have done some solid, if not very good work, most recently with Dead Space: Extraction. In case anybody's wondering what happened to Treyarch - the folks responsible for Acti's last Bond game, Quantum of Solace - they've been relegated to Call of Duty duty.
The basic plot appears to be intact, as British Secret Agent 007 (that's Bond, James Bond) is pitted against former friend and fellow MI6 Agent 006, Alec Trevelyan, for control of the titular GoldenEye, a satellite capable of unleashing a massively powerful strategic electromagnetic pulse. I say "the basic plot" because apparently much of the scenario is being rewritten to accommodate the "tougher, grittier" Bond that Craig has been portraying since his debut in Casino Royale a couple of years ago. No word yet on how the rest of the cast will be impacted - while I doubt anybody will miss Natalya's "artificial stupidity" from the original game if she's cut out or replaced, it'd be a shame to lose out on minor villains Xenia Onatopp (seriously, I love that name) and Boris "I am inwincible!!!" Grishenko.
Gameplay-wise, here's what we know so far: from the trailers it appears Eurocom's trying to be faithful to the original source material as far as level design goes - the familiar opening dam level looks to be an almost perfect replication from the footage, and a lot of stills released show great fidelity to the N64 version's levels. Multiplayer mode is also getting special attention, with 4-player split screen and, as can be seen in the trailer, a good bunch of the more popular game types (like Golden Gun and You Only Live Twice), as well as 8 player online support. Fans of the original should appreciate the little details being thrown into this.
That seems to be where the similarities end, though, as the rest of the game is being modernized: more varied actions, regenerating health, improved cover; that sort of thing. Unfortunately this also seems to be including quick time events and bullet time, two of the most played out - and, in the former's case, groan-inducing - mechanics developers have been using recently. I repeat, GoldenEye will now have QTEs. Just let that sink in for a bit. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to update the basic mechanics, but there really wasn't anything inherently wrong with the original's gameplay to begin with. The old health system - just one health meter, no recovery items and whatever body armor you could find to nullify any damage until it ran out - could be frustrating, sure, but that kind of challenge made getting through a tough stage by just the skin of your teeth (which happened more often than not) all the sweeter. Karate-chopping fools from behind never got old, and cover wasn't that hard to find, especially with the ability to lean out and fine aim a few shots before popping back to safety. And come on - do we really need QTEs to break the flow of play?
Keep in mind that this is still a game early in development, so things might change. I'm remaining cautiously hopeful for a good game first and foremost; if Eurocom can pull off a reboot as fun as Rare's original then they deserve the credit. GoldenEye may still be serious business around these parts, but let's keep the discussion civil.
UPDATE: Some hand-on impressions from our own APZonerunner:
I guess we can see where this is going . . .This has literally nothing to do with the original. I played a multiplayer match - and yeah, it plays similarly to COD (but, frankly, not as good) but it is, quoting the dev who demoed it to me - "a modern take on the Goldeneye film tie-in. As if the film came out in 2010, what we would make." It feels like another Activision shooter using the COD code base (it's so similar I assume this must be using the World at War/MW Reflex engine)
So they're not copying levels or even elements from the original game, it's a modern tie-in to Goldeneye. At which stage it's fuck all difference from Quantum of Solace the game, really - they're paying no attention to the original game, they're just using the Goldeneye name because it's popular and overarching elements (split screen multi, playable Jaws/Oddjob etc) rather than the actual spirit of the original game.
Tldr; Nothing to do with the classic game so if that's what you're interested in get Perfect Dark XBLA instead
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And the gameplay footage that was in the trailer looked fun enough
But I guess I'm not convinced until I hear some hands-on impressions from people who've actually played it
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It's going to suck
It's going to suck bad
I think GoldenEye may well still be the only FPS I have ever played where health loss was permanent (for that level), and it wasn't a bad thing either. It also encouraged you to actually play like a spy, not rambo.
Then again all the changes sort of stop it from being Goldeneye. I guess in the end I don't care what they do because I no longer have a Wii.
Plus, splitscreen gaming! I meet with 3 friends every week and we don't play shooters because they only have split screen 2-player coop, if that. So we'll get to play a game with memories of goldeneye, good controls, and hopefully a good game that can stand on it's own.
You can drive the truck.
The green truck, it's gonna be like Goldeneye's Falkor!
btw...
$10 says none of those idiots in the "fuckous" group ever played the original. Period.
http://www.youtube.com/vegassteven
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Any one else remember Goldeneye Rouge Agent? This seems like just a slightly more sophisticated attempt to make money out of the Goldeneye name.
Goldeneye 64 is almost unplayable by todays standards, but remaking it as a middle of the road modern FPS will suck all the charm out of it.
Personaly I hope Free radical (or whatever they're called now) have secretly been working on timesplitters 4 for the last year because that will be a much better goldeneye han this one.
True story: GoldenEye was my first FPS (and one of the last...I enjoyed the game but not really the genre). When I got the game I got pissed to all hell because I couldn't figure out how to get past the truck doors on the dam level. Took me 30 minutes before I figured out how to press the switch. After that I felt stupid.
I really need to play this game again...The original, not the remake.
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it is a shame that nintendo owns so many rare properties like this.
i would love to see this with upscaled graphics on XBLA... like pretty much any fan of the genre
http://www.youtube.com/vegassteven
They have a better version of Goldeneye on XBLA, it's called Perfect Dark.
I'd rather just pop the original cart in the N64. Don't have to pay anymore money. Won't feel right without the N64 pad and the Rumble Pack, anyway.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
well although i had an N64 on launch day, how many people will actually go through the lengths of getting an N64 system setup and running.
I know that although i am a fan of the older games (no, i will not call nintendo64 retro, sorry!) i cannot as an adult with responsibilities run out and buy all these things over again.
so some people compromise.
i am not "hardcore" enough lol
http://www.youtube.com/vegassteven
That's why I learned quite a long time ago to keep everything. I have a NES, SNES, N64, GameCube, and Wii hooked up to the TV right now. Can play whatever I feel like when I feel like it.
But we are getting off topic.
Are there any floor impressions of the game?
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To clarify, I understand the appeal of remakes/re-releases of games. They let you relive good memories, and they can refine and expand experiences and make them better than they were before. But this game doesn't look like its going to do either of those things. This game looks like its a remake of Goldeneye for the purpose of remaking Goldeneye, and I think that is profoundly stupid.
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anyhow, back on topic... the graphics look terrible.
and i am not saying that because it is a wii game. there are several good looking FPS on the wii.
this has some dark looking muddy textures.
i read that they wanted to do a new (bond) game every year and aborted that plan after the last game did poorly. i wonder if that should give them more time to tighten this one up.
plus they are doing the goldeneye license.
they need to know they have quite a legacy to live up to. if they dont know they shouldnt be anywhere near developing the game.
http://www.youtube.com/vegassteven
i believe that if they ever remake HALO on a different platform with different developers that people would pick it apart as well.
its the legacy the game has left. the fact that before halo there was no FPS on a console that could stack up to where PC was at the time, and at the time GOLDENEYE was the N64 version of what HALO was to the xbox.
think of it.
quake comes out for the PC, then Unreal does.
And people state "well, obviously the console cant compare" then comes Goldeneye.
That is why the game was important.
http://www.youtube.com/vegassteven
I still want that canceled XBLA port, though. Perfect Dark left me wanting more. At this point I'd settle for the remaining Goldeneye MP maps ported to PD as DLC, but I would still love to romp through the campaign in all it's updated glory.
yeah pretty much
The addition of QTEs really doesn't lean me toward optimism.
Better graphics can't make up for everything lost in the translation of the original.
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This is why I still have it in demo form. Its fun, reminds me of the original, but I'd rather hook up my sega and play it.
I take it you don't know what a quick time event is.
The original did indeed have a glitch where you could shoot during cutscenes, but that's not a quick time event.
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That said, if I may draw upon my knowledge of useless Bond trivia, this new game seems a lot to me like Never Say Never Again, which was essentially a remake of Thunderball under a different name: same basic premise, changed-up characters and story. If Activision wanted to do a "reimagining" of GoldenEye they might've taken that route, but branding the game as such and apparently keeping the original's high points while fundamentally altering it seems a little off to me. EA's original Bond games using original stories and characters apparently did well enough; what's keeping them from following suit?