GoldenEye 007: Reloaded Review (X360)

GoldenEye is one of the most beloved games of all time. It pretty much started the FPS craze that exists in the industry even today. I know some people would say Halo did, but we were playing console multiplayer FPS on N64 back in '97, well before Halo. So when Activision announced it was re-making / re-imagining the classic game in 2010, we were initially sad - because it was on the Wii - and then happy a year later when it was announced for Xbox 360 and PS3. This isn't the same old GoldenEye, though. This is a modern twist on the old classic that makes some pretty big changes. They are mostly for the better, though, and GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, is worth a look for old fans as well as newcomers.Game Details Publisher: Activision Developer: Eurocom ESRB Rating: “T" for Teen Genre: First-Person-Shooter Pros: Nice presentation; MI6 Ops; Classic 007 difficulty; neat modernization of old story Cons: Story changes are pretty jarring; Quick-Time-Events

It has to be said first off that this is not a remake of the classic GoldenEye 007 game or the 1995 movie. This is a re-imagining of the story to bring it into the modern day. Pierce Brosnan is gone and is replaced with current Bond Daniel Craig and is meant to take place in the same Bond universe as Craig's "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace". The tone and presentation and overall feel of the story is much more modern to fit with the new leading man and storyline and it works really well.

The core story of an MI6 defector and an EMP-blasting Russian satellite is still present, but the way we get there is greatly different from the old game and movie. The story here takes some radically different paths - some of which are pretty jarring if you are a long time fan of the movie (they kill Zukovsky off, what the heck man!) - but when you stop worrying about what is different and start trying to appreciate the new version of the story, it is pretty darn entertaining overall.

However loosely it follows the same story we know and love, when you go to the same levels as before and see how different, yet familiar, they are, it is very cool. And I quite like the new cover of the "GoldenEye" theme song performed by Nicole Sherzinger. It compares pretty favorably to the Tina Turner version.

The gameplay, for better or worse, plays basically like Call of Duty. On lower difficulties there is the CoD-style "snap" targeting where you automatically target nearby enemies and can just run through enemy confrontations with no problems. It also uses the now standard recharging health system as well. The gameplay is very sharp, though, and the shooting is pretty fun and satisfying because of how fast paced it is. You don't really think too much, just shoot, which is fun.

Of course, there are some tricks up GoldenEye: Reloaded sleeves as well, though. First, in a throwback to the classic Rare shooter, higher difficulty levels actually give you more objectives that you have to complete. On the easiest difficulty you pretty much just run straight through a level. On higher difficulties, though, you'll travel to completely new areas of the maps you didn't even know existed in order to complete objectives. It is very cool. Another great throwback is the 007 Classic difficulty mode where there is no recharging health and you instead need to find body armor hidden in the levels, just like the N64 classic.

In addition to running and gunning through levels, you can also stealthily sneak through levels and silently take out guards if you want. You hack security devices and computers with Bond's smartphone. And there are some sniping and vehicle sections and boss fights and more to keep you busy. The single-player takes 10-12 hours to complete and is pretty enjoyable all the way through. Our only real complaint is that the game has a habit of throwing quick-time-events at you in somewhat obnoxious ways to be more cinematic, or something. We're fine just watching, thanks, and don't need to press buttons to make cool stuff happen all the time.

Multiplayer

One of the main selling points of the original GoldenEye game was multiplayer, and GoldenEye: Reloaded also comes with a full suite of multiplayer options. Up to 16 players can play online on bigger more modern versions of many of the old favorite maps along with plenty of new stuff. It uses the progression and perks system found in most modern shooters, which makes it fun and worth playing while you level up and get increasingly better guns and gadgets to play with. In a nice touch, you can even play as classic Bond villains like Jaws, Oddjob, Goldfinger, and many more.

Offline, you can play four-player splitscreen, just like the good old days. Instead of a perk system, however, the game lets you select from a long list of modifiers that change everything from how grenades bounce, making only headshots count (or not count at all), players exploding if they touch each other, players die if they stand still too long, and more. Offline multi is pretty fun and unique, and it is nice that it stands on its own with special options instead of just being a boring version of online pay.

MI6 Ops

There are no bots for the multiplayer, which is disappointing, but GE Reloaded makes up for it with the MI6 Ops mode. Similar to Spec Ops mode in the Modern Warfare games, MI6 Ops gives you a series of single-player objectives set on the multiplayer maps against bots. Really, this is just bot-style multiplayer, but instead of straight deathmatch it sort of plays like a combination of horde mode and other multiplayer game types. There are 40 missions in all, and in a great touch, there is a set of modifiers for MI6 Ops such as infinite ammo, paintball, golden gun, RPG (you start with a rocket launcher instead of a pistol) and more. Each modifier changes your scoring multiplier, which obviously will affect your ranking on the leaderboards for each mission, but if you don't care about leaderboards and just want to goof off against bots, you can.

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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded - Interview Feature

While Eurocom's Goldeneye Wii-make was never in danger of threatening the classic status of the N64 original, it nonetheless proved to be a robust study of Rare's seminal shooter, re-cast in modern FPS conventions. With an HD port now confirmed for Xbox 360 and PS3, TVG spoke to Activision Producer, James Steer, to find out more about Bond, Stealth, and Goldeneye 007: Reloaded.
Why the decision to bring it over to the HD consoles?
When we were originally thinking about making a Goldeneye game it felt right to make that game for the Wii platform because of the N64 heritage, but when we were developing the game and we started showing it to the press, retailers, and then eventually to the public, it became clear that that wasn't enough, and that people wanted to be able to play the game on PlayStation 3 and  Xbox 360. The problem is that we needed to update the engine for that, and we wanted to be able to deliver 60 frames a second gameplay, 16-player online multiplayer, and photo-realistic graphics. We had the game team at Eurocom concentrate on making sure the Wii game was the best game they could possibly make, while all the technology team were able to develop an engine for us to deliver, so when the game team were finished making the Wii version they could roll off. Hence this year we'll see the release of the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.
So when you were designing the original, the engine was designed with a port in mind straight away?
No it was totally separate. Eurocom work with a separate technology team, because that's the best way - those guys can go make the best tech possible - the gameplay guys are just concentrating on the game. So they can then go and push the graphics engine as far as they can, and the team can just make the best game. Then they come to merge at some point, but while they were making the Wii version we didn't really want to disturb them... so we were like, 'You make sure this game is the best, while the other team worries about the engine.'
What's changed for the port? Are there any new single-player levels in the campaign?
No. The storyline is the same as the story we had updated for the Wii - so we had Bruce Feirstein take the original movie and update it for 2010 to make it relevant. So rather than being about the Cold War it's more about the banking crisis so people recognise it. Because we're introducing Daniel Craig's Bond to the story, we needed to update the story as well. In terms of the actual levels you'll play through in the single-player campaign, they are the same. Obviously every level's been massively updated: new geometry, new textures, new animations, new effects, audio, and a completely new AI system - so the way that they'll play will be completely different to the Wii version. And obviously we've added the MI6 Ops which is an entirely new gameplay feature that wasn't on the Wii, so that's kind of adding over ten hours worth of gameplay - very different style, from Assault to Elimination, to Stealth, to Wave Defense - something for every type of player. For people that like to be defensive, they can challenge themselves by playing those missions and trying to post a really high score, whereas someone who likes to run and gun can go and play Elimination. Multiplayer has also been completely updated to support 16 players: new modes, new maps, new characters, new weapons. We really haven't left any of it alone; it's been completely updated.
So even new animations? Did you get Daniel Craig's body double back in the Mo-Cap studio?
Yeah, we have some more footage of that and we've updated all the animations in the game. Eurocom have their own motion capture studio on-site, so it's really handy for them because they can just get actors in, get them to perform the animations, and they have their pipeline that gets them into the game really quickly, so it's very handy really.
I see - so you brought him back and recorded new ones for the updated version as well?
Yeah.
So in terms of the MI6 Operations mode, where are the levels from - are they sort of sections of the single-player?
They're a combination of some of the single-player levels, some of the multiplayer levels, and some new; whichever worked well in the game. The level designers go and look at the levels and think 'Actually, that would make a nice kind of arena for say, Wave Defense'. So it's a combination. Some maps have been updated because they've needed to be made larger because they now hold 16 players, so there'll be some maps that people with the Wii game will recognise, some that will be updated entirely, and some that are completely new.
And there are four modes - are they going to be available on every map?
No. There are specific maps for specific challenges.
So each one has maybe one mode per map?
Yeah, well, there are ten different challenge missions within the MI6 Ops feature. Each one has a leaderboard attached to it so you can be the best at playing say, 'Memorial Defense', or maybe 'Jungle Elimination'.
But then there wouldn't be say a Jungle Assault, or a Jungle Stealth for example?
No, we've picked the environments and the maps specifically for that style.
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GoldenEye 007: Reloaded Preview

Eurocom's Goldeneye 007 really stood out (for a Wii shooter). It had a solid single-player campaign (for a Wii shooter), compelling multiplayer action (for a Wii shooter), and top-drawer graphics (for a Wii shooter). Crucially, there was a sense that Eurocom had genuine respect for the N64 classic: they understood the importance of stealth in the single player level design, and knew that four-player split-screen was a multiplayer must-have. Naturally, it was never going to eclipse the lustre of its Rareware forbear, but (for a Wii Shooter) it was very good indeed.
It even fared far better (critically at least), than Activision's other high profile Bond game, Blood Stone. In fact, the failure of Blood Stone, and relative success of Goldeneye 007, proved if nothing else that releasing a Bond game without a strong license tie-in is a risky proposition, particularly if the gameplay isn't exceptionally solid.
And so we come to Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, a PS360 remake of Eurocom's 'Wii-imagining' of the N64 classic, remastered in 60fps HD. But can a game that was 'good for a Wii shooter' possibly hope to survive in the brutally competitive HD FPS market? And with Blood Stone apparently crashing the Bond market last year, does anyone even really want to play as 007 anymore, anyway?
Eurocom's entire single-player campaign has survived the port intact and without alteration - to the extent that, despite assurances from the team that all assets have been rebuilt for the HD remake ("from the ground up"), it's hard to initially discern much disparity with the Wii version. This is likely more a testament to the confident cinematic direction of the Wii original than an indication of any critical deficiency in the new HD textures and geometry, however. Camera sweeps and level layouts have been faithfully preserved, and the port seems to capture the essence of Eurocom's work - this is, after all, a remake rather than another 're-imagining'. A cursory play-through of the snowy Severnaya level reveals that the visceral melee take-downs of the Wii original are still intact, with the choice of carnage or subtle stealth largely left to player preference (on lower difficulty levels at least).
Nods to the N64 original abound; the camera still pans round into Bond's head at the start of each level, the sniper rifle is still in that first tower of the Dam section, and 007 even rolls off a few asides which reference dialogue from the original game and movie.
"Just like old times," he whispers to 006 as the pair silently subdue a pair of guards at the start of the Dam map (a line originally from the end of Facility in the N64 original - but we won't nitpick when a developer is tapping on the fourth wall).
It's not just like old times, of course. Pierce Brosnan is replaced by Daniel Craig, and Eurocom's Goldeneye has entirely new, Wii-made levels - with Bond writer Bruce Feirstein updating the story to focus on the banking crisis rather than Cold War fallout. Feirstein wasn't the only Bond talent to be drawn to the game; 007 composer Dave Arnold and Craig stunt double Ben Cooke were drafted in to supply music and motion-capture footage as well (for Goldeneye: Reloaded, Eurocom has apparently summoned Cooke back to their on-site motion-capture facility to record additional animations specifically for the port). Naturally Eurocom's gameplay reflects the advances in FPS mechanics that have occurred over the last decade, with grenade indicators, instant-kill melee attacks, regenerating health, and even the ability to aim and move concurrently all making it through to the port.
New to Goldeneye 007: Reloaded are a set of single-player challenges based on reworked sections of the campaign and multiplayer maps (with a few entirely new ones thrown in too). There are ten challenges in total, ranging from Assault and Elimination missions to more exotic Stealth and Wave Defense maps (which charge you with sneaking undetected through a level, or defending an array of computer terminals from waves of AI opponents). An editor is also planned to facilitate custom mission creation, with players selecting from a range of maps, victory conditions and A.I. to set their own challenges. Activision claims that these modes will add an additional 10 hours of play to the single-player experience.
But single-player action is only one half of any successful Goldeneye game. The port team are completely rebuilding the multiplayer portion of Reloaded to accommodate 16-player online matches (up from the Wii version's 8), with re-jigged maps, additional characters and a brand new selection of 'spy-based modes'.
"We just wanted to do some things that are not straight up deathmatch or team deathmatch," Activision Producer, James Steer, told us.
"We're using the fact that we are a 007 game to try and do some things that are maybe slightly different to what you might expect of a first-person shooter." Exactly what those things are is currently a mystery, but the prospect of spy-based multiplayer Bondage is an intriguing one. 4-player offline split-screen has been confirmed, and survives the transition to the HD consoles.
With only a few months until Reloaded's autumn release window, it's clear that substantial polishing remains to be done. Load times, draw-in and the occasional incongruous animation still need addressing, and the stick response on the Xbox 360 build we played felt curiously sluggish. However, such anomalies aren't unusual for pre-Alpha code, and the team are confident that all issues will be resolved in time for launch. No word yet on whether Reloaded will support motion controls ("stay tuned", hinted Steer), but given that the Wii version was built around the option it's not entirely inconceivable.
With upscaled visuals, revamped multiplayer, and improved online support, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded could prove to be the definitive version of Eurocom's likeable Bond FPS. The game will be up against stiff competition in the latter half of the year, and it remains to be seen whether the promised 'spy-based' multiplayer modes and new single-player challenges will prove to be substantive additions to the core offering. Nevertheless, if Activision invest enough in the remake, it might just turn out to be the second best Bond game of all time - not bad for a Wii shooter.
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