As stated previously, GoldenEye began the modern James Bond game series. Most of the games which followed it attempted to emulate its distinct "feel", typically by implementing first-person, "behind the gun" perspective.
James Bond 007, released 15 December 1998 by Nintendo, was an action game for the Game Boy, similar in gameplay to The Legend of Zelda. Whilst not terribly popular, it has the distinction of being the first modern Bond game with an original plotline.
Tomorrow Never Dies, released 16 November 1999 by EA Games, was a relatively unknown adaptation of the eighteenth Bond film for the Sony PlayStation only. It vastly differed from its N64 predecessor in many ways, not the least of which was in its third-person viewpoint and its lack of any multiplayer support.
The World is not Enough, released 17 October 2000 by EA Games, also managed a fair amount of success on the Nintendo 64. Though it was released for PlayStation, also, there is little similarity between the two games. The PS1 version neglected multiplayer support again, though it did feature longer levels than its N64 counterpart. The N64 version, however, played very similarly to an enhanced GoldenEye, adding features such as weapon reloading animations, Q-Gadgets, and cinematic cutscenes with voice-acting. IGN has declared The World is not Enough for N64 to be the second-best Bond game of all time (next to GoldenEye). A version of the game for PC had been planned, but was cancelled.
007 Racing, released 21 November 2000 by EA Games, was a Bond-based racing game for PlayStation only. It has been called the James Bond equivalent of Mario Kart - taking a character or characters from a popular game series and putting them behind the wheel of a car. It has also been compared to Spy Hunter, given one's objective of destroying one's enemies on the road. Most gaming websites rank 007 Racing fairly low in popularity, however, the driving aspect of the game has been integrated into several contemporary Bond titles.
Agent Under Fire, released 13 March 2002 by EA Games, was a fairly unsuccessful installment for the Sixth-Generation consoles and the second contemporary Bond game with an original plotline. Whilst some critics praised the game for its original story and highly-detailed graphics, there were also claims that it was out of place in the contemporary Bond universe. Its TechniColour-like colours and brass-dominated underscore were more reminiscent of a Sean Connery-era Bond film, along with its loose similarity to Diamonds Are Forever and On Her Majestys Secret Service. It is also the only Bond game not to feature the likeness of the current Bond actor (in this case, Pierce Brosnan), with the developers choosing to create an original likeness for James Bond to go along with the original storyline.
At this point, all Bond games were consistently released for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox until the end of the Sixth Generation.
NightFire, released 18 November 2002 by EA Games, is widely considered the best Bond game for the Sixth Generation. Its Game Boy Advance port, developed by Gearbox Software, had the distinction of being the first fully 3D game for that platform. Whilst it had been intended that the same Bond likeness from Agent Under Fire be used for this game, fan distaste with EA's original Bond led Eurocom to seek permission to use Pierce Brosnans likeness instead. Reportedly, Brosnan expressed an interest in providing Bonds voice for the game as well, but Adam Blackwood had already been recorded performing the Bond characters voice acting and had been paid for his work.The game begins with the iconic James Bond gun-barrel sequence (Bond walking across the screen, viewed through the barrel of a rifle, before suddenly turning and firing at the camera). This is the first time since GoldenEye that this sequence is seen, though, where the sequence would play before the title screen in GoldenEye, it plays before the action of the first level in NightFire, making it more similar to a Bond film in that respect.
Along with the GCN/PS2/Xbox ports, this game was also ported to the Game Boy Advance and the PC. It was the first Bond game to be released on PC since the US version of Operation Stealth (called James Bond: The Stealth Affair) for MSDOS in 1990 (12 years prior).
Everything or Nothing, released 17 February 2004 by EA Games, was the first Bond game to feature Pierce Brosnans voice (though not the first to feature his likeness). Also featured were the likenesses and voices of Shannon Elizabeth, Heidi Klum, Mya, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, and John Cleese (who had provided his own characters voice in 007 The World is not Enough four years earlier). The likeness of Richard Kiel was also featured in the role of Jaws (from the films, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker a role he had not played [excluding his likeness in GoldenEye 007, which had been taken from Moonraker promotional material] in twenty-five years; his likeness would appear again in GoldenEye 007 for Wii).
The games screenplay was written by veteran Bond writer, Bruce Feirstein, adapted from an idea by Danny Bilson and Paul Demeo, and played out similarly to a Bond film. The first level in the single-player mode was prefaced by the gun-barrel sequence and followed by the games title theme song, performed by the pop singer, Mya (who also had a small role as CIA agent, Mya Starling, in the game, itself). The games background score was composed by prolific television composer, Sean Callery, and is the first game in the Bond series to feature a live orchestra in the soundtrack (whilst Agent Under Fire and NightFire contained recordings of the John Barry Orchestra playing the James Bond theme, their original scores were performed by synthesiser).
This game is also the first to feature a principally third-person perspective since the critically-panned Tomorrow Never Dies in 1998.
A version of this game was released for Game Boy Advance on 17 November 2003, three months prior to the GCN/PS2/Xbox release.
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, released 22 November 2004, was developed and published by EA Games. The plot centres around a vengeful ex-MI6 agent who was given an artificial eye after losing the use of his original in an encounter with Dr. No three years prior to the events of the game. In a simulation (serving as the games first level), he was directly responsible for the death of James Bond and was summarily dismissed from the service. He is then recruited by Auric Goldfinger to serve in an unnamed criminal organisation, headed by Number One (Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the Connery-era Bond films).
The game was noted for featuring many classic Bond villains in a kind of good-guy role, but criticised for using the name GoldenEye. Many critics found the games premise and gameplay mediocre at best and saw the use of the title as a way to capitalise on the success of GoldenEye 007. Primarily, it was criticised for diverting so far from James Bond canon, even appearing to kill off Bond himself, in the first level.This game was released for Nintendo DS on 13 June 2005, seven months after the GCN/PS2/Xbox release. However, it fared no better than its console counterparts in critical reception.
From Russia With Love, released 15 November 2005, was the final Bond game released for all three Sixth-Generation consoles. It was an adaptation of the Bond film by the same title. Similarly to the way Pierce Brosnan lent his likeness and voice to Everything or Nothing, Sean Connery provided the same for this game (making this the first time Connery has played the role of James Bond in twenty-two years). However, as the rest of the original cast were either unavailable or deceased, their 3D likenesses were derived from film footage and sound-alikes were hired to perform the voice-acting. Cinema and television composer, Christopher Lennertz, wrote an original score for the game, based on cues by John Barry from the film. Vic Flick, the guitarist who performed the riffs in the original James Bond theme recordings reported that he had also contributed to Lennertz score.Critical reviews were mixed on this game. Some found it to be outdated, compared to the high-tech Everything or Nothing (whose third-person perspective was emulated in From Russia). Others found it to be a refreshing change, returning to the original world of James Bond as envisioned by Ian Fleming.
Quantum of Solace, released 4 November 2008, was the first Bond game to be published by Activision, the first to be released for the Seventh-Generation consoles (though the Sixth-Generation PlayStation 2 was also supported), and the first to star the likeness and voice of Daniel Craig. The games overall critical score was fairly mid-range, with the PlayStation 2 version being the most critically-acclaimed and the Wii version being the most panned. Critics said that the Wii version was clearly inferior, perhaps by design the games low frame-rate made it almost unplayable at times and the Wii Zapper-exclusive control scheme made the learning-curve somewhat high. The game was ported to six consoles (Windows, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS) of those six, only the Wii and Xbox 360 versions were in first-person perspective. The rest were over-the-shoulder third-person shooters (equatable to Resident Evil 4). The DS version used a control scheme similar to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass the player would move Bond by dragging the stylus across the Touch Screen. The PC version, released on 8 November 2008, was the first PC Bond game since NightFire in 2002. However, there is a glitch that makes the game fail to load on computers with newer versions of Internet Explorer 7 or any build of Internet Explorer 8 installed on them. In effect, users who keep their browsers up-to-date are unable to play the game. Though workarounds have been devised within the gaming community, Activision has yet to address or even acknowledge the issue.
GoldenEye 007, released 2 November 2010 by Activision, is the most recent installment of the Bond game series (see Activision & GoldenEye above). In an unusual marketing move, perhaps to quell speculation that Activision was anti-Wii following the failure of that platform's Quantum of Solace port, the game is exclusive to Nintendos Wii and DS consoles. The Wii version addressed many of the issues which arose with Quantum the first being frame-rate issues. As the version of Quantum released for Wii had been originally developed for the computationally-superior Xbox 360, Wii was unable to efficiently display as many objects onscreen simultaneously as its counterparts. Being developed specifically for Wii, GoldenEye was able to cut down on virtually all frame-rate problems (though players have noted occasional frame-rate lag in four-person multiplayer). The next was control-scheme GoldenEyes primary controller is the Classic Controller Pro (a special-edition gold version of which was packaged with the games Classic Edition), making for a more traditional gameplay experience. Indeed, the games default control setting supports the peripheral. However, the original Classic Controller, the GameCube controller, and the Wii Zapper (or Wii Remote and Nunchuk independently) are also supported, making it the first Bond game for Wii to support all major control schemes.The game received mostly mid- to high-level critical reviews. The consensus of most critics is that Activisions GoldenEye does not stand in the shadow of Rarewares GoldenEye, rather creating a new, compelling storyline and gameplay experience. However, some have noted the inferior level of enemy AI, relative to previous games with unusually large blind-spots where enemies cannot detect Bonds presence and a lack of adaptability to the situation. In Quantum of Solace, for example, if Bond eliminates all enemies in the area but one, that one will take greater caution not to be killed, itself.A port of this game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, called GoldenEye Reloaded, featuring higher-resolution graphics and new features, will be released in Q1 2012.
Blood Stone, released 2 November 2010 by Activision, is the most recent installment of the Bond game series for non-Nintendo consoles. Whilst Wii received an exclusive GoldenEye remake, Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox received a Bond game with a completely original plotline (similar to the EA Bond games), which was also written by Bruce Feirstein. It is a third-person shooter, though removing some elements from Quantum of Solace, such as the cover-to-cover dashing system.Compared to its Wii cousin, Blood Stone did not score as well with critics, receiving low- to mid-range reviews.Whilst a Wii port of the game is not planned at last check, there is an existing Nintendo DS version, making this the first time that any console has had two simultaneous Bond games available for it, as GoldenEye 007 is available for it as well.
There are several incongruities in the Dam. The first being the green military transport truck, which does not appear to serve any particular purpose. Whilst some players have reported using it as cover exiting the tunnel and others have speculated that it serves to direct the player to the next half of the level, it is not relevant to any mission objective and it cannot be shot for use as an explosive weapon. The next is a metal hatch in the floor of the satellite guard house, which cannot be opened. Third, if the first alarm console is triggered, two guards will be summoned from behind the security gates, one of whom has no weapon. Fourth (and, reportedly, most vexing to players) is a man-made island or pier at the rivers bank opposite the dam, itself. It contains another guard tower and a gun-turret, however, it cannot be reached by any normal means. Several moorings on one of the dams piers suggest that, at one point in development, Bond reached the island in a boat. Finally, at the most distant pier from the dams entry gate exist several metal packing cases which will explode when shot. These cases can be found in several other levels also, but they are always indestructible.
There are only three Russian Commandants in the single-player game. Whilst they are armed and also attempt to kill Bond, they serve no other purpose.
The games representation of the Skorpion automatic pistol was intended to be called the Spyder, a reference to the slight (perhaps intentional) Czech-to-English misspelling of scorpion (spiders and scorpions are both types of arachnids). For some reason, the name had to be changed. It was renamed Klobb, referencing Ken Lobb, the Rareware liason to Nintendo.
There is some debate, however, over whether or not the Klobb was, indeed, the Spyder. Some have speculated that a beta-version of what is known in-game as the KF7 Soviet (seen to be an original design based somewhat on the Kalashnikov AK47, only more streamlined) could have been the Spyder instead. However, the games instructional literatures description of the weapon called Spyder seems to fit the Klobb (particularly as the Klobb is not mentioned).
The beta version of the bonus weapon, Taser, more closely resembled a laser cannon. The final weapon is very much smaller and operates similarly to an early-model stun-gun.
This is the only FPS Bond game to show a third-person animation of Bond falling dead when he is defeated.
Using a GameShark code, the player can disable level-endings. With this code active, one is able to reach the base of the Dam, where a stone platform and a green metal hatch can be found.
The suit Bond wears on the Surface levels is based on the snow fatigues worn by Roger Moores James Bond in the pre-title sequence of A View to a Kill.
Bond gains access to the Bunker from the Surface by shooting the locks on a hatch in the ventilation tower. When the hatch falls onto the catwalk below, it makes a loud noise which none of the guards in the Bunker seem to hear. Also, looking up from Bonds starting position in the Bunker, there is no evidence that a hatch ever existed the grating viewed from inside the Bunker is inconsistent with the grating seen on the Surface.
The civilians in the Streets level all wear red shirts, referencing redshirt characters (a term with origins in Star Trek, where the red-uniformed security officers usually died violently in order to demonstrate the danger faced by the main characters). These civilians can be killed in great numbers before a penalty is incurred.
In the Facility, down a green-brick corridor behind the mezzanine, there is a set of laboratory flasks placed atop a metal ventilation duct. The duct is too high up to logically justify the flasks presence there.
Martin Hollis, the games chief director, worked briefly at Nintendo of America in 1998, contributing to the development of the Nintendo GameCube.
The Shotgun (different from the Automatic Shotgun), the Hunting Knife, and the Taser do not appear anywhere in the normal game they cannot be found in boxes, on tables, or be taken from defeated guards. They will only appear through the usage of cheat options (i.e. All Guns, 2x Hunting Knife).
In the beta version, bullet impacts against humanoid targets would seem to eject blood-spatter. In the final version, whilst humanoid targets were allowed to show blood-patches, the spattering was changed to white smoke and a yellow impact flash, perhaps because of concerns that blood-spatter would be objectionable to some players. A GameShark code exists to recolour the smoke or the impact flash back to red to, in effect, restore the beta spattering. Building on these, another code exists to make all paintballs in the Paintball Mode cheat option red (when used in conjunction with the other codes and the Cougar Magnum, Silver PP7, or another weapon which fires through its targets, these create the illusion that ones targets not only bleed on their clothing, but will graphically eject blood-spatter into the air and onto walls or objects).
Interestingly, exactly the opposite is true of Activision's GoldenEye bullet impacts against enemies will eject blood-spatter, but will not leave blood patches.
Whilst Bond is seen throwing a Fairbairn-Sykes knife in On Her Majestys Secret Service, the Throwing Knife weapon in this game appears to be a Bowie or commando knife, more similar to Mishka and Grishkas throwing knives from Octopussy.
The beta Surface level had falling snow. It is unknown why this feature was removed, though perhaps because the staff thought it may upset the players aim.
A death animation, termed the GoldenEye fall, makes its debut appearance here and is seen again in nearly every following Bond game. It is characterised as a fall to the knees then to the chest, ending up with the character face-down on the floor.
GoldenEye 007 was referenced in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee, with the Motion-Sensor Bomb object, which greatly resembles a GoldenEye Proximity Mine (down to the green LED lights).
In the second Bunker level, the CCTV tape of Bonds capture is in a GoldenEye VHS cassette sleeve.
The grip of most of the games pistols is at such an angle that it will fairly consistently clip through the hand of the character holding it.
Firing sixty-four shots will make any older bulletholes disappear.
If a guard is holding a pistol, its idle animations (swatting insects, yawning, scratching, etc.) will always begin and end with it taking the two-handed rifle pose.
The large room behind the Frigates helipad does not appear to serve a purpose. As Xenia Onatopp is mentioned in the mission briefing, some players have speculated that she could be found here at one point. However, inexplicable areas of this kind are plentiful in this game: the area behind the fence on the first floor of the bottling room in the Facility, the observatory and westernmost huts in the Surface, an unreachable platform in the Silo, and the second floor of the Control centre.
A racing game based somewhat on the GoldenEye film was to have been released for Virtual Boy. However, low demand for the system caused the game to be cancelled. It is not known who was developing this game or how much of it was finished before its cancellation.
The talking man video on some computer screens is scenic art director, Karl Hilton.
It was originally planned for the other three James Bond actors (Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton) to be unlockable in multiplayer mode. At least one of the other characters (the one representing Sean Connery) had been completely finished and photographed for promotional material before their agents all refused permission, particularly because they would all be known by their actual names, instead of "James Bond". The actors' original face textures remained in the final game, but the corresponding meshes were removed. Hackers have been able to partially restore them to the game by mapping their faces onto other meshes.
Even though all of the generic heads in the game were based on those of the games crew, only Dave Doak is ever mentioned by name in the single-player game. Dr. Doak is Bonds double-agent contact in the Facility. Also, to further help the player make the correlation, he is listed as "Dr. Dave Doak" in the staff credits.
In the mission briefing for the bonus level, Egyptian, M describes Baron Samedi as someone with whom Bond had crossed swords in Haiti. Bonds only encounters with Baron Samedi (from the film Live and Let Die) were on the ficticious Caribbean island of San Monique. Bond has never been to Haiti.
In the games source code, the message, happy now karl?, appears next to the memory address for the Invincibility cheat. Scenic art director, Karl Hilton, had expressed concern with a planned Double Health cheat, suggesting that players would prefer simply to be invincible.
Presumably in an effort to lower the game's budget, all weapons in the game were given contrived names (though they are all based, physically, on existing firearms). This inadvertently began the tradition of giving new names to Bond game weapons. Most often, the name given is similar to the weapon's actual name ("Tokarev TT33" becoming "Torka T3", for instance), however, there have also been references made to Bond films ("V-TAK 31", named for A View to a Kill), and references to other series or media ("Terralite III", an M16 facsimile, being a spoonerism of the name, "Tellarite", an alien race from the Star Trek series). Thus far, only Everything or Nothing has featured the weapons' actual model numbers (e.g. SIG 552, SPAS-12, MP5K). Recently, however, all weapons based on those by Walther Sportwaffen, GmbH. have featured their actual names (including the company name, e.g. Walther P99), even if the other weapons' names have been contrived.
This game also began the tradition of naming weapons after the contrived manufacturer's name "Deutsche", which was carried on through The World is not Enough and NightFire.
