Goldeneye 007: Reloaded: Activision gets it right – finally

James Bond 007 game goes back to the future

by: dkpatriarch

©2011 David Hilton

Well smack me in the head with a Walther PPK so I’m shaken, not stirred, and call me Moneypenny! After Activision took over the James Bond gaming licence good ‘ol pixellated 007 was going a bit like his film namesake when actor Roger Moore took over…off target.

But now Bond is back. So is the best Bond game ever, Goldeneye 007, again. Yes it’s a reload of a reload of a classic, this time for the 360 and PS3, and this time with 4 player split-screen offline multiplayer as well as the now obligatory online multiplayer.

Finally, Activision gets it right. Praise Eurocom!

When EA had the franchise they tried desperately to repeat the popularity a 007 game won after Rare’s Goldeneye 007 for N64.

Gearbox’s Nightfire 007 was pretty good, EA Redwood Shore’s Everything Or Nothing took Bond to 3rd person and wasn’t bad, and EA Los Angeles’ attempt to cash in on Goldeneye with a twist on the spy in Goldeneye: Rogue Agent totally messed up everything that made Bond and his games fun. There were a couple of others: Agent Under Fire and From Russia With Love, but they were pretty forgettable.

• 007 Golden Eye: Reloaded Reveal Trailer

I had high hopes when Activision, the then darling of First Person Shooters, took over the franchise.

But then with Treyarch’s Quantum of Solace for 360 and PS3 they abandoned split-screen multiplayer, something that had been in every James Bond game and something that the original Goldeneye had made famous in 1997.

In fact the popularity of FPS console multiplayer was virtually born with the release of Goldeneye on the N64. Quantum of Solace, to be fair, was a pretty good game and did have system link on 360.

Then Bizarre, who are no longer with us ironically after their Bond game, made Blood Stone for Activision, and again it was without offline multi, and this time without system link too.

The rise of online multiplayer has been truly revolutionary, but who is still playing Quantum of Solace online? Who is still playing Blood Stone?

Activision did decide to resurrect and update Rare’s classic Goldeneye….and include four player split-screen. For the Wii.

Yes, admittedly Goldeneye 007 was first on a Nintendo console, but with the Wii Nintendo had virtually left the FPS arena for lower res mini-games and such in the age of HD.

It left core gamers, the ones who had first played Goldeneye so many years ago, wondering why it wasn’t on 360 or PS3.

Why they got it right, finally

With the announcement of Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, a remake of the Wii remake, this time for 360 and PS3 consoles, they have got it right: there will be both 4 player split screen and online multiplayer.

So why is that important? Split-screen multiplayer has gone the way of the dinosaurs, right?

I wrote this about Blood Stone:

There are no fun Bond shenanigans with family and friends in the same room against bots and each other anymore. Noobs, casuals, nostalgics, and non-online game commandos need not apply.

James Bond is meant to appeal to the masses, not just to the hardcore online gamers. A bunch of Perfect Dark Zero modes or even those found in the last gen Bond game Nightfire would have been more appropriate to include in my opinion…

This is a famous licence that crosses film, book, and gaming spheres and you’d think Activision would want to appeal to a broader market with it…

My family still plays James Bond: Nightfire, Timesplitters, and even Perfect Dark: Zero because they are split-screen with bots and you don’t only need to find someone else online.

Activision, if you are seriously not including split-screen in Blood Stone, I implore you to reconsider. Otherwise, like Quantum of Solace it may become trade-bait shortly after release.

That is why Reloaded has got it right. James Bond games should have both on and offline multi. They should also have them both on the primary shooter consoles like PS3 and 360.

This game will be able to be played as long as the gamer wants now: if the popularity dies down and it is hard to find a game online while everyone is playing Gears of War 6, or Modern Warfare 10, we will still be able to play with mates and family around an HD screen (hopefully without black borders wasting space) and laugh at each other while screen-cheating and massacring each other.

Not only that but the new game will also apparently feature the original Goldeneye cheats, including Paintball bullets and Big Head mode. Looks like they’ve put the fun back in!

• 007 Golden Eye: Reloaded screenshot slideshow

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The game also features what they call M16 Ops mode, which adds even more replayablitliy. It’s a single player challenge mode that puts players into one of four themed scenarios (elimination, assault, stealth and wave defence), completing objectives and kills to make points, which will be shared on Leaderboards.

In Wave Defence Bond must defend activated laptops from waves of enemies coming in from all angles, using red barrels to help eliminate them.

These modes allow a large amount of customisation from enemy aggressiveness, to their accuracy, and more and other players will apparently be able to download your modifiers.

Now this is more like it…

The Future of Bond

There can certainly be future good Bond games that aren’t Goldeneye 007.

They can be original titles, or based on the upcoming films. But they do need to remember their roots.

The single player has to feel like a Bond film.

The multiplayer should always pay homage to the original great Bond multiplayer shooter and have offline, as well as online, multiplayer.

Yes, even in the Age of Faceless Interaction.`

Activision Press Release:

Activision Unveils GoldenEye 007(TM): Reloaded for the PlayStation(R)3 and Xbox 360(R)

Legendary James Bond Adventure Returns With New Gameplay Modes, Increased Multiplayer Options and Full PlayStation®Move Compatibility

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The world’s most famous secret agent is back! Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today declassified the existence of GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, which will make its grand debut on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® for the first time ever. Built on a brand new engine that delivers striking visuals, blistering fast gameplay and the ability to play using the PlayStation®Move with Sharp Shooter peripheral, GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is the complete James Bond experience shooter-fans have been waiting for and will launch in stores later this fall.

“We are beyond ecstatic to debut GoldenEye 007: Reloaded to the millions of fans who have been clamoring for it to arrive on Sony and Microsoft home consoles,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President at Activision Publishing. “And now with full PlayStation Move functionality, 007 fans all around the world can play the game in full HD in more ways than ever before.”

“Promising to be one of the most immersive and interactive Bond games to date, this is an outstanding opportunity for PlayStation fans to experience one of the most iconic and action-packed shooters in an all new way with PlayStation Move and the Sharp Shooter peripheral,” said Rob Dyer, Senior Vice President, Sony Computer Entertainment of America. “By bringing togetherGoldenEye 007: Reloaded, and PlayStation Move’s Sharp Shooter, we are continuing to expand the new world of motion-based entertainment appealing for hardcore fans and only possible on PlayStation.”

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is a contemporary James Bond experience featuring HD visuals and realistic environments running at 60-frames per second, akin to today’s elite action games. Additional to the legendary story campaign, the game introduces the brand new ‘Mi6 Ops Missions‘ — new, distinct levels separate from the campaign that span the varied environments from the story and challenge players to complete different Assault, Elimination, Stealth and Defense objectives. GoldenEye 007: Reloaded also takes multiplayer to new heights, maintaining and improving its renowned four-player split-screen action and adding full, adrenaline-pumping 16-player online matches with more maps, weapons, characters and game modes than ever before.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded will arrive in stores this (U.S.) fall and is being developed by Eurocom under license from EON Productions Ltd and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). For more information and to receive exclusive updates about the game, visit www.facebook.com/GoldenEyeGame orwww.goldeneyegame.com.`

©2011 David Hilton

xxxxxx

• 007 Golden Eye: Reloaded screenshot gallery

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Editorial, Game Impressions, Game Industry News, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, Oxcgn Special feature, Press Release, PS3 News, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Previews, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | "First Person Shooter", 007 Goldeneye Reloaded, 007 Reloaded, Activision, Eurocom, games, GoldenEye, Goldeneye 007, Goldeneye 007 Reloaded, Goldeneye 007 Wii, Goldeneye Reloaded, James Bond, James Bond Game, James Bond game 2011, Perfect Dark Zero, quantum of solace, Rock-paper-scissors, Wii