Hands-on: GoldenEye 007 for the Wii and DS

The Nintendo64 had some great games, but they were always few and far between, especially in the early days. That was a big problem for Nintendo’s last cartridge-based console, until Rare came out with GoldenEye 007, that is. Who cared if there wasn’t a new game every week when you could just play GoldenEye to pass the time?

Rare’s first-person shooter paved the way for a genre that would come to consume store shelves and the beloved game is getting a re-imagining for the Wii and DS this November. I got my hands on the new game last week and I wasn’t all that disappointed with what I played.

GoldenEye 007 (Wii, DS)
Developers: Eurocom (Wii), n-Space (DS)
Publisher: Activision
To be released: November 2, 2010 (US), November 5, 2010 (EU)

Remember the tank level in the 64 version of 007? It was a pretty badly designed and boring level. The new tank section in Eurocom’s version of the game is a gigantic blast though, mainly due to the fact that there’s a ton of action taking place on the screen. Enemies are coming at you from the ground and the air giving you something to shoot at throughout the entire level.

Along with the massive amount of enemies, buildings are getting bombed all around you in an attempt to stop Bond from giving chase to his target. It’s pretty impressive to see buildings crumble (for a Wii game, anyway).

This section of the demo was short but it did the job, showing how much Eurocom has changed from the original. The new game’s story follows GoldenEye’s plot for the most part, but there are some additional missions never seen in the original game or movie for that matter.

Of course, the real meat to GoldenEye is the multiplayer. They’ve updated the scheme so that it takes a more modern day approach, meaning that you have loadouts to pick from whenever you spawn instead of finding weapons scattered throughout the map. You can only carry two guns and a few grenades at a time, too.

As a fan of the original, I wasn’t all that thrilled with the loadout feature. I get that enough in Call of Duty and the Halos. What I really like that is new, though, is all of the modifers you have at your disposal. Only a few were shown, but expect to see things like paintball mode, Golden Gun matches and a modifer that makes people explode when they touch each other.

If there is anything that will really hurt GoldenEye, it’s the graphics. Multiplayer is a ton of fun, but when you’re on a map with wide open spaces, it’s nearly impossible to spot the (up to eight) other players from afar.

Along with the Wii version, I checked out the DS game being developed by n-Space and it was alright. It’s just a matter of FPS games being your thing on the DS. n-Space has developed all of the Call of Duty games for the DS and they know how to make a solid handheld shooter by now. You’ll like it if you’ve enjoyed their other offerings.

I’m actually split on GoldenEye. It’s a case of overwhelming nostalgia dulling my feelings and being a big James Bond fan. I’ll play it just to see how much has changed, but take away my love for the original game and I don’t think GoldenEye 007 would be on my radar at all.

Oh, also, ODDJOB THROWS HIS FUCKING HAT AT PEOPLE. FUCK YEAH!

For more on GoldenEye, check out Matthew Razak’s interview with Eurocom and another preview of the game from gamescom.