GoldenEye 007: Reloaded (PlayStation 3)

The good:
+ James Bond license
+ split screen multiplayer

The bad:
- Old story
- Standard shooting mechanics
- Bad graphics
- Phoned in voices

Final score: 6 / 10

Controller support: Yes

System requirements:

A working PlayStation 3

Can value exist outside of a context? When it comes to video games I believe that the right answer, at least in the current context, is “no” and GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is clearly Exhibit A for the prosecution in a trial of ideas.

The original GoldenEye is a game that is revered by older gamers because it was the best first person shooter that the home console environment had seen up to that point. The game managed to adapt mechanics that PC players were already familiar with and also took a well-known franchise like James Bond and treated it with the respect it deserved.

Back in the day there was no requirement for synchronicity between the movie and the game that allowed developer Rare, now acquired by Microsoft, to create a game that followed all the major plot points of the movie with the same name while inserting a few minor tweaks that allowed for solid firefights and for well-made stealth sections.

Rare also made the big innovation of allowing local multiplayer for up to four players, something that revolutionized the way friends played together, something that was entirely new at the moment and remained the gold standard for the industry until the current console generation.

All the good things about the original GoldenEye 007 are linked to the gaming space around it when it launched and, unfortunately, the Reloaded version on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 looks too much at the past and too little towards the future, delivering a game that fails to impress. Frankly, this game has little reason to exist, other than simply preserving Activision’s hold on the franchise.

Story

The GoldenEye plot is strangely similar to those seen in a number of modern shooters but the James Bond touch means that it is both more stylish and more gruesome. This means little to the video game medium, where the way the character interacts with the world is reduced to a number of guns and a smartphone but it’s still nice to see the game visit all the locations of the movie and try and create some realistic take on such impressive vistas as the hydroelectric dam in Arkhangelsk.

Chance meeting	Snow stealth

The problem with the story is that it worked best when Pierce Brosnan and the transition to the newer played James Bond, more muscular and violent mister Craig takes something away from the atmosphere of the experience.

It would have been much more interesting to see the developers at Eurocom try to create a completely new story, one more suited for Craig.

They could have at least just modified some of the essential sequences of the classic GoldenEye story to surprise the player in some way, rather than deliver a story that is already old and feels ill-suited to modern day games.

Gameplay

The essence of the first person shooter is not hard to pin down: control a character as he moves around, find enemies and then offer him creative and interesting ways to kill them and make progress towards an objective.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded has the basic down. Movement is smooth, the shooting satisfying and there are enough enemies to go around. The problem is the game fails to deliver something more than the simple mechanics mentioned above and gets repetitive and boring after the first mission is done.

This is a game that says that stealth is always an option but never offers a clear mechanic to show how close the player is to triggering a massive response from the enemies. Isolated guards and even two man teams can be quickly taken out with the silenced P99 but there are sections where the only option is to go in guns blazing and micro manage the recharging health meter.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded also has a smartphone to offer variety but there are precious few opportunities to use it and after taking a few pictures and re-programming a turret there is never anything new to do with this tool, James Bond appropriate as it might be.

The enemies are serviceable, able to pin down the player with gunfire from the front while one or two of them move around the flanks and try a surprise attack or deliver some well-placed grenades.

One very cool touch, which is directly imported from the original 1997 game, is that the objectives gamers have to perform increase when the difficulty level is pushed up, actually forcing the player to see more of the level and to meet and deal with more enemies, often arrayed in more challenging ways.

The developers also included a Classic 007 difficulty level that makes health stop regenerating and, for me at least, pretty much makes the game impossible, which should be a great thing for the hardcore crowd.

There are no more Time Trials? In Reloaded but players get something called the MI6 Ops mode, where a number of individual challenges are offered for the player to complete, with their performance rated based on how quick and how efficient everyone is.

Graphics and audio

The Nintendo Wii version of GoldenEye 007 was adequate for the platform and the upgrade to machines that can deliver High Definition graphics has not managed to add much in this regard. Yes, the resolution is higher, the graphics engine handles light and effects like rain better and the action is, most of the time, smoother.

Heavily engaged	Industryal space

But, unfortunately, the resolution upgrade also means that the textures can be more easily distinguished and their quality leaves something to be desired and the animations of the character often look wooden.

The layer of presentation between missions, which is lifted out of more recent Activision Bond games, is a good fit for the series but fails to connect with the somewhat retro nature of the GoldenEye story and characters.

Finally it must be noted that there is a huge disconnect between the presence of new Bond, Daniel Craig, and the expectation of seeing Brosnan in the role. Further compounding the problem is the fact that the actor delivers the lines without too much feeling, almost understanding that this is not his part and there is no way to insert his persona gracefully in the GoldenEye universe.

The soundtrack is more appropriate than the actual voice work and does well to underline the more action packed sections of the game, borrowing heavily from the music that made the movie interesting.

Multiplayer

The one small triumph that the GodenEye 007: Reloaded concept owes to the original is the fact that it has managed to keep the four player split screen structure for multiplayer that almost no serious shooters offer for this generation of home consoles.

This means that a gamer can recruit another 3 players and enjoy some pretty varied modes, ranging from the classic deathmatch with a lot of customizable options to the aptly named Golden Gun, where one player gets one shot kills as long as he can avoid his enemies while his overpowered weapon recharges.

The modes can also be enjoyed online but frankly it’s more fun playing with friends on the same couch or in the same room (I never managed to get more than 2 others interested) taking quick peeks at each other’s screens, trying to distract players who are too successful.

Conclusion

The main problem with GoldenEye 007: Reloaded is that it does not actually need to exist. Purists, those who have played the original Rare production, will dust off their Nintendo 64 and play the game on the original platform if they can or they will settle for their memories of the experience.

Those who simply love the idea of James Bond games because of the novels or the movies will be disappointed by the story and the way a new actor is taking on an role and will probably fail to buy yet another game in this series after playing the new GoldenEye 007.

Those who are looking for a modern take on the same concept will be well served by playing the Nintendo Wii version. Multiplayer obsessives will gravitate towards something like Gears of War 3 or Modern Warfare 3.

There’s a small subgroup of players who like the Bond idea, have only some idea of how the original played, are interested in multiplayer and lack a Wii who might get GoldenEye 007: Reloaded and play it but for them the experience will be mostly frustrating, dragged down by lack of innovation and by

First person shooter fans already have options, like playing the two big blockbusters of the fall, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, and those looking for a good nostalgia trip should pick up the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved.

I would love for Activision to actually do something cool and interesting with the James Bond license and the history associated with it but this bland remake is not the way forward and its failure should serve as an impulse for the company to take the series forward in a new and imaginative way.