The lights are on
The original GoldenEye for N64 was the first solid console multiplayer FPS of its time when it released back in '97 and is treasured by hardcore fans who sunk countless hours into the game with friends. Now Bond is back in a new adventure for the Wii that was announced yesterday at Nintendo's press conference under the same name as the original. The new GoldenEye 007 features Daniel Craig (not Pierce Brosnan) and will include a single-player campaign, and of course, four-player split-screen is back and loaded with classic playable Bond villains. Plus with the Wii's online capabilities, there will be 8-player online multiplayer that has the potential to give Wii owners the FPS multiplayer experience they're looking for. We caught a glimpse at the game's single-player mode and got new details on GoldenEye 007's campaign and gameplay.
The hands-off single-player demo features Daniel Craig as Bond. He and agent 006 are tasked to infiltrate a Russian base to destroy a weapons cache. The duo take cover behind a blockade and stealthily take down the two guards standing in front of it by clicking the A button to "Subdue." Bond pulls a guard over the barricade and knocks him out with a solid punch to the face. The pair continues toward the facility by vaulting over walls and stealthily taking out enemies from behind with a silenced pistol or with brute force. Atop a set of stairs, Bond uses a sniper rifle to take out a guard, which alerts a group sparking a firefight. Bond takes out his AK-47 for some serious damage. As 006 and 007 fight their way through the opposition, they dish out a few melee shots and jump into an armored truck.
A pair of guards question the two in Russian, and one of the guards grab Bond which triggers a sequence to shake him off. 006 pulls out his piece and takes the opposition out as any good partner should. They narrowly escape by driving into oncoming traffic for an on-rails shooting segment. Once they safely arrive to the facility, 006 and 007 breach the entrance breaking into slow motion and shooting guards in a bullet-timey sequence. The end.
Activision tells us they really want to drive home the sense of feeling like a secret agent with varied gameplay mechanics and the overall atmosphere. The most important aspect of gameplay, Activision said, was creating a game around player choice. Like many action titles, you can take a more covert approach or go in guns blazing. There will also be 25 weapons to choose from. You can even choose your favorite controller type. If the Wii remote is too clunky for you, play the game with the Classic Pro controller.
Activision also says the environment will feature tons of destructibility requiring you to keep on moving through the entire game. No cover spot is entirely safe as it may be blown to bits in front of you. Finally, when asked why Pierce Brosnan wasn't chosen as bond, the reps responded that Craig "brings something very new to Bond, grittier, darker."
Multiplayer will feature 16 game modifiers where players can customize the multiplayer experience by creating a pistol-only match or setting a kill cap. For full multiplayer impressions, check out Tim's post.
GoldenEye 007 looks very promising at this stage of development and we look forward to getting more details. GoldenEye 007 will release exclusively on Nintendo Wii this November.