GoldenEye 007 (Wii)

[Party boy]

Got to the last level and it seems the worst I've played in a long time, almost unplayable, especially toward the end of the bit I'm on. I dropped from 007 to Operative and still haven't been able to do it, though I really can't face trying it again. The action hadn't posed much of a problem up 'til now.

I've been using the default controls using the remote, it takes a bit of getting used to and it does seem to hurt my wrist after a while, forcing me to take a break, though I haven't played it for a day or so... It's such a shame the last level's spoiling my enjoyment of anotherwise great game, and there's nothing else for me to do.

Especially since the last level in the original was so good.

[Party boy]

It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd started on an easier difficulty level, my patience might have stretched a bit further...

There's a big gap between check points though...

[egparadigm]

Got to the last level and it seems the worst I've played in a long time, almost unplayable, especially toward the end of the bit I'm on. I dropped from 007 to Operative and still haven't been able to do it, though I really can't face trying it again. The action hadn't posed much of a problem up 'til now.

Is it like the original in that respect? The thought of defending Natalya terrifies me to this day!

[EvilBoris]

bloody natalya!

[rmoxon]

Is it like the original in that respect? The thought of defending Natalya terrifies me to this day!

Control wasnt even the last level in the original game, at leats this one has the hardest part last.

Having said that I didnt relaly find it that hard on 007 to be honest..... thats this game, not the N64 one.... that was a bloody pain in the arse.

[egparadigm]

The music on this is really quite good, really adds atmosphere to the levels. The only exception is probably the title tune. Why they got Nicole Scherzinger to re-record it I don't understand. Probably the cost of licensing the original, which is a shame because the new one sounds really cheap and over-produced by comparison.

I like that they have changed some elements of the plot, it's thrown up one major surprise on the night club level. I would have liked a few more nods than I have so far witnessed to the original games. It's great that they kept the sound effect/heart beat when the player dies, but perhaps they could have thrown in the bit where it replays that death from different angles.

[Party boy]

Is it like the original in that respect? The thought of defending Natalya terrifies me to this day!

Yeah, and 3 waves of enemies between check points and more fun besides.

I completed the game on Operative last night, it wasn't that bad once you know what you're doing and using the most expert Wii controls instead of the standard set up.

I didn't unlock any bonus levels though, which is disappointing...

[Party boy]

Control wasnt even the last level in the original game, at leats this one has the hardest part last.

Having said that I didnt relaly find it that hard on 007 to be honest..... thats this game, not the N64 one.... that was a bloody pain in the arse.

Have you completed it on 007 then? You should play with the Wii remote if you want more of a challenge! Or try 007 Classic, that seemed pretty hard from what I played of it.

[rmoxon]

Have you completed it on 007 then? You should play with the Wii remote if you want more of a challenge! Or try 007 Classic, that seemed pretty hard from what I played of it.

Ive started it again on classic 007, but not played much of it yet, I wont be playing with the wii remote, as stated earlier in the thread it really hurts my wrist.

Been playing Black Ops before i go back to this properly but I think Ive pretty much done with that now as Ive completed it and I dont think its good enough to play through again, so will probabaly give classic 007 a proper bash tomorrow.

[egparadigm]

The frigate level is great. The best balance I've yet seen between old and new. The original level wasn't that memorable, but they took all of the good elements – hostages and bomb defusal – and remixed them nicely. It's also the first level I've been able to almost completely avoid firefights – managed most of it stealthily shooting with my P99 (I think they call it in this one). Top stuff!

Really is annoying when you miss an objective, though. I've had to replay the last three levels because I could not find the objective. It would have been fine if they didn't lock up the levels as you progress through the checkpoints. Most of the time in Goldeneye you could track back if you missed an objective – sadly in this case the same cannot be said.

I think it would have been good if they could have kept the levels quite compact, which would have made them speed-runnable. Instead they seem set up a little too perfectly for stop-and-pop gunplay.

Still, I haven't felt at all underwhelmed with this game. I really worried that it would be a disappointment, but while it's not the same game as the original, it's definitely good, solid fun on its own terms, whilst managing to bring something new to the table.

[rmoxon]

Yeah, the original dosnet exactly hold up that well these days, remaking it with modern controls wouldnt have been enough, it was a game limited by the N64 controler in the first place, or well, it was designed around it, so remaking it with a modern type aiming method would have just shown up how old hat it all is.

The developers did a fantastic job with this, Im not a fan of the way the objectives are implemented either, but thats the only real major complaint I have against it really, well the framerate is often not exactly solid either, but this game probabaly is pushing the Wii pretty hard in some places so thats to be expected really.

[JSR]

Quick thoughts:

-The game is WAAAAAYYY to linear. Whereas the old game presented you with an open location and a bunch of objectives, this new one is often a glorified corridor shooter. A good example of this is the first snow level in the original (with the satellite dish and whatnot) which was wide open, compared to the new one, which is just a long passage closed off by "hills" and other "obstacles". And you will pass all of the objectives on your way, so exploration simply isn't possible.

-Headshots are unreliable. Often I find myself lining up the perfect headshot with my silenced gun (going all sneaky on them) resulting in the guard only being injured and starting to alarm all his comrades. Really annoying.

-The aiming is affected by staircases and hills. If you move up a staircase, your viewing angle will suddenly jump up 45 degrees, and stay that way until you are on flat ground. The same thing happens when going down, or even when going sideways up the stairs. If you happen to be in a gunfight, you must stay away from all slopes, as these will force you to stare at the ground or the stars. Even if you aim your Wiimote all the way down, you're still missing a lot of the view.

-The writing is kinda poor. It takes itself to seriously. All of a sudden Alec spouts "For England James?" as if he were unsure of Bonds allegiance? What did he expect him to reply? "Naw, for the money and the fast cars..." Throughout the game Bond will have small arrogant quips, which might sound cool on paper, but just makes him look immature. While talking about some bad guy with a scar on his cheek, Bond asks M: "Is that Dimitri Slokevieanysh (don't remember his name)?" "Yes, how did you know?" "I GAVE HIM THE SCAR." Yuck.

-And all ingame cut-scenes are unskippable, which really ruins the appeal of speed-running the game (or even retrying levels on several difficulties), which was a blast on the old one. Every time you start a level, you have to sit through 20 to 140 seconds of exposition. And every level have at least one scene within the level, usually with a quick-time-event.

These are just my negative remarks though, overall I find the game pretty okay. It's only when I try to look at the game as a brethren of the Nintendo 64 game, that I get really critical of it. If they had just called it "James Bond and the Modern FPS Adventure", all would be forgiven.

[rmoxon]

You say it's not linear and then go on to mention how the first snow level of the original, which is one of the most deceptively nonlinear levels ever in a video game as it's in a massive wide open space but you still have to do the same things everytime you play.

The fact was the original was never that open ended, it just did a great job of making you think it was. If anything this remake is actual less linear because of the range of ways you can tackle the levels where as the original just liked to pretend It had that much depth.

[egparadigm]

The writing is kinda poor. It takes itself to seriously. All of a sudden Alec spouts "For England James?" as if he were unsure of Bonds allegiance? What did he expect him to reply? "Naw, for the money and the fast cars..."

While talking about some bad guy with a scar on his cheek, Bond asks M: "Is that Dimitri Slokevieanysh (don't remember his name)?" "Yes, how did you know?" "I GAVE HIM THE SCAR." Yuck.

I don't know if you're aware, but both of those are from the original script. Perhaps the implementation is not to your satisfaction.

You make some valid points, though. The aiming can be annoying and can do things you don't expect with unfortunate timing.

[rmoxon]

That's why you should use the classic controller pro, it's plays perfectly with it.

And yeah, personally I like the dialogue, it's cheesy but in a relatively cool bond type way. Goldeneye is one of the best bond films and the dialogue is a big part of that.