Goldeneye 007 and Blood Stone 007

Preview from Jae - Thursday, 07 October 2010 @ 11:49pm

Like many of us I have a very fond memory of playing Goldeneye on the N64 at friend’s places during overnight stays. Being a Playstation boy it was the game I was most jealous of. In many ways Goldeneye was the gateway game for first person shooters on consoles. In fact it would also be labelled as the best movie to game adaptation bar none. Arkum Asylum may come a close second but Goldeneye will forever be a memory of good times. It was even a game we busted out during eGames 2008. To see the revival of a game so fondly remembered is something that leaves a lot of us somewhat excited but also sceptical. The new edition, Goldeneye 007, brings back some nostalgia as well as new features which thankfully don’t include mandatory waggle. Eurocom, the developers for the title who also made Dead Space Extraction for the Wii, are poised to be at the forefront of bringing back one of the biggest titles in history.

Someone needs to tell Daniel Craig partial fingerless gloves are so 1995

The single player mode is pretty much a necessary staple for a Bond game. My experience with this was brief but fun. Starting off in a tank I made my way through a level blasting away at enemies and helicopters. One thing I’m yet to get use to is playing with a Wii classic controller or a classic controller pro. As far as controls go they work fine, the weight of them is what feels awkward to me. I don’t really understand how my brain works, believe me I’ve tried, but wielding a dual analog control means I feel like I should be holding a solid controller. It may take some time to get use to. Although the Wii remote and Nunchuk option is still available it was quite obvious that a classic controller is a better method.


One thing to also remember when checking out Goldeneye 007 is that it’s on the Wii. So don’t expect graphics that will blow your mind. At first I was thinking the graphics were hardly an improvement on the original title but I went back and checked out videos of the N64 classic and realised I’ve been spoilt by too much HD gaming. No real frame rate issues in this version so expect some smooth 4 player split screen death matches. Speaking of multiplayer, the redeeming feature of the classic, most time was spent playing this. Many modes, characters and maps were available for play. I have to say the customisable matches are a welcoming feature. I enjoyed the death match mode with big hands where you relied on your karate chopping skills to earn you kills. In stereotypical fashion I was pretty good with karate chopping but lacking in matches with the golden gun. A super gun that had to be sought out for its one shot kills was not my strong point but it was still a fun match to play against three others.

I am looking forward to Goldeneye, I’d be lying if I said I was happy that it’s on the Wii but to bring a classic back to this generation and keep all it’s good elements intact is something special, no matter which platform it features on. The hurdles of Wii online play can hurt the final product but I hope everyone who enjoyed the N64 original out there is willing to give this a go.


Goldeneye 007 on the Wii is due out on 3rd November 2010.

James Bond is also making a return to the HD consoles this season with the game Blood Stone 007. With no recent movie to base a game off Bizarre Creations, from Blur and Project Gotham Racing fame, have taken the helm to prove that they’re not just great at making racing games.

Don't get wet or you might lose your Bond

The level I started on was one when you drive around in a high speed chase. Seeing as a famous car racing developer made this game Activision were well equipped to show us some of their best talents. The driving was smooth and action packed. If there wasn’t an explosion nearby there would be one coming up on along the way. Now it’s been a while since I played a racing game so I was pretty rusty. Who am I kidding I simply suck at racing games. The high speed chase took place primarily on ice so there were pools of water in which you had to dodge along the way. I successfully fell in almost every pool, so much so I gave up close to the very end. I can confirm though that it was pretty much my skills and I that made it so, as other journos playing were able to make it to the end. Luke was just as bad as me but I helped him along as I had known where to avoid dying in the high speed chase. The third person action from there on in looked similar to the previous Bond titles. Shoot, duck and shoot some more. The games got legs behind it as Bizarre Creations surely give it some merit over most movie inspired games.


Be sure to be on the look out for Blood Stone 007 as it ships to all major consoles in November 2010.