Release Date: Holiday 2004 - PS2, Xbox, GC
Price: $49.99
Number of Players: 4
Online Gaming: - 8-16 Players
System Link/LAN Play Compatible
Holding this game in high hopes for many months has proved to be a very futile act indeed. I recently had the chance to sit down and explore every aspect of this game. The last Bond title that I played and enjoyed was the 007 N64 title. I and I am sure many other people hold that game as one of the best on that system. Hoping for something like that I excitedly put in the game and started to play. I sat in amazement as what I had hoped for came crashing down around me.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/reviews/919935_20041122_screen001.jpg)
GAMEPLAY
Game play wise this game is very boring. The pace is somewhat slow, and the A.I. moves and acts in a very odd manner. Never once through the game did the A.I. A) Stop moving, and B) aim. The one thing they did extremely well with the A.I. is how it takes cover. The A.I. will hide behind crates, duck, roll out of the way of grenades, and blind fire from behind boxes and such. Outside of that it is a very cookie cutter feel. What comes to mind when I think about the game is "run, shoot, run, shoot, run, shoot". The sad thing about the game play is the fact that the programmers made it so that the player could utilize the characters unique skills (which we will get to a bit later) to control the atmosphere and get some unique kills, but the A.I. is so strange that by the time you get them lined up for a decent kill you are almost dead. You have a better chance of survival by just running and gunning them to death.
Now, the one saving grace this game has is the presentation of the characters abilities, but even this is plagued by difficulty. After the first 4 missions the player is rewarded with a unique ability. These abilities are: the ability to see in an X-ray sort of manner. The player can use this ability to find enemies that are hiding behind cover. The next ability is the ability to hack computer electronics from a distance. This ability only really comes in handy at certain times, but it is fun to play around with. The third ability is one of the most necessary in the game. This ability lets the player envelope the character in a bullet proof force field. This ability will come in handy later on in the game when the A.I. starts pulling out the heavy artillery. The final ability is the one that is the most fun, but very hard to use. The character is given the ability to warp the magnetic field around an enemy and throw him around. the player can knock one enemy into a group of enemies or toss a couple people off the side of a bridge. Now the only problem is that each of these abilities takes a certain amount of energy to use. The energy refills after a while, but it takes a bit to get back to full. Using the shield and the x-ray vision slowly drains it, while hacking and using the magnetic field takes huge chunks out of it. Using these abilities is great, but there are two problems. The biggest problem is the fact that each time a player dies, the ability you had set reverts to default. So when the player gets into a heavy fire fight and goes to use his shield he/she will find that she is now using the x-ray vision. This may seem like something small, but when you are playing the game you tend to forget that it resets and will die a lot. The second problem is in the lay out of the buttons. They are set to the D-Pad, but for some reason when you press up it sometimes goes to the left or to the right. When you press right it sometimes goes to the top and to the bottom and so on with every direction. This causes for a great amount of unnecessary frustration during the game.
Something else that the player may find frustrating is the fact that you have to mash down on the buttons to reload your gun and to change your weapons. A simple tap or a light push has no affect what-so-ever. You have to literally jam your thumb on the button. Just to make sure it wasn't just my controller I used two others, and still jamming was necessary.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/reviews/919935_20041122_screen003.jpg)
GRAPHICS
Visually this game is pretty nice. Some environments look like bland crap, and others look pretty decent. The detail on the characters and weapons is nice. When you scope in on the enemy you see a lot of detail. The explosions, the bullet holes, the smoke, and the lighting all look realistic. Like I said, the only really problem with the graphics is that they can be bland. If this title was played on a playstation I would say that they were great, but being that it was played on the Xbox I was a bit disappointed.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/screen0/919935_20041116_screen005.jpg)
SOUND
The sound is done with THX, and I can honestly say it sucks. Maybe it was just the system I was using at the time, but at certain times the sound sounded very chingy and hollow. The voices and the explosions were well done, but everything else kind of lacked.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/screen0/919935_20040714_screen006.jpg)
MULTIPLAYER
My view on a multiplayer game is it is what you make out of it, and the atmosphere you play it in. If you have some good friends over I am sure you will enjoy what multiplayer has to offer. It reminds me SOMEWHAT of what 007 had to offer, but due to the fact that it feels like the player is walking at crawling speed it does take away from the fun.
(IMG:
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2004/screen0/919935_20040714_screen008.jpg)
BOTTOM LINE
Even though I say I do not care for the game there is something about it that is compelling enough to continue to the end. The story is.......well, itÂ’s a bond story, but the player still feels compelled to play. The game has an interesting premise, a rogue agent kicked out of the good guys and taken in by the bad guys. Even with all its negatives it is still a semi-entertaining game, if only for a bit.
If you are interested in this game I say give it a rent, but buyer beware. Totally not worth $50.00
Taking all things into consideration I give this game a solid 5.
Not the best game every played, but compelling enough to finish it. The sound needs work, the A.I. need a lot of work, but multiplayer is a good redeeming factor.
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Topic: Goldeneye: Rogue Agent (Read 909 times)