Rare released 1997’s Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64, and the gaming community highly regards it as one of the best video games of all time.. However, recreating the magic of a classic isn’t always the easiest thing to do, as is the case with GoldenEye 007: Reloaded.
| Release Date | November 2, 2010 |
| Genre | First-Person Shooter |
| Platforms | PS3/360 |
| Developer | Eurocom |
| Price | $59.99 US |
| ESRB Rating | Teen |
| Players | 1-8 |
Eurocom developed Goldeneye 007: Reloaded after a decent release last year on the Nintendo Wii. I was very excited about this game when I found out it was coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360. I was a massive fan of the original game and thought this one could do wonders on the excellent systems this generation had to offer. The prospect of having multiplayer battles on classic Goldeneye maps with players across the world, coupled with stealth gameplay from the single-player campaign, made me an instant believer that, just maybe, this game would be exactly what we’ve all been waiting for. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Reimagining a Classic
Going into this game, most people would probably guess that this is a direct remake of GoldenEye 007. It’s not. It’s a re-imagined version of Goldeneye, dropping many recognizable elements from the original in favor of competing with today’s shooters. There’s a bit of an identity crisis in Goldeneye: Reloaded. Sometimes, you’re trying to sneak through levels, while other times, the player uses a run-and-gun mentality to get through the hordes of enemies. Some may consider this a good thing, as you can play the game however you want. While I agree in most instances, Goldeneye tends to leave you scratching your head at what Eurocom was trying to do.
Presentation
In this day and age, building a technically sound game makes all the difference and could have made Goldeneye a much more polished experience. That in itself is what feels very lacking – the polish. The environments are almost generic in detail, with some blurry textures and poor lighting. Things like rain seem to be added to combat this rather noticeable issue. While the weather looks nice, exploring the other environments in the game (especially in the darker settings) reveals how mediocre the settings and textures are. The audio is well done, with Daniel Craig succeeding Pierce Brosnan and lending his voice talents. There is an impressively well-put-together opening sequence, featuring the theme song performed by Nicole Scherzinger.
AI
The artificial intelligence in Goldeneye is yet another weak point, and to be completely honest, it is unpredictable. A CPU enemy will rush you, run out into the middle of nowhere, hide, or sometimes, not notice you. It’s completely random, and it plagues the single-player campaign. The stealth aspect is another utterly random part of the campaign, as you can be undetected, running up to your enemy, or detected from ten feet away while crouched. These are things that not only can’t be explained, they absolutely should not happen.
Multiplayer
The saving grace for this Bond adventure certainly should have been in the multiplayer modes; however, that’s not the case. The online multiplayer portion of GoldenEye suffers from significant latency issues that negatively impact the overall experience. Players appear to be warping every few steps, and obtaining a kill was simply a chore due to the jumpy nature of each game I played. The potential of online multiplayer in Goldeneye makes this sting the most. The number of game modes is astonishing, and it would be wonderful to play them with any consistency, but that’s not what we see here. Melee and stealth are non-existent, and everyone in every game I joined used the shotgun, which is easily the most poorly balanced weapon in the game. It’s a shame to see such a promising part of this game be so badly broken. I hope that a patch can fix some of these issues.
Final Thoughts
Goldeneye 007: Reloaded is a victim of horrible timing, with the year’s big games all releasing within weeks of its release. While it lacks a lot of polish in certain areas and certainly needs an online multiplayer patch, there’s still an enjoyable single-player campaign and split-screen multiplayer to take a crack at.
