No matter what Bond product you're enjoying (or in the case of the more recent movies, probably not enjoying), those words will pop up at some point. It has made us here at wonder, however, if James isn't in fact his middle name, thus making him Bond Bond. Whenever we think like that, however, we're reminded that James is an orphan, and it isn't very nice to pick on orphans.
Bond's existence has seen a number of original books (and a number of really terrible spin-off titles), some of the most influential action films of our time, and, generally speaking, some of the most awful movie-inspired games ever seen. There's the exception to the rule, of course -- the Rare/Nintendo classic Goldeneye -- but aside from that it's all been definitively sub-par stuff. EA's latest swing at the Bond license, Everything Or Nothing, didn't initially have us all that impressed when we saw an early demo level of it late last year, but since that time EA's been busy beavering away on the game, and the end result is a really engaging movie-style title that isn't in fact based on a movie at all. In game terms, Goldeneye is arguably still a better product, but Everything Or Nothing delivers a package that's more like a Bond movie than any other game.
Part of what makes Everything Or Nothing work quite so well is that it takes just about every element you'd expect in a Bond movie and crafts them into what is an engaging, albeit predictable story. You've got Bond as the main character, voiced by Pierce Brosnan, and simulated in an extremely accurate and lifelike digital model. Judi Dench's M and John Cleese's Q round out the MI6 contingent, and all put in performances that really enhance the Bond 'feel' of the game. On the bad guy side of the equation is Nikolai Diavolo, voiced by Willem Dafoe. Diavolo's diabolical plan revolves around using stolen nanotechnology that Bond is tasked with recovering. Diavolo's assisted by Richard Kiel's always-impressive Jaws -- although we'll hazard a guess that Kiel doesn't look quite as young as his ingame model would have you believe these days. A Bond product just wouldn't be a Bond product without a bevy of beautiful babes, and in this case those roles are filled out by Shannon Elizabeth, Heidi Klum and Mya, who also sings the game's very Bond-like title track.
As Everything Or Nothing plays out, you'll engage in just about every Bond-specific type of action you could think of, including a number of genuinely exciting vehicle sections on different licensed vehicles with suitably explosive Bond-type alterations. The bulk of the game's action, however, plays out as a third person action/shooting game, reminiscent of games such as Syphon Filter or the Metal Gear Solid games. Aside from a number of projectile weapons, Bond also gains access to a number of super-spy accessories, ranging from a rappelling claw that's used frequently for scaling up and down sheer surfaces to explosive coins and a remote-controlled 'Q-Spider' that can be used for espionage and explosive results.
Control in Everything Or Nothing is mostly spot-on, with one major exception, and that's in the way the game handles weapon aiming. Bond automatically aims at the nearest foe, but he does so slowly and only in the exact direction he's facing. This means if you get a foe who's even a little bit off-center, Bond may not see him, and a foe directly behind him will always fill him full of lead before he's had a chance to respond. The game's 3D camera swings around agonisingly slowly in these instances, and while it's a good object lesson in not letting foes get the drop on you, some of the levels you'll face make it an almost certainty that it's going to happen anyway.
Like Goldeneye before it, Everything Or Nothing offers three difficulty levels, with each level having slightly different objectives and slightly more enemies to deal with. Operative (the lowest setting) is perhaps a touch easier than it should be, and a relatively competent player could probably get through it in a very short span of time. Crank up the difficulty to Agent or 007 mode, however, and the objectives get harder and the enemies smarter, and you'll have a fair challenge on your hands.
Aside from the single player game, Everything Or Nothing also has a robust multiplayer engine backing it up. Predictably, there's a competitive deathmatch-style mode, but there's also three different spins on co-operative gaming, taking in versions that rely on either working against a clock or working together but individually trying to build up the best personal score. EA being EA, there's no online component for Xbox owners, although PS2 players in PAL territories do no better. It seems that online multiplayer is a purely PS2, purely NTSC market phenomenon.
While they've released clunky and inadequate Bond games in the recent past, Everything Or Nothing is a real step up in quality terms. It seems likely that EA will hang onto the Bond licence for as long as they can., and being EA, they've probably got the money to do so for a good number of years. Hopefully they can keep pumping out titles of the quality of Everything Or Nothing.
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Arnold
21/12/2005, 09:57 AM
http://www.edtrstory.com
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