First of all, I'd like to apologize (kind of) for my last entry. The intent was there, but I just don't think my ideas were presented as clearly as I like to think most of my ideas are. So...sorry if my rant against the new Twitter contests was as a jumbled mess as those contests seem to be.
Almost a month ago, Activision and Eurocom released their update/reimagining/remake/reboot of Rare's classic FPS: Goldeneye. Eurocom is the developer responsible for the Wii version of Modern Warfare: Modern Warfare Reflex. So, they had that going for them and with all of the positive reviews for 007, I decided to pick it up.
I decided to spring for the Limited Edition, which comes with a gold version of the Wii Classic Controller Pro. Also, the retailer I bought it from was offering a second Pro controller, so I picked up a second one in black (sadly, the second controller was not offered in gold, though I'm not sure that's really a negative).
Now, I've always had a gripe with most peripherals for the Wii. Namely, they require the Wii Remote in order to function. Got that Guitar Hero or Rock Band game for the Wii? Gotta slap a Wii-mote in the guitar. Got a Classic Controller? Tether it up to the Wii-mote my friend (I don't know about the original Classic, but the Pro's cord is way too short for my liking). And the Wii Zapper? Couldn't they have made one that actually functioned like the old Lightgun? I haven't had much experience with it, but I've found most games to work better without the plastic casing that is the Zapper.
But enough of that and back to Goldeneye. How does it play you ask? Like Call of Duty. Seriously. It's a one-man CoD (yes, there are sections of CoD games that have you by yourself, but on the whole, you play as part of a squad). There are a couple of tweaks, like vaulting over objects instead of just stepping up onto them to crawl over. But overall, it plays so similar that if you handed the controller over to someone who only knew CoD, they probably wouldn't know the difference.
The graphics are as about as good as you're going to find on the Wii. Meaning, it's still not so good compared to what you find on the PS3 and 360. Yes, graphics aren't everything. But, as I said, the gameplay is so similar to Activision's other first person shooter, the only real incentive to play this is a) you only own a Wii b) remember the N64 game so well you could do the speed run with your eyes closed and want to see how this one stacks up or c) have to play everything Bond and already blew through Bloodstone.
I'll address those in order. If you only own a Wii and you're jonesing for an FPS, this is about the best FPS as I've played for the system. I'll admit, my experience is limited to mostly Red Steel and Metroid Prime (which was good). I mostly used the golden Pro for my initial play through. It IS gold in color, so that was pretty sweet. My complaint is that the Pro is kind of light, especially after growing accustomed to the DualShock 3 (which I find to be just right for me) but whatever. It was still pretty responsive and the control was tight. I did try out the Wii-mote, because reviewers boldly exclaimed that that was the best way to play. I immediately went back to the Pro. Same thing happened when I tried the GameCube controller. Could be the age and wear on that one, though, so don't discount that one yet.
My main issue with the Wii-Mote was the trying to move so I could see offscreen enemies. I've never found this to be effective in any game I've played, FPS or not. The response of the Wii-mote just doesn't seem to be able to keep up with me.
But, like I said, the game plays well. So, CoD clone or not, it is a solid shooter. I will say this, it was pretty hard on the second highest difficulty and there were times that I couldn't find the optional objectives without looking it up. SPOILER How the hell was I supposed to know to shoot the painting? I even shot it once. But no. That doesn't do it. It has to be shot THREE times.
How does this compare to the original. There are similarities, yes. But almost nothing is exactly the same. That could be my faulty memory, but I don't think so. The game does start off with that same camera sweep leading up to the damn, but you quickly learn this was not your 64's 007. For starters, the game stars Daniel Craig as Bond. I've heard things from not being able to get Brosnan to sign off on the rights to him being too old to do the motion capture to just wanting something that might appeal to current fans of the series, whatever.
Because of the way this game fits into the movie timeline, there is no jump in years after the opening sequence (which, oddly enough, is no longer after James escapes from the dam, but rather after he does the bungee jump without the cord), because that would put the dam sequence before Casino Royale or Goldeneye would be pushed into the future. Either way, the game continues in a straight narrative rather than the time jump.
I've always found Daniel Craig's voice to be lacking when he does voice over work. I thought the same thing in the Quantum of Solace game and for Bloodstone. Just lacks...emotion, I guess. He's not even the coldblooded, emotionless killer from the films. It's more like someone has a Speak N Spell programmed to sound like him.
The changes work for the most part. It did feel a little "grittier" than before with an added melee system and silent takedowns. However, there were a couple of times the AI was alerted to my presence while I tried to perform these. I was crouched, barely moving forward, and to the best of my knowledge silent. And then the guard would spin around and open fire. Or fire and then turn around, as was often the case.
But, like I said, for the most part everything works well. Just a couple of instances where things don't go smoothly as I already outlined above.
I heard mixed reviews on Bloodstone, the latest 007 offering on the PS3/360 so I'll hold off on buying, but a friend didn't and I got a bit of a hands-on and it seemed ok.
I'd give this game a 3/5 because it's little more than a CoD Bond game (kind of like QoS), there are a couple of glitches that detract from my enjoyment (not enough to make me throw the game down in frustration), and the online component was hacked the day it came out (kind of like CoD).
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