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Bond is Back: A History
With Quantum of Solace breaking all UK Box Office records, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and have a look at some of the best James Bond videogames in order of their release.
Goldeneye (N64)
Arguably the best movie licensed game of all time, and the game that changed the way first person shooters were played, Goldeneye is Bond at his best.
Released on the Nintendo 64 back in 1997 , RARE’s shooter featured both compelling Single and Multi-player experiences with the full cast adding their likenesses to the game.
A whole generation of gamers still compare all multiplayer FPS games to this and rightly so. With tons of unlockables including many famous characters, and the introduction to the now iconic Bond tropes such as Proximity mines and the Golden Gun.
Whilst fans still hope for a Wii VC and XBLA release, it looks ever doubtful.
The World is Not Enough (PSone, N64)
After the disappointing third person disaster that was Tomorrow Never Dies, EA decided to go back to the successful FPS concept which had already been proved with Goldeneye.
EA gave the developer job to two different parties. Black-Ops got the PSone duties and Eurocom got the N64 duties respectively.
The PSone version failed to meet the same success as the N64 one did due to the lack of multiplayer which it’s Nintendo cousin had. None the less it was a solid shooter for both consoles and it was Eurocom who would lead the franchise into the next generation – Agent Under Fire on the PS2.
007 Racing (PSone)
A quirky yet forgotten racer, 007 Racing put you behind the wheel of Bond’s cars in an original story. Whilst the singeplayer was incredibly average, it it was the multiplayer as always that left the gamers feeling shaken! (Pun intended.)
Multiplayer saw up to 4 players being able to helm a famous Bond car, complete with weapons, and take their opponents down. Whilst it is hardly Unreal Tournament, it still provided enough entertainment to keep fans of destruction derby type games happy.
Rumour has it that Bizarre (of Project Gotham fame) are working on a new Bond racing title.
Nightfire (PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, PC, GBA)
Nightfire was the second James Bond title to hit sixth generation consoles. Preceded by Agent Under Fire, Nightfire went back to featuring the likeness of Pierce Brosnan. The game received fairly positive reviews on consoles but negative reviews on the PC. This was down to the PC having a different developer, Gearbox…you know?….the ones supposedly making another FPS…Halo 4?
The game’s singleplayer saw a decent amount of variety and also included solid driving sequences, those of which were left out of the PC title (bye bye Warthog?)
The Multiplayer as always provided some light relief from the main game, featuring the by now expected unlockables and interesting level designs (a must for anyone with a cable car fetish).
Everything or Nothing (PS2, GC, Xbox, GBA)
The first Bond game to feature the third-person view since Tomorrow Never Dies, EoN also contained many firsts for a Bond title. Pierce Brosnan lent his voice talents to the game for the first time, there was a co-op campaign and also an originally composed Bond theme by someone “famous” – Mýa.
Sadly, the game featured no multiplayer in the true sense of the word but that didn’t stop the game being one of Bond’s best.
The game had a solid reception and therefore the series kept with the third person view for the next game; From Russia with Love.
Quantum of Solace (every platform known to man)
A few years have past since EA lost the rights to Activision (and rightly so after the distarous Goldeneye sequel) and Quantum of Solace is both the first Bond game from Activision and also the first for this generation of consoles. The cast all lend their voices and appearances including James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. Daniel Craig recently confessed to being a gamer himself.
Quantum of Solace (which also features Casino Royale content) is meeting mixed reviews across the board, some praising it’s graphics using the COD4 engine and others branding it dull.
Multiplayer makes a welcome return featuring the expected online play and all the usual Bond gizmos such as proximity mines and goldenguns and provides the usual amount of fun on a druknen night with friends.
Stay tuned for our Brutal Gamer impressions for Quantum of Solace soon!
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The cable car multiplayer level in Nightfire was amazing, agent under fire was probably my first FPS aswell… Might dust off my PS2 and try it again with my new found FPS awesomeness…