Gaming Target - Xbox: James Bond 007: NightFire

Written by Nick Doukas on July 00, 2002

First Impressions: One Martini: shaken, not stirredЕand make it quick you OctopussyЕ

Everyone loves James Bond. I mean, c'mon, between all of the incredible stunts, gadgets, insane action and beautiful women, what's not to love, right?! Ian Fleming's super-spy has moved from the pages of countless novels, to the silver screen and finally, to everyone's favorite (at least everyone who's reading this) interactive media, videogames. A few years back, Bond made a huge splash in the gaming world with Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64. A groundbreaking First Person Shooter that broke huge sales records and became an instant classic, the Rare developed title is still regarded by many as the best example of what a console based FPS should be. Publisher Electronic Arts, who recently had a Bond themed hit with Agent Under Fire, is working with UK based developer Eurocom to bring yet another Bond adventure to the digital world - James Bond 007: Nightfire. Arriving for Xbox this fall, action fans should be pleased with the games combination of first and third person action, stealth elements and all out combat.

James Bond 007: Nightfire will feature a completely original story that will celebrate 40 years of Bond history. Drawing upon the rich tapestry of countless 007 adventures, the team is creating a narrative that will take gamers to more than 10 exotic locations (including the South Pacific, the Austrian Alps and a space station) and will integrate numerous weapons, tons of cool gadgetry (all provided by Q of course), character cameos, and vehicles which can be commandeered throughout the adventure. Taking control of Bond, gamers will be tasked with destroying Rafael Drake, an evil mastermind bent on world domination (aren't they all?). The game will open with a cool sequence featuring Bond skydiving from a cargo plane onto the snowy terrain of the Austrian Alps. As you take control, you'll see that you're standing on a bridge that leads to a road, which then snakes it's way uphill to the enemy stronghold, in this case a looming old castle. You are equipped with: a pistol, a sniper rifle, one wristwatch (with built in laser cutter) and a cell phone grapple. How you use these tools to get past the 30 or so guards that are patrolling the area is up to you. Therein lies the beauty of Nightfire: you can choose to attempt all out combat, and shoot your way in, or you can pick a spot and snipe as many guards as you can before moving forward. However, the astute gamer will notice a cargo truck on it's way up to the castle. Hop into the back and you'll be taken right past the guards and into the enemy base, all without firing a single shot. Alternatively, one can choose to walk out into the woods and buttonhook around to the side of the castle. From there, you can make your way along the edge of the structure, taking care to avoid spotlights and enemy helicopters, until you reach a second story ledge and window that grants access to the building. You can take many different paths to reach the same conclusion, and each scenario will play out differently every time. Cool stuff.

As previously stated, the game will feature both first and third person views (though the first person mode will be used primarily). Depending on the mission decisions you make, the camera will automatically pan out to reveal a nicely realized and smoothly animated character model of Bond, which can then be manipulated by the player. For example, if you choose to take the circuitous route into the castle, as described above, you'll have to maneuver Bond across a chasm (in third person mode). The scripted events and view changes should add excellent variety to the play mechanics. Variety is the key word here, as EA has revealed that gamers will be treated to numerous outrageous scenarios including: Scaling the side of an 80-foot glass skyscraper during a late-night infiltrationЕin a thunderstorm. How about swimming past man-eating sharks through secret caves in the South Pacific? If that's not cool enough for you, then perhaps flying an ultra-light plane through a heavily armed canyon, off the rim of an exploding volcano, is. You'll also find yourself battling inside of a decommissioned nuclear power plant on the coast of Japan, as well as taking on a Nordic ski-jump. The driving levels in the game are being handled by EA's Need For Speed team, who are working overtime to bring gamers five vehicular levels, including one in which the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish transforms into a submersible, thus allowing you to take a stealth approach to your objective, via the ocean floor! As for those uber-cool Bond gadgets, I'll let the guys at EA fill you in: УJetpacks, laser weapons, x-ray vision, magnetic climbing grapples, and a suitcase mini-gun, to name a few. The driving levels will contain several new gadgets, as well as some old favorites: A Turbo Booster, two wheeled Mechanism, Tire Spikes, plus upgradeable weapons such as Sidewinder missiles and projectile EMP gadgets.Ф The suitcase mini-gun sounds particularly neat, as Bond can drop the case at any point within the level, where it transforms into a sentry gun that will automatically open fire on any enemy unlucky enough to wander into it's path. Furthermore, the player can take control of the sentry, as a window will open up in the corner of the screen showing current activity near the gun. If a hostile steps into range, the weapon can be swung around and brought to bear on the threat, which can then be eliminated with extreme prejudice. The team promises a plethora of other weapons including a silencer-equipped handgun, as well as a shotgun, crossbow and rocket launcher. Other armaments are being kept under wraps at this time.

Graphically the game is looking sharp, with the visuals locked in at 60 frames per second. The engine sports realistic architecture, crisp textures, and showers the environments with particle effects, ranging from falling snow to gun smoke, explosions and fire. Enemies are well modeled and suitably detailed, and display convincing animations. To quote Eurocom: УWe'll be pushing all the environments and effects as hard as we can. The Xbox happens to have a lot of strengths. Like [the ability to support a] rock solid framerate of 60 fps with real-time shadows, extra character lighting, and more lights in general, and once a level has been cached you'll see load times of about 2 seconds- incredibly fast.Ф If early reports are any indication, EA may just have a 007 title on their hands to rival Goldeneye.