GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

Written by Ryan Genno on September 03, 2004

First Impressions: This time you don't need a license to kill

If the name Goldeneye 007 rings a bell then maybe you recognize it as a late 90's James Bond movie? OK, the movie wasn't that memorable but for millions of hardcore game fans though, Nintendo/Rare's Goldeneye was the best First Person Shooter you could find on a console Ц before Halo came out for the Xbox. Not only was the game better then the movie, but the award winning Nintendo 64 game also became the best selling video game in 1998. Despite the game's huge popularity there was never a true sequel, since Electronic Arts was not able to get the rights to the Bond license. Now in a smart yet controversial move; EA Games wants to do a semi-sequel to the legendary Goldeneye. Can the game's new darker look and feel revive this old Bond series?

The Bond games have always been about living out the ultimate fantasy: you are a stylish secret agent who has access to the most advanced weapons in the world, while you attract babes like magnets. In Rogue Agent however, you play a man who got fired and disgraced from the MI6 secret service and now he lives a life of crime. You got the nickname СGoldeneye' after you lost one of your eyes to classic Bond villain Dr. No and you want revenge. The evil mastermind Goldfinger also hates Dr. No and he agrees to help you track him down, but only if you can do some odd jobs (i.e. stealing) for him first. It's a different story then the usual Bond game so it will cool to see how it plays out.

Since you are ruthless character, there are no special British codes of conduct to follow here. The Goldeneye can freely take hostages and use them as human shields to protect himself from enemy fire. Your enemies are no pushovers either because EA created a special Artificial Intelligence code named E.V.I.L. The СE' stands for Emotion and your actions effect how aggressive the enemies get in battle. The СV' means Visceral Moments: this feature may mean you have the enemy off guard and you may be able to get an easy kill. The СI' stands for enemy Intelligence. If you're shooting at someone, they won't just stand there and many of them will try to take cover or they may even try to ambush you. The final СL' stands for an opponent's Learning ability. This means your enemy will try different techniques to either take you out or maybe they will realize that you are too strong and just give up.

EA hasn't forgotten about the multi-player modes either. Rogue Agent will support both split screen and Link options for up to 8 player fights. For those of you who want to fight online, now that EA has finally agreed to go on Xbox Live, Rogue Agent will be one of their first action games to use the service.