The next GoldenEye?

Ever since Nintendo and Rare released GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64 and redefined what a first person shooter should be like on a console, many developers have tried to copy their success only to fail. Unfortunately for fans of the James Bond films, the publishing rights for games based on the property changed hands from Nintendo to Electronic Arts only to be met with very little success. After two not so great Bond titles, EA is set to take another stab at capturing the charm and appeal of GoldenEye with their new game James Bond 007 in Agent Under Fire. Has EA succeeded in creating a worthy successor to GoldenEye? Read on to find out.

Features

• 1st person gameplay mixed with driving and on-rails shooting


• An all new original single-player storyline


• Utilize weapons, gadgets, and more from the Q-lab


• Up to 4 player multiplayer mode

Gameplay
The first of its kind, Agent Under Fire presents players with an all-new storyline not based off of any existing films or books. This original story line is held together through a mix of first-person-shooter (FPS), driving, and on-rails missions. This means the game is not the pure FPS adventure that fans of GoldenEye were hoping for. Since this game is ultimately a FPS at its heart, it is rather sad that it is the weakest part of the game. FPS levels are varied but too straight forward. There is never really any question as to where to go as you are constantly pushed forward in the only direction available. Worse of all, where as GoldenEye introduced a level of stealth gameplay to FPS’s instead of running in with guns blazing, Agent Under Fire features none of this. The “guns blazing” approach is your only approach in Agent Under Fire. To add insult to injury, the FPS levels are also bogged down and with “handholding” moments where the game will not allow you to try to figure out how to get past something on your own. Instead the camera zooms in on what needs to be shoot at or audio prompts you with what to do. This is a significant let down as part of the enjoyment of past Bond titles or any FPS is trying to figure out what you are supposed to do. Why the designers at EA decided that not having the player think for him/her self was the best route to go, no one may ever know. All complaints aside, the FPS levels are a decent romp as long as you do not expect the next GoldenEye or Halo.

Making up for the rather lackluster FPS levels, Agent Under Fire also features a handful of solid driving and on-rails missions. Driving missions put players behind the wheel of one of Q-Lab’s famous “Bond” cars as they drive and blast their way through large outdoor environments. These missions play as Need For Speed meets Spy Hunter and are truly enjoyable. The on-rails missions are also strong, giving the player the ability to purely focus on shooting and not have to worry about control what direction to move in. Driving and on-rail mission’s aside, it is a shame that their level of enjoyment is missing from the FPS levels.

Like GoldenEye before it, Agent Under Fire also features a surprising polished and fun multiplayer experience for up to four players. While not as deep as the multiplayer found in GoldenEye, players will have access to a dozen Bond inspired areas to hunt and shoot in until their hearts are content. The only letdown in the multiplayer mode comes in the CPU controlled bots. While the AI behind them is not the problem, the number of bots you can load at any given time is. The number of bots you can play against is determined by how many friends you are playing with. If you are playing by yourself, then you can load 2 to 4 bots. However, for every friend you add to the game you will lose one bot. This means if you have four friends over you will not be able to use any bots. This is a bit of a letdown, but overall it is still a solid multiplayer experience.

Graphics
Maintaining an impressive constant 60fps throughout, Agent Under Fire is generally a sharp and impressive looking game. Levels are large and varied featuring impressive architecture, design, and even items that can be damaged when shot at. While the levels are nice to look at they do have a handful of issues holding them back from greatness. First, the impressive level design and locals are often lost due to generally bland, flat, and boring texture work. The artists aimed at creating realistic objects to fill their worlds but the end result almost has a cartoonishly flat look to it at times. Unfortunately the poor texture design doesn’t stop with the environments but also extends into the automobiles and the characters themselves. Character models are generally impressive to look at and watch speak, but sadly look bland due to their textures and also sport rather robotic movements unless being used in an in-game cut-scene.

Sound
As with previous Bond games, Agent Under Fire features a strong audio presentation all around. Since music is such a strong aspect of any James Bond film or game, it is no surprise that the game makes good use of the familiar James Bond themes. In fact Agent Under Fire tends to make too good of use of the James Bond theme in that you will hear it in almost every piece of music and every time you complete a Bond moment. By the end of the game you will more than likely have grown very tired of the Bond theme, which is sad since it is one of the most loved movie themes. Hopefully for the next game installment EA will have learned the old saying that “less is more” and get the usage of the theme song under control.

As with the music, Agent Under Fire also sports strong sound effects. Bullets will wiz by crisp and clear and explosions will have your room rocking. One area in the sound department which is a bit of a let down is the lack of voice work by the film actors. This does not come as a big surprise seeing as their likenesses are also not featured in the game, but it would have been nice to have the voices you would come to expect. This is however not to say the game does not feature strong voice work by good replacements, it does. It just would have been nice to have the originals.

Closing
If you are a fan of the James Bond films and games, then Agent Under Fire is worth checking out for its original story and mix of FPS, driving, and on-rails gameplay. If you are fan of GoldenEye and hoping to find a worthy successor to that game, then sadly you will be letdown. While Agent Under Fire is generally a good game, its many short comings and poor design choices hold it back from being a great game. Hopefully EA will keep what works and spend more time developing what James Bond game fans expect: a solid FPS experience set in the world of James Bond.