We Want Bond... James Bond - The British Spy Could Use Another Game Like Goldeneye

Who here has played Goldeneye? If you haven't, you have my sympathy. This was the shit back in the day. The first major FPS that was exclusive for a console that had both a killer single player experience and couch co-op fun. This game had it all, gadgets, great maps, cheats and James Bond. This game actually got me into the spy and I have been a fan of the movies since. This was also one of the few games based on a movie that was good, arguably one of the best. And it stayed true to the movie too, there was a boss battle was 006 on a satellite, the train level and even a part where you moved through the vent in the facility and dropped in through the washroom. Almost everything went right with this game and the company, Rare, proved it wasn't a fluke with their next game , Perfect Dark, which took the shooter experience and added scifi. But what happened to James? There were other bond games but none of them had the legacy of Goldeneye. And this is a character that could shine in a new game.

First let's talk about why this game worked. FPS's were not that good on consoles. PC gamers dominated the first person shooter market. You would aim with the mouse and move with the keyboard. But for consoles, things didn't start working until there was a second thumb stick, so you could aim with one and move with the other. However Goldeneye still managed to get things off the ground. Instead of a second stick, Goldeneye used two of the C buttons (there were four, one for each direction) so you could strafe. That way you can move forward and back and turn with the stick and move left and right with your other thumb. You did lose verticality (which is okay with me, I don't like shooters with maps that have too many floors), but you got the rest of the directions covers. And you could also hold down a button to free aim. It worked. It didn't age too well but for the time, it was ground-breaking.

There was also the level design and the way the levels were presented. From the facility, to the jungle, to the satellite, to the space station, every level was unique in look and design. It was not just the same endless hallways. Then you had the different missions within the level. It was not only a matter of getting to the end of the area but finding a briefcase along the way or hacking a computer. How many missions you had to do depended on the level (agent, secret agent, 00 agent). Plus the levels were presented in smaller experiences, a few minutes each and you could select them from your folder so you could replay them at different difficulties without repeating too many of the parts you don't like. And you will probably be replaying them as every level came with fun cheat codes that you unlocked if you could beat the level in a certain time. I remember playing the faculty level over and over again on 00 difficulty, flying around the staircase banister, hoping the first scientist I spoke to was the right one. Then finally, beating the timer and getting invincibility.

And multiplayer, forget about it. Pick your agent and go against your friends. Just like the single player levels the maps had a great design. You could select what weapons you wanted to be available and those weapons would be on certain parts of the map. Who here would throw a proximity mine on the armor and then pick it? It made it invisible and was a nasty surprise for one of the most important items of the game. If you ever get a chance, you should play this game, even to see what the fuss was about.

But if we were going to make a new game with the spy, what would it be? The character could work with an FPS, or a third person adventure or a stealth game. However I don't want to see some generic shooter with bond being put in place as the hero. I am thinking an esports game would be fun. Team play is the way things are going and maybe a spy vs spy experience could work. You could have MI6 vs CIA and the missions could be varied. You could have different specialist roles that each players have and work together to win the match. Goldeneye was ground breaking and it is time the spy breaks new ground once more.

What do you think? And do you have any experience with the British spy?

@whatageek

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