Mediocre graphics in the shooter levels and some slightly unambitious level design mar an otherwise fun gaming experience. It should be noted that this game should in no way ever be compared to Goldeneye, close but no cigar as they say.
It is a completly new adventure featuring 007 as he moves around the world trying to uncover a mystery while dodging bad guys, smashing beatiful vehicles and of course flirting with the ladies.
Graphically the game suffers from a look which can best be described as grainy. The cut scenes and vehicle graphics are nice, but the shooting effects and the environments, just look grainy, similar Goldeneye, but there is no excuse when graphics have come so far.
The sound effects are not near as impressive in this version as they could be. The voice overs are decent, if a tad dry at times. The Xbox version of this game by far has the best sound effects, although it did sound good through my stereo.
The gameplay of this game is something else. Prior to finding and using controller setup number 3, a variant similar to Halo and Red Faction, I was ready to take this game back to the store. The default controls are entirely too awkward, but once I switched over I found them to be fairly easy to use, if a tad on the confusing side for selecting the weapon you want. I found myself occasionally selecting items instead of weapons, which made for some long levels and bad battle outcomes. Otherwise it controlled fairly well and I was able to actually be precise at times.
The multiplayer feature was easily one of the best parts to this game. Featuring standard death matches, capture the flag, bomb disposal mode which made for some fun, and a mode which relied on teamwork to knock off the super strong player. The frame rates were crazy, as they kept up remarkably, even with four players on the screen at once. While not as rich as they could have been, they do offer enough fun to keep players coming back for more, and that is always a good thing as replay value is crucial for good gaming.
Not since Goldeneye, have I gone through stages again and again in an effort to get the medals and unlock the different bonuses they offer, especially for the golden gun, a favorite of mine. While not the blockbuster it could have been, with its 60 fps this version was the best version of the game that I played. It is the only real shooter for the Gamecube to date, and hopefully they will continue to evolve. This game receives my recommendation for death match fans and FPS fanatics only. The casual gamer can get away with a rental and a long weekend to play it through as the difficulty is somewhat suspect.
Graphics -6 Grainy=ugly
Sound -6 Same old same old
Gameplay -7 Good controls/easy to learn
Multiplayer -9 Good start for FPS on NGC
Story/Challenge -6 Cliched/Easy
Overall 73%
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