• Format: Wii (version reviewed), DS
• Unleashed: Out Now
• Publisher: Activision
• Developer: Eurocom
• Players: 1 (+Splitscreen & Online Multiplayer)
• Site: http://goldeneyegame.com/canvas/

Daniel Craig replaces Pierce Brosnan in the title role.

The original GoldenEye was the finest multiplayer game of its generation, and is fondly remembered by gamers of that era. EA sullied the name with the release of GoldenEye Rogue Agent in 2004. This re-imagining by developers Eurocom is an attempt to roll back the years and recreate the original’s magic. But does it attain double O standard, or is it left like a henchman floundering in a pool of sharks?

The Wiimote should be the perfect tool for the FPS genre but unfortunately developers have, for the most part, used the control method for simple on-rails shooters. This game redresses the thorny issue and if you aren’t quite happy with the default control scheme, then you have several customisation options to tinker with including the sensitivity of the Wiimote, and even the option to play with the classic controller.

The opening dam level is a loving re-imagining of the N64 original.

The single player campaign has been updated from the original James Bond movie, and you now play as Daniel Craig’s Bond, voiced by the man himself, rather than the original’s Pierce Brosnan. The plot has also been modernised to reflect the current economic climate, but it doesn’t stray too far from the original game’s formula. The opening level in particular is a perfectly pitched homage to the original, with Bond and 006 infiltrating the Dam complex. Your mobile phone takes the place of the N64 version’s watch gadget, and is used to hack computers and send intel back to MI6. Using your phone, you follow a way pointer which leads you to your next objective. In your way are several archetypal henchmen, who you can take down with your silencer equipped pistol, which is handy to avoid head on confrontations with the flood of heavily armed goons that follow. The AI of these enemies is, for the most part, pretty good, and they duck for cover quite realistically. Sometimes though they can be a bit predictable with the bad guy staying in one place and occasionally popping their heads up, which leaves them exposed to a head shot.

The game follows the plot of the film fairly closely, with several set pieces that are pretty faithful to the original movie (although they have been updated for a modern audience) and the action could almost have been taken directly from the Call of Duty series, with the gunplay being particularly similar. It’s obvious that the developers are trying to replicate the seminal shooter’s success on the Wii, and Eurocom should be applauded for their efforts.

Graphics are impressive with lots of nice effects.

There are several stand out levels in the single player including a nightclub shootout, and a brilliantly executed stage set in St. Petersburg – where you take a tank through the city, and cause plenty of destruction and carnage. Another level that impresses is a construction yard, which adds some innovative ways of despatching bad guys including fully destructible scaffolding to bring down on top of a squad of henchmen. A later stage, where you are trying to escape a burning and collapsing building also gets the adrenaline pumping, as you pick off the bad guys while trying to escape before your time runs out. It’s this diversity in the levels that makes the single player campaign such a joy to play through, and even though it’s not the longest game in the world it is perfectly adequate, and better value than some of the Call of Duty single player experiences that are over before you even break sweat.

Jaws is just one of many classic Bond characters that you can play as in multiplayer.

The GoldenEye multiplayer mode unsurprisingly takes its inspiration from the Call of Duty franchise. Players rank up in the usual way, and unlock an ever more impressive arsenal as time goes by. The addition of a split screen mode is a nod to the classic GoldenEye, and is a very welcome addition that other titles sadly neglect. Due to the Wii console’s limitations, there are only eight man online matches, and the lack of headsets is a bit of a problem. But the game is very impressive online, with no lag and plenty of game modes to choose from; including the usual deathmatches and capture the flag. Alternative modes like Golden Gun and GoldenEye are neat little twists on the formula. In Golden Gun all eight players search out the aforesaid weapon to wreak havoc on opposing players, which gives you a one shot kill – although the gun takes a while to reload. GoldenEye splits the 8 players into two teams, and each team has to take over stations on the map, to gain control of the GoldenEye satellite within the time limit. Paintball mode also makes a welcome return from the original game, and is a lot of fun. As you climb the rankings, you unlock additional gadgets and perks that you can use to gain an advantage as well as other game modes, and you can also play as classic Bond characters such as Oddjob and Jaws, which just adds extra value to this superb overall package.

GoldenEye is by far the best shooter on the Wii, which is quite sad considering the console should be the perfect home for the First Person Shooter genre. The pointing skill of the Wiimote is a lot more immersive than simply using a joypad, although you still have that option if you wish. This re-imagining is a loving nod to the classic N64 edition, and nostalgia permeates the levels like a fine Martini, shaken, not stirred obviously. If you can get past the last generation graphics and some AI issues, there’s a great game in here, that finally does justice to the James Bond legacy. Finally the Wii has a shooter that’s worthy of the double O insignia.

See what it says, "Play Together". The emphasis should be on the words "Play" and 'Together".

I own all the main gaming platforms, bar PC (I’m a Mac man you know) and over time it’s become clear that each machine has a different core demographic. I say it’s become clear, but I don’t mean I have done extensive research and can provide broken down stats to make my point. Hell no! I’m an opinionated columnist and Ill just write what I think based upon my experiences.

It has wires and everything, and it works! Great thing is they are cheap, so if you lose it or it breaks it's not hard to replace.

So, what have my experiences taught me? Well the Xbox Live community is far more likely to own and, more importantly, use a headset. This is what makes gaming social, the ability to plan, discuss and support your fellow gamers by using good old fashioned verbal communication. The PS3 crowd seems to either not own headsets or never have them plugged in. I’m assuming this is because Sony went for Bluetooth headsets. There are USB ones but they’re pointless, as they must be attached to the main console which is normally a long way from where the player might be seated. The problem with Bluetooth headsets is that they cost more, need charging and some are a pain to pair – with variable sound quality. Sony’s own official headset is actually very good, but not widely adopted.

A superb bluetooth headset. It should be mandatory issue with the PS3. I wonder if Sony would ever package one with the actual console....

This lack of headset adoption amongst PS3 owners can lead to a very quiet experience lacking in the same level of vibrant social interaction that can be experienced on Xbox Live. If Sony could start again, I’m sure they would have gone for a less exciting form of connectivity which would have driven up willing participation. Then again, they might have also launched without PS2 backward compatibility (now dropped), SACD support (now dropped), touch sensitive buttons (now dropped) and such a high entry price (now dropped).

The Wii, well that has no headset option to my knowledge. Instead a small, select number of games support WiiSpeak, a microphone and speaker setup to facilitate chatting. It’s very public and is meant to be, as part of Nintendo’s way of making sure rude words and the like are not being spread via their servers. The idea is if everyone in a household can hear what is being said, then less naughty things can be said or heard. The unintended outcome is that no one really has one and hence the level of speech being shared is muted to say the least. WiiNoSpeak could be its real name! To be honest if I am at home playing, I think my wife has to put up with enough noise already (gun shots, explosions etc) without having to deal with random rants between me and fellow players whilst she watches the latest BBC reality show on my PSP. I’ve suggested she turns down the sound on the PSP of course.

This is WiiSpeak, and no I've never seen one in the wild either.

However, apart from the differences in technology between the platforms, I have noticed a distinct difference between the ‘speech cultures’ between the platforms. Well, with regard to the Xbox and PS3 at least. As I’ve already described, the Nintendo audience is really very quiet. The amount of Xbox sessions where I have heard racist, homophobic and generally idiotic language is remarkable. I have had threats to my family (not that I disclose whilst playing that I have one, players were just guessing), including to ‘slice them up’ and other acts which require a culinary skillset (Cooking Mama must be very popular with some Modern Warfare 2 players). Being called a F***ing Jew boy, or black this or gay that is not really my idea of a nice time and it does nothing, nothing at all to draw me to coming back online. The fact I do is because I’m thick skinned and love gaming, but if I was a parent and knew my offspring were listening to this I would be very angry, and I would probably not want them to experience it. Not that it’s hard to stop them, as I can put locks on the games or lock them out of voice chat, but that’s not the point. Why should anyone have to put up with such language? The hatred in the voice of some people is frightening.

Back in PS3 land the number of situations where this has happened is greatly reduced. That’s because, as I have already pointed out, there are a lot less people actually using a headset. Yet it’s no wasteland such as in the land of Mario. I have plenty of quality conversations via my PS3 with complete strangers. Often they are polite, even supportive and helpful for newbies or just oldies who are rubbish at certain games! I’m not saying you can’t have such nice conversations on the Xbox, and I’m sure it has something to do with software and the audience it attracts. For example, I would assume that BattleField Bad Company 2 has a slightly older (and hence possibly more mature) audience overall than the mass consumer Modern Warfare 2. Also, I have nothing but politeness from my fellow assassins in Splinter Cell Conviction on Xbox. Software aside though, I would imagine that due to its original high price the PS3 has an older audience overall, and ironically due to the barriers in the way of cheap and easy voice chat (due to that Bluetooth headset option) it’s resulted in people who really want to chat, and not gamers who get a kick out of abusing others.

How though can we bring the quality of chat on the Xbox up to the same quality as that of the PS3? Microsoft will remind us that there are ways of reporting Xbox Live players who are abusive. I’ve reported one person in my years, but I wonder how many other people have bothered to report individuals. I also have no idea how effective reporting someone is, after all what proof do we have?

We could, if we wanted, all be friends. Just like this group of people

One ‘easy’ option would be that all ‘open’ chat situations, meaning anything that was not a party created by the players themselves, would have their conversations recorded. It might be expensive for Microsoft (and Sony) to implement, but the fact players would know what they were saying was being recorded might really put some people off using such foul and hate filled language. Indeed there is an argument that anything spoken in such a ‘public space’ is subject to the same local laws regarding hate speech and such like. Perhaps it could be argued that the Xbox Live service itself comes under some of the same legislation which covers traditional broadcasters when it comes to what can and cannot be broadcast? It would be interesting to get a legal viewpoint on this.

I don’t want my gaming sessions to be filled with vocabulary back from my playground days when I was 12. That was 20 years ago and I have moved on since then. I want to play, cooperate, help fellow gamers, or be helped by them. Not ‘cuss’, swear and verbally intimidate my way through a session.

MAG is being hailed as the next generation in online FPSs, with 256 players in the game at one time. The question is, will a game of such monumental size actually work?

After I had downloaded the MAG Beta, which didn’t take long. I installed it and then proceeded to the menu, or so I thought! The game then started to download an update, all 4gb of it! I left it on for a good 3 hours, and when I came back, I was dismayed to see that the game was only 20% complete. There was no option to close the PS3 down after download, so I had to leave the console on all night. Not a good start. The next day I loaded it up, and was disgusted to see that the MAG server is down between 8pm and midnight. The prime time that I have for my gaming exploits. So I hung on until just after midnight and eventually managed to get into a game.

Gameplay can be particularly frantic in MAG.

You initially have to choose which faction you are fighting for from three different military forces. They are Seryi Volk Executive Response, or S.V.E.R. a rag tag force created from war torn countries; Raven industries, which are equipped with high-tech equipment; and Valor Company, who are a more regular army with standard equipment. Once you have chosen your faction, you can personalise your character by choosing his face and voice from a small selection of variations. You can also choose what weapons your avatar will use on the battlefield.

Once you take to the expansive battlefield, you and your 8 man squad (The 128 players from each side are split into 4 platoons of 32, and they are then split into more manageable squads of 8.) have to take over strategic points on the map, which are indicated by a red cursor to show you the direction and distance to the next target. Once you take over the checkpoint, you can then use it to respawn, and so push the battle on further into enemy territory. Battles are long and pretty hectic as you can imagine. Once I started it wasn’t long before I was back to base to lick my wounds, with danger coming from all angles, and not much progress being made.

Parachuting is fun, but leaves you exposed to gunfire from the ground.

When you start playing it can be quite overwhelming with so much going on around you. Especially when airstrikes are called in, and with the devastating destruction all around you, it can be pretty terrifying as you scramble to find a ‘safe’ haven, which is normally swarming with enemy troops as well. Parachuting is handled well, and is good fun, and you can use it to position yourself strategically on the map, from landing on a building to use as a sniping spot, to taking the enemy by surprise from above. Tanks and planes can be utilised as well, which adds to the carnage.

The problem with such a large game, and so many players, is trying to communicate with your platoon to instigate your tactics, as not enough players use headsets to be able to co-ordinate attacks. This means you have a battlefield filled with wannabe Rambos who do their own thing. As a consequence battles become confusing and extremely hectic. This may all change with the final release though, as people form clans and bring a bit of order into the proceedings.