Score
Gameplay:	10
Graphics:	10
Sound:	10
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	8
Overall:	9.4

007: Everything or Nothing Review
June 27, 2004 by Brian
Ever since Rare lost the Bond license, the franchise has been on a steady decline in quality. Goldeneye practically invented the console First Person Shooter genre, and is still considered to be one of the best games of its time, but EA has been unable to come close to the great game that Goldeneye was. Trying to emulate the style and control of the game only resulted in mediocrity. There is a lot more to a Bond game than running around shooting people, and it seems that EA has finally realized that, but will a new direction help the franchise get back on its feet? It seems as though it has.  Movie? What Movie?

Everything or Nothing is not the first Bond game to have a completely original story, but you can tell that they put a lot more time into developing the story and missions than they did with Nightfire. There are a total of thirty-two singleplayer missions ranging from a train chase, the streets of New Orleans, an old abandoned Platinum Mine, driving a tank through the streets of Moscow, and even a secret cold war era nuclear missile silo. You name it; you will probably be doing it at some point in the game.

Although it isn't base off of a movie, it certainly feels like one. The game begins with some Russians selling a suitcase nuclear bomb to a private dealer. Bond must wipe them out and retrieve the bomb. Although this part has nothing to do with the story, it serves as a good tutorial and is a good segway to the actual plot. The actual story begins with top-secret Nanobot technology being stolen by one Nikolai Diavolo. Voiced by Willem Dafoe, this Russian ex-KGB agent is tied into the 007 legacy by being said to have worked for Bond villain Max Zorin from A View to Kill. He plans (of course) to use these microscopic robots for evil, and it is up to none other than James Bond to stop him. On the way, expect many plot twists and of course Bond girls.

Some of the new gameplay mechanics, while not revolutionary, fit the 007 franchise like a glove. For example, now that it is a third person action game, you can take cover against walls by pressing the Z button, and target enemies down the corridor by pressing L. The L button locks onto the closest or most visible enemy (most of the time), and pressing R will make you lean out into the corridor to fire and quickly take cover again. This system adds so much to the run and gun system used in previous games by allowing you to be somewhat stealthy. In fact, this game combines so many types of games into its gameplay that it almost becomes its hard to pinpoint the genre. The driving engine is very robust. One mission is actually a three-lap car race through the streets of Peru a city in Peru. Another puts you on a motorcycle known as the Q-Bike to chase down an oil tanker truck driven by old arch nemesis Jaws. Additionally, some missions require you to be extra stealthy. Crouch walking (Z button) will ensure you are not detected when you sneak up on enemies unless they turn around and see you on their patrol. When you are close, pressing X or Y will put them in a sleeper hold knocking them out. This is extremely cool to do. X and Y are also punching buttons. When you have to neutralize targets non-lethally and you don't have any ammo for your dart gun, you can fist fight them to the ground. Again, this is another thing I found extremely cool. It is so much fun just beating the living crap out of enemies. If you have your weapon out, whipping them with it is always an option as well, and in some special situations, like if you are near a wall or a cliff barrier; you can throw them into the wall or off the cliff. The fighting techniques also include grapple-like moves. Pressing both X and Y will allow you to do them. You can also reverse punches by enemies by pressing Y and A simultaneously. The new techniques are simply fantastic.

Additionally, one of the things that make the singleplayer mode so great is the difficulty. I don't believe there is one mission that I have gotten through on the first try on Agent (Normal) mode, but none of them are too overwhelming either. The enemy AI is pretty good, and the fact that you can only carry two reloads worth of ammunition makes it realistic and more challenging at the same time. If you plan to run into a crowded room and just fire at all the enemies and get out unscathed you will find death comes quickly. You actually have to use some tactics in order to complete each mission, which is a huge plus.

It Looks Like a Movie Too

As I said before, it feels like a movie, but it also looks like a movie. The pre-rendered cinematic are spectacular looking. The character models are also superb because they are the likeness of the people who play them in the movies. Bond looks just like Pierce Brosnan, Q looks just like John Cleese, and Mya looks just like, well, Mya.

The in game graphics are not too shabby either. The levels are very well designed and detailed. The car physics are pretty good, although I would have liked to see it a bit more detailed. Everything looks unbelievable.

Everyone Knows Bond Music

If you have ever seen a Bond movie or played a Bond game, you know exactly what to expect in the music department. Your typical Bond music is there, and a few other tracks as well. All I can really say is that if you don't like the music from previous games, you aren't going to like it here either. Myself, I enjoyed it.

As for sound effects, they are pretty well done too. The guns all have unique sounds and are in the likeness of their real life counterparts. The thing that really separates this game from the rest of the pack though is the voice acting. Using Hollywood actors to voice games isn't exactly a new thing, but EA has done a great job in getting the actors from the movies to voice their characters instead of impersonators like they did previously. Additionally, the voices of Heidi Klum, Shannon Elizabeth, and the singer Mya also voiced some of the characters in the game. This game has, by far, the best voice acting I have ever seen in a game.

Oh yeah, its very fun!

Playing through the missions is a blast. Some of them can get frustrating because they are pretty difficult, but completing the hard ones just makes you extremely satisfied. All the latest gadgets also make for a unique experience. The Q-Spider, a small metallic remote controlled spider can be used to retrieve body armor or battery packs in small spaces you cannot normally reach. It can later be upgraded to be a bomb or shoot poison darts, which makes it very useful and fun to use. The Nanosuit makes you nearly completely invisible so sneaking up on enemies is a lot easier and you can come up behind them to break their necks. In the later missions some of the enemies have these suits as well, so your thermovision goggles will help here. Additionally, instead of regular grenades, you have coin grenades. They are disguised as a coin and can thus be thrown farther and faster than a regular grenade. There are normal ones, flashbang coin grenades, and EMP grenades too. The rappel allows you to climb up and jump down walls. No need for stairs with this gadget. Its very fun to use, but it also leaves you vulnerable. You can target enemies when using it, but only the ones below you. Some missions have people following you down firing at you or out of your sight that are pecking away at your health as you glide down. Finally, the network tap allows you to control electronic equipment from far away by targeting a certain part of it. In one mission you will use this to control tank turrets in a crowded room. The only thing that really detracts from the fun of the game is that its multiplayer deathmatch mode is pretty lacking.

Good Co-op, Bad Deathmatch

Because the game is no longer a first person shooter, the multiplayer mode also had to be revamped. However, unlike the rest of the game, the multiplayer deathmatch mode is severely lacking. First of all, you can't even play it unless you unlock one of the maps by playing co-op mode. Unlockables are good, but not when they are basic modes like deathmatch. Second, the arenas are literally tiny, and instead of a split screen 3rd person view, its just one isometric fixed view. This sounds like it would be hard to aim with, but it has an auto-aim which means it takes little to no skill to win. Most of the gameplay mechanics from singleplayer are there, but you cannot take cover. Not that it would be useful anyway because your enemies can see where you are regardless. I was really disappointed with this part.

On the flip side, Co-op mode is pretty damn great. Instead of doing the singleplayer missions with two people, EA created several original campaigns only for co-op. Much like singleplayer, they are very difficult, and although there are two people now, there is far less body armor per level than there is in singleplayer and just as many enemies if not more. Some parts will need both people to advance. There are many doors in which both players must press a button at the same time to open, elevators that need to be operated by one while the other is inside it, and even one part where one player must turn lasers on and off while the other crosses a conveyor belt. The lasers kill in one hit. Its very difficult. There are a few types of co-op modes as well. There is normal chapter mode, race, which makes you compete against the clock to complete the mission, and a mode where you compete with your partner to earn more points.

 

Best Bond game since Goldeneye

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best Bond game since Goldeneye, but it still has a long way to go in the multiplayer department to reach the level of Goldeneye in my opinion. Regardless, this is a fantastic game. If you are a fan of action games, this is a must have. Pick it up now if you haven't already.