James Bond fans jonesing for some suave British espionage will be getting a (sort of) brand new GoldenEye this fall. Mashable got some hands-on time with an alpha build of GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, Activision’s new first-person shooter video game based on the historic franchise.
Historic? You bet — the original GoldenEye game for Nintendo 64 is largely credited with defining the modern first-person shooter video game. It’s a heck of a title to live up to, and one that Activision did when it released GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Wii. Reloaded is an update of the Wii game for PS3 and Xbox 360, adding new features and killer graphics.
What’s New
Anyone who’s played the 2010 game won’t find too many surprises with Reloaded. Single player is the same and multiplayer features 16-player matches and the classic four-way split-screen. The graphics have seen a huge boost thanks to the HD upgrade. It also adds achievements and an “Mi6 Operations” mode. Mi6 consists of single player challenges categorized by “assault,” “stealth,” “defence” and “elimination” much like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2‘s “Spec Ops” missions.
Also, Pierce Brosnan is gone as Bond. Reloaded‘s re-imagining now features Daniel Craig as Bond (Craig’s voice appears in the game). Trevor Jalowitz, Executive Producer of the game, says the team turned to the source material rather than copying the previous game. The team even brought in GoldenEye screenwriter Bruce Feirstein and composer David Arnold to help realize the (slightly) new approach.
Reloaded is still gunning for modern shooters like Call of Duty with similar game mechanics, controls and emphasis on cinematic set pieces. Jalowitz says Reloaded isn’t trying to reinvent the multiplayer genre but create a solid, kick-ass game.
Nostalgia Reigns
Perhaps the most fun to be had with Reloaded is its obvious nods to nostalgia. Although the distinctive file folder menu screens are gone, the game has a series of modifiers, both silly and useful, which can be applied to some multiplayer or Mi6 games. You can edit your weapons load-out as easily as you can give characters big heads, paint ball guns or make every enemy the same joke character.
Speaking of which, nearly all of the classic characters are back in the game including Jaws, Boris, Bond, 006 and the always-frustrating Odd Job. There’s even an option to switch from a replenishing health bar to the classic version.
Hands-On
Even now the game is a ton of fun. It’s unclear if this is because the game is great (its 2010 predecessor received positive reviews) or if it’s fun to see the classic dam level updated in HD. The controls need some work (some triggers don’t have any functions) and the team is still working out kinks in the Playstation Move functionality. Like the Wii, the Move controller can snap into a gun-like peripheral. We didn’t get a chance to try it but the Activision tester had a hard time hitting pretty much anything using the Move controller.
Reloaded has more stealth sections, allowing users to sneak through levels or go in guns blazing. While the emphasis is clearly on not raising alarms, the health bar and enemy intelligence is meant to be forgiving. Reloaded is a less about challenges of skill than it is about tearing around as Bond.
What do you think? Share your own stories about the original GoldenEye and let us know if you think Reloaded stacks up.
More About: Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, hands-on, James Bond, video gameFor more Tech & Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:49:54 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/b5VE4qgx2PM/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/12/goldeneye-reloaded-hands-on/#comments
Historic? You bet — the original GoldenEye game for Nintendo 64 is largely credited with defining the modern first-person shooter video game. It’s a heck of a title to live up to, and one that Activision did when it released GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Wii. Reloaded is an update of the Wii game for PS3 and Xbox 360, adding new features and killer graphics.
What’s New
Anyone who’s played the 2010 game won’t find too many surprises with Reloaded. Single player is the same and multiplayer features 16-player matches and the classic four-way split-screen. The graphics have seen a huge boost thanks to the HD upgrade. It also adds achievements and an “Mi6 Operations” mode. Mi6 consists of single player challenges categorized by “assault,” “stealth,” “defence” and “elimination” much like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2‘s “Spec Ops” missions.
Also, Pierce Brosnan is gone as Bond. Reloaded‘s re-imagining now features Daniel Craig as Bond (Craig’s voice appears in the game). Trevor Jalowitz, Executive Producer of the game, says the team turned to the source material rather than copying the previous game. The team even brought in GoldenEye screenwriter Bruce Feirstein and composer David Arnold to help realize the (slightly) new approach.
Reloaded is still gunning for modern shooters like Call of Duty with similar game mechanics, controls and emphasis on cinematic set pieces. Jalowitz says Reloaded isn’t trying to reinvent the multiplayer genre but create a solid, kick-ass game.
Nostalgia Reigns
Perhaps the most fun to be had with Reloaded is its obvious nods to nostalgia. Although the distinctive file folder menu screens are gone, the game has a series of modifiers, both silly and useful, which can be applied to some multiplayer or Mi6 games. You can edit your weapons load-out as easily as you can give characters big heads, paint ball guns or make every enemy the same joke character.
Speaking of which, nearly all of the classic characters are back in the game including Jaws, Boris, Bond, 006 and the always-frustrating Odd Job. There’s even an option to switch from a replenishing health bar to the classic version.
Hands-On
Even now the game is a ton of fun. It’s unclear if this is because the game is great (its 2010 predecessor received positive reviews) or if it’s fun to see the classic dam level updated in HD. The controls need some work (some triggers don’t have any functions) and the team is still working out kinks in the Playstation Move functionality. Like the Wii, the Move controller can snap into a gun-like peripheral. We didn’t get a chance to try it but the Activision tester had a hard time hitting pretty much anything using the Move controller.
Reloaded has more stealth sections, allowing users to sneak through levels or go in guns blazing. While the emphasis is clearly on not raising alarms, the health bar and enemy intelligence is meant to be forgiving. Reloaded is a less about challenges of skill than it is about tearing around as Bond.
What do you think? Share your own stories about the original GoldenEye and let us know if you think Reloaded stacks up.
More About: Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, hands-on, James Bond, video gameFor more Tech & Gadgets coverage:Follow Mashable Tech & Gadgets on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Tech & Gadgets channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:49:54 +0000 at http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/b5VE4qgx2PM/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/08/12/goldeneye-reloaded-hands-on/#comments