You can say, that because of the game’s title, Goldeneye: Rogue Agent is trying to mimic the success of the Nintendo 64’s Goldeneye by being one of the very first FPS titles to appear on Nintendo’s DS handheld. Unfortunately, Rogue Agent lacks everything that the original Goldeneye has, and good gameplay is one of those things.

When I first picked up Rogue Agent, I sure did take a great amount of time trying to get adjusted to the game’s touch screen control scheme. I had a great deal of trouble trying to become comfortable with using the D-Pad to move my character forward, backwards, and to strafe, with the touch-screen and stylus used to aim. As a right handed player, I can only use the stylus with my right hand, and since the game forces the wielding of two weapons at almost all times, it became difficult to fire my right handed weapon with the only finger I had free to tap the right trigger, my pinky finger, and that’s no good at all. In order to solve this dilemma, I had to screw around with the game’s control schemes, because the default setting wasn’t cutting it. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the thumb-strap option is the best setup for the game. It works much like the stylus control, but with option of assigning the firing actions to either trigger button. To switch between firing options, you would simply have to tap on arrow markers found on the bottom of the touch screen, and if you’re holding a grenade in one hand, you can simply tap on the grenade’s icon on the touch-screen to toss it. In then end, not only did this control scheme prove to be comfortable, but thanks to the use of the touch-screen and stylus (I still used it even on the thumb-strap control), you’re given the most precise FPS control available on a gaming platform other than a PC.

Unfortunately, Rogue Agent doesn’t have much going for it other than its control scheme. The gameplay is more bland than your run-of-the-mill first-person shooter, the level design is very simple and linear, and the game’s enemy AI is some of the worst I’ve encountered in recent memory. Even while being shot at repeatedly, enemies simply stand still, often not even trying to avoid your gunfire. Furthermore, if they just do happen to move, it’ll be from one point to another, and they will continuously move back and forth between these spots, giving you a clear pattern to analyze and follow. Even worse is that you cannot tell if you’re hitting them with your shots because no character animations exist to show you anything of the sort. It’s a real shame. However, it seems as if the game tries to make up for its dumb AI by giving them deadly accuracy with their shots and the abilities to predict your location without seeing you, and appear out of nowhere in an area that you may have scoped thoroughly beforehand.

There isn’t much that Rogue Agent attempts to do that is entirely original. The features that the game has that are unique to it come from its Goldeneye namesake. In the game, your character has a golden eye that is a replacement for an eye he had lost on a previous mission, and this new robotic eye that he receives has the ability to see enemies through walls, create an energy shield, and even allow you to throw enemies with some sort of enhanced mental ability. Unfortunately, you won’t find much use for any of these features since the simple run and gun approach is all that is needed to complete the game. Though, I did find the seeing through walls feature pretty interesting since the Mag Rail Gun that is found in the game allows for you to shoot through walls and eliminate some enemies in a one shot kill. If these features were implemented into the game in a clever way that gave me a reason to use them and like using them, I probably would’ve felt differently about some of this. However, that’s a "what if" scenario and that which "is" sucks. Additionally, I also found it very annoying that you’re not allowed to pick up more ammo from a dropped weapon, even if it is the same as the one you are currently holding. So, if you’re about to run out of ammo, you’re going to have to drop your current weapon and look for another gun or the same weapon lying somewhere on the stage. I found this a bit annoying, although I guess it does put more emphasis on conserving your ammo. But then again, if the game’s developer did plan to feature ammo conservation a strategic part to gameplay, you wouldn’t have an infinite amount of ammo for your default pistol.

Unlike the Nintendo 64’s Goldeneye, Rogue Agent’s multiplayer offerings aren’t anything that will add significant replay value to the game. This is unfortunate, due to the fact that the game’s single player campaign only lasts a handful of hours and can be completed easily within an afternoon. The single game card multiplayer is a neat feature, however, the gameplay modes aren’t anything we haven’t seen before and the level design feels empty, not giving players much to work with when trying to have some fun. Even worse is the fact that you’ll have to find other players that have become used to playing the game using the touch-screen and stylus, because, most likely, if you yourself struggled with the game’s controls, there are others who will encounter the same problems, thus making it very difficult for the game to appeal to first-time players.

If I didn’t read any of Electronic Arts’ press releases regarding the game, I swear to you that I wouldn’t have had any idea as to what this game is about. It’s based on the James Bond 007 franchise, however, there isn’t much of James Bond in the game. Rogue Agent is about a MI6 Agent who turned evil and decided to work with one of 007’s enemies, Auric Goldfinger. Because of this "turn to evil" you would think that you’d fight against the forces of good, however, that’s not what happens at all. Instead, evil fights evil, with you going against the forces of Dr. No, the man who took your character’s eye. If Grand Theft Auto has shown us anything, it’s that it’s good to be bad, and it’s a shame that Rogue Agent doesn’t capitalize on this by allowing players to harass the innocent. However, this is all besides the point because little is done to actually get players interested in the game’s plot. The storytelling elements are incredibly weak and players will have no care for it at all.

I’ve previously read that many players and game critics are somewhat impressed by Rogue Agent’s 3D visuals on the Nintendo DS... Well, I don’t share the same thought. Don’t get me wrong, the frame rate is solid and the environments are fairly large, but I can’t help but be unimpressed by it all. The game has a very primitive look and its art direction is fairly generic. I’m not completely opposed to 3D on the Nintendo DS, but Rogue Agent doesn’t show me anything that’ll change my mind anytime soon. Unfortunately, the game’s audio isn’t any kind of redeeming technical aspect either. I have heard better music and higher quality sound effects from games during the 16 bit era and being outclassed by games that are more than a decade old isn’t anything to be proud of. The audio aspect of Rogue Agent is just appalling.

If I had to pick two words to describe Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for the Nintendo DS, I’d use "worthless" and "garbage." Combining the two would give you an accurate description of the game as well because Rogue Agent is indeed worthless garbage. While it may be the first FPS experience for the Nintendo DS, not a damn thing changes the fact that the game is one of the worst first-person shooters I’ve played in the past few years.