Introduction
Ware. Rareware. When gamers are thinking about a James Bond FPS on consoles, thats the name they are thinking about. Probably because their N64 007 game is still arguably the greatest FPS to ever grace a console.
Over the last few years EA has tried to remove Rare from games minds with James Bond titles of their own, but have failed. This is EAs 4th Bond title, the 2nd FPS, one 3rd person action game and one racer.
Presentation
The game tries to present you with a futuristic/espionage type of menu system that is pretty cool but not really spectacular. The menu music is vintage Bond music. Fine and dandy but if EA could come up with a whole new story for 007, why not new music? The presentation in this game is typical EA fashion, good, but not excellent. I’d change the music and maybe make the menus a bit more broken down or easier to navigate. Pretty small nuances.
Graphics & Sound
The graphics in AUF are a pretty mixed bag. While the character models and guns are all very detailed, as are some of the stages, the effects such as gunshots, lighting, etc, come off as very plain. The characters animate very smoothly. Villians are easy to target thanks to the level of detail, which also makes it easier to target certain body parts.
Explosions are especially generic. It seems as if EA took their time with the stages/characters, but then half-assed the effects. If you’re expecting Red Faction/Half Life graphics, you will be dissapointed. It doesnt look bad, its just not stand out. But the gameplay runs smooth, so its not too big a deal.
Sound wise, well.... Like I said already, the classic Bond music is in there. But I got tired of it in Goldeneye on N64, and TND on PSX. Aside from music, nothing is wrong with the sound. The visual effects might be generic but the sound effects are awesome. Explosions dont look great but they sound great. The guns going off sound good also. And lastly the voice acting is excellent, especially for a FPS.
Gameplay
Well, like the other Bond titles, this is no Goldeneye 007. The game is loaded with action, which is good, but there are unfortunate breaks in the game. Driving missions are awesome, but they seem to come at the wrong times, right when I’m ready for more cappin’. Also, the FPS missions range from too short to kind of long. Just when you get into your surroundings, you’re out of there cause the mission has ended. The AI in the game in pretty good. Soldiers will use anything they can see for cover, and will run away, stopping to fire at each spot they can. There are tons of things scattered around missions that can be used to an awesome Bond-like scene. Shoot barrels on a forklift behind boxed enemies are cowering behind, and it will explode, killing all the soldiers, all presented to you in a sweet camera angle. The game also rewards you for finding and doing all of these shots.
The games main plus is there are varying types of missions. I said it is a pain sometimes to get into shooting missions just before you have to drive, but it can also work for you. Sometimes I’m tired of shooting so I can play a driving mission. Thats pretty cool.
Lasting Appeal
Just like Goldeneye 007, AUF rewards you for various things. Completeing missions, finding the special attack triggers, beating missions in certain time limits. You’ll want to return agains and again to complete everything. Also like 007, AUF has a pretty good multiplayer mode for 2-4 players. The stages are all pretty small and designed for action filled games. There are a few different modes for multiplayer. Obviously theres deathmatch. My favorite is a cool 2 player mode where each player has to protect an ’VIP’ that is dropped of in front of them by train. If the player can keep him alive long enough, a train will come that picks hi up, and drops one off on the other side. So that player must not try to kill the other players VIP. It is very fun and adds lots of time to the game by itself.
The other modes(protect the flag, terrorist training, top agent) are also pretty fun. With that and the appealling medals and rewards, you’ll play this game for quite awhile.
Conclusion
This is a great game, by far EAs best efforts in the 007 license so far. Dont expect it to top Goldeneye because it wont. It doesnt have the longest or hardest single player game, but it controls awesome and thr 2-4 player modes are great. I would recommend Red Faction over this but if you already have that one or you’re a huge 007 fan you wont be dissapointed.
