James Bond 007: NightFire

"Do try and behave, 007..."

A bright red AC Cobra sports car hurtles through the streets of Paris, chased by a pack of black BMWs full of armed assassins. The Cobra driver does her best to escape, but to no avail. Suddenly a helicopter appears on the scene, the door slides open and the muzzle of a sniper rifle appears. the gunman takes out the tyres of one of the pursuers then tells the helicopter pilot to get in front of the pack. Another well-aimed shot and the second car is toast. A sharp turn over another building and the marksman's sights settle on a winch. With one final shot a massive steel weight falls to the ground and the last BMW is a goner.

The sniper jumps into an Aston Martin Vanquish, picks up the girl from the Cobra and sets off through Paris at full speed. The target: an old army van packed with explosives. The Vanquish weaves through the streets, narrowly avoiding passers-by before getting behind the loaded van. A sharp blast from the Aston's on-board Electro-Magnetic Pulse device and the moving bomb grinds to a halt. And that, my friends, is 007 Nightfire's prologue.

While it isn't based on any particular James Bond movie, this 007 adventure has all the trademarks of the series: beautiful girls, exotic locations, steroid-packed henchmen and, of course, the crazed madman intent on world domination. This particular maniacal businessman, Rafael Drake, is attempting to steal a sattelite guidance system so that he can hold the world to ransom. As MI6's best undercover agent, it's up to you to find Drake and stop the guidance system falling into his malevolent hands.

The story line is very strong and the characters are excellently portrayed - Bond looks so much like Pierce Brosnan that your mom will be drooling all over your GameCube. This detail extends to the scenery, which looks absolutely stunning. From the opening sequence in Paris through to a snowbound Austrian castle, everything looks solid and real.

Controlling Bond is simple. The two analogue sticks handle moving and turning while (R) is responsible for firing. Pressing (L) brings up the Manual Aim and the good thing about 007 Nightfire is that the crosshairs don't automatically centre, making long-range shooting much more precise. (A) is the action button, (B) reloads your weapon and (Y) makes Bond jump. The only gripe is with using the sluggish D-Pad to cycle through the weapons and gadgets.

The levels begin with a list of objectives for you to complete. These are updated as the missions progress and you'll get hints and advice from M and Q, but it's also important that you obey orders. On the Night Shift stage you must break into Drake's head office, but you must not kill any guards or it's Game Over, instead you have to sedate them with a tranquiliser gun. Think carefully and work quickly, 007.

One of the best features of the game is the way that it's paced, much like the best Bond films. After the action-packed opening sequence, the game moves to a more stealthy style where Bond has to sneak inside Drake's Austrian castle. The second level, Alpine Escape, sees you on board a snowmobile armed with a machine gun, while Enemies Vanquished, the third stage, puts you behind the wheel of the Aston using homing missiles to shoot enemy helicopters from the sky.

From here, the action calms down again as you try and stop a gang of Japanese assassins from killing Alexander Mayhew, your key witness. This blend of action and stealth brings variety into the game and keeps you on your toes.

Once you get bored with the one-player game then it's time to check out the multiplayer modes. There's a comprehensive choice of game styles like team battles and Capture the Flag and the weapons, enemies, game times and characters can all be tinkered with to suit your personal taste. Sadly the multiplayer gameplay is pedestrian at best, with none of the fun or quirkiness of Timesplitters 2. It's still a solid attempt at multiplayer modes and it is fun, but if you're buying this game hoping for the greatness of GoldenEye 007's friend-bashing action then I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed.

007 Nightfire is a high-quality game, but there are a couple of things that stop it being great. Initially there are too many cut-scenes that interrupt the action; you play for a minute, then watch a minute's worth of movie. Another problem is the fact that the enemies don't react when shot. It may sound like nit-picking, but it really takes away from the atmosphere of the game.

The overriding feeling of 007 Nightfire is that it takes itself a little too seriously, there's no light relief, it's just a straight-ahead shoot-'em-up. After all, this is Bond, there should be a little joke here and there, not a cliched one-liner that's as old as the Roman Empire. The game is a definite improvement on Agent Under Fire. The story line is strong, the missions are exciting and varied and the one-player experience is great fun. Deathmatch fanatics will find the multiplayer game a bit average and there's nowhere near the depth of game modes to be found in TimeSplitters 2. But if you're in the market for a serious shooter with a strong heritage and loads of cool features, then 007 NightFire should be near the top of your shopping list.

Good : This feels like a Bond movie. The story line is strong and the action's fast. There's a wide variety in the levels and each element is fun to play.

Bad : There's not enough Bond humour. The whole thing can often feel a little bit dry. The multiplayer is average - it's a bit slow-paced and not all that much fun.

Fun: FPS fans will feel at home and the intense opening will have you instantly hooked.

Value: It's up there with the best FPSs on GameCube, but TimeSplitters 2 is better

Life: Even on easy it's tough and unlocking all the characters will take a fair while.

Overview: Not as good as GoldenEye 007, not as much fun as TimeSplitters 2, but 007 Nightfire is still a worthy purchase. The style, detail and pacing make this a winner.

8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/08

Game Release: James Bond 007: NightFire (EU, 11/29/02)