James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire

"Great right up until the end, as sudden as it may have been."

Agent Under Fire is a great FPS, especially the multiplayer aspect. The game didn't disappoint me except for the short, abrupt ending.

As far as Graphics, AUF looks beautiful, all the levels are well done and the sprites are well drawn. 007 himself looks and sounds like a combination of pretty much every Bond movie ever made, and you can't go wrong with that. Visually the game is stunning, but only if you take the time to look around and take everything in.

Control-wise, the game is decent, although the controls are counter-intuitive, and it takes a little getting used to. Even now, I find myself occasionally strafing when I intend to just turn around, but other than that I can't complain. A few of the buttons are oddly used, such as the Z-button, but you barely ever use them anyway, so who cares?

The sound in AUF is great, the Bond theme is slightly overused but come on, it's a Bond game, no one complains about an overuse of Zelda theme music in a Zelda game. A few of the guns lack the right magnitude of volume, when I fire a rocket launcher I want it to sound like I'm firing a damn rocket launcher, not a nerf gun. My only real sound problem is the enemies and their stupid comments. If I have to hear a guard say ''Get back here!'' or Bloch say ''Let's go Bond!'' one more time I'm going to go insane. It would have been enough if they had said it once, maybe twice, but they won't shut up, even if they can't see you anymore or are nowhere near you.

The gameplay is where the game shines, but also where it has it's biggest problems. The snappy one-liners when you blow up 3 or 4 guards with a Bond move are great, and sneaking around as 007 is some of the most fun I've had in a game, once you get used to it. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a lot less sneaking around than in previous games, such as Goldeneye. I remember being able to do almost entire levels without being spotted in that game, whereas here I'm seen almost instantly, and it turns more into a machine gun fight between 3 or 4 people than a covert mission. While that would be ok in some missions, it seems to be the case in every single level. But it's unfair to relate this game to it's predecessors. While some things may be different, I have to admit that being able to shoot a guard standing less than a foot away from his partner, watching the body fall in front of his partner in plain sight, and then being able to casually aim and repeat the procedure is something I won't miss, it's just not a real experience. And as far as that goes, AUF fills that void fairly well. Even the replay value is decent, thanks to multiplayer variations and certain rewards for high scores.

Overall I think this game is good for people who are 007 fans, although it will appeal to all FPS gamers. The driving levels add a lot to the game as well. There is little to dislike in this game, except that it simply ends without warning, leaving you wanting another level or two. But despite that, I would recommend this game to anyone who is looking for a good single player game, or even the most casual multiplayer gamer.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/30/02, Updated 03/30/02