James Bond 007: NightFire

"Ok, but not great. Get TS2 instead."

This is a relatively good game. I rented it, went through the Story mode, and had fun. But I just wasn't addicted, the way Timesplitters 2 made me. So get that if you've got a G-cube. And, for you X-box owners, we're hardly talking about a Halo-killer, here.

PRESENTATION-8
Authenticity! This whole game is very Bond, and any 007 fan should snap it up just for that.

GRAPHICS - 8
Good, well-rendered, no slowdown, fast load times, and Bond looks like Pierce Brosnan. So what's the problem? Not really a problem, just nothing jumped out at me as being outstanding besides character faces. Since this is a GC game (or, that's how I played it, anyway), there's no aliasing problems.
I liked the death animations. While not the Rag Doll Physics of Hitman 2 (reviewed that-my only 10), they are realistic. Also, the main menu only has ''Nightfire'' (story), ''Multiplayer'', and ''Codename'' (saves/setup). I like that kind of simplicity.
The gadgets you use in-game are great; ''fire'' the lighter and Bond will flick open the lighter. ''aim'' it, and he'll open it up to reveal a micro-camera and go into camera mode. The other gadgets are similarly cleverly disguised. Also, you actually get to see the reloading sequences for each weapon, unlike TS2.
The boring targeting reticle bothered me; I prefer TS2's invisible system, or at least changing or interesting reticles for different weapons. Also, there were no flying bullets everywhere, which TS2 has. Thus, you don't really get the feeling that you're ''dodging bullets,'' just that your trigger finger is faster than the opponents'.

STORY - 8
Voice acting is better than average for videogames (not counting the professionally done, Vice City calibur), but it's annoying that Pierce Brosnan obviously didn't VA his part. I mean, they scanned his face in, would 30 min. of reading a script be so much more to ask?
The story, though, is pure Bond. And by pure Bond, I mean they literally ripped off of the recurring story themes from every famous Bond movie, ESPECIALLY Moonraker. I guess this ups the authenticity, but there are literally zero unexpected twists if you've ever seen a Bond movie
before. Frankly, the way secret agents of various nationalities randomly pop up to aid Bond, then throw their bodies at him for sex has just gotten dull. Cutscenes are well-rendered and all, and Bond, but somehow that's just not good enough anymore.

AUDIO - 9
Quite good. Most of the in-game music is variations on the famous Bond theme, which is a good movie theme. Also, they specifically recorded a Bond-style flaming-sillouhette-women-dancing-to-title-song song. However, this song has NOTHING to do with any of the Nightfire story/character elements. The only interesting audio thing was that, during the sniper level, enemies will chatter ''he's by the warehouse'' and whatnot to each other, though it gets repetative.

CONTROL - 6

CHARACTER MANIPULATION- 4
There are a number of different control schemes, and one of them fit me perfectly. On the other hand, the Gamecube Controller will always rank lower than the Dualshock 2 no matter what game (barring Rogue Leader). And you don't have the full customization Timesplitters 2 has. Speaking of which game, TS2's default setup was perfect, Nightfire's isn't. And both games might need an adjustable analog sensitivity meter.
There are 2 weapon scroll categories: 1 for weapons, and 1 for gadgets. This works well. As does the easy use of gadgets.
Somehow, Bond just isn't as fun to strafe around as in TS2. He's not slow, just not as fast. Also, the auto-lock on just isn't as good as TS2's PERFECT auto-lock on system. 007 Nightfire either has you without the lock-on, in which case you miss, or with the lock-on, in which case it guarrantees a hit on the torso. In TS2, barely moving the aiming joystick up will increase your chances of hitting the zombie's head, without breaking the auto lock-on.

CAMERA -6
FPV for an FPS. Nothing unusual. During the rare sequences when Bond is swinging across wires, the game goes into a preset 3rd person camera, which works well. During the driving sequences, you have a 3rd PV which stays locked to the road behind your car, which works equally well.

GAMEPLAY-5
LEVEL DESIGN - 6

There are 3 game types in Nightfire:

FPS: As I've said, this just doesn't have the skill-testing that Timesplitters 2 has. That said, level variety is relatively good, and I enjoyed the sniping level.
Further, each level layout owes alot to Hitman 2, in that it's built around a multiple-exit nonlinear environment. It's not nearly as open as H2, though. The game also suffers from Red Faction 2-styled slow reloading (albeit with alot more cover to hide behind in the interim) and Red Faction 2-styled nigh-invincible enemies (even on Easy).
The developers have added at least one more path in most level that will let you stealth all the way, killing no one while still accomplishing the objectives. However, with no stealth moves and poor detection AI, this feature falls flat. But the more open-ended level design makes the environments feel realistic. The use of gadgets is just to break up the monotony, without getting complicated. Still, without the insane enemy/level variety, Timesplitters 2 this ISN''T.

DRIVING: 2 simple car levels and 1 underwater level. These have 1 or two shortcuts each, but are a bit too simple to have made a full game by themselves. These levels are far more linear. At prescribed moments, pressing the B button when prompted will activate a Q gadget. Shooting is mainly accomplished via locked-on fire-and-forget missiles. I'll say that it's great how destroyed vehicles bounce around the road and clutter your path. Still, Twisted Metal Black this ISN''T.

SHOOTER-ON-RAILS: 3 stages where you have 360 degree control of a turret with machine gun fire and limited missiles. These look great and are fun, but have very limited replayability.

It's great that a Bond game has non-FPS levels, because Bond drives almost as much as shoots in the movies. But these are minor diversions that are fun once.

MULTIPLAYER - yes, this game has multiplayer. And the Gamecube has 4 controller ports for splitscreen play. But it's nowhere near the robust glory that is Timesplitter 2's multiplayer. For one thing, character names always appear in the middle of the character onscreen, cluttering up your view unnecessarily. Also, play options are limited. Also, each skin can only be on the team (good guys or bad guys) in which that character belongs to in story mode. Wierd. The only unique weapons this game has that TS2 doesn't is the briefcase sentry gun and the player-controlled guided missiles. But since the combat mechanics don't work as well as TS2...

Also, there's no mapmaker, no TS2-styled challenge mode, and, criminally, no online play. How can developers make games anymore without the online options!?!

ENEMY DESIGN - 3

Enemies on hard just have better Accuracy and Health; Enemy AI is good enough to get them hiding behind obstacles and whatnot, but you never get the feeling that it improves as you go along. Further, enemy AI for sneaking around is as basic as it gets. Metal Gear Solid 2/Splinter Cell this ISN'T.

VALUE - 3
Rent, by all means, enjoy, then throwaway. I did. There's no way I'd be able to tear my roommates away from TS2's multiplayer long enough to play 007's more than once. It's a good game whose main problem is that the First Person shooter market is crowded with better ones.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/03, Updated 01/12/03