James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

"Almost Everything"

What is it about the James Bond saga that makes it so popular? Is it the violence? The over the top stunts? The lovely women? Bond's attitude? In fact, it is all of these. The ''Bond Experience'' has been a great source of entertainment for many years, so it is only predictable for it to move from the movies to our games. The first few entries were interesting, but of poor quality. However, with Agent Under Fire, the series began looking up. Nightfire was more of the same, but now, the Bond series jumps even closer to perfection.

Gameplay:9
Very good. The third-person targeting is well done, the hand to hand combat works well, the gadgets and weapons work well, and your missions are diverse. There is car driving, motorcycle driving, helicopter flying, and running and gunning. The targeting is especially well done, allowing you to jump out from behind cover and shoot an enemy in the head with a silenced pistol, or dive out from behind cover and empty half a magazine of AK bullets into your target. Enemies are very reactive of where you shoot them. I once shot a guy a few times in his legs until he dropped, and a ran passed only to be shot in the back. I did something similar while being stealthy, and this guard decided to warn his buddies by firing a shot straight up. There are three difficulty settings for each mission, leaving no mission too easy or too hard.

Controls:8
Good. They take a little getting used to, but quickly become familiar and fluid. My only complaint is that the Z button is used for both crouching and wall hugging, which sometimes leads to it doing what you didn't want it to do, but this is rare.

Story:8
This game has a typical ''Bond'' story; an evil madman is threatening the world, you have to stop him. The story is pretty good, while sticking to this formula. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll stop talking.

Graphics and Sound:10
The game really pushes the gamecube to its limits with VERY good graphics. Not X-Box quality, but some of the best I have seen on gamecube. The sounds are good and realistic, everything sounding like it should. EA really pushed their budget by pulling in some grade A voice talent, like Pierce Brosnan, Heidi Klum, Shannon Elizabeth, and William Dafoe. Very good acting. Much more than I expected.

Replayability: 9
You are going to be playing the missions a few times to get all the extras, especially the platinum challenges, which are tough.

This game is quite good, and very enjoyable. It brings you very close to being in Bond's shoes. With only a few flaws, this game is well worth a purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/18/04