James Bond 007: NightFire

"James Bond will return..."

There's no denying that games based on movies are dreadful, look at The Fifth Element, The Sum of All Fears or even the new Fellowship of the Ring monstrosity from Surreal, and based on last years 007 : Agent Under Fire, it would appear like the James Bond title has befallen the same fate.
But no, appearing out of nowhere like a ninja assassin is 007 : Nightfire, the second Bond game to grace the PS2, and judging from its brilliance, certainly not the last!
The graphics themselves are as smooth and inviting as a Bond girls thighs, and rarely slow down, even at incredible speeds or with a multitude of enemies after your blood. The game also often switches from in game cutscenes into FMV to hightlight the games more Hollywood moments, such as Bond's breathtaking descent from a moving helicopter to rescue a french agent (female, of course) from a car about to crash into an oil tanker.
Bond also makes a personal appearance, as you are literally controlling Pierce Brosnam's polygon equivalent, although it is certainly not his voice, suave as it may be.
The game is a blast to play, in a very real sense, with Bond kitting up with all manner of deadly weaponry from handguns and shotguns to Remote operated rockets and next generation laser rifles. But dont think completing the game will be simply involve blasting your way from A to B in a series of exotic locations, as like a Bond film, you'll be getting your hands on a number of interesting vehicles such as a Bobski, Jet fighter and an authentic Aston Martin, both on ground and underwater.
But your not wasting all those evil henchmen just for the fun of it, and the storyline drives the game along at a blistering pace, as Bond goes from the snowy Austrian mountains to towering skyscrapers in Tokyo in search of the cunning Rafael Drake and his pretty much Nuclear everything. The characters are memorable, and their deaths even more so and their are enough beautiful women around to subdue even 007's raging sexual appetite.
Achieving the Gold and Platinum awards will take a good few weeks at least, and the fun to be had in Multiplayer mode will keep players busy for months allowing you to play as numerous characters from classic Bond films, after you unlock them, that is.
James Bond will return...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/02, Updated 12/30/02