James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

"Doesn't deserve everything, but deserves more than nothing"

Story- You are Bond. James Bond. You get to play as the greatest agent on earth to stop a madman named Nikolai Diavolo from launching an evil plot to take control and rule the world. Yeah, yeah, we've seen this before. As usual, the villain is annoyingly rich and seems to be able to afford things that shouldn't exist for another 300 years. Sure, Malprave being able to afford a cloning device isn't so outrageous from Agent Under Fire, nor is a space station owned by Drake in Nightfire, but come on...an entire fleet of platnuim tanks? With plasma guns? I don't think so, that's going a bit over the edge. Also, Diavolo has two henchmen. One is a lady named Heidi Klum who is as evil and intelligent as she is beautiful. The other henchman is the famous steel-tooth giant, Jaws. Jaws??? Where did he come from? He was supposed to have turned good and float away in outer space in an escape pod with a woman. Oh well, on with the review.

Gameplay- 9/10
This game is quite fun to play. Most levels aren't too easy unless you play them on the easy mode. For most missions, you have to be stealthy and make a clean kill without anyone noticing you. It's interesting how there are new gadgets you get to use, including the Q Spider that can get in those hard to reach areas. The two cars you get to drive, and the incredible Triumph Daytona 600 (modified by Q) is an amazing motorcycle to drive. The third person view adds to the experience and makes you feel like you're actually watching a movie.

Graphics- 9/10
The graphics in this game are very good for a James Bond game. The explosions, the bullets flying, the bullet holes, everything looks spectacular. When Bond grapples up or down, it's almost like you're actually watching a movie. Something that is less important but worth mentioning anyway is that when you kill someone, they don't just fade away into thin air like they do in a lot of games. Instead, some bodies actually stay there, just like they would in a movie.

Sound- 7/10
Well, the sound effects are good for the most part. Whether it's an explosion, bullets ricocheting off a wall and the people's screams when you kill them are also well done. The best part in all of this is the people's voices. Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe, and everyone else sound just like they would in real life, mostly because they were actually the voices of their character. The only person I'd say who doesn't sound just like they should sound is "M", however, that's a small problem and not worth worrying about. The thing that killed this section, however, is lack of music. Sure, in some levels, the music sounds great, especially the main James Bond theme, but other than that, there really isn't much to hear except punches, bullets, explosions voices and tires screeching. Also, despite the fact not a lot of people seem to like it, I actually liked the song sung at the beginning by Mya. That boosted the score a little.

Length- 4/10
This, as you have probably read in other reviews, is the part that kills the game. There are lots of levels, so how could the game be so short? Simple. The levels simply aren't long enough. I remember when I completed level 1 for the first time, I was surprised at how short it was, but I just figured to myself "Oh, it's the first level, and the first level is always easy so people can warm up to it. The levels will get longer as they go". But I was wrong. The levels stay short the entire game. In the second level, just as I was really getting into the game and area, they stop it. And the same with almost all the levels afterwards. I just sit there, staring at the mission evaluation screen saying "That's it?" to myself.

Replayability- 2/10
It pains me that I'm a huge James Bond fan that I pretty much have to flunk one of my (actually) favorite games. Once you beat the game, that's pretty much it, there's not much more you can do. The only thing you can do afterward is try to earn medals and to sharpen your skills at the level.

Multi-player- 9/10
This saves the game A LOT!!! The multiplayer mode where you're against each other is okay. However, the map is really small, and there aren't many weapons that can be used in it. The good thing is that you can pick up things like crowbars or pots and throw them at enemies (also allowed in main game) and what adds more to the experience is all the buttons, whether it activates a laser grid, seals your enemy in a gas chamber, or blows up a major part of the room. (that's what most do) For this alone, the multiplayer would get 4 points max, but one more thing skyrockets this, and that's the co-op multiplayer. For once, you and another player can actually take part in a story, SIDE BY SIDE and accomplish missions by using teamwork, and that is truly awesome.

Final score- 6.6, rounded up to 7

Buy or Rent?
If you're just looking for a fun game that will occupy you for a small amount of time but have it actually matter, then I'd say rent this. If you really like it, then you should buy it. However, it would probably be smarter just to rent it for a couple of days.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/04