James Bond 007: NightFire

"Ah, Mr. Bond ! We have been expecting you ..."

Introduction : Ever since the sensational GoldenEye came out around 7 years ago, quite a few bond games have tried to better it, but without any success. In 2001, developers Eurocom took over the 007 license and released the First Person Shoot Agent under Fire. And while it had some of that magic that made Goldeneye so special, it still lacked in numerous places. The game was too, short, too slow and too unoriginal. One year later comes 007:Nightfire, a gamed that promises to live up to the hype. Does it ? Read on ...

Story : The story in Nightfire is not taken from any Bond movie, but is an entirely original script. The Phoenix corporation led by industrialist Raphael Drake, has been given the assignment of dismantling warheads. He does however secretly have other plans and it is now your job, as the best agent there is,to save the world once again.

Graphics : 8/10
Despite being on all next-generation consoles, Nightfire looks rather good even by Xbox standards. The framerate is also good all the through, it rarely drops and when it does, it is nothing big.

Sound : 9/10
All round good in the sound department, who doesn't love the classic bond theme ? Good and believable actors too, even though Pierce Brosnan is not the voice of Mr. Bond.

Gameplay : 8/10
007 Nightfire is split up into three sections : The FPS section, the driving section, and the rail-shooting section. As expected, there is a huge selection of cutting edge technology weapons and special, innovative gadgetry.
The game controls and handles really well, with very few flaws. It is however in the FPS part the game really excels, so it really would have been for the better, had the been an FPS and nothing more.

Replayability : 6/10
Nightfire is a great game while it lasts, which is the game's biggest problem. Like the previous installment Agent under Fire, Nightfire is simply too short, most of the levels can be completed within 10-15 minutes and that is a shame really since it's good while it lasts.
Of course there is Multiplayer to keep you occupied, but you can not help the feeling that this could have been so much better, had the developers only taken the time to make the single-player game a bit longer.

Overall : Should I get Nightfire ? you ask. With Halo and Timesplitters 2 already out there it is tough competition for Nightfire. If you are an FPS or a Bond fan then go for it. If not, you might want to rent it first.

Overall score : 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/23/03, Updated 05/23/03