James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

"This game is closer to |everything| than nothing."

Introduction
Ever since the release of Goldeneye on the N64 ages ago, it's been the one 007 game which all others have always been compared to. Until now, none of them have come even close to measuring up. Everything or Nothing, however, has managed to breathe some invigorating life into a franchise that's been -- to say the least -- unremarkable over the past few years.

Instead of trying to ride the coattails of Goldeneye's overwhelming success with its first person shooter gameplay, EA Games finally opted to abandon it for a third person perspective that surprisingly works just as well. Combine that with the vehicular and other unique sequences (such as controlling Bond while falling off a cliff), and it all adds up to be a very well-put-together formula. As I've seen it written in other reviews, ''This is the first James Bond game that actually feels like a Bond movie.'' And I have to agree with them.

Story - Rating: 6
While I feel Everything or Nothing won't be winning any kind of awards for ''originality'' with its story, it's not like I was expecting anything mind-blowingly original in the first place. Simply put: EoN follows the classic Bond movie formula that's kept it so popular over the decades.

Without giving away the plot, we've got your standard megalomaniacal villain, an ever-popular super weapon that can put the world as we know it in a state of turmoil, plot twists, several sometimes-amusing interactions between Bond and Q, and more over the top stunts and gunfight sequences than you can shake a laser watch at.

I can't even begin to express how utterly cool I think it was that they got such a big-named cast of actors to do the actual dialogue and provide their likenesses for the character models -- Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe, John Cleese, and Judi Dench, just to name a few. I would have been even more impressed if they could have done some FMV sequences with the actors/actresses as well, but I figure all of that would cost more than EA was willing to provide a budget for.

Graphics - Rating: 9
Definitely one of the high points of the game, especially on the Xbox version. The character models are very well done. I never found myself looking at Bond on screen and saying to myself, ''That doesn't look even remotely like Pierce Brosnan.'' You'll feel like you're legitimately looking at their real life counterparts. Furthermore, the character animations were very fluent and believable. Even in the cutscenes, the characters show a remarkable amount of facial expression at times while speaking their dialogue.

The backgrounds are simply gorgeous as well. Whether you're guiding James through some ancient ruins in Peru, modern day Moscow's city streets, or even the heart of the enemy's fortress, the settings are all very crisp and detailed, giving the player a lot to soak in while they're not busy taking out guards. All in all, it really helps instill that whole ''movie'' feel of the game.

Sound - Rating: 9
Another one of EoN's strong points. The sound effects are definitely all up to snuff for a game of this genre. The staccato zing of bullets whizzing by 007's head (which sounds even cooler in slow motion via the Bond Sense), the distinct differences heard in each weapon being fired, the screeching of tires and engine-roaring of Bond's Astin Martin Vanquish -- it's all captured exquisitely. Once again, it's movie-caliber stuff.

As mentioned before, the talent they got for the voice work to this game is pretty impressive. Granted, some of the actors gave better performances than others (Brosnan sounded like he was barely even awake for most of his lines), but I never really wanted to wince when I listened to the cast interacting in conversations. The ambient sound was also pretty good, but I thought the enemies used the same lines a little too repetitively. Believe me; you'll soon be tired of hearing, ''What was zat?!'' or ''You're mine!'' Heh.

The music was pretty much everything one might expect from a 007 movie also. You're either going to love or hate the ''Everything or Nothing'' theme song done by Mya. And considering how often they make us listen to it in the game, I pray for your sake that you like it. Overall, the music helps set the mood without being a distraction, and that's really all I can ask for with a game's soundtrack.

Gameplay - Rating: 7
Don't let the slightly above average rating for this category fool you. I actually found the gameplay in EoN to be very addictive and fun overall; however, it's got a couple quirks that prevent me from giving it any higher of a score. It's got flaws, but nothing so glaringly bad that it's detrimental to the fun factor.

First thing's first: the auto-targeting. At its best, the auto-targeting feature is adequate. At its worst, though, it can be infuriating. It works well enough when dealing with only one or two enemies, but when Bond is in an area with six or more enemies surrounding him, things can get a little rough. Sometimes it won't target the enemy who's the biggest ''threat'' when you really need it to, which means by the time you do get him targeted, chances are that guy has put at least two plugs in our poor protagonist. Also, the targeting system is not grenade-friendly at all. Why EA chose not to implement some sort of an ''arc/aiming cursor'' for the grenades boggles my mind. So needless to say, the grenades have very limited usefulness, due to the inability to aim/throw them properly.

Next, the camera system. While there is most certainly games out there with far more abysmal camera setups, the one in EoN can be your best friend one second, and your worst enemy the next. Your ability to target an enemy depends mostly on just how much you can ''coax'' the camera to face them, which sometimes is far more difficult than it should be. A perfect example of this is anytime you have Bond's back pressed up against a wall. If a guard zooms around the corner and runs past James while he's wall-pressed, the camera doesn't follow the guard(s) at all, and you cannot target them. So once again, by the time you can get Bond to dislodge from the wall and turn the camera toward the offending enemy, he's probably made a lead sandwich out of you.

Those gripes aside, the other gameplay aspects are wonderful. The hand to hand combat was far more entertaining and useful than I'd ever have thought it would be. Stealth kills, flashy martial arts throws, reversals -- EoN has at least as many melee combat moves as some of the full blown brawler games out there. Because of this, I actually found myself wanting to take out enemies with hand to hand more often than with any of the guns or fancy gadgets.

The vehicle portions are easily some of the most exciting moments in Everything or Nothing. Most of said stages were shorter than I've have liked, but they definitely still give their money's worth of action despite this. To be concise, the vehicle-oriented level have all the insane Hollywood-caliber stunts and cool weaponry you'd hope to see in any 007 flick. Some might say the controls were a little too loose in some of the vehicles, but I thought they were more than adequate, considering this isn't even a driving game.

Some of the more unique gameplay features include the use of 007's ''grapple gun'' and his ''Bond Sense.'' Often times James has to make use of this grapple gun to scale to new/hidden areas. In more limited instances, it can also be used to suspend himself from these ''repel points'' to get a better view of the area for scouting or taking out enemies from above.

As for the Bond Sense, well, it's more or less EA's version of ''Bullet Time'' with a twist. When activated, the Bond Sense slows down time and everything around him to a near-stop, allowing you to swivel the camera around as desired and decide the best course of action. What's even better, is you can ''lock on'' to specific things that get highlighted in the background by the Bond Sense, and take advantage of them. See that suspicious oil can behind that group of guards over there firing at you? Lock onto it with the Bond Sense, fire away, and enjoy the chaos that ensues.

Finally, the difficulty to EoN is mostly right on target by my standards. You've got three different levels, Operative, Agent, and 00 Agent (sound familiar?). And the difficulty curve between the three is pretty noticeable and smooth. The AI is well above average, too. For example, soldiers will run for/use cover so often that it's nearly annoying at times, and they usually won't fire on Bond while he's engaged in hand to hand with one of their own.

Playtime/Replay Value - Rating: 7
Even the casual gamer shouldn't have a problem finishing this in a few days at most. But all playtime aside, EoN gives enough reasons to come back and play through it again to earn a modestly high replay rating from me. The hidden content in the game is unlockable only through earning ''awards'' by completing missions with enough points, or by completing certain special (and HARD) objectives. And most gamers aren't going to accomplish this their first time through it. The missions themselves are fairly linear in design, but there's enough variety involved that it probably won't feel too redundant if you play through the same mission several times in a row.

Final Recommendation
If you're a fan of the 007 movies and/or enjoy the third person action game genre, then Everything or Nothing should highly be considered for a purchase. I hesitate to say it's a ''must-have'' only for anyone who's not particularly fond of James Bond; to them, EoN might seem like just another slightly above average action game. If nothing else, it's certainly a must-rent; this game simply has to be experienced at least once.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/04