Goldeneye (N64): 17 years later

Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
edited March 2015 in James Bond Gaming
Goldeneye was the most successful James Bond game and one of the most influential titles of its time. While it remains a classic, I don't think it aged as well as other games around its time.

The multiplayer mode, is by far, the most popular mode of the game. Ironically, one of the programmers just slapped it together last-minute out of curiosity as a little diversion and decided to include it in the game. Yet it made all of the difference.

PC games had multiplayer but for consoles, this was the very first. The PS1 wasn't capable of four-player multiplayer and the N64 had no first-person shooter multiplayer games. It succeeded because it was the first multiplayer shooter to hit consoles.

Is it the best? I wouldn't say so. Games like Timesplitters 2 have taken the mechanics that make Goldeneye 64 so fun and refined them further. But one thing Timesplitters lacks is that big brand name endorsement, and the impact.

Video games were younger back then so I can't judge them too harshly, but I felt like Goldeneye focused more on mechanics where as Everything or Nothing focused on having an adventure that takes you to lots of different places and has you do unique new things at every turn.

With Goldeneye, there are always going to be games with more maps, bigger guns, more multiplayer modes and so on. Maybe the joy of playing it for the first time in 97' isn't replicable but the mechanics themselves are. Since the game lacks any particular mechanic that is singular, it doesn't age well as games like Ocarina of Time.

It also misses color and personality. EON (the game) had much more color and diverse vistas than Goldeneye's constant barrage of gray halls and pavement. EON was released 6 years later, but even earlier games had a wider color palette. Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World may not have the best graphics from a technical standpoint, but their atmosphere is irreplicable.

Comments

  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    A lot of N64 Games have not aged well :))
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Expecting a N64 game to still look good these days, is crazy. :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • welshboy78welshboy78 Posts: 10,292MI6 Agent
    If the game were released on the Gamecube in 2004, it would've been passable at best.

    Well that goes without saying! Goldeneye was released when - 1997?????

    Seven years later is bound to look like poo :))
    Instagram - bondclothes007
  • welshboy78welshboy78 Posts: 10,292MI6 Agent
    A lot of N64 Games have not aged well :))

    Haha - yeah!

    Though don't knock Mariocart lol
    Instagram - bondclothes007
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,378Chief of Staff
    welshboy78 wrote:
    If the game were released on the Gamecube in 2004, it would've been passable at best.

    Well that goes without saying! Goldeneye was released when - 1997?????

    Seven years later is bound to look like poo :))

    And that's 17 years old now :o
    YNWA 97
  • GoldenEye85GoldenEye85 Posts: 278MI6 Agent
    It's still a timeless classic though. Right up there with Super Mario 64, the original Smash Bros, Mario Kart 64 and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It proved that FPS on consoles didn't have to be horrible ports of PC games.

    It also proved that not all movie based games had to suck.

    A few levels also taught me patience........Grrrrrrr........Any escort mission protecting Natalya, especially that @#&;*ing Control center in Cuba.....
    1, GE 2, CR 3, SF 4, TWINE 5, Spectre 6, TMWTGG 7, DAD 8, LALD 9, AVTAK 10, LTK 11, Octopussy 12, Moonraker 13, TLD 14, GF 15, QOS 16, Tomorrow 17, FYEO 18. TSWLM Not seen much: Dr. No, Russia, Thunderball, Twice, Majesty.

    1: Brosnan 2: Craig 3: Moore 4: Dalton 5: Connery and 6: Lazenby
  • welshboy78welshboy78 Posts: 10,292MI6 Agent
    Zelda for N64 blew my mind when first released!! The open world felt huge back then

    I remember going to an independant game store and the guy passing it to me under the counter a few days early before launch.
    Instagram - bondclothes007
  • GoldenEye85GoldenEye85 Posts: 278MI6 Agent
    ^

    Yep!

    Look at almost anyone's top ten N64 list, I can just about guarantee the games I mentioned above will be in their list somewhere.
    1, GE 2, CR 3, SF 4, TWINE 5, Spectre 6, TMWTGG 7, DAD 8, LALD 9, AVTAK 10, LTK 11, Octopussy 12, Moonraker 13, TLD 14, GF 15, QOS 16, Tomorrow 17, FYEO 18. TSWLM Not seen much: Dr. No, Russia, Thunderball, Twice, Majesty.

    1: Brosnan 2: Craig 3: Moore 4: Dalton 5: Connery and 6: Lazenby
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    Holding up visually has more to do with aesthetics than art. Games like Super Mario World and A Link to the Past have aged much better than GE64 despite being years older. More abstract art tends to age better because symbols and ideas will always be symbols and ideas. But the problem with realistic games is that there are always going to be games with more detail.

    GE64 looked incredibly realistic back then, I bet, but now it looks dull, while many SNES games have still retained their charm. I think this has a lot to do with the N64 in general, and the shift to 3D.

    Another thing is irreplicability. If I want to play a multiplayer shooter, there are so many games I could be playing instead of GE64. But with N64 titles like Ocarina of Time and Banjo Kazooie, it's hard to find games like them.
  • JamesbondjrJamesbondjr Posts: 462MI6 Agent
    Visually it hasn't aged well but the gameplay is still there. To someone going in fresh today I bet it would seem quite inaccessible but to someone like me who loved it in 97 and played it for years after it's bloomin' magic. Multiplayer is still as fun as it was back then too, with the right people.

    I still play it a few times a year.
    1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
  • NeverSayDieNeverSayDie Posts: 495MI6 Agent
    Yes it has aged really well in my opinion. It's all about the game play. I got fed up of Call of Duty Ghosts, I played it for two days and then traded it in so I put the n64 on. I played through GE on 00 setting and it's still great fun and difficult.
    I recently went to a retro games convention and played 4 player multiplayer against complete strangers, it was brilliant fun. I won with 36 kills :))
  • DTSNEO6DTSNEO6 U. S. A.Posts: 115MI6 Agent
    I still enjoy some N64 Goldeneye myself.

    There is a mod for Half Life 2 on Steam that is for Goldeneye. "Goldeneye: Source"

    its currently only mulit player, but still a great play.
    "Just surviving Mr. Chang...just surviving."
  • beatles5beatles5 Posts: 10MI6 Agent
    It is the year 2015 and I still have a Nintendo 64, and the Goldeneye 007 cartridge. On Christmas of 2011 my brother asked for the game Goldeneye 007. My dad found the game at Oogie Games. My brother played the game and then stopped for a while. Once the summer of 2012 came he started to play the game again. I didn't understand what was so good about the game, and then one day when my brother was downstairs I picked up the controller and begs to play. I was already addicted to it! I love that game so much. Goldeneye 007 remains one of the best games I have ever played in my life. I love the upgrades, the characters, and more! To this day I still play the game, and I even got the Goldeneye for the Wii too. I highly recommend Goldeneye 007 to all gamers, and all Bond fans.
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,224MI6 Agent
    Expecting a N64 game to still look good these days, is crazy. :))

    Ditto, for the time the Nintendo 64 was a great console just like the Ford Model T was a good car back in its day and time.
  • Septimus-PrimeSeptimus-Prime Posts: 13MI6 Agent
    I enjoy Goldeneye Reloaded for my PS3! Its so much fun IMO! :3
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    PPK 7.65mm wrote:
    Expecting a N64 game to still look good these days, is crazy. :))

    Ditto, for the time the Nintendo 64 was a great console just like the Ford Model T was a good car back in its day and time.

    Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time and Banjo Kazooie look good today.

    Goldeneye 007 was just given an art style that didn't age well. That's all.
  • PPK 7.65mmPPK 7.65mm Saratoga Springs NY USAPosts: 1,224MI6 Agent
    Still for being 17 years old, I still enjoy Goldeneye for Nintendo 64. Most modern first person shooters, with a few exceptions have left me wanting more. The gadgets and the variety of mission objectives through out the game really made it fun. Also I lost track how many multiplayer battles I had with friends over the years.
  • yoyoyojoyoyoyojo Posts: 46MI6 Agent
    I actually think GE has hurt the Bond gaming franchise more than it has helped. More specifically Eons lack of vision plus the success of GE has confused the decision makers.

    I think GE was "in the right place at the right time". Sure it was successful and influential but not so much for the Bond elements, more so for the game play which is arguably in hindsight very generic. But due to it's success Eon keeps trying to go back to that well.

    Since 2008 has been the worst. We got QoS which was by all accounts a lazy and half-ass effort, looked worse than CoD which it was based on. Then they spend energy on not one but two separate releases of Golden Eye Reloaded. In between that we actually get an attempt at something new, but as much as I like Blood Stone it just wasn't up to par to AAA games of the time. Well maybe if they spent more effort on the Blood Stone and not their constant obsession with GE we might have gotten a better game. Which by Eon business model might have spurred another 3rd person shooter. Anything as long as it's not another GE clone!

    And don't even get me started with Legends. So that's 4 poor games that attempt to recapture the magic of the original GE.

    As for GE on Wii I think the positive reviews had a lot to do with "Wii finally has a viable multi-player shooter!" Wow big whoop, Wii gets an FPS that can be played online. Then GER for PS3/X360 had a lot of "remember the good ole days" type reviews. GER was solid but hardly anything to compare to the original GE (adjusting for game technology "inflation" mind you). Felt generic to me and I still do not know what the fuss is about Daniel Craig. You ... hardly ... never ... see ... his ... face!

    Now I hear the next game will be a free to play mobile game. Damn it! yet another example of a lack of vision. Eon hears about free to play and think "let's cash in".

    All you need to do is look at the Batman series to know how to do it right. You do not need a direct movie tie-in. The Arkham series captures the feeling of the Dark Knight movies and very much satisfies any Dark Knight fan who wants to get his Batman on.

    Imagine if we had such a series.
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    yoyoyojo wrote:
    I actually think GE has hurt the Bond gaming franchise more than it has helped. More specifically Eons lack of vision plus the success of GE has confused the decision makers.

    I think GE was "in the right place at the right time". Sure it was successful and influential but not so much for the Bond elements, more so for the game play which is arguably in hindsight very generic. But due to it's success Eon keeps trying to go back to that well.

    Very much so. The multiplayer was literally added on during the last month or so of production, and had it not been for that multiplayer element that pervaded college dorms, the game would have been forgettable.

    Had the game come out 4 years later on the Gamecube, nobody would've cared.
  • TheWorldIsEnoughTheWorldIsEnough Posts: 296MI6 Agent
    After I got bored with the game, I would still entertain myself by walking around in the snow launching grenades everywhere.

    The World is Not Enough for N64 was very underrated. I loved that one, too.
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