By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of Marc Saltzman, a freelance technology journalist whose reviews also appear on the Gannett News Service.
| In "James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing," gamers become the world's most famous secret agent. | ||
Story Tools | ||
|
It's an intense James Bond scenario: The secret agent rappels down the side of an exploding building while aiming and firing at enemies who are also scaling down at breakneck speeds.
Once on the ground, 007 then hops into his Porsche (with front-mounted heat-seeking missiles, no less) and races to catch a train, despite the fact two dozen cars are out to stop him.
But wait! This scene is not from a James Bond movie -- it's from the video game, "James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing." In this multiplatform action-adventure title from Electronic Arts (), Bond must traverse the globe -- to Tajikistan, Egypt, Peru, New Orleans and Moscow -- to thwart an ex-KGB madman using nanobot technology for malevolent purposes.
The game's script was penned by Bruce Feirstein, screenwriter for such Bond films including "GoldenEye" and "The World Is Not Enough."
The intro movie and theme song, co-written and performed by Mya, are reminiscent of those found in Bond feature films.
Characters in the game look just like their real-life counterparts: Pierce Brosnan as Bond, Dame Judy Dench as M, John Cleese as Q, Willem Dafoe as Bond's nemesis Diavolo, and Richard Kiel as the classic metal-mouth villain, Jaws. All the actors lend their voices to the game as well.
Joining Mya, who makes an appearance in the game as a sexy NSA operative, are Heidi Klum and Shannon Elizabeth as geologist Serena St. Germaine and scientist Dr. Katya Nadanova, respectively.
The well-crafted game-play -- not similarities to the films -- will keep players glued to the screen. As Bond, players use guns, gadgets and vehicles to complete various missions. The game is played from a third-person perspective instead of a first-person view; this helps to reinforce the game's cinematic look.
There is a stronger emphasis on stealth rather than brute force -- arguably closer to Ian Fleming's original character. Buttons on the controller can make Bond lean his back against a wall, then peek around to efficiently take out unsuspecting bad guys with a silencer-equipped weapon. Or you may decide to use hand-to-hand combat to suppress enemies.
Another new feature, "Bond sense," has players activate a button on the controller to get an intuitive reading of the environment to obtain useful information. Adding further replayability to the game, there are multiplayer options for those who want to play cooperatively or competitively on the same television, while the Sony PlayStation 2 version offers Internet support for two players.
There are some minor gripes with the game -- such as an auto-targeting system that doesn't always work well and slight "clipping" issues that can cause our hero to get stuck in some objects -- but it really doesn't detract from the overall experience.
"Everything or Nothing" is an ambitious but successful interactive adventure that blurs the lines between motion pictures and video games. It is a worthy addition to your game collection, regardless of your preferred console platform.
