Has Goldeneye aged well?

[PayneTrayne]

I recently dusted off the ol' N64 and gave all the old games a spin. I loved Super Smash (though it was odd compared to the newer ones), thoroughly enjoyed Pokemon Stadium with the friends, but Goldeneye was where I hit a speed bump (also hit it with South Park FPS).

Goldeneye was the Valhalla (still may be for some) of FPS back in the single stick days. It was fun, there was slappers, there was snipers and there were proximity mines. But now that I try to play the game I find the control scheme so frustrating that I can barely enjoy the silly gameplay at it's core. I'm stuck putting my gun at a level (God help me with the R-button aiming system) and hoping someone walks infront of me. God forbid somebody play as Oddjob and crouches.

So, what I'm asking is, has the new dual analog world ruined the good ol' fun of Goldeneye gameplay? And have you had any old games ruined recently?

 

[martin's a madman]

I don't think it has aged well at all.

Get the half-life 2 mod.

 

[Miumaru]

Was doing fine until Activision bastardized it literally the same way Daniel Craig ruined "Bond".

 

[PayneTrayne]

Was doing fine until Activision bastardized it literally the same way Daniel Craig ruined "Bond".

Yes, I heard the news that it was being Frankensteined back together. But people will always like money, so it's to be expected.

No it hasn't, no single stick FPS has. I tried to play 007 The World is Not Enough a few days ago on my old N64, and it just felt horrible. I can't remember how I ever played FPS without dual sticks.

With a goofy grin our child like faces? It's because we didn't know the glory of being able to use both hands, probably.

 

[Miumaru]

Was doing fine until Activision bastardized it literally the same way Daniel Craig ruined "Bond".

Yes, I heard the news that it was being Frankensteined back together. But people will always like money, so it's to be expected.

No it hasn't, no single stick FPS has. I tried to play 007 The World is Not Enough a few days ago on my old N64, and it just felt horrible. I can't remember how I ever played FPS without dual sticks.

With a goofy grin our child like faces? It's because we didn't know the glory of being able to use both hands, probably.

If they just PORTED the origonal with some slight upgrades to XBLA and PSN,, that would also make lots of money. Why not just do that? This Wii Exclusive, Danial Craig as Bond remake just makes me want to do horrible things to people.

 

[scnj]

No, it hasn't. I actually enjoy Tomorrow Never Dies on PS1 more now.

 

[PayneTrayne]

-snip-

I believe it has some deal to do with who owns the rights to what? Not sure if copyright and such still count for ports, but I know the actor owns his image and was quite unhappy to let people use it again. I believe like three or four different people/companies own rights to the game and just didn't want to do it. At least I believe that's what it was, I am quite hazy on my LRR podcasts.

 

[Paulrus_Keaton]

Nope. It's hard to go back when you've played technologically superior games that have a jump button. I've tried: to this day I still haven't step foot in "Egypt" because the controls have become so awkward for my TimeSplitters/Halo played hands.

I'm not hyped about the new one. Not because they replaced Brosnan with Craig, but because I don't see a point. Also, it's Wii-exclusive, which I know is great for the devotees but experience with Red Steel (kind of a jump I know) tells me that split-screen gunplay is not a strong point for the Wii. Nor is online, except for Mario Kart and Smash Brothers. (to a degree)

I haven't played the HL2 Mod yet, because I could never get it to work. Shame: it looks great.

 

[Miumaru]

-snip-

I believe it has some deal to do with who owns the rights to what? Not sure if copyright and such still count for ports, but I know the actor owns his image and was quite unhappy to let people use it again. I believe like three or four different people/companies own rights to the game and just didn't want to do it. At least I believe that's what it was, I am quite hazy on my LRR podcasts.

Yes, Ive heard that too. Doesnt make it right though. There is no good reason to not port it. Anyone witholidng the rights is just a jerk.

 

[Miles Tormani]

-snip-

I believe it has some deal to do with who owns the rights to what? Not sure if copyright and such still count for ports, but I know the actor owns his image and was quite unhappy to let people use it again. I believe like three or four different people/companies own rights to the game and just didn't want to do it. At least I believe that's what it was, I am quite hazy on my LRR podcasts.

Yes, Ive heard that too. Doesnt make it right though. There is no good reason to not port it. Anyone witholidng the rights is just a jerk.

At least we got Perfect Dark on the XBLA, if that's any consolation. Dual stick controls help keep the game from showing its age.

EDIT: On that note, if you're dusting off the N64 for Goldeneye and you aren't necessarily playing multiplayer, consider using one of the "double controller" setups to compensate. I heard it helps.

 

[Squilookle]

I don't think the gameplay has been ruined at all. These days I'm all about Unreal Tournament and Battlefield on the PC, and Timesplitters/Black/Battlefront on consoles, but Goldeneye still feels just right. It may be just down to me being used to it, but maybe you're fighting the controls rather than swimming with the tide? After all, most of the time shooting horizontally is fine, quick flicking the C buttons or jumping into fine aim mode with R for a split second does the job more than enough, and the C button looking serves much like a second joystick anyway.

The main difference is that modern FPSes have one stick for movement, one for looking, whereas Goldeneye split both tasks between the stick and C button layout. This would probably be the most confusing bit for people going back to it. And even that is changeable in the controller layout options.

Remember though, you can even set up a two-controller setup, so if you really must play with two sticks, then its perfectly possible to do that too.

If they just PORTED the origonal with some slight upgrades to XBLA and PSN,, that would also make lots of money. Why not just do that? This Wii Exclusive, Danial Craig as Bond remake just makes me want to do horrible things to people.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.225558-Poll-A-Wii-Goldeneye-a-terrible-thing

Prepare to get very, very angry indeed.

 

[suhlEap]

it definately hasn't ages well. i know exactly what you mean about the control thing, i just have to hope no one decides to go up any steps when i'm playing. it could be ported to be a XBLA/PSN game but it's not happening any time soon i don't think.

 

[SeriousSquirrel]

I haven't played, so I can't really say. However, based on what I've heard no, and honestly most N64 FPS games haven't. Turok in particular is awful

 

[MasterV]

Well, in my opinion,it aged quite well as a game. Maybe my hands are more dexterous, but when i grabbed the controller 10 minutes ago to try it again it felt like second nature, even after yars of PC FPSing. And I still found it more fun than any recent FPS.

 

[barkingbug]

After spending some time traipsing down middle-school memory lane with StarFox, Super Smash, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, and Mario 64 earlier this summer, I set my sights on Goldeneye.
A few of the games I loved in my adolescent years have aged well - most notably Unreal Tournament, which is still a favorite after nine years - and compared to them, Goldeneye fell terribly flat.

Others here have noted that the N64 FPS games haven't aged well, and I agree completely with them. Like the original poster, returning to Goldeneye's controls didn't sit well with me. Back when my best friend and I would spend hours filling each other with itsy bitsy RCP-90 sized holes, I had the R-aiming system down to a science, but I've since been so spoiled by dual-analog-stick technology and the ability to jump in the subsequent years, I found gameplay to be more frustrating than anything else.

 

[Danzaivar]

The only games that seem to age well are 2D tile based RPG's, and Wind Waker.

Which I take as proof in my theory that, in the long term, stylised games are better than 'realistic' games.

 

[Korolev]

It has aged terribly. My N64 still works, and I played Goldeneye again about 2 years ago, just to see if I could. My word - it was not as good as I remembered it. It was good for it's time, but it's not good anymore.

 

[Trogdor1138]

It's still awesome, whenever I play it I jump right back into controls because they're engraved in my brain after all these years. I have no trouble with it when me and friends do multiplayer after so long without playing it in between, it's still more entertaining than any FPS on modern systems.