Squilookle said:
There is a discussion to this, so bear with me...
For those that were there at the time- Goldeneye was the bomb. It was bringing people together to blow each other away before Halo was even conceived. The controls, the level design, the uncompromising difficulty, the unlockable cheats, everything was just... Perfect. All these years later, with Wii's virtual console, XBLA, and the Playstation Store, there's always been something that gamers have pleaded for a re-release of with one worldwide unifying voice: Re-release Goldeneye!
And now, it is happening- Activision has made a deal with Nintendo and Goldeneye is heading for Wii. Like many others I was overjoyed to hear about this.
That is, before I found out what had been lost to make it happen.
See, Eurocom's upcoming Goldeneye remake is not the only remake that was in production. According to an in-depth article that has already scoured both official and non-official sources http://mundorare.com/news/2008/01/never-say-never-again/ , Rare Ltd (the company that... you know, actually MADE Goldeneye in the first place) had their own version of Goldeneye prepped and ready for release. This version had features such as:
-Flawless recreation of the original gameplay. The game used the original code, running on an Xbox 360.
-Four-way online split-screen multiplayer, with the option to see what the other three players can see, even over Live.
-New multiplayer maps, including the single player Dam, Depot or Frigate levels as multiplayer arenas.
And most notably of all:
-High definition graphics with the option to switch back to the original N64 graphics any time.
That's right: just like with the recently rereleased Monkey Island games, with a mere press of a button the graphics can switch instantly from the updated visuals to the exact original visual style and back again. Supposedly the game was in talks at one point to be released on all three of the current gen consoles which would have pleased absolutely everyone. Screenshots are floating around the net of the crisp new look of the game, and there is even a 2 minute leaked beta gameplay movie on youtube here: [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM_iLkIJ9Yg[/link].
Unfortunately, Nintendo pulled the plug on it to prevent it from being released on a non Nintendo platform. Apparently they choose to pretend that Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie and Conker: Live and Reloaded don't count.
Having discovered all of that, and taking another look at the Wii Goldeneye, things become more and more tragic. The game is being developed by Eurocom- a company that hasn't made a decent bond game for ten years and has already shown their propensity for filling bond games with scripted events and cutscenes all over the place. It becomes apparent in the Goldeneye Wii trailer (which you can view again here [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y74GB9efwDE[/link]) that this remake has very little in common with the Goldeneye that defined the genre at all. It's filled with all the useless fluff, plot hole swarming enemies, QTEs and eye candy over substance Quantum of Solace was so panned for. Worse still, it's thrown out arguably the best suited FPS control scheme ever seen on a console in favour of one that mimics the PC like most others. Considering it's Eurocom, it will most likely also be filled with constant talking and orders being relayed to you via an earpiece, holding your hand all the way through the game and displaying one of the enduring reasons Goldeneye has always remained the most loved bond game: It gave you your tasks and just let you get the hell on with them without interference and work it out for yourself. You know- like a spy would.
So having heard about this, and possibly having read that article (which I strongly reccomend you do to get better insight into the political maneuvering at Nintendo/Activision/Microsoft etc, what do you think? Are you indifferent? Enraged at being denied this other remake that could have been? Or are you glad it's being Call of Dutyised at the hands of Eurocom?
I'm sorry, but isn't this why we're getting a GoldenEye remake in the first place? We all kept asking anyone to make a GoldenEye for the modern consoles. Well, someone listened, so they made one. And now, others are complaining about the fact that a remake is coming out?
"Eurocom's remake is not the only one in production"? That was years ago. Rare's version was killed off because it was Rare (now owned by Microsoft) who was making the XBLA version. However, EA (at the time) had the rights to the 007 license, and wouldn't allow it to come out. The original GoldenEye came out on the Nintendo 64, so Nintendo also didn't want an X-Box exclusive. The reason Perfect Dark became available on the 360 is because Rare owns the Perfect Dark license, so Nintendo couldn't do anything about that.
Also, I wouldn't be so quick to write off Eurocom. I know that they made the N64 version of The World Is Not Enough (the PS1 version was made by Black Ops, the ones who made Tomorrow Never Dies), and the console version of 007: Nightfire. They have experience with the 007 games, having released two great 007 games before.
The reason GoldenEye is being "modernized" is, for one, as 10BIT said, it might have to compete with other games out today, such as the Halo franchise, Call of Duty, Gears of War, and others. Besides this, MGM, the company that produces and releases the 007 films, is going bankrupt, so the games are the only way MGM can continue the Bond series. Therefore, the games are supposed to be more "movie-like".
"Plot-hole swarming enemies"? I'm afraid I don't follow...
Activision owns the 007 license right now, and because of how famous the Call of Duty franchise became, it was inevitable that QoS and GoldenEye will use the Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 engines, respectively. Eurocom didn't make the Quantum of Solace game; that was handled by Treyarch, who was focusing more on Call of Duty: World at War at the time.
If there is anything I have to agree with you, it's that the modern 007 games DO give you strict mission parameters, so one civilian death meant mission ends right there and then, unlike the original GoldenEye, which ends the mission, but still lets you mess around the level.
Also, for anyone complaining that Brosnan should have been the Bond in this one, let me say that I agree. However, rumors say that Brosnan refused to come back to the 007 franchise after his 4-film run. Not to mention that Craig is the current Bond. I don't mind Craig at all, he was great in Casino Royale. But, I will go with the majority in saying that I wish that Brosnan would adopt the role for the remake.
One final note: For anyone saying that the Wii has horrible controls for FPS', I'll just say that the new GoldenEye allows people to play with the Wii-mote/Nunchuck combo, the Classic Controller, the NEW Classic Controller, the Wii Zapper (I think), and the Gamecube controller.
[sub]Also I kick ass in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Reflex
[/sub]
So, I, for one, will be enjoying this game come Christmas (Along with Dead Rising 2
)
