Maybe it's nostalgia. Maybe I have unwittingly worn rose-tinted glasses in place of a regular pair. Or maybe I'm a sucker for a particular brand of espionage.

 

But I doubt it.

 

GoldenEye 007, by all rights, shouldn't flesh out this well. Ripping its premise from the original 1997 classic, recasting characters, modifying the plot and filtering it all through a gameplay template that wouldn't be out of place in Call of Duty should create a Frankenstein-like end result, not the peculiar alchemy its title suggests. Instead, it works.

 

Developed by Eurocom (familiar to Wii owners through their previous effort, Dead Space: Extraction), GoldenEye isn't exactly a remake of the original. It has been refashioned in a similar manner to the film Ocean's 11 -- by keeping the original's essence, and replacing the window dressing. So yes, you will meet up with 006, infiltrate the Dam, be interrogated at the Archives and get your hands on a tank. It will all feel decidedly different because...well, it is. The plot has been updated from its Cold War-aftermath origin, now retooled around Daniel Craig's interpretation of the character (Pierce Brosnan, we hardly knew ye), while also incorporating the recent economic collapse as a motive to set events in motion. Building the game around Craig doesn't merely change the plot, though. There is some Borne in this Bond, with some breathless gameplay action and set pieces that imprint a new-school ethos to the typical 007 suaveness. This carries over to your inventory; secret agents in 2010 have upgraded to smart phones in place of other cool gadgetry (but hey, Bond gets reception in a jungle, so that MI6 data plan must be remarkable).

 

Thankfully, these changes don't completely permeate the trademark 007 gameplay. There is, of course, plenty of action to go around, but that doesn't come at the expense of stealth. A healthy chunk of the game can be played by sneaking and sniping with your trusty silenced P99.

 

The precision of aiming your shots will depend upon your preference for controlling the game, because pretty much all options are on deck. If you'd prefer to stick with dual analog, the classic controller and classic controller pro handle the action admirably, incorporating COD's "snap-to" auto lock (a feature that doubles as a mechanic that will spring you from cover). But for my money, the Wii remote and nunchuck are unbeatable, offering a greater level of precision that is most welcome in close-quarters combat. A special note to Eurocom for nailing the "weight" of the aiming reticle. However, the caveat is that you may have a bit of trouble finding your Goldilocks setting (it certainly took me awhile to properly tweak the comprehensive set of options), and aiming down the sights feels a bit too unresponsive (the ADS feels more like aiming a sniper rifle, even if you're always looking down at iron sights instead of a scope). Once dialed in, though, the controls handle all of the action a James Bond game can muster.

 

 

 

 

That action is all delivered via a graphical package that manages to push the Wii pretty hard. GoldenEye doesn't manage to "look good for a Wii game." It looks good, period. The overall aesthetic is clean and clear, with detailed character models (dig the facial animations in the cut scenes), some fabulous looking weaponry and great lighting throughout. Yes, textures will blur out at very close range, but I can't say that I play the game with my nose against walls. It's the little things that will stick with you, though: the mirror in the Dam, the dust kicked up by shooting a book in a library, the grainy filter seen during night sequences that provides a "sitting in the theater" quality. The framerate is steady for the most part, only faltering a handful of times in my approximately 8-hour play-through of the singleplayer campaign (there is plenty of replay incentive with higher difficulty levels that add new mission objectives). However, steadiness doesn't describe the lilt to Bond's walk. The way his arms animate while running looks like it could have been ripped from Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. You will find far more subtlety in the game's aural package, which forsakes bombast in the name of moodiness. The tunes aren't particularly hummable, but their demure nature always adds to the game's atmosphere.

 

On the other hand, the game's multiplayer component isn't quite of the same pedigree. The local/splitscreen option is a gas, instantly transporting you back to the N64's glory days, but the online component is where most players will probably spend their time. It is here that GE 007 slightly missteps. It is never anything less than playable, but you will notice some framerate chugginess on maps like Outpost (with its windy, wintry mix) and Industrial (possibly too many particle and smoke effects for its own good). The overall design of the maps is top shelf, but most are a bit small, lending a faster, more arcade-y pace.

 

Leveling up and unlocking weapons, attachments (sights, silencers, etc.), perks (for the uninitiated: modifiers that allow you to customize your playing style) are handled similarly to COD. There's a good selection of pistols, submachine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and sniper rifles, and you can customize them as you gain experience points to unlock the aforementioned attachments. A word of warning, though: you will not level up as fast as you're accustomed to in COD. An unfortunate side effect of this is that the multiplayer can feel quite unbalanced to newcomers who haven't unlocked more powerful guns (there is some relief in the form of preset layouts, but having a decent SMG with an irremovable laser sight makes it unpractical -- if not suicidal -- to use on many maps). And speaking of unbalanced, whoever at Eurocom thought it was a good idea to keep silencers for the sniper rifles has, perhaps unwittingly, made Outpost a very boring and frustrating map. I have played matches filled exclusively with campers, silently sniping their way through 10 minutes of outright monotony. Of course, I'd be willing to forgive this trespass were a double XP weekend announced...

 

Ultimately, GoldenEye 007's weaknesses are easily outweighed by its strengths. Despite the multiplayer's issues, it's still loads of fun, not hewing too closely to COD or its N64 predecessor. The online hit detection is spot-on, ensuring that you never feel cheated when the trademark death screen inevitably appears. And the singleplayer? It's a clear cut above most other online-centric FPS games released this gen.

 

It may not redefine the genre like the original, but GoldenEye lives up to its namesake. And all things considered, that might be more impressive.