James Bond 007 Everything or Nothing – PS2 – Review

Bond. James Bond. These simple words epitomize the ultimate cool guy, the
dapper and dangerous agent who has basically single-handedly convinced the world
that not only does England have the best spies, but they always get the girl,
too.  Recent Bond movies have all followed a predictable formula of opening
with a spectacular stunt sequence before the sexy title sequence. Everything or
Nothing captures this formula in a bottle and carries out that theme of
cinematic play throughout the game.

Ever since GoldenEye, Bond games have always focused strongly on the shooting
aspects of being a secret agent, but we all know that there is so much more to
007 than firepower. Continuing the trend of the last few Bond games, Everything
or Nothing works hard to include multiple styles of gameplay that incorporate
more aspects of the Bond character, including his vehicles and the Q branch
gadgets.

EA Games has chosen to move away from the first person perspective used by
the last few Bond games and moved to a slick 3rd person perspective, aka
Splinter Cell or MGS. This really helps add to the sense that you are
participating in a movie and gives EA a chance to showcase Pierce Brosnan, whose
face and voice grace his namesake character. The 3rd person point of view also
allows Bond to use more hand to hand combat moves and stealthy movement to sneak
through a level rather than simply blasting your way through waves of enemies.
Many other stars reprise their roles in this Bond episode as well, including
Judi Dench as the indomitable "M" and John Cleese as the wizard of the gadgetry,
"Q". Shannon Elizabeth, Mya, and several other beautiful ladies fill out the
string of Bond girls that add charm and pizzazz to the action flick.

During the primary action levels, the targeting system used is basically a
variation of hide and shoot, with Bond crouching behind cover and then popping
out briefly to take his shot. As long as the game will target the right enemy,
it is no problem, but when it occasionally will not target the closest enemy,
you can end up taking damage unnecessarily. I really liked the fine-tuning
possible once an enemy is targeted, because you can adjust your aim with the
right stick to hit a specific spot, such as a head or exposed leg. This makes
even the relatively light-powered pistol a useful weapon, because one shot
between the eyes will drop nearly every enemy.

The addition of the rappel to Bond’s kit bag really changes the dynamic of
the game. Now, you must always be on the lookout for areas that you can climb up
to, thereby gaining a new weapon or a tactical advantage. It is nice that much
of the drudgery of accessing your gadgetry is removed from the game so that you
can concentrate on your tactics. In order to rappel down from any ledge or roof,
you simply have to leap off. Bond will automatically pull out the rappel gun and
brake his descent. EA has taken a page from Splinter Cell in the eyewear
department as well, as Bond now apparently has bionic thermographic vision that
he can access whenever he needs it. This comes in handy during those nasty
firefights in the dark sewers and dangerous alleyways.

A unique aspect of the James Bond character is that he always seems to know
exactly what to do to get out of any situation. EA has thoughtfully provided the
game player with a way to address this natural shortcoming in our training,
since we don’t have years to get 00 certified. Whenever you enter the
device/weapon selection mode, you enter a "Bond Sense" mode where points of
interest in the immediate area are highlighted by red circles. You can zoom in
on each one in turn and get a summary about the object or enemy, including if
they are looking for you or not. This helps deal with the stealth aspects of the
game, where it is important to know whether that guard heard you and is now
attacking, or is still on patrol, unaware of your presence.

As I mentioned before, Bond is not just about sneaking and shooting. It is
also about driving around and blowing things up. The driving engine in
Everything or Nothing is very good, with excellent frame rates and smooth
driving characteristics. The only thing better than racing against time through
a South American jungle is blowing up mercenaries in jeeps and 4×4 trucks while
you are doing it. You get to drive the Q-modified versions of the Porsche
Cayenne, a super motorcycle, and of course, the Aston Martin.

No Bond game would be complete without the ability to find creative ways to
take out your foes, and Everything or Nothing delivers the goods like no game
before. Faced with two tanks and a host of mercs blocking your escape? No
problem, just blow up the nearby gas station and take out the whole group in one
fell swoop, thereby getting awarded a "Bond Moment". Collect all of the Bond
moments in the level and your scores will climb into the Gold area, needed to
get powerups and other goodies.

Everything or Nothing combines fast action, fast cars, and fast women into a
thrilling spy tale. This game plays almost like an actual Bond movie, to the
point where Bond movie buffs may have to take notice and include it in some of
the best Bond episodes ever. I recommend this game highly, to any spy movie or
Bond fan. Prepare to be shaken, not stirred.