GoldenEye: Rogue Agent – NDS – Review

By now you’ve
heard game reviewers rave over a Nintendo 64 game based on a movie that just
happened to be Pierce Brosnan’s first stint as James Bond. Yeah, GoldenEye
was an excellent first-person shooter at the time and while it seems tame and
dated today, it inspired Electronic Arts to follow up with GoldenEye: Rogue
Agent for all the consoles. The result was a game that not only felt rushed
but also too by-the-numbers to be something genuinely fresh and enjoyable. Now
EA wishes to introduce the same game to the Nintendo DS, but will the handheld
version stand out?

The answer is a
yes and no. Yes, this one will stand out seeing as it is the first first-person
shooter to show up among the Nintendo DS lineup of titles and it actually does
give fans of the genre hope that it could do the genre justice. It’s just the
source material that just doesn’t work. Rogue Agent is the same
experience as the console version with the exception that there is text for
dialogue and the cutscenes have been severely cut. The DS can handle the
first-person shooter format and it does it rather well, and Rogue Agent
will make you see this despite the level design.

During an
intense mission, the MI6 agent you play is shot in the face by none other than
Bond’s most dangerous opponent, Dr. No. As a result of losing your right eye to
this madman, you become consumed with hatred and the need for revenge. Your
actions become more brutal and this is evident during a training exercise so MI6
declares you unfit for duty. Miffed by being rejected, you turn to Auric
Goldfinger who had offered you a juicy position in his organization that
includes such familiar heavies like Oddjob, Pussy Galore, Scaramanga and even
the sadistic Xenia Onatopp. Now, as a rogue agent, you fight under a new banner
and jump into missions armed with your weapons skills and your new enhanced
eye.

All of this
sounds good on paper but trust me when I say that the rogue agent you play isn’t
as bad as his fellow teammates. Just about the only evil thing you’ll be doing
is grabbing a stunned enemy and using him as a meat shield until said human
shield is killed by his buddies. You’ll be able to use environmental hazards
against your enemies but these things aren’t evil. You won’t even execute or
torture anyone so you’ll basically feel like one of the good guys who just
happens to be friends with guys named Scaramanga.

As a shooter,
Rogue Agent’s controls aren’t simplistic so you’ll be thankful there’s a
Virtual Training mode. The game makes use of all the game’s buttons but to aim
you’ll be using the touch screen (unless you change the default control scheme
to an all button configuration). Yet the touch screen is used often no matter
what control configuration you choose and this often results in odd jerks.
Sometimes the touch screen can be so sensitive that an accidental brush can
result in your character looking up at the sky. One second you’re looking at a
computer console on screen and suddenly you’re facing the opposite direction.
And just try clicking on one of your upgradeable eye abilities with the Stylus
and move your character at the same time.

Control issues
aside, the game’s levels will be very familiar to those who have played the
console version. It faithfully brings many of the levels of the console’s
original to life so you’ll be fighting in a casino or defending Goldfinger
Enterprises from Dr. No’s henchmen. You can mix and match different weapon types
so you can point a semi-automatic machine gun with the right hand and a Mamba
sawed-off shotgun with the left. Scaramanga also offers you various upgrades
that you’ll use in conjunction with your weapons. For example, the MRI vision
allows you to see through solid material so you can shoot an enemy using a rail
gun. The EM Hack allows you to manipulate electronics while the Magnetic
Polarity Shield deflects damage. All of these things could have been cool had
the enemies been a bit smarter and thanks to the Halo-styled health
regeneration all you have to do is hang back a little before jumping into the
next battle.

What does work
wonderfully is the game’s multiplayer mode. There is Multi-Card play and there’s
Single-Card Play that allows up to eight gamers in total to go up against each
another in modes like Team Showdown, Showdown, Tug of War and Domination. There
are plenty of maps and characters (although the best ones have to be unlocked in
the game’s main mode). The best part about all of this is that all you’ll need
is a single-game card to play. Among the best modes, Tug of War has you teaming
up with four players as you attempt to push a bomb into the enemy team’s
territory. It’s fun stuff, all right.

Visually,
Rogue Agent is an impressive-looking game that’s both sharp and detailed.
And here I thought the Nintendo 64 GoldenEye, at the time, looked so
well. The DS is capable of bringing us some pretty sharp graphics (as we’ve seen
in the Metriod Prime Hunters demo) and we see some pretty visuals here.
The enemies have their own distinct look and so do the environments (check out
the Golden Gate Bridge). Even explosions and the scripted events that happen in
the game will not fail to put a smile on your face.

Coming from the
Nintendo DS speakers, you’ll hear the exchange of gunfire so clearly that you’ll
be able to tell if an enemy is firing a sub-machine gun or a shotgun. The
explosions are loud … just the way we like it. Shoot a window and you’ll hear
the shards fall or shoot a computer terminal and you’ll hear the buzzing of
circuits frying. Yes, this game has some pretty distinct sound effects and they
sound good coming from the DS or through headphones. What doesn’t sound good is
the music and although there is a nice variety of tunes it the tunes themselves
that will not fail to annoy. Take the opening tune playing throughout the first
mission, for instance. It will drive you nuts before the end of the level.
Luckily there’s an option to shut off the music and leave the sound effects.

Unfortunately,
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent for the Nintendo DS suffers from the same things
that tarnished the console version. While the game does possess some truly
uninspiring levels and occasional jerky controls, it’s impressive to see the
game transferred so close to the original and I’ll admit that there’s still some
first-person shooter fun to be had here despite the flaws. If you’re looking for
an excellent shooter you won’t find it here but its still worth playing
nonetheless.

Review Scoring Details for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

Gameplay: 7.2
Rogue Agent
makes good use
of all the DS’ features and while it takes some practice to move and aim using
the touch screen, you’ll have a blast blasting away at the enemy. Wielding two
different weapons at once is cool and so is taking hostages. Too bad the
controls can sometimes respond a bit late and using a Stylus just complicates
movement.

Graphics: 7.8

This game is
much prettier than the original Nintendo 64 GoldenEye and it’s great to
see how sharp the character models and environments look on the DS screen. There
are some great animations of enemies flying back when you unload the Mamba on
them and the explosions look particularly good. There’s some cutscenes as well
and you’ll be amazed how characters like Oddball and Pussy Galore look.

Sound: 6.9
Bullets echo
in hallways and the explosions are followed by howls of pain. There isn’t much
in terms of environmental sound effects, although it’s great to hear glass
shatter when you shoot windows. The dialogue is purely text, although you’ll
hear a sound clip or two. And the music, while offering a variety of N64-styled
tunes, will make you want to lower the volume.

Difficulty:
Medium
Okay so the
enemies will sometimes move to position themselves to get a better vantage point
or to get a better shot at you but these aren’t the brightest bunch either.
Oftentimes the enemy will move from the safety of their cover to expose
themselves long enough to receive a couple of bullets that either results in
death or the realization that hiding behind a glass wall wasn’t such a good
idea.

Concept: 7.5
The mixing and
matching of different weapons is a downright cool feature and there are a small
number of levels (such as the one that takes place in a casino) are actually
pretty fun despite the ho-hum mission objectives. There’s even a good
multiplayer and Virtual Training fun to be had here. My biggest complaint is
that this bad boy just doesn’t feel as bad as he could have been … I mean,
come on, where is the Bond villain brutality?

Multiplayer:
8.0
With a number
of options to choose from, including playing as favorite Bond villains, the
multiplayer mode adds more bang for your buck. The good news is that you and up
to seven other friends can play using a single game card and here’s even more
good news … there are enough maps and modes to keep you and your friends
nicely busy.

Overall: 6.7
Rogue Agent
had all the
makings of a genuinely stellar first-person shooter but it followed in the same
footsteps of the disappointing console version. As a first-person shooter on the
DS, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent isn’t a bad attempt at all, it’s just not a
perfect one either. Is it still fun, though? There are levels that are actually
pretty fun and the multiplayer mode is an enjoyable extra, but the faults are
too numerous and too evident to ignore.