James Bond 007: NightFire – PC – Review

Run by the well-known
international industrialist Raphael Drake, The Phoenix Corporation has been in
the news lately for its efforts to decommission nuclear weapons.  Recent
intelligence, however, suggests that there are more sinister motives behind
Drake’s activities.  Once again 007, the world needs you!

007 Nightfire is a new action
packed game brought to us by EA Games.  Like the movies and other 007 games,
you take control of agent 007 AKA James Bond to stop evil and save the world
from certain destruction.  In addition to some really cool weapons, you have
the latest in Bond Gadgets to aid you in your way.  Things like a cell phone
which hides a grappling hook, a watch that puts out a powerful enough laser to
blow off padlocks, Q specks which have thermal, night and x ray vision, and
pen that hides tranquilizer darts to name a few.

You will infiltrate a heavy
fortified mountain castle near the Austrian border. You will protect innocent
hostages at a Japanese estate guarded by heavily armed assassins. Remember to
be vigilant because you sometimes cannot even trust your closest allies.  You
will engage yourself in a low gravity combat inside a space station armed with
nuclear missiles. You will attempt to defeat Drake’s commandos on a nearly
deserted South Pacific island. These are just a few of the many tasks you will
negotiate in your quest to save the world.

The game plays like most action
games.  Shoot the bad guys, complete the tasks at hand, and save the world.
But I have to tell you this game rocks.  The graphics are beautiful and the
sound is so pleasing to the ears especially in stereo.  The game is broken up
by movie sequences that are computer generated, but they are done so well it
is like watching a movie.  This gives the gamer a sense of accomplishment
between missions and really immerses you in the game.  I found it quite
difficult to pull myself away because I got so involved in the game. 

Some of the missions cause you to
do more than just blast away everything in site.  Some of the puzzles require
you to find secret areas or hidden rooms.  This causes the gamer to use their
mind and some of the special gadgets to complete the task.  Use the X-ray
device to see through walls, flesh and clothes.  Check out those X ray glasses
on one of those beautiful hostages and she looks like she’s wearing something
out of a lingerie catalog.  For those parents out there, not to worry
everything is blue and red so its not offensive at all, just something that
makes you want to chuckle.

After you complete all the
missions, you will find replay ability in the Multiplayer games.  To my
surprise, Gamespy, and not EA hosts the games.  Just the same you can launch
right from the CD and you don’t have to bother with annoying pop ups.  The
games were fun and you can play games like capture the flag and combat
training.  You can play alone or in teams, and all are quite fun to play.

I found that the game played
extremely well with virtually no flaws during my experience.  This title is a
must have for any fan the genre or the movies.  Not only is the game fun, the
movie sequences are a joy to watch and make a good game into a great must have
title.  Good Job EA and all who contributed to this master piece.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 9
Interface is a snap to use, and
not a lot of keyboard short cuts need to be memorized.

Graphics: 9
What can I say,
they are beautiful.  The environments, the effects, and the characters were
all nicely done.

Sound: 9
Great sound
effects and music

Difficulty: Medium
You can toggle the settings to
make it more difficult, but set up and ease of play is a breeze.

Concept: 8
Movie to game so
nothing ground breaking here, but still a great action game just the same.

Multiplayer: 9
Hosted by Gamespy, but games are
quick to get on and a lot of fun.

Overall: 8.9
If you like games
of this genre, this is a must have.