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toxicvacation's Goldeneye 007 (N64)
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| [January 31, 2007 05:35:01 AM]
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The structure of Goldeneye is setup to be very mission oriented and it does this well. However, a level's completion is not limited to its objectives and there are some room for maneuvering within them. For example, one might try sneaking through a level taking out security cameras and using a silencer to stealthily dispatch enemies or go on into a compound Rambo-style with guns blazing. In some instances one approach might be better than the other but regardless it seems, depending on your skill you can choose to do either or employ a combination of these methods. There is also the ability to pick up other items on missions that are kind of out of the way and most times make gameplay easier once you find them (think grenade launcher in an open-area snow plains level).
While the controls were fairly intuitive, one of the things that was mildly frustrating about this game was the use of the "B" button for reloading and for actions such as opening doors. This lead to some damage to my character by opening a door with guys charging it through it when I was trying to do the opposite and prepare for the next room. While this is a minor issue and tended to only happen in close quarters it was still disappointing and should have been caught by game testers. Strafing with the C buttons also took some time to get used to but was back to my original level in no time.
While the game does take place in a 3d space it does tend to be very linear and simple in how you complete missions. The layouts are not entirely complex but what I found intriguing about this game in its being ahead of its time was the idea that you should not always trust the characters in the game and how situations can be presented somewhat deceptively, such as the programmer that takes you to the mainframe promising to hack it for you but then activates the alarm or going to the satellite dish and hitting the action button which actually alerts them to your presence rather than just blowing it up, etc. This adds a level of surprise to a game that for the most part has pretty simple missions.
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| [January 31, 2007 04:50:41 AM]
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One of the first things I noticed about 007 is the detail put into creating an environment that is destructable. This applies to the explosive crates and shattering windows found in a lot of shooters but also to the more mundane items like a rack of test tubes for example. The player also leaves his/her mark on the world whenever he accidently (or purposely) shoots a wall leaving bullet holes. This adds to the realism of the game and draws the player in more I believe.
A lot of effort was also put into the death animations when the player murders Soviet soldiers. There are a myriad of ways in how you can "drop" a body depending on where you hit them and how much you shoot them.
Cutscenes are used very effectively with a camera fly-by of the environment you are about to encounter along and a finishing animation that lets you know you succeeded in your mission (usually posing the Bond characater as very relaxed and cocky as he leaves the scene). What is good about these cut-scenes is that they use the same graphics that you were just or just about to play with and they are short and to the point. This makes sense because the developers probably assumed a wide range of players would already be familiar with the movie and James Bond in general. Also, by using actual gameplay graphics for cut-scenes, continuity of the game is not broken and expectations are not raised.
An innovative feature of this game, for its time, is an auto-aim feature which totally makes sense in trying to introduce players to become more comfortable with an analog stick that was fairly new to everyone. There is also the ability to turn it off which helps with handicap issues in multiplayer if you have a younger sibling, etc.
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toxicvacation's Goldeneye 007 (N64)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 31 January, 2007
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