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Wednesday 10 January, 2007
It seems as though there are two components to this game. First of all there is the part where you learn how to move and aim well. Then there is the more strategy-based element in which you have to figure out what is meant by the vague objective descriptions. Level one of 007 Goldeneye has two objectives in the secret agent mode, both of which are quite easy once you understand how they are completed. Unfortunately, it is usually pretty confusing figuring out how to satisfy these objectives. For example, the simple and vague instructions: disable the alarm system. The key word “system” makes it seem like there is some kind of control room with a lot of computers that have to be hacked using a special gadget. I definitely over thought this one though, because it turns out you just have to go into several of the towers and shoot the red alarms which are on the wall until they explode in a little burst of flame. The different levels of difficulty are well designed because in order to beat the levels on “00 agent,” several additional objectives must be met and many more enemies must be eliminated. These skill-based levels of hardness are good because they keep the game fresh for a long time. Even once the game has been beaten on “agent,” to repeat the levels on “00 agent” is a completely different thing. New problems must be solved and new degrees of skill must be acquired. With any game that sports the “007” name, there is a plethora of expectations about what the game play will be like. It is kind of similar to a Bond movie in that a broad, well-informed audience is already quite familiar with the concept before the game or movie is released. A Bond video game can be expected to be exciting, violent, and very secret agent. These expectations are not necessarily limiting though because they allow the game to be successful in ways a newly developed concept could never achieve, regardless of how good it is. Goldeneye’s chief function is to cater to this critical audience of Bond aficionados and gaming experts and I find it to be extremely effective in both these aspects. I would also like to comment on the soundtrack, which plays a critical role in game atmosphere. The music is haunting, frantic, and repetitive. I find the experience of game play with audio to be far more intense and far less successful than game play with the sound turned way down and some calming music from my computer. The music is cool because it puts the game in an emotional context that could not be achieved in any other way. Without the music, I wouldn’t feel the stress and agitation Bond must feel as he works a mission. I wish I could have two guns at the same time and use grenades, but that would be too easy.
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