Goldeneye Member Review for the N64

When you're like me, you tend to play games a fair few years after they came out. I learned awhile back that most games aren't worth 50 bucks, so I tend to play games a few years old that I originally missed out on until the games that are new at that time drop in price, then the cycle repeats itself endlessly. It works, I still have plenty of fun and save alot of money. But with Goldeneye, it went further than just a few years. In fact, barring a few barely remembered minutes with multiplayer back in the 90's, I didn't play Goldeneye until fall 2005. In that time period, we've seen amazing technological leaps in gaming, but Goldeneye still remains as a game loaded with Nostalgia for those who played it way back when, and still has a certain fun flare for those who didn't.

The game follows the same basic storyline as the movie. The first levels have you trying to infiltrate a Russian base along with buddy Alec. You bungie off a dam, come out in the bathroom, go through the base to get to the room filled with tanks of explosive liquids where Alec is captured and killed, but you make a amazing escape! The rest of the game continues to stick to the story while adding a few bits here and there to give some length.  This may scare off many gamers, we all know how Movie-to-Game transitions usually go. However, this was back before Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and James Bond licenses were whored out to lure unsuspecting gamers to buy average to bad games. Goldeneye is not a poorly done game with James Bond slapped on it to sucker you in. 

Goldeneye takes place from the First Person viewpoint, and has what you've probably come to expect from many First Person Shooters. Through the game, you get to use dozens of different weapons. Pistols, Rifles, Shotguns, Explosives, and everything inbetween. You also can get various gadgets, from a magnet watch to a key duplicator. Throughout the game, you'll go through buildings, bases, snow covered tundras, and jungles blowing away enemies by the dozen as you try and save the world! It's hard to say what's makes it succeed where other games have failed, but I suppose the best way to put it is Rare doesn't seem to try too hard. It's just a simple game without any major gimmicks that end up bringing it down. It also manages to stick to the movie with extreme accuracy, managing to deviate in ways that do not particularly annoy the gamer.