GoldenEye 007: Reloaded Preview

All that glitters is released again.

Finally, GoldenEye 007 is being released on a non-Nintendo console. It's not as though nobody saw this coming… in essence, we were all asking for it to be on something other than the Wii. The Wii isn't really designed for everyday gunplay, so the more choices, the merrier!



The Xbox 360 and PS3 are both getting Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, and the biggest change from the Wii version (aside from an obvious sharpening of edges) is the twin-stick controls being an actual option. A "real" controller instead of the Wiimote pointing at the screen? Sign me up. Still, if you're one of the group that enjoys pointing at the TV and shouting "bang", you have the opportunity on the PS3; yup, it works with the Sharp Shooter and Move controllers. Most players will likely be playing with the dual sticks, though hopefully the gameplay will tighten up a bit more before release; it wasn't terrible, but there was some notable latency.

The big change to the GoldenEye formula is the online component. Now, finally, 16-player deathmatches can be had! At what should be a full 60 frames per second, 16 players can blast through a diverse array of both new and familiar maps featuring good ol' Pierce Brosnan Daniel Craig, Oddjob, Scaramanga (the Golden Gun, baby!), Jaws, and over 50 others. Fourteen of the characters, the classics like the fellas I just named, have unique features: Jaws can use his steel teeth; Dr. No's arms are cybernetic so hitting them won't do any  damage at all; and so on.

There are even a few new weapons to accompany the classic machine guns and the infamous Golden Gun. The Moonraker laser pistol, Goldfinger's gold-plated revolver, the C96 Mouser, and others come along with the over 30 rifles, pistols, and launchers from the original Wii incarnation. This is being touted as the "authentic Bond experience", and while there is still plenty of deviation from the source material, the actual game is still, at its core, Goldeneye. Hopefully the issues with the Wii incarnation have been worked out by now, but we won't know until the final product is on the doorstep.

GoldeneEye 007: Reloaded's release date is November 1st, 2011. If the online multiplayer is anything like we all remember from the N64, then… damn, can't wait!