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James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Review
Chris Leyton
27/02/2004
007 returns in quite possibly the best Bond game yet???
EA used to one hold an image of the big, scary corporation; a publisher that placed emphasis on licenses and brands, instead of gameplay or innovations, a publisher whose sheer might left many others stranded in its wake.
However if EA continues to merge its cash with talent, presentation and production values like that featured in âJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothingâ then that image must surely have to change.
âJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothingâ literally wants to be a movie; sure weâve had cinematic titles in the past; however this goes a level beyond anything weâve seen before. Upon booting the game up, the player is immediately drawn into an intense fire-fight involving illegal nuclear arms and a suitcase full of money. Having completed this, the introduction kicks in with a theme tune specifically performed by Mya and a credit list including such Hollywood âClass-Aâ actors as Pierce Brosnan, Heidi Klum, Shannon Elizabeth, Judy Dench and John Cleese â“ from that moment on youâll have a hard time believing that EA arenât creating the latest Bond flick.
Now we can always guarantee on EA stretching the presentation boundaries, securing big-name actors and getting a licensed theme song; however in the past this has typically come at the expense of the actual game, thankfully thatâs not the case with âEverything or Nothingâ.
Great care has been paid to all aspects of the game to ensure it looks and feels the part; the story (written by veteran Bond screenwriter Bruce Feirstein - Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough) revolves around an ex-KGB named Nikolai Diavolo and voiced by Willem Dafoe. Disillusioned by the Westernization of his homeland, and the prodigy of 007âs former nemesis Max Zorin; Diavolo has been groomed to finish off Zorinâs plans for world domination.
Chuck in a Bond girl seductively played by Shannon Elizabeth; a deceptive assassin and right-hand woman to Diavolo played by Heidi Klum; lots of gadgets; lots of weapons and you have all the right ingredients for a classic Bond experience.
The game has been substantially changed from previous Bond offerings from EA, switching from the traditional first-person view to a new third-person perspective; naturally this has had a substantial impact on the game, however itâs most obvious reason is just to show off that Pierce Brosnan is providing his likeness for the first time in a 007 title.
Those hoping that the view shift might result in an experience more akin to âSplinter Cellâ or âMetal Gear Solidâ are in for some disappointment however, as the game retains the emphasis on action and rarely challenges players to sneak their way in â“ âEverything or Nothingâ is all about in your face explosions and actions, subtlety is certainly not one of the games strongest parts.
Thankfully the combat in âEverything or Nothingâ is both accurate and responsive; using shoulder buttons to lock on to targets and fire, whilst also allowing a certain degree of manual targeting via the right thumbstick. James Bond certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve, and can perform the usual selection of moves such as defensive rolls, crouching against a wall or ducking for cover; the combat system easily allows you to pop a pistol from around a wall or pop your head up whilst under cover, occasionally the camera takes a little while to catch up however it rarely affects the game.
The AI of the opponents makes for some immersive action scenes, as youâll notice opponents using the environment for cover, poaching weapons from fellow comrades whoâve taken one too many bullets and just generally making as much of a commotion as possible. If thereâs one thing to be said itâs that the game puts many grunts against you instead of less but more intelligent opponents; this naturally ups the action levels, however at times it feels as if theyâre nothing more then cannon fodder. Away from the impressive selection of weapons that Bond gets his hands upon, he can also make use of some hand-to-hand attacks, throws and stealth kills; however youâll rarely have to resort to these as the game throws weapons at you by the bucket load.
However itâs the gadgets that always impress when it comes to Bond games, and âEvreything or Nothingâ could very well be THE best Bond game in this department. Arguably the most useful comes from the Rappel Gun, used to abseil down walls or clamber up them. The game does a good job on introducing this gadget, as just after the theme tune has died down youâll be tasked with the job of abseiling down a building that youâve had to rig for explosives. This naturally makes for a very memorable experience, as youâre fighting against flames, explosions, smoke and other grunts that are trying to stop your pursuit to the ground. Another particularly neat gadget is the new nanotechnology Spider-Bomb; once employed players take direct control of this bizarre little invention, making it the perfect choice for unsuspecting attacks or being able to squeeze into tight areas.
As with the number of weapons featured within the game, it would take pages to describe all of the gadgets featured within âEverything or Nothingâ; Bond fans can rest easy in the knowledge that theyâre (virtually) all extremely satisfying to use and certainly bring variety to the gameplay.
A rather bizarre addition and perhaps just an attempt to cash-in on the success of âThe Matrixâ and all things Bullet-Time is the new âBond Senseâ mode. Triggering this slows down time, whacks some strange filter effects to the screen along with some ambient music and allows Bond to make use of his precision sense! Basically this allows you to target objects more efficiently, whilst also allowing you to zoom in and gain details on the target; itâs also possible to change weapons and activate a variety of features such as Thermal Vision â“ well they had to get it in somehow⦠To be honest this does feel like one feature too many, sure Bond is good but Iâm not entirely sure heâs got advanced levels of perception and at the end of the day it does just feel like an attempt to cash in on the success of Max Payne/Matrix/Dead to Rights (delete as applicable).
Itâs not just all about combat however, as the game includes a variety of driving missions following on from the success of âAgent Under Fireâ and âNightFireâ. These are up to the same quality as the rest of the game, once again putting the focus on extreme action, explosions and guns. One of the first missions sees you driving a new Porsche Cayenne; pitting you with the task of catching up to a train and having to get underneath it before you reach a bridge so that Bond can safely board the train. However itâs not quite that simple as a the arsenal of a small country is aimed at your general direction, creating craters upon impact and leaving a few nasty dents in the paintwork when they hit you; thankfully Bond has a selection of missiles and machineguns to hit back and destroy the occasional blockage that thwarts your progress. Other vehicles that youâll find yourself piloting, include the all-new Aston Martin V12 Vanquish and the sexy Triumph Daytona 600 motorcycle.
Again taken from previous Bond games is the inclusion of âBond Momentsâ; every level has a number of these to trigger, some of which are simply a case of taking the correct route to a shortcut in the driving sections, to scorching a number of opponents in one go by releasing the steam valve. These lend the game even more of a cinematic nature, as many of them flick the camera to a new position or start a cut-scene; however they also lend a level of replayability to the game.
After every mission the player is ranked on his performance based upon a variety of statistics, including finding Bond Moments, Weapon Accuracy, Time Taken, etc... The playersâ performance is calculated based on these and a Gold, Silver or Bronze token awarded based on your final score. Completing a mission with a Gold award opens up a Platinum Challenge, whilst also rewarding the player with Image Stills, Weapon Upgrades; completing the Platinum Challenges opens up a variety of cheats including slow-mo driving and the traditional Golden Gun.
Visually âJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothingâ is a masterpiece on all platforms. The game displays an impressive level of detail particular on character models, whilst the frantic action has allowed the developers to go OTT on the special effects. The game maintains an impressive framerate throughout even on the Playstation2 version, although when the action seriously heats up you may notice one or two bouts.
As youâd expect the sound aspect of âEverything or Nothingâ is certainly up to the job, with the actors providing very believable performances and the traditionally epic score.
In addition to the single-player mode that will likely take between 12-15 hours to complete, the game features a multiplayer mode allowing two players to embark on a co-op mode. However this isnât entirely based around the single-player mode and makes fundamental use of the fact that two players are playing, so the challenges involve a number of tricks such as both activating switches at the right time to open a door. There are a number of variations to this mode on offer, whilst itâs also possible to enter an arena for some traditional deathmatch styled offerings. It should also be noted that the Playstation2 version offers online play, whilst GameCube fans can hook up a GameBoy Advance to utilise the exclusive âQ-Transceiverâ
