Goldeneye 007: Reloaded Review

Coming from someone who wasn't big on the original game, I had a decent time with this reimagining even if it feels like a very derivative and not nearly as industry defining as the N64 title.

While the original game was like I previously mentioned is very industry defining, the game itself was still very much a dull movie tie in game with the game's level design being the only thing that carried it since the combat itself was very one note. The level design in the original was also done better in games like Medal of Honor, Syphon Filter and Timesplitters 2 since those games also gave you more context and what you were doing in the levels and didn't give you barebones context by watching the movie of the same name to understand.

Enter Goldeneye 007: Reloaded, a reimagining of the original more so than a remake or the same game with better graphics. One thing I liked about this version of the story is that there are many more cutscenes and story fleshing everything out. I normally am not much of a story guy and I also have yet to watch a James Bond movie but I like the fact that the story in many ways feels like a playable Bond film much like the EA Redwood Shores Bond games and the Blood Stone game.

As a result the game has a lot more goofy charm than the original did like villains who have no problems killing his own soldiers who work for them, villains who monologue like crazy, double crosses, and my personal favorite strapping Bond into a helicoptor with an eject button built in for him to escape instead of the main villain, 006 just killing him right on the spot after capturing the former by surprise. Ridiculously over the top narratives is what will hopefully make me watch a Bond movie one of these days, and since Goldeneye 007 is a licensed game, this game along with the other EA and Activision Bond games has gotten me interested in the franchise which is what at the very least a decent licensed game should do.

Now the gameplay, this is where it will divide people the most, Reloaded is not the objective completing exploration game with lots of hip firing and auto aim like the original was instead this is very much derivative of the various Call of Duty campaigns that got released in the era. You got snap aiming, aim down sights, scripted sequences including slo mo breaching sequences, down time sequences where shit slowly hits the fan, a two weapon limit and regenerating health to name some examples.

Unlike other CoD clones of the era like Medal of Honor Warfighter and Battlefield 4, Reloaded does have some differences like optional stealth, gadgets like a smartphone that can hack into electronics, decently open arenas with decent AI while nothing on say Halo, FEAR or Resistance Fall of Man's level does seem slightly smarter than your average goons in CoD where they normally just stand there as you shoot them.

Gunplay feels decent enough and the weapon sounds are "okay" if nothing too special.

However issues with the game is that the stealth ranges from "tolerable" to "how did I get caught?" Basically my stealth experience in the game consisted of me shooting guards and cameras with a silenced pistol and to the game's credit, both felt good with a good "oomph" sound effect when getting headshots but since there is no visibility indicator, it was hard to tell if I was going to get spotted or if I remained undetected.

I do like the level design for the stealth parts since they feel decently open enough but the AI and lack of a visibility indicator lets it down. 

The shooting is also very one note much like the CoD games, so much of the game is just use snap aiming, ADS then shoot while waiting for health to regen inbetween. Speaking of regen health, it isn't that great, since it's hard to tell when I am super critical health and when I should go back into hiding. Sometimes it feels like I can take lots of damage and other times I die randomly. I am not asking for a patronizing, "you are hurt get to cover" but something that gives me a better idea on when I should hide, like making Bonds' heavy breathing more clear and obvious. I lowered to easy mode because of this I didn't want to deal with so much of my time dying due over and over due to seeing long load times and having a hard time telling when I should get to cover.

The QTEs are also unnesscary but to the game's credit, they are over fast and it generally never fails you if you get the button wrong. 

The game could've used more sections like the tank since combat is one note and stealth is too finicky to help break up the pace from more combat. 

The last level is also quite awful and a difficulty spike with an awful final boss that does the CoD thing where you slo mo headshot the main villain anyway. You have 3 awful sections within close proxmity of each other and I wouldn't be surprised if a random person quit the game here. You have to do an NPC 3 times while hacking into consoles with the you getting random game overs from the console getting destroyed, enemy gunfire and a solar beam attack and tearing apart the place you are in. Then you are timed where it's trial and error just to find out which is the ideal path to the end of the of the bridge, after that you have an awful bullet sponge boss with 006 with lots of enemies attacking you. If you got past this stuff on hard difficulty, I commend you but I do not have the patience for this. 

Overall, Reloaded is a decent CoD clone based on a game I never had a huge attachment towards. It might be too scripted for some, and if you love the original game, you probably already dislike this game but at the same time, I had some solid fun with this title and that's all I can hope for when playing any game. It's also a short game which might not help with it's curent price tag and lack of PC digital storefront version but since it is so short, it's shortcomings aren't enough to aggrevate me to the extreme.