GoldenEye 007

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GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter James Bond game for the Nintendo 64, developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 1997. It is based on the 1995 James Bond film of the same name.

This game is considered to be among the most acclaimed first-person shooter games of all time.

It was re-released on Nintendo Switch via the Expansion Pack add-on subscription on January 27, 2023. In the case of Japan, it was released on the NINTENDO 64 Nintendo Switch Online 18+ module.

Plot[]

In 1986 Arkhangelsk, Soviet Union, MI6 has uncovered a secret chemical weapons facility at the Byelomorye Dam. James Bond and fellow 00-agent Alec Trevelyan are sent to infiltrate the facility and plant explosive charges. During the mission, Trevelyan is shot by General Arkady Ourumov, while Bond escapes by commandeering an aeroplane. Five years later in 1991, Bond is sent to investigate a satellite control station in Severnaya, Russia, where programmer Boris Grishenko works. Two years after the Severnaya mission, Bond investigates an unscheduled test firing of a missile in Kyrgyzstan, believed to be a cover for the launch of a satellite known as GoldenEye. This space-based weapon works by firing a concentrated electromagnetic pulse (EMP) at any Earth target to disable any electrical circuit within range. As Bond leaves the silo, he is ambushed by Ourumov and a squad of Russian troops. Ourumov manages to escape during the encounter.

In 1995, Bond visits Monte Carlo to investigate the frigate La Fayette, where he rescues several hostages and plants a tracker bug on the Pirate helicopter before it is stolen by the Janus crime syndicate. Bond is then sent a second time to Severnaya, but during the mission he is captured and locked up in the bunker's cells along with Natalya Simonova, a captive computer programmer unwilling to work with Janus. They both escape the complex seconds before it is destroyed—on the orders of Ourumov—by the GoldenEye satellite's EMP. Bond next travels to Saint Petersburg, where he arranges with ex-KGB agent Valentin Zukovsky to meet the chief of the Janus organisation. This is revealed to be Alec Trevelyan—his execution by Ourumov in the Arkhangelsk facility was faked.

Bond and Natalya escape from Trevelyan, but are arrested by the Russian police and taken to the military archives for interrogation. Eventually, Bond escapes the interrogation room, rescues Natalya, and communicates with Defence Minister Dimitri Mishkin, who has verified Bond's claim of Ourumov's treachery. Natalya is recaptured by General Ourumov, and Bond gives chase through the streets of St. Petersburg, eventually reaching an arms depot used by Janus. There, Bond destroys its weaponry stores and then hitches a ride on Trevelyan's ex-Soviet missile train, where he kills Ourumov and rescues Natalya. However, Alec Trevelyan and his ally Xenia Onatopp escape to their secret base in Cuba.

Natalya accompanies Bond to the Caribbean. Surveying the Cuban jungle aerially, their light aircraft is shot down. Unscathed, Bond and Natalya perform a ground search of the area's heavily guarded jungle terrain, but are ambushed by Xenia, who is quickly killed by Bond. Bond sneaks Natalya into the control centre to disrupt transmissions to the GoldenEye satellite and force it to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. He then follows the fleeing Trevelyan through a series of flooded caverns, eventually arriving at the antenna of the control centre's radio telescope. Trevelyan attempts to re-align it in a final attempt to restore contact with the GoldenEye, but Bond destroys machinery vital to controlling the antenna and defeats Trevelyan in a gunfight on a platform above the dish.

Gameplay[]

GoldenEye 007 is a first-person shooter where the player takes the role of Secret Intelligence Service agent James Bond through a series of levels. In each level, the player must complete a set of objectives while computer-controlled opponents try to hinder the player's progress. Objectives range from recovering items to destroying objects, defeating enemies, or rescuing hostages. Some objectives may also require the player to use high-tech gadgets. For example, in one level, the player must use Bond's electromagnetic watch to acquire a jail cell key. Although the player begins each level with a limited amount of supplies, additional weapons and ammunition can be acquired from defeated enemies. There are no health-recovery items, but body armour can be acquired to provide a secondary health bar.

List of Areas and Missions[]

Mission 1: Arkangelsk[]

• Part I: Dam
• Part II: Facility
• Part III: Runway

Mission 2: Severnaya[]

• Part I: Surface
• Part II: Bunker

Mission 3: Kirghizstan[]

• Part I: Launch Silo #4

Mission 4: Monte Carlo[]

• Part I: Frigate

Mission 5: Severnaya[]

• Part I: Surface
• Part II: Bunker

Mission 6: St. Petersburg[]

• Part I: Statue Park
• Part II:Military Archives
• Part III: Streets
• Part IV: Depot
• Part V: Train

Mission 7: Cuba[]

• Part I: Jungle
• Part II: Control Center
• Part III: Water Caverns
• Part IV: Antenna Cradle

Mission 8: Teotihuaca'n[]

• Part I: Aztec Complex

Mission 9: el-Saghira[]

• Part I: Egyptian Temple

Multiplayer[]

The multiplayer features up to 4 players and numerous modes. Rules can be set to feature different modes, specific weapon types, levels and time limit.

Development[]

One of the games earliest announcements was in February 1995. It was announced in Nintendo Power V69, 9 months before the release of the actual film on which the game is based. It was announced that Nintendo had made a licensing and development deal.

Reception[]

GoldenEye 007 turned out to be both a critical and a commercial success. In 1998, it sold approximately 2.1 million copies. By 2001, it had sold over seven million copies worldwide. Overall, GoldenEye 007 sold more than eight million units worldwide, making it the third-best-selling Nintendo 64 game, behind Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64. According to a paper published on the website of the Entertainment Software Association, the game grossed $250 million worldwide.

In 1997, the game was ranked at (fittingly) #7 in Nintendo Power's 100 Best Games of All Time, as printed in Nintendo Power V100. 100 issues later, in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games, it was pushed down to #20. And in the magazine's 20th anniversary issue, it was ranked #4 on the N64 list for Nintendo Power's Best of the Best.

External links[]

• GoldenEye 007 at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• GoldenEye 007 at GameFAQs
• GoldenEye 007 at MobyGames
• GoldenEye 007 on GoldenEye Wiki.