E3 2010: Goldeneye 007 Hands-On

Goldeneye for the N64 was a great title in its time, and one of the pioneers in promoting Nintendo's 4-port system toward friendly game-night gatherings. But in all honesty, it's been quite some time since I've played the game to really make any comparisons to today's remake. In the end, however, the memories that remain are the game's strong multiplayer presence, its fine gameplay, and different modes to play as. And, in that light, Goldeneye 007 for the Wii certainly lives up to it.

I got to start a two-player game with another person on the floor. I was playing as Oddjob on the Classic Controller, while my opponent was Jaws. The first thing I noticed was how the controls were a bit flighty, making me feel like I wasn't really walking on the floor. I'm sure after some personal tweaking that this is an easy issue to resolve. Also, my Oddjob character had his special trademark hat-throwing attack as his special, which I went nuts over before I got killed. As for the weapons, they were still satisfying to aim and fire at your opponent. The graphics are a nice upgrade from the much-more-blockier designs the N64 version were filled with, and adequate enough for a Wii remake; there wasn't any over-the-top glossy textures or extravagant backgrounds necessary to make the game stand out any more than it should.

Overall, the time spent in the game just whisked me away to a magical memory when gamers were still virgin FPS players, and tea-bagging was still an afternoon activity with real tea. Sure, Goldeneye 007 is a remake and not the original port of its N64 counterpart, and there will be people completely opposed to that simple fact - but the sensation of the game is still alive in spirit, and I'm sure people will gladly overlook that just to relive their childhood once more.