Thoughts On Scene It? 007 Edition

In lieu of a more traditional review of this DVD board game, I've decided to share with you a few quick notes on Scene It? 007 Edition. I was quite pleased to finally find this thing, and for the most part, it didn't disappoint. Here's a few thoughts on the game, based on my familiarity with the subject matter and the mechanics of Scene It?:

• First of all, 007 fans should only pick this up under the assumption that you anticipate finding willing and capable opponents to play against. Admittedly, it's fun for a while to run roughshod over the other players because you've seen every film in the series, but this soon becomes boring and there's no way to turn up the difficulty on your friends.

• As for the difficulty of the trivia, there's a good balance between questions drawn from inside and outside the films: that is, questions about the films' characters and plots are offset by questions about actors, directors, and theme songs. Furthermore, these questions range from the textually obvious (i.e. who played who in what film) to minute details which require considerable familiarity with the film. As such, it becomes obvious throughout the course of several games which films your friends/family members are more familiar with; for instance, I was swift in answering detailed queries on the plot of The World is Not Enough (or anything starring Pierce Brosnan), but struggled to recall the principle players of The Living Daylights, besides star Timothy Dalton. Still, the game is careful not to overwhelm casual viewers of the series with minutia, while at the same time keeping obsessed fans interested. It's a sufficient balance to insure broad appeal at your next party.

• Obviously, 007 Edition features clips from all official films in the series, from Dr. No to Die Another Day. They vary somewhat in length, but in general they are carefully selected and fun to watch or re-watch, as the case may be. My biggest problem with the clips is the volatile nature of the questions which follow them: too often these questions have little or nothing to do with the preceding clip. After watching a clip from TWINE, in which Bond and Christmas Jones escape from the exploding blast pit, I was asked, "Who played Electra King in this film?" Points for sticking with the same film, I guess, but minus several million for totally ignoring the content of the clip. On the other hand, these clips are sometimes followed by questions which only necessitate a player's attentiveness to seemingly arbitrary detail, such as the color of Bond's shirt in For Your Eyes Only. Rarely do the clips justify themselves within the game; instead, they only seem to be there for the purpose of visual distraction, and this is a complaint I often lodge regarding the various Scene It?s.

Nonetheless, if you have a cadre of pals willing and able to challenge your exquisite knowledge of 007, this edition of Scene It? is worthwhile. Daniel Craig was nowhere to be found in my somewhat dated version, but there's a Casino Royale Collector's Edition that brings things a little bit up-to-date.

Nobody Reviews It Better: Skyfall (2012)

Finally, Skyfall has arrived; it doesn't disappoint. Thrasher gives you all the details in the conclusion (for now) of our Nobody Reviews It Better series. Truly, we can think of no better way to celebrate Code Redd Net's 11th anniversary than by reviewing this fantastic film.

Throughout Skyfall, villains and allies alike allude to Bond's aptitude for the job; that he has "lost his edge" is certainly the consensus opinion. I take this as a tacit apology for Quantum of Solace, as much for his fellow characters as for his audience. Skyfall is a resurrection narrative, a literal reinscription of the Bond mythos. The generic "bad grammar" of Solace is corrected systematically, starting with the traditional pre-credits sequence. As always, this is pure spectacle and is satisfying on those terms alone (indeed, all the stuntery in the film is clean, well-choreographed, and logical), but a simple gesture reintroduces Bond as we knew him before; as Bond leaps onto the back of a train, which he has just creatively demolished, he adjusts the cuffs of his shirt before continuing the chase. It may seem a banal thing in isolation, but it's a crucial signal, something which Craig-Bond has too often forgotten. Even on the level of story, Skyfall is an investigation, and ultimately a validation, of the renewed relevance of 007. Instead of trying to "update" Bond, Skyfall retrofits his world, gives him Moneypenny, Q, his Astin Martin DB5 (complete with ejector seat!); it places him once again in exotic locales, all shot in expressionistic tones; henchmen routinely meet beautifully absurd deaths; and in a world of increasingly cybernetic, faceless threats, embodies the Other in the classically cheesy villain Raoul Silva, played with aplomb by Javier Bardem. Such retroactivity never seems merely self-referential or cannibalistic, and it's truly wonderful to see the series finally come to terms with its status as an anachronism rather than try to compensate for it. Skyfall is unquestionably Craig's best Bond film, one that finally proves, beyond doubt, his qualifications.

Nobody Reviews It Better: Quantum of Solace (2008)

And here it is, our last entry in the Nobody Reviews It Better series. Chicken Man takes you through a most tepid adventure indeed in Quantum of Solace. We certainly hope you've enjoyed our retrospective; it's been an interesting experience for us, and revisiting these films reinforced our love  for some (Goldfinger, GoldenEye), while for others we found a new and deeper appreciation (Timothy Dalton's two films). Keep it here for our review of Skyfall following its release on November 9, as well as an upcoming two part podcast on this same subject, which Thrasher is currently editing. James Bond will return, clearly.

Quantum of Solace was a short story that Ian Fleming wrote that has James Bond as a seemingly minor character. Coincidentally, the film of the same title seems to have little to do with James Bond as well. Immediately after seeing it, I wondered, if the characters names were changed and there was a different cast of actors, would anyone say, "Wow! This is way too much like a Bond film!"? Besides the Aston and the Walther (and perhaps a woman dipped in some type of commodity asset), hardly anything has the Bond signature. It could easily be just another nameless action movie. What makes it Bond, James Bond? Part of it is the gadgets, none of which are present here. Did his Aston Martin even have any rockets, oil slick, or ejector seat to speak of? It seems like those would come standard with Q Branch. Of course, the Bond girls are included, one with the silly name of Strawberry Fields. I actually liked what happened here with Olga Kurylenko's Camille Montes in that she seemed to have more of a friendship with Bond in achieving a common goal of revenge, rather than being the obligatory sex partner. Any such relationship of the latter type would have felt tacked-on, so I was pleasantly surprised that such an attempt wasn't made. And what about the villains and their villainous plots? The series is famous for these. Weren't some of the earliest films even named after them? Dominic Greene simply doesn't merit it and his scheme, if successful, would be hardly known by anyone. The man is a bit of sissy and rather than having a fearsome henchman like Odd Job, he has his bowl-cut sporting cousin named Elvis. Director Marc Forster said Dominic Greene is supposed to "symbolize the hidden evils in society," and what could be more evil than posing as an environmentalist in order to be more popular and get more funding? Almost as lame is his plan to stage a coup in Bolivia so that he can become the monopoly water provider in the country. Now, I am against government granted privileges to business as much as the next guy. However, it is quite likely that in the municipality in which you live that there is no competition allowed in the provision of this utility. Is James Bond coming to save you as well from the evils of monopoly privileges too? If only. As well, it is somewhat hypocritical of the British government to go around stopping the Quantum group's coups in Latin America when the British Empire has so heavily intervened in the affairs of others itself. In the end, Quantum of Solace just doesn't offer what has made the Bond series great (which might also include a good video game) and might have fit better as a DVD epilogue to Casino Royale.

Nobody Reviews It Better: Casino Royale (2006)

Enter Daniel Craig in the chiaroscuro of film noir for a most unusual pre-credits sequence. Today Thrasher breaks down Casino Royale, a radical Bond film that thankfully challenged many of the stagnant tropes of the series. Regrettably, in the long run it may have been overaggressive in shrugging off much of what makes a Bond film distinctive. But that's a tale for Chicken Man to tell in the final installment of Nobody Reviews It Better.

 

When Bond looks at a bartender, who innocently, even expectantly, asks him how he would like his vodka martini mixed, and Bond replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?", well, that is precisely the sort of generic insouciance Daniel Craig needed to distance himself and the series from the bloated extravagance of Die Another Day. Such an unconventional response is an immeasurably important moment. It's a moment that signifies a significant change in the tenor of the series. Indeed, so much of Casino Royale is given over to reconfiguring Bond that it seems like Craig's Bond is not quite Bond yet, he hasn't earned that title; he's very much Bond-in-training. And quite unlike the others, you would never think to describe his 007 as a smooth operator. He fails at his job, and often. For his first real mission after attaining 00-status (has there ever been a starker contrast in the series than the one between the CGI-driven finale of Die Another Day and the film noir pre-credits sequence of Royale?), Bond must travel to Montenegro to enter an ultra-high-stakes poker game organized by Le Chiffre, one of the world's most notorious and terrorist-friendly bankers. During the game, Bond loses. It's something that would never have happened to Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or Pierce Brosnan; they were all faultless, invincible gamblers. Sure, Bond gets back in the game with the help of his old CIA pal Felix, but seeing Bond lose like this, even once, shakes loose decades-old expectations and prepares us for something new. That's what makes his unexpected, monogamous devotion to fellow agent Vesper Lynd work so unexpectedly; when you unseat one set of conventions, you make it possible to unseat them all, and Craig thankfully tosses aside the womanizing connotations of the role in favor of love, something Bond hasn't hasn't had the courage to try since On Her Majesty's Secret Service (and, to some degree, in the Timothy Dalton films). Lest you think it's all wine and roses, Casino Royale has many outstanding action and suspense numbers, even though I think the hand-to-hand fights, despite their suitably brutal presentation, are sometimes filmed in a confusing, headache-inducing manner. For all his "failings," though, this Bond emerges with our respect, and soon enough our sympathy. When the iconic theme music finally plays at the end (an astoundingly astute use of the music, I might add), he's earned it.



007 Legends Gets Goldfinger

I was wrong; the fifth classic mission to be featured in 007 Legends is not Dr. No. You probably already know this, seeing as how it was reported three days ago and all. I've never really been the most punctual bloggers in the world, but if you haven't been privy to the news, take a look:

If it couldn't be Dr. No, then I suppose Goldfinger is the only other option. For the time being, I'm assuming there's not going to be a golfing mission against Auric. Nonetheless, this looks perfectly acceptable, with most of the key moments from the film remaining intact, for the most part. Why, Bond even jettisons some poor guy from the seat of his car, even though the car this time is something glossy and new, and not the vintage Aston Martin DB5 I prefer.

(Curiously enough, the comments section for that video is filled with youtubers clamoring for a game more like Nightfire or Everything or Nothing. I'd like to endorse that viewpoint.)

So there you have it. On October 16, get ready to take digital Daniel Craig through Moonraker, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Licence to Kill, Die Another Day, Goldfinger, and eventually a downloadable Skyfall mission.

Nobody Reviews It Better: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

A drastic change, indeed. Today Thrasher looks at On Her Majesty's Secret Service, of the most unusual, and one of the most interesting, Bond films to date.

More than any other Bond film, certainly before and arguably since, On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a strange one. It's weird. It's different. It's also immensely interesting, for Bond fans especially, because of these differences. Many consider this the most faithful Ian Fleming adaptation, but for me that's an insight of minimal critical value. No, what matters here is how George Lazenby develops such a strikingly different character from his filmic predecessor. Gone is the dry cruelty of Sean Connery, and in its place is a softer, more humored, more human Bond that directly confesses his shortcomings to the spectator, plays at being disinterested in young women, and silently sobs before the end credits. Oh yes, it's truly difficult to imagine Connery playing this role. OHMSS is quite daring compared to the others, it's practically an art film with substantial financial backer. Much like Casino Royale, this one takes what we know and inverts it, but not for the sake of criticism; it's like a knowing wink, flipping things around a bit to keep us interested, to keep the Bond formula fresh, and indeed we'll see that most of the generic gambles this film takes are immediately withdrawn by the next film.

And what do we make of that odd pre-credits sequence, where Bond trails an unidentified woman to a beach at dawn, saves her from drowning, is attacked by thugs, and, when the woman sneaks off without so much as a "Gee, thanks," turns to the camera and remarks, "This never happened to that other fellow." I believe it's an open admission of guilt, a concession to the spectator, essentially telling us upfront that, Hey, Connery may not be here, but don't blame us, and let's have some fun anyway. Not only that, but it also sets up the kind of Bond that Lazenby will be. In a way, these uncharacteristically modest words prep us for a Bond not as self-assured, not as rugged, and certainly not as boorish as the Connery iteration, even though the stylistics of the fight scenes in OHMSS might tell us that 007 is more brutal than ever. In that sense, the kind of baroque camera work on display here seems quite at odds with the rest of the film, and would absolutely be a better fit in the previous five films. Nevertheless, the non-hand-to-hand action set pieces in the film are fantastic, well-choreographed affairs, especially the ski chase, and the bobsleigh beatdown between Bond and Blofeld. OHMSS should also be commended for its most radical challenge to the series' grammar, something which had already become staid and subject to parody, and that's the infamous tragic ending. It's never really been done since, although I suspect it may return sometime during Daniel Craig's tenure as 007. Too bad Connery had to return so quickly to the series, only to take Bond's true tragedy and spin it into another one-liner.

Skyfall Trailer

As usual for trailers of 007 films, Skyfall looks to be quite exciting and have those high budget action scenes. Apparently Bond lives more than twice as there is another "resurrection" story (along with a premature come-back narrative). We also have the introduction of a much younger Q (and perhaps along with him the gadgetry for which he is famous). Could this be a push-back more towards Bond's roots?

Bond On Display

As you may very well know, Code Redd Net is currently in the process of reviewing every 007 movie before the release of Skyfall in November. We are not the only ones commemorating Bond's legacy. Greater than 400 items are on display in the Barbican Centre in London (possibly including Scaramanga's third nipple). We thought you might be interested in checking out more of their display, in addition to a video at the Daily Mail.

Nobody Reviews It Better: From Russia With Love (1963)

Today we continue our series of concise reviews of every Bond film until the November 9th release of Skyfall. This time Chicken Man takes the reins and shows how From Russia With Love establishes different Bond signatures and lays the foundation for cementing 007 in his defining era of the Cold War.

As Thrasher stated previously in his Dr. No review, James Bond didn't really become an icon until the third movie, Goldfinger. Part of the fun of No and continuing on with From Russia With Love is that one gets to witness Bond at the experimental stage, seeing which events became themes in the series. Some definitely did: the title sequence, flirting with Moneypenny (as opposed to having the intended steady girlfriend, Sylvia Trench, who was not seen afterwards), being equipped by the ever innovative Q, the nemesis organization of SPECTRE, etc. As well, FRWL is also one of 007's defining moments, establishing him as a Cold Warrior, for it is in this era that Bond has spent most of his existence. He remains fighting this Cold War into the times of Timothy Dalton, who aided the Afghans against the Russians in The Living Daylights. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Judi Dench as M characterizes Bond in Golden Eye as "a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War..." As with Dr. No, as well as most of Connery's Bond films, FRWL is in deep contrast to more contemporary 007 movies in terms of pacing; it is doubtful that modern audiences would be as captivated as '60s audiences were. It also continues the intermittent use of the Bond theme music, playing when he is doing the more mundane, such as walking into a hotel, whereas in the later films it is reserved for when he is doing something more heroic. In many ways it forms a bridge between Dr. No and Goldfinger, where the presentation is making the transition from unpolished operative to charming, sophisticated secret agent. It is a fitting sophomore performance and arguably an indispensable part of the Bond canon.

Previous Entries in this Series:

Dr. No (1962) by Thrasher

Nobody Reviews It Better: Dr. No (1962)

Thrasher and Chicken Man team up, as only they can, to bring you a complete retrospective series covering all 22 official James Bond films, in chronological order, concluding with the release of Skyfall on November 9. They've split the reviewing duties evenly, and will cover one to two films per week. Thrasher weighs in first on Dr. No, the film that began the cycle, and one that remains, in so many ways, a significant part of film history.

Bond begins with Dr. No, surely, but it wasn't until Goldfinger, two films later, that he became an (im)mature icon; and if Goldfinger is the stuff of canon, Dr. No is the stuff of curiosity. So much is the same, from characterization to narrative structure to cinematic style, and yet so much is different, different in register, if nothing else. Subtle things, like the odd soundtrack (especially noticeable during the traditional gun barrel opening, and in the often unsteady, intermitent use of the Bond theme music) only seem odd today, in light of the rest of the series. Indeed, the whole aural atmosphere of the film seems unusual by comparison, and in that sense Dr. No indicates the immense importance music would assume in later 007 adventures. No is often an extraordinarily quiet film, much quieter than the others. Even dramatically, there are scenes in No so quiet they look positively experimental compared to the popular bombast of later entries. Think about the scene early in the film in which Sean Connery enters his Jamaican hotel room for the first time; he leisurely moves about the room, checking for anything suspicious, and then he prepares several makeshift alarms so he can check if anyone has tampered with his belongings while he's out. Consider also the scene in which Bond waits for an ally of the nefarious Dr. No to arrive at a remote bungalow; he pours himself a stiff drink, puts on soft Jamaican music, prepares a decoy body in the bedroom with pillows, and gets himself settled in a chair next to the door, patiently playing solitare until his assassin creeps inside. Both of these scenes would have absolutely no place in any subsequent Bond films, especially the latter. This second scene is not only far too slow for a series which switched direction, markedly, from semi-sober drama to playfully absurd romp, it's also incommensurable for Bond's behavior, specifically the way in which he shoots his would-be assassin in cold blood. This is a brutal film, and Connery's Bond is calculating, muscular, sadistic and lean. Connery's natural charm took some time to finess, and his brutishness is in peak form in No; Bond is more boorish here than he would ever be, at least until Daniel Craig stepped into the role. Still, though, despite its differences, No is clearly a 007 film, much more so than the recent Quantum of Solace. True, there's no exciting, nonsensical pre-credits sequence, and no radio-ready pop song to play over the animated credits, and no Q, and no gadgets, and no exotic cars, but Bond's there, however unmannered. All he needed was a few more films before he was properly fitted for the occasion.

007 Legends OHMSS

I had a feeling about this one, and today IGN confirmed that the underestimated On Her Majesty's Secret Service will be included in the upcoming 007 Legends. Of course, this time Daniel Craig will substitute for George Lazenby. No video to show, though, only these screens:

So we know we'll get to play through parts of Skyfall, Moonraker, and now OHMSS. What other classic 007 films do you think will be featured?

Daniel Craig in... Moonraker?

This may be a week old, but timeliness has never been our main concern. Nevertheless, IGN has the first 007 Legends trailer up, this one showcasing an updated version of the absurd Roger Moore epic, Moonraker. We've kindly embedded the trailer below:

Moonraker is a decent enough choice (one of five classic films to be featured in the upcoming game), but I'm not sold yet on the do-over philosophy of these new Bond games, perhaps because I was not overly fond of the GoldenEye 007 remake. Seems like this one will have levels culled from Bond lore, but inhabited this time by Daniel Craig and his newfangled smart phone gadgets instead of the original actors. This may be unfortunate considering how much fun I had playing the retro-stylings of Sean Connery in the From Russia With Love remake for PS2, which kept all of the atmosphere of the original film but expanded it for a new medium and a new audience.

Luckily, with E3 looming, we're likely to learn more soon.

007 Legends Announced

Alright then. Instead of going with a straightforward video game version of the upcoming Skyfall, we get 007 Legends. According to the Guardian games blog, this means the next entry in the series will not only feature levels from Skyfall, but from five other classic Bond flicks. Exactly which five, nobody knows. Furthermore, this one is being put together by the same crew who recently redid GoldenEye. It's not yet known whether or not these classic excursions will be of a similar nature, featuring Daniel Craig and retooled stories to fit his version of 007. This is an intriguing development, especially in light of the mediocre GoldenEye remakes, not to mention the deplorably ho-hum Blood Stone and Quantum of Solace. Going back to the classics makes sense, too, considering that the last quality 007 game was From Russia With Love.

As for the speculation, I think we can expect to see Dr. No as one of the five chosen classics. It is, after all, the fiftieth anniversary of that one this year, and something I suspect the market discourse for Skyfall will obviously draw from. Goldfinger is a virtual lock, as well, being the most canonical film in the series and all. Personally, I would love to golf against Auric, but I shan't hold my breath. As for the other three, we can virtually rule out GoldenEye, and thank goodness for that. The Spy Who Loved Me strikes me as a strong possibility. Personally, I would like to see a few unconventional choices, like the often overlooked On Her Majesty's Secret Service (I can always go for some skiing missions), or maybe one of the Timothy Dalton joints, The Living Daylights or Licence to Kill.

Xbox 360 Review: James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2011)

In my estimation, two things made Everything or Nothing great: variety and replayability. These two items seem paramount to a game's success with our staff, and EoN, in our minds, represents the height of 007 in video games for those reasons (and probably more, because how else do you win our awards for both Best Bond Game and Best Co-Op Multiplayer, as well as selections to both my own and Chicken Man's top ten lists?). It's strange to reflect on the evolution of Bond games in the eight years since EoN and see nothing less than an outright rejection of variety and replayability, much to the detriment of the games, and despite their increasing graphical sophistication.

Blood Stone does seem quite similar to EoN, at least initially. It's a third-person shooter with an ostensibly original story, featuring big, cyberscanned stars like Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and Joss Stone, emphasizing gun fights, and utilizing many of the same gameplay techniques, like the ever-ready tactical stand-by, wall-hugging. For the first few stages, Blood Stone is a fun reminder of what made EoN so refreshing. The graphics are wonderful, especially the character models and backgrounds. Gradually, however, it all starts to get really repetitive. Only a few levels call for stealth, and only a few levels let you step away from the gunplay to pilot something fast, and only a few levels put Q-labs to work with the requisite gadgets. No variety, and no real replayability, either. Complete the game and you have achievements to earn, sure, but there's no gold, silver or bronze awards to chase after, no medals to achieve, no 007 bonuses to collect, there's not even tedious time trials to slog through. There's really no reason at all to play through this game again unless you play online or want to relive the story, but the plot is so barely there I'm hard pressed to remember anything about it. Bond fans could do with a weekend rental, but that's about all.

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

First off, no one can deny how beautifully animated The Adventures of Tintin is. That is quite a feat in itself. Was it a good movie? Forgive me for saying so, but I feel that Steven Spielberg's style has become overly predictable and played out (he also cannot do comedy; the WWII spoof 1941 is a cliche-filled demonstration of that). It is not a bad movie; it is actually pretty entertaining with a myriad of impressive action scenes (the amount of time it must have taken to make them is mind-boggling). It does, however, get a bit long and makes me wonder to whom exactly it is marketed. Those familiar with the original inception of the character (the comics ran from 1929-1976) or perhaps a younger audience? I think that the length may push the limits of attention spans, especially for these demographics, and may be difficult for the latter group to follow (or maybe it was just me). It is not that it is particularly long at 107 minutes, but one learns from commentaries to Jackie Chan movies that the average American audience member only has the patience for about 3 minutes of constant action before he or she starts to lose full attention. The fact is that Tintin has so much action it becomes a bit exhausting. For some, absolutely, this is a good thing. However, there seems to be something about the movie that doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps it is that the narrative doesn't seem to be on par with the visuals, which appears to be the trend with many high budget movies. It keeps me from giving it a full recommendation, though I do endorse it for any who enjoy computer animation, or hearing the voice of Daniel Craig talk from a non-Daniel Craig body as well as the impressive range of voices that Andy Serkis is able to create.

Skyfall Spoiler Alert: 007 Might Swim At Some Point in the Film

People out on the 'net are reporting that the following photo of a poolside Daniel Craig is a still from the forthcoming and twenty-third 007 film, Skyfall. Take a look for yourself:


Personally, I find that the photo is so nondiscript, so untelling, that whether or not it has been leaked out from the set really doesn't matter because it says nothing of interest. Will Craig's notorious speedo return? Guess we'll just have to wait until November.

Wii Review: Quantum of Solace (2008)

The problems with the Quantum of Solace movie were generic: if we weren't told that Daniel Craig was playing James Bond, how could we tell? It was just another action movie, as far as I could tell, and the 007 license (to kill) was incidental. And this problem has been transplanted onto its ancillary products. The Wii version of Quantum of Solace is a solid enough first-person shooter, but as a 007 game, it lacks that distinctive Bond feel. Interestingly, QoS combines the story of the its namesake film with that of the previous (and far superior) entry, Casino Royale. In fact, far more time is devoted to the events of Royale than Solace; the first and last few levels function as bookends, and Royale is sandwiched in between. This is disorienting at first because the initial flashback is poorly indicated (especially, I imagine, for players who may not be familiar with the films), but things pick up fairly quickly. Most of the missions are conducted along traditional first-person shooter lines, although the vantage point switches to third-person once players duck behind cover. This is a neat feature that is tactically useful. However, I must mention that aiming in first-person on the Wii is often wonky. Even if your remote is carefully calibrated, precision aiming is usually difficult. Thankfully, though, precision shooting and stealth are not often called for, and that points us to another problem with this game: too many times the really neat stuff (stealth approaches, acrobatics, car chases) take place either entirely in cutscenes or, worse yet, completely offscreen. Split-screen multiplayer magnifies the same problems with aiming the Wii remote by considerably shrinking aiming area. Online multiplayer is decent enough (including a wonderful recreation of the classic Facility level from GoldenEye) but very few players are online at any given time. You could do worse for Wii, I suppose, but I would recommend sticking with the PS2 Bonds instead.

Wii Review: GoldenEye 007 (2010)

I came of age with a Playstation 1, so I all but missed out on the GoldenEye N64 phenomenon. Unlike many of those so childishly attached to that object of shared adolescence, I'm clearly not a GoldenEye loyalist, and it was with a welcoming attitude that I greeted this Wii remake, not automatic disdain. The story is generally the same: nuclear space weapons are hijacked and Bond must work with the sole survivor of a Russian research facility in order to disarm them, only to discover that the heist was plotted by the former agent 006, Alec Trevelyan, his best buddy. Changes to the story are mostly cosmetic, usually involving the relocation of missions and shifts in characters' appearance and narrative function (in some instances). These shifts bring the story up-to-date, while simultaneously meeting the demands of Daniel Craig's version of Bond; less gadgetry, less stealth, and considerably more to outright brutality. These single-player missions are fundamentally tailored to meet Craig's Bond halfway, and though they play reasonably well, they are far too linear in progression. It is too easy to navigate through these worlds, too obviously marked where players should go next, and there is no room for exploration or multiple approaches to completing mission objectives as there were in the original GoldenEye. Furthermore, stealth is downgraded to a few short segments of silent takedowns, and only (as stipulated by the linear structure of the levels themselves) when the game wants you to be stealthy. In many ways, GoldenEye's single-player is like the last Bond film, Quantum of Solace, in that it doesn't feel like a Bond game without the stealthy portions and the ridiculous gadgets. Instead, it feels (and plays) more like your typical Call of Duty-style shooter. In terms of multiplayer, GoldenEye is solid, if unimpressive. Of course, the lack of computer-controlled bots to fill up the maps is as unsurprising as it frustrating; their MIA status in more recent games continues. Online multiplayer is fun for a while, but becomes tiresome after more than a few go-arounds on the rather bland maps. GoldenEye is a fun rental, especially for those curious to see the changes from the N64 original, but unfortunately it has little replayability to offer.