9 / 10
18 Apr 2006 at 20:19
Review by: Marink
Looking for a first person shooter to match the much talked about Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64? Look no further! Free Radical, which is made up of some of the people behind the glorious Goldeneye movie tie-in, is responsible for this gaming masterpiece. The cheerful, cartoony 3D graphics and somewhat marvellous music also do the game justice. It will obviously take a lot more than that to persuade one to buy the game, so here goes nothing…
The game’s story follows the far from original time travelling concept. The Splitters, which are basically time warping alien-like creatures, have stolen the time crystals and taken them to different time zones. So it is up to Sergeant Cortez and his female companion, Corp Hart to get every last time crystal back. To accomplish this task, our heroes will have to travel to each time zone themselves. Each time the two of them enter a different time zone, they both disguise themselves so that they will fit in with their surroundings- which actually works rather well and helps them to adapt to the environment around them.
Arcade Custom is where all the multiplayer action takes place. In this mode players can have online or offline matches. Either way, Arcade Custom is, as the name suggests- and as it is with just about every other multiplayer game- completely customisable from the start. Artificial Intelligence(simply known as AI) bots are also available to fight with or against. There are at least 100 playable characters and a large variety of weapons at your disposal. Obviously, there can not be a multiplayer game without different modes and levels for you to experiment with- and, again, this game has plenty of those! Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, for example, just require players to kill any opponents they set eyes on. The multiple levels are great fun to run around on- while hunting for fresh victims- and the smaller areas are pleasingly frantic.
Arcade League is like Arcade Custom, except this mode already has everything selected for you and can not be changed in any way. So the player competes in many different pre-selected matches, what is the point? Well, the answer to that question could not be simpler. Achieving each task will award you with anything from a new character to an entire level! Then there is the Challenge mode. Challenge mode sets you up with many miscellaneous challenges with already chosen weapons, bots, levels and characters. Again, done properly, these can make you one option richer.
The Mapmaker is a very intuitive and sophisticated tool that allows you to create your own levels to beat your friends on. The creator of the map gets to decide the locations of the weapons, ammo and doors. Not only that, but one can choose to give their own map a little story mode by placing enemy AI and mission objectives and see if someone else can make their way though it alive. There are also already made maps for you and others to take advantage of, most even include a story mode. Many will also tell you that it is possible to recreate a select few Goldeneye levels.
So, will Goldeneye fans love this game more than life itself? Well I wouldn’t take it that far, but it is definitely more than worth a look for anyone into first person shooting games! If you adored Goldeneye as much as a lot of people have, which I assume you most likely did, I suggest you own this game. The single player mode will not last long, but trying to get everything will cost you a large chunk of your life. Now all Free Radical have to do is make a time portal that will allow us to experience Goldeneye for the first time… again.
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