007: Agent Under Fire

I'm not really big on the Bond games. Most of then are no more than ordinary first person shooters with licensed characters. I guess since the original Goldeneye game on the Nintendo 64 was so popular they felt like they shouldn't stray to far from the winning formula.

In this game we have a generic interpretation of Bond involved in a dull plot involving clones and kidnapped world leaders. We go through several different locations but only some of them are cool and none are used to their full potential. There are a couple of driving levels too, but the street design is just uninspired.

The best thing about FPS games is the ability to just go berserk and shoot-up the place, hoping to catch the baddies in the crossfire. But you don't really get a lot of ammo and reloading is painfully slow sometimes. And the destruction you can inflict upon the environment is very limited.

I can really only recommend AUF to Bond fans. The rest of you have soooo many other choices for superior FPS games, you don't want to waste your time with this one.

When i first got this game i was most pleased with it. But soon after i found it to easy and completed it in three days. Also a number of things let it down for example: The two twins you see on Cold Reception you are expecting to fight them, however you do not. But it is an unwritten rule that on a Bond film the person who introduces Bond to the Prime villian always ends up fighting him, however on Agent under fire you do not. Another thing is that Carla the Jackal appears quite deadly however when you fight she fights worse than a............. well Carla the Jackal. Another thing that was a let down was the AI intelligence and the fact that the bodies disappear, even perfect dark can handle that and thats on the n64. (Which has less memory) Also the multiplayer was a let down the legs on the players moved to fast for the speed that they were going! And the fact that you can only get three AI bots, Perfect Dark can manage eight. Overall not bad but alot of room for improvement.

Once "Goldeneye 007" was released for the Nintendo '64 console, that title instantly became the standard by which all future Bond FPS's would be judged. In the case of "Agent Under Fire" for the Gamecube, it does just enough "to get by" but fails to stand out in any of the categories that made its predecessor great.

The main problem with this game is that it just feels "clunky" sometimes. Whereas "Goldeneye" was always slick and smooth, "Agent Under Fire" is bulky and awkward.

The single player mode is hit-and-miss, with some missions being quite fun and others just being a shoot-em-up fest. Not having an actual Bond movie to base the levels around was the downfall here.

Of course, one of the hallmarks of any Bond game is the multiplayer mode, and in this aspect "Agent Under Fire" just doesn't hold a candle to its predecessors. It seems as if the multiplayer experience SHOULD be better than it is (same basic layout as other similar game modes), but again it just lacks that "punch" of the seminal "Goldeneye" multiplayer mode that re-defined FPS games.

Though some Nintendo Gamecube games still hold up today even in the world of XBOX 360 and beyond, "Agent Under Fire" is not one of them. You would be better off sticking with "Goldeneye" on the N64 than "upgrading" to this.

Agent Under Fire is the best 1st Person Shoot I've ever played! Graphics are awesome, gameplay is intuitive and there are so many features and it's so much fun you just don't get bored! Each time I play each level it becomes even more fun and I always discover something new every time! Definitely buy this game!!!

CIA Agent Zoe Nightshade is investigating a firm called Identicon headed by Nigel Bloch. The firm is into genetic design but the CIA suspect something more sinister Nightshade disappears when trying to get a case of vials to find out exactly what Identicon are up to. Bond investigates when the vials turn out to be human blood with the initials of the world leaders on it and uncovers a plot to replace politicians with clones that will ultimately do Bloch's bidding.

I loved Goldeneye on N64 and the first thing I got when I got a PS2 for a while was Agent Under Fire. I was hoping for the same quality of game and, in some respects that's what I got. The story is good and the graphics are fantastic. However the game was simply too straightforward. There were no puzzles that required a great deal of thought, everything worked in a straight line. On top of this the action is a lot more `just blast' than it was in Goldeneye – often the best way to go is simply to charge in with all guns blazing rather than trying to be clever or skilful. It's a shame because the mix of that is what made Goldeneye good.

This means that with a basic understanding of the game you can easily finish it in a very short time. I borrowed this game for a few days and thought I'd never get through it. Two evenings and one afternoon later I had clocked the game on all but the hardest difficulty level. Surely this shouldn't be possible!?

The multiplayer is OK but the stages are pretty open and not as twisty as I'd like – I like a hunt! Also, why no computer controlled characters – not even one! Even the N64's Perfect Dark was able to have 8 of them. This really takes away from the lasting challenge of the game as not everyone lives with another person who can play (or wants to!). Despite this I'll still pick it up and play a level here or there because it is still very good fun it's just a shame that its longevity is shortened by the actual structure of the game. Overall fans of Goldeneye will enjoy it but finish it very very quickly – even the hidden stuff is quite easy to find and unlock. This is a great game but maybe better to hire or borrow for a week instead of buying it.