James Bond 007: AGent Under Fire - GameCube Review

April 25th, 2002

What does KOL think of James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire?

Dub-0-7 HAS COME BACK TO A NINTENDO PLATFORM! And to every platform, luckily for everyone. The 007 franchise is a dangerous one for a developper to take on. There is so much to live up to and get "right" about the James Bond legend, and so many ways to totally muck it up. This game succeeds in telling the tale quite flawlessly, and even adds some new stuff along the way. It might as well BE the next movie. Now with that aside, a game can have a brilliant story, and control like a recliner with a broken track. This is not the fish here. The controls do take a bit to get used to, but once you do, you will find that they do work quite well, and really couldn't work in any drastically different layout, without using a keyboard and mouse, or dumbing the controls down to that of Goldeneye. This scheme brings us the "run-one-way-shoot-the-other-way" style of control found in all quality FPS games. With that said, don't be thinkin', Laddy, tha' thissin benny en Shotta crappata baduns geem. It isn't, and in usual Jimmy B. fashion, there's alot of the stuff that spys got into the biz for. You got the sneakin' through ducts, snappin' pix of stuff and places, and stuff. You've got high-speed chases through foreign streets in cars you'll never get to drive, with weapons out your tailpipe, dodging rockets, and dropping choppers onto unsuspecting tanks. The car sequences control as slickly as any arcade racer, and still pull off plot developpent at the same time. These are seriously fun levels, that WILL get replayed alot. And when you get sick of the driving, there are always the "shooting gallery on rails type levels, Where stuff will get broken, and more stuff WILL explode! And let's not leave out the beautiful ladies. What bond flick would be complete without J.B. hitting on anything with a cellular structure.

This game plays out in beautiful Dolby surround, as do most GC games, and looks incredible. the lighting and textures are very solid, a few levels could use a little more minute detail, but not many. Being able to turn lights off or on would have been useful many times. A big complaint of mine is that the bad guys seem to have eyes in the backs of their heads often, and will notice you even while sneaking slowly and silently, crouching all the while. That sucks dude. Another complaint of mine, is that Bond seems to be able to live after taking enough damage to kill him 3 times. there are an abundance of vests that recharge your life, but you never need them.

The biggest gripe I have with this game is in it's multiplayer mode. I don't know if more characters are unlockable, but I sure hope so. There aren't many in there, Yet there are so many characters in the game. I also believe that NO MULTIPLAYER GAME SHOULD BE WITHOUT CREATE-A-PLAYER!!! Most of the levels are good, but could all stand to be bigger. The level specific hazards such as the grape squisher in the wine brewery level are a nice touch. My next complaint is that there are no pictures of the weapons in the weapon selection menu. I played this game for a week, and still had trouble knowing what I was getting when so many of the weapons have names like: gS111528v or b8772-591. Like come on here, what are these, Gameshark codes or guns? Only someone like Deus would be able to tell the difference!

While I had this game rented, I played it way too much. It will make you late for work, and forget about eating, so excersise caution when renting or, yes, BUYING, this game. Because just like good old Goldeneye, it is way too much fun to simply put down and say, "OK, it's time to stop now, and resume the life of a normal human being." Instead you will say, "Well this level DOES only take 7 minutes, I think I've got a bit more time to play." Right, well it's a damn trap, and there should be a toll-free number for this game's victims.

KOL likes James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire.

The inmates run the Asylum now! The crazy and the outcast can now flood the world with their Delusions and deliteful ramblings! Hellooooo, Nurse!

- Cory