They've made yet another game called GoldenEye again, which should have the smart shopper wonder what the deal is. Is James Bond's fourth game called GoldenEye worth getting, let alone worth the name of the first great game to bear that name?
Stephen Totilo, who had the Nintendo 64 original just about bolted into his system back in the day—mostly for the single-player: To be clear, this is a storyline remake of the movie that inspired the first, beloved Nintendo 64 GoldenEye game. It is not a level-for-level reconstruction of Rare's creation. It's also not the miserable GoldenEye: Rogue Agent released in 2004 by EA. This is, instead, an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 modified re-release of last year's very good, formerly Wii-exclusive James Bond game (Read our review of it from last year.) You get your multiplayer in this one, split-screen for up to four people, and online up 16, with all the Bond Golden Guns and oddball side characters you'd want. You get a new feature: Mi6 Missions that construct combat or stealth challenges in 11 of the game's multiplayer maps and reward players for score, with all sorts of difficulty modifiers available to make things tougher (these are the equivalent of Arkham City's Riddler challenge rooms, Bond-style).
The draw for me is the prettier version of the Wii game's wonderful campaign. You can run-and-gun through it, as if it's a standard modern first-person shooter, but it is more satisfying to proceed through it with care and thought. Enter a room, sneak up on a guard, knock him out silently, shoot out a security camera, take cover, steal some intel, crawl past guards, etc. Each room can be approached like a puzzle; each rewards mastery of careful play rather than the charge-and-run of the Call of Dutys of the world.
There are other games to get this season for a multiplayer first-person shooter fix. The value here is if you want an FPS campaign that will tax your tactical mind and not just your reflexes. If you got the Wii version last year, there's no need to spring for the new one. But if you skipped it, get this for the solo mode. Multiplayer is gravy. Should you buy this? Yes.
Michael Fahey, who hasn't played Reloaded and was fine with the new Bond until the testicular trauma:
I played the hell out of the original GoldenEye game for the Nintendo 64, enough to be incredibly excited when the Wii version came out last year. I acquired a copy, played through the story, dabbled in multiplayer, and my nostalgia itch was sated; my excitement spent. There were problems with the Wii version of the game, problems that I understand are being fixed in Reloaded. Full online multiplayer support with friends you can chat with, upgraded graphics, tighter controls; these are all things I craved from the Wii version.
A year ago I would have been overjoyed to upgrade to something meatier, but the months have passed and my criticisms of the Wii version have faded, leaving only the pleasant feeling of having played a solid tribute to one of the greatest console shooters ever made.
Now I wouldn't deny another Goldeneye fan, one that couldn't play last year's version, a chance to scratch that itch. If the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 versions are your first chance to revisit the classic, then by all means go for it. As for me, I'm good, thanks. Yes.
Evan Narcisse, who's played the retail version of Reloaded for a few hours and thinks that Daniel Craig's the first Bond since Connery who makes you believe he's capable of killing someone:
I never owned an N64. In the console wars of my youth, I pledged allegiance to Sega. So I've never quite understood the collective nostalgia around the GoldenEye video game brand. I know what it did in terms of execution-fun, console FPS, that splitscreen multiplayer, etc.—but having never played it, that was all academic to me. I didn't really get into last year's GoldeEeye return on the Wii because too much else was going on for me to give it any time
But this game makes me understand all the love GoldenEye gets. Reloaded is open and free-wheeling, in what seems to be an accurate homage to the feel of the orginal N64 release. I was surprised to see how wide and branching the levels are and how much I was free. And while the plot's concerns are serious, the experience never feels as grim as so many other shooters out there. It's a fast-paced, adrenaline-centric offering that provides a nice change of pace from most recent shooters. Yes.
Gut Check is an off-the-cuff impression of what we think of a game: what we'd tell a friend; how we'd respond on Twitter or Facebook or over a beer if someone asked us "Would you buy this game?"