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Back in the N64 days, one of my
favorite games was the original GoldenEye, the 'console seller' and probably one
of the most successful games ever made. It was easily my favorite Bond title,
even outmatching The World is Not Enough when that came out. And today,
as I finished Agent Under Fire, I thought "GoldenEye STILL hasn't been
matched".
Agent Under Fire, henceforth referred to by AUF, is the first 3D
007 endeavor (aside from the abysmal 007 Racing) that isn't based on a
movie. The game stars, obviously, James Bond/Agent 007 as he tries to stop an
evil corporation headed by a femme fatales Malprave that has begun
cloning humans with a man named Nigel Bloch. An archetypical Bond plot - silly
premise, scantily clad objects... err, women, an enemy with a European accent,
some massive corporation/tyrant that is trying to do something very very bad, et
cetera. Cheesy, but I suppose, especially in light of Die Another Day, it
can suffice as a Bond plot. Standards are rock bottom anyway.
Gameplay in Agent Under Fire is, honestly, predictable. Sitting there
now, you can probably make a sound guess as to the type of gameplay this EA Bond
game offers. Shooting, driving, some (and I mean some) stealth/infiltration, a
bit of espionage; mostly, however, the game is a run-n-gun, goreless killfest.
There are a scant twelve missions in all, with a few of those being vehicular
on-rails shooters and the rest on-foot. The vehicle missions are pretty cool
and, in my opinion, the best aspect of the game. In them, Bond is positioned in
a moving vehicle (that the player does not control) and he fends off attackers
from all angles. There are two missions where you can actually control Bonds BMW
and use the weaponry built into that. The bulk of the game, however, is spent on
foot.
Bonds latest adventure features a bevy of weapons for various purposes. Among
others, the SS 400 Sniper rifle, a missile launcher, uzi, Frenesi shotgun, the
PS-100, the D17 (which is a more powerful version of the PS-100 with a scope
implanted on the top), and good ol' fashioned grenades. As for pick-ups, aside
from new weapons/weapon ammo, a Body Armor suit and oxygen for the Q-Jet are
strewn about the various levels.
And what would any Bond game be without gadgets? AUF features several gadgets
from the new Q himself. This time, the gadgets have been implanted into Bonds
cell phone - the bold statement dealing with the 'all-in-one' cell phone fad
here is rather clever, though it juxtaposes highly with the decidedly unclever
rest of the game. The gadgets in AUF help Bond accomplish numerous tasks - the
Jet(pack), grapple hook-like Claw, Decrypter, Remote, and Laser are used in
various ways throughout the game. One mission, for instance, has Bond using the
hook to swing from one building to another in a city street, while another has
Bond using the Remote to disrupt the cloning process and halt Malpraves
operation.
With a mere twelve levels, Agent Under Fire feels like a rushed game, although
it doesn't play like one (solid gameplay, fairly smart AI, fluid controls).
While the last six or so levels are pretty long, the game can still be completed
in an afternoon. The Multiplayer mode is not spectacular, either (though like
the main game, and if you have an acquaintance+controller handy, it can kill an
afternoon). Though I haven't played NightFire, I hope it at least rectified the
duration problem of AUF, as that is the most significant flaw in this game.
The visuals look nice; not spectacular, but serviceable. What I like about AUF
mostly, is the absence of anything to gripe about - no slowdown or frame rate
drops, few anti-aliasing issues, et cetera. One thing does stand out above the
rest of the package, though. The facial models look superb - they're almost
lifelike, especially that of Nigel Bloch. Some of the room textures in the final
level, Evil Summit, are pretty 'spiffy' as well.
Sound... I got sick of the repetitive Bond tune a few times, and the rest of the
music isn't worth mentioning. The voice overs are alright - the Bond sound-alike
almost had me convinced that it was Pierce Brosnan (is it?) (Editor's note: No,
it isn't, imdb.com actually lists two different voice actors who play the part
of Bond for this game.) and the
rest of the cast isn't too bad either. What stands out most about the sound in
AUF is the roar of gunfire - the weaponry herein sounds very convincing.
Is it worth getting? If you can find it for about 20 to 30 bucks then yes, but
otherwise get something with better longevity - Halo, Brute Force, or possibly
NightFire, would be heartier experiences. While it improves upon 007 Racing,
Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World is Not Enough, Agent Under Fire feels too
rushed for me to give it a recommendation higher than "rental" or "bargain".
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