Game Reviews

Many gamers have fond memories of the four-player split-screen deathmatches of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64, one of the most acclaimed games of its generation. I'm not one of them; I never played it. However, without any predisposition as to how the franchise should be revived on the Wii, it's clear that this year's GoldenEye 007 is a remarkably competent first-person shooter, marred by a handful of snags in execution. And before you ask, I don't count substituting Daniel Craig for Pierce Brosnan as a snag.

GoldenEye 007 doesn't just ape the name of its N64 predecessor; it rehashes the plot from 1995's GoldenEye film, while leaving some holes in the plot exposition and swapping in a completely different Bond. With 15 years of dust on that storyline, I forgive you if you don't remember it -- playing this game probably won't jog your memory all that much, either. But at least the character models, voice acting (including Daniel Craig and Judi Dench), and music are of high enough quality to provide a decent cinematic experience.In the single-player campaign, GoldenEye excels in its "creep 'n' pop" play style. Whenever you fire at an enemy with a silenced weapon such as Bond's standard-issue Walther P99, or whenever enemies notice you, the game plays a dramatic sound cue, followed by Bond's heartbeat. You have about two seconds to eliminate any enemy that you've alerted to your presence -- generally only one or two at a time -- or reinforcements will flood your location. At that point, you either have to do a run-and-gun massacre or quickly avoid them on the way to the next checkpoint. A few more action-heavy missions notwithstanding, it's clear that those firefights are meant to be the exceptions rather than the rule. But it's just plain exhilarating to silently crouch-walk around a room full of fools, leaving silent reminders of your visit in each of their heads.The game isn't all action, though; aside from shooting,