James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
| Developer: Griptonite Games | Publisher: Electronic Arts |
| Release Date: November 17, 2003 | Also On: GCN, PS2, & Xbox |
Nightfire was the FPS to own during the fall shopping season in the year 2002. Electronic Arts was going to capitalize on this momentum with a fall 2003 release of Everything or Nothing for consoles, but that was pushed back until February 2004, and the GBA version launched in 2003 all by itself. It played as a model for what the James Bond franchise would morph into, going from FPS to third-person action/stealth title.
Let’s first get a grip of the control scheme. R is used to crouch James, while B is used to stealth attack/melee, A is used to shoot your gun, select to toggle between items, and L uses the item that is selected. Medi-kits revive health, while other items, such as grenades, can be used as weapons. Bond also has mines, bullets that will remove a nanobot protective suit on guards, etc.
Everything or Nothing ditches the FPS genre for a more stealthy, third-person approach. We learned from Electronic Arts, while I was in Los Angeles, that MGM wanted Bond to move away from the shoot-em-up feel of GoldenEye. Shooting guys in the head wasn’t Bond, it was more of a villain’s approach. This is probably where the idea for Everything or Nothing came in, because unlike Nightfire and other first-person Bond shooters, you’re encouraged to use stealth. Actually let me go a little further, you’re rewarded for using stealth. By using stealth, you are awarded with points that can be used at the Q-Lab. You can upgrade armor, accuracy, speed, and blast range, along with the purchase of gadgets, such as an item that slowly restores your health.
Obviously a stealth game would be quite difficult in the first-person, so Electronic Arts opted for a third-person perspective. Gone are the days of Doom-like graphics, which was the case for Nightfire (GBA), and in are the days of isometric level designs. I didn’t have much confidence in this to begin with, but it works quite appropriately. Bond is controlled with the control pad quite responsively. An arrow (or target, if you will), appears on an enemy, crate, etc. when you can shoot it. Your range is usually much improved when standing. You must be facing an item or enemy in order to shoot them with the target.
As stated, this is a stealth/action title. In the upper-left hand of the screen is an alert meter. This will display, sort of like Splinter Cell, how clearly an enemy can see you. There is also a handy radar system in place on the upper-left hand of the screen. The green arrows display enemies and the red dot is where your objective is located.
Everything or Nothing isn’t just shooting and stealth. There are some boss fights; one of note is the first one with Jaws, where you must blow up barrels that he throws at you, while trying to stay far away enough to not get injured. Another gameplay diversion is the driving levels. Ripped from SpyHunter in the arcades, you can oil slick, machine gun, and use devastating missiles on your foes.
The in-game jokes aren’t as funny as they could have been. I found one, where a guard tells a fellow guard about his former employer, Max Zorin, and how a British agent spoiled their plans, to be corny. Of course, that movie was from the 1980’s, so it’s a bit hard to imagine a guard from A View to a Kill being employed in a current Bond situation. Then again, maybe there’s no concept of time in the Bond universe.
The game is fun, while it lasts. It should take no longer than five hours to beat. This isn’t necessarily a “pick up and play� title, because it does require some patience and retries, but it nonetheless captures the essence of James Bond rather well for a handheld title. Now, if only we could get a picture of Christopher Walken playing a GBA, we’ll be set.
| Graphics: | 7 |
| Sound: | 8 |
| Gameplay: | 8 |
| Creativity: | 8 |
| Replay Value/Game Length: | 4 |
| Final: | 7 |
| Written by Kyle | Review Guide |
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