James Bond 007: NightFire Review

The British agent has finally returned to the “Box, Xbox”. Ever since the release of GoldenEye 007, still no Bond game has accomplished what Rare managed. With more powerful hardware and a much larger company now working on the Bond series, EA still hasn’t brought their games up to the ranks of the classic GoldenEye. Undoubtedly, Nightfire was unable to beat GoldenEye, but nonetheless, it is much better than its predecessor Agent Under Fire.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, with Nightfire. EA’s Need for Speed racing teamed up with the core Bond development team at Eurocom to release what is easily the best 007 since GoldenEye. We should compliment EA for asking Mr. Brosnan to use his digital likeness in the game. It adds a lot to the overall credibility of the project for the actual movie Bond to be in the game rather.

One thing that is a relief are the variety of objectives there are in the solo player missions. From sniping missions, to stealth, to all out rifles, to submarines, and then to even the moon – you’re covering a lot of weaponry and ground. The good thing for Nightfire is that it is not based on a 007 movie, meaning it is not restricted to a movie script. If I were to take the best 007 moments of all time and put some of them into one game, the result would be Nightfire. We must give them a thumbs up on their storyline this time around and marvelous in-game movies.

The graphics are splendid with realistic faces. Bond is, of course, Pierce Brosnan this time around instead of someone created in the studio. Nightfire features beautiful worlds with superb detail and no drop in frame rate. The driving levels are pretty bland, simple and boring. They are less attractive, but they are still fun to play and have a great amount of detail.
On the other hand, the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (which was in Die Another Day) is awesome and I must say that the driving levels are much more detailed and less blocky than they were in Agent Under Fire. Overall, a mixed bag for the driving.

The sound is impressive, with great Bond music and remarkable sound effects. The voice acting was well done and the Dolby Digital worked well with my ears. I must comment that I am a huge Bond fan with all of the movies and I must say that I never get bored with the classic Bond theme. Actually, it revs me up and helps me kick some serious ass. The James Bond theme and other songs change depending on your situation and sometimes might even help you realize that you are in danger. There is also a new title song done exclusively for the game titled “Nearly Civilized” and is performed by the group known as Esthero. It might not be the best Bond title song, but it gets the job done.

Even though the game itself is quite easy, the multiplayer is strong and keeps you coming back for more. There are of course hidden unlockables to find and extend the life of the game. Overall, Nightfire is a huge treat for a true Bond and FPS fan. It will last you until the next stellar Bond game comes out with its ultra impressive multiplayer and in-game movies. I must add that I have played all the Nightfire versions fully through (GCN, PC, PS2 and Xbox) and I have found that not only is the Xbox version the easiest to get used to, but it does have slightly better graphics than the others. Add to that, the GameCube version has terrible controls and you come with the conclusion that you should buy the Xbox version of the game if you own more than one next-gen console.