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"GBA SP and 007: Everything or Nothing (GC) first impressions..."

So not a bad start to the day. No dog sick or anything else to clean up and within an hour of getting up my new GBA SP and 007: Everything or Nothing arrived for my GameCube.

Firstly the SP is an extremely nice piece of equipment, it came with a copy of Scorpion King which is surprisingly decent even though it wouldn't have been my first choice of game. I was expecting an uncomfortable layout of the buttons however for me its actually better hold than the original GBA. I have signed up for a new account with Nintendo VIP and went through all my GameCube games which I haven't registered before. Have 1705 stars which isn't too bad for a mornings work!

Secondly I tried the new Bond game from the highly iratic EA Games. In the words of Albino Man, "This has restored my faith in EA"! Absolutely fantastic game from what I have played so far. I know firt impressions can be misleading but it really does feel like a Bond game true to its license. Agent Under Fire was quite fun in my opinion but it really did have serious flaws and problems to prevent it even being mentioned in the same vain as Golden Eye, as for Nightfire, my comments on this are probably best left locked away...

The atmosphere is very 'Golden Eye' like and it captures the magic of the classic N64 title from what I have played. I won't be too hasty though a I can't compare a game I have played for a couple of hours with one I spent hundreds of hours playing. From a single player point of view though it looks to carry on where Golden Eye left off. Instead of having loads of useless equipment you just have the rappel gear, spider bomb and your weapons which so far has been enough to capture the stylish Bond feel.

I will post a more in-depth opinion when I have had chance to clock it at least once.

So yes, great morning so far!

Indeed. I am just a pretty big fan of IO Interactive and have been since the first Hitman on PC. They took the Hitman engine and made a highly enjoyable 3rd person squad combat game but it was spoilt by a short life span.

It had a nice-ish idea, but the aiming had no accuracy about it what so-ever - the game seemed to prefer to let you use the auto aim. And I generally found little need to deploy my men properly, just have them follow.

And worst of all... that awful, over-done, American propaganda! :-S


Did not find it that good at all.

But hey, each to their own. :-)

Oi, don't be cheeky ;)

Freedom Fighters was awesome... whilst it lasted and then it died a horrible death with no replay value of any sort.

I feel Bond will turn out the same way as I am sticking on the same mission until I get the platinum medal and then I am moving onto the next. By the time I have finished I highly doubt I will go back and play it through again (like I did with the Max Payne games). Its not as short as people made out and achieving platinum medals is a lot tougher than it was in previous EA Bond titles.

Then we have the grapple, don't get me started on this feature, this should have appeared years a go in games, genius!

Warning people.

Alistair's amazing writing can make games sound great.
Heck, he made Freedom Fighters sound like the greatest game ever and I went and bought it!

It was "alright", BUT...! :-D


Anysway, I suppose after 6 years EA will finally have worked out what made Goldeneye so good and how they could move it on.
Ali makes it sound very good though. If it wasn't for the Freedom Fighter fiasco, I'd probably be looking to buy it! ;-D

Heh!

ÂLŠ†ÂÎR wrote:

since my earlier bash due to
> Bond and the dog taking up all my time.
>

Interesting choice of words there :)

Played quite a bit more of Bond now and I don't think my opinion will change too much between now and the end of the game. Its on a par with the enjoyable gameplay found in Golden Eye, I know its a bold statement to make but I can't remember the last time I had this much fun messsing around with Bond Moves and repeating each mission several times just to really appreciate it. Its leagues ahead of previous EA Bond titles which makes me wonder why they didn't go for the alternative style first time round, perhaps they were frightened of how people would react after the literally gutting "Tomorrow Never Dies" on the PSONE.

The driving sections so far could actually hold a game on their own and the advanced Need for Speed engine has been used to superb effect, you can even choose what vehicle you wish to take on certain missions. There is a fair amount of slow down apparent when the screen gets clustered with numerous enemies and explosives but due to the frantic nature of the gameplay it comes and goes like a Tesco home delivery service to Rick Waller's house.

Graphically its extremely tasty with some excellent particle and weapon effects and some highly detailed character models which help to round off the overall Bond experience.

The graphics however aren't where the meat and bones lie which is what makes it a popular game with me. The gameplay is the technical definition of fun and unlike the frustratingly easy and annoying Bond games off the past it remins to be a fair challenge on 00 Agent difficulty and due to the versatility of the missions the game is yet to be bogged down with boring/repetitive gameplay.

So far so muchosly superb. Think I might head off for a quick play on the GBA SP, I have sort of neglected it since my earlier bash due to Bond and the dog taking up all my time.

Today though I have made two very sound purchases which is rare as I am usually a bit miffed with at least something that I buy as part of a multi purchase!

I completed Prince of Persia when I had my PS2 and Beyond Good and Evil doesn't interest me at the moment. I already have Metroid Prime, Zelda, Resident Evil Zero and Eternal Darkness to start again all thanks to fooking Burnout 2. I wanted a pick up and play title and its the mutties nutties in this department. A game to restore my faith in EA, brilliant so far!

I lurve the SP. I can now play Doom again.

The GBA SP is just wonderful isn't it.

Everything or Nothing?

Did you choose this over POP and BG&E or as well as?