Back in 1997, game developer, Rare had created an N64 exclusive that became a legendary game, alongside the likes of DOOM. Now, 20 years later, Goldeneye: Source has arrived…well, it arrived in 2010, but has recently smashed out with a new update. The version I played is Source 5.0.
I’ll be asking our fellow writer, Brian to share his thoughts as he’s the one who informed me that Goldeneye: Source was even a thing, so keep reading to see his thoughts on the game.
Fans of the original game will remember the weirdly proportioned characters, the tiny hallways where the best shootouts went down, the low poly guns you’d hold in your hand, and the happy slapping backhanding you’d deal to the guards. This game was a fantastic gem back in ’97 and gamers loved being able to sit down and pretend to be James Bond. They’d also invite their friends over for some 4-player split screen deathmatching where the phrase, “Stop looking at my screen!” would be shouted.
With the game running on the Valve system, the developers have managed to make the game look almost identical to the original game, only far more high quality. And that’s essentially what this game is. It’s basically like the original Goldeneye has gone off and gotten itself a fancy facelift. Some cosmetic surgery to please the new-age world of beauty freaks.
Character models are now correct in terms of proportions, the skins are high quality and the shading is pretty on point. Weapons have also had a facelift and look correct in terms of perspective.
There’s also some cool sound work that’s gone into the game, not only do the guns sound powerful and impactful, but there’s some great ambience noise…when there’s not a plethora of bullets heading your way. Although, another cool thing is when you die, whilst your screen is being covered in a liquid blood that resembles the movies title sequence blood pour from top to bottom; the bullets that fire overhead become audibly less dominating, and instead muffled and sound like wind whipping past you incredibly fast. It’s a very little detail, but it is executed incredibly well.
The maps also look great now, although I believe the shading could have been increased as it does still look flat, but every colour, texture, and door still has the same feel as it did from the original
The controls are a bit more advanced from the N64 days, and players can now jump, crouch, and open doors…wait, they could open doors previously. The gun panning that was prominent in the original game, in which the gun would pan over the left if the player turned left, and the same to the right has gone. You essentially feel like you’re trapped in Counter Strike: Source running a few mods. Also, there is no cross hair, just like the original; however press the RMB and you pull up a target to help you aim. Basically an iron sights function.
The music has been recomposed for the game, and although it sounds fantastic, and has a great spy theme to it, sometimes the music just doesn’t work in all the levels, and as it turns out, the music is randomised and doesn’t have a set level to play along to.
The general game modes are still prominent, and at the moment there are
- Arsenal
- Capture The Key
- Deathmatch
- License To Kill
- Living Daylights
- Man With The Golden Gun
- You Only Live Twice
Originally the game only had five scenarios to choose from, so two have been added to the game – The ones I bolded – to suit the multiplayer world, and those are the Arsenal and Capture the Key modes. Arsenal mode is a clever system that pits the players against each other, starting with the most powerful weapon available, then with each kill the weapons become weaker, making it harder the more you progress.
Capture the Key is essentially Capture the flag, but with tokens that are scattered around the map. I haven’t found a server running this one yet so I can’t share my thoughts on it.
Ignoring the players ruining the game by screaming down microphones, or blasting, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” (This actually happened) the game runs very nicely. No lagging or server issues with the loading of the maps, and upon the first time loading a map since install, the map files download nice and quick. The only thing I dislike about the online aspects is the dated server list, but this is just me being new-agey.
I’m going to hand you over now to Brian, another huge fan of the original game to share his thoughts on it. Take it away, Brian!
TIME FOR BRIAN
Wow. Just wow. Goldeneye represented my coming-of-age as a gamer – previous to it I was a mere amateur, I realise that now. Goldeneye came about for me in the first year of university, and I can tell you right now – I spent more time playing Goldeneye than going to lectures, seminars and the like! I was good – hell, I was a god at this game… and I didn’t even own it, or an N64! My housemates (I had 12) came to fear me and my innate ability to know where they would spawn, where the best weapons were, where the best mine spots were, how to bounce grenades off the walls just so in order to catch them in the resulting explosion… They made me play one handed – I won. They made me play left-handed – I won. They made me play drunk – I won. Blindfolded? Yeah, I came second…
And now I can do it all again in high-resolution! So is this a good remake? No – it’s a brilliant one! Yes, there are differences (as my esteemed colleague has already mentioned), but the core multiplayer gameplay is still there. There are a few more things to note though – most obviously the shear number of people you’re playing with, and the fact that they’re not sitting right next to you! This has an effect on the experience of playing the game, but in this day-and-age it’s commonplace and therefore doesn’t really detract from the absolute joy I felt playing it. The maps are faithfully reproduced, with a couple of slight differences – for example, the Facility level has an additional route in the air-ducts above the toilets – but these alterations are sympathetically handled and add to the game instead of damaging it in any way.
It’s also worth noting that there is no single-player option – this is multiplayer only, so if you’re not a fan of that aspect of the game it’s best to avoid the remake.
It has to be said, I was a little nervous when i played my first round of Goldeneye: Source… Was I still any good? Could I hold my own nearly 20 years later? Well my housemates would have been pleased to discover that I was completely and utterly owned. I came last. But they’d be less pleased to know that in my second round, I came 3rd 😉
Thanks, Brian!
This is both a fantastic mod created with the SDK engine, and a wonderfully created re-make of a popular game. It appears clear through the finely tuned graphics, GUI, and music, that a hell of a lot of heart and soul went into creating this.
Fancy downloading it? Just visit HERE and get installing!
Comments are closed.