Goldeneye at 25 (ish)

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

set myself a goal during isolation to complete Goldeneye on 00 Agent before a negative test. while this thread's clearly a thinly veiled request for a pat on the head for managing that, I'm sure there's plenty of discussion to be had beyond that as it nears it's 25th anniversary, without derailing FPS nightmares!

can't believe how much fun the game still is after so long. I never gave Secret/00 Agent a real go when I was a kid, so going back and playing it with a whole bunch of extra objectives and really having to think about what to do was great! I don't play many modern games so it was a novelty going back to an old favourite and actually having to figure out a strategy beyond running through shooting everyone and hoping for the best. And little things like realising how effective using just the PP7 can be a lot of the time because when you're a kid it's the most boring gun and you just want to use the RCP-90 any chance you get.

Reading the history of the game again it's remarkable how great it turned out given how inexperienced the team were etc. some good videos out there about it, particularly this one of Mick Fleetwood David Doak giving a talk a few years back.

Also, I was gutted that fan remake, Goldeneye 25 got a C+D from MGM, it looked really impressive.

[confettiinmyhair]

Quite a lot of the time multiplayer on the N64 didn't work with the split screen with four controllers plugged in, particularly if you had a small TV but Goldeneye just seemed to work even in those settings. I think back very fondly to those days. If I remember rightly the Perfect Dark multiplayer had four human players plus AI opponents. I wish Goldeneye had that.

I recall the level when you had to rescue Boris being a complete disaster as he would get in the line of fire.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I got it bundled with the N64 for Christmas that year and it remains probably the biggest leap between console generations that I've ever seen. I remember looking through the sniper rifle, marveling at the motion capture animation on the baddies - then I shot the bastards.

[Noodle Lizard]

I had a multiplayer session with a friend who's still got his N64 a few years ago and was surprised how well it's held up. Perfect Dark was definitely an improved version of it, but there's something nice about the fact that almost everyone from a certain generation remembers and knows their way around every Goldeneye map.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Who was your multiplayer character of choice? I was Baron Samedi, despite everyone thinking he'd be too easy to headshot because of his to hat. They all wanted to be Oddjob, thinking that his stature would make him a smaller target - it was actually a disadvantage though, as his head was at gun height for all the other characters, you could just run up and plug him in the noggin without aiming.

Why was Oddjob short anyway? The character in the films wasn't. Was it because he was East Asian, or did the devs have him mixed up with Nick Nack from The Man With the Golden Gun? Bit dodgy, that.

[idunnosomename]

Never thought of that. He looks kinda short here.



However Harold Sakata was 5'10", Connery was 6'2"

Hervé Villechaize was 3'11" for the record. Yes i think it was prime "getting Bond wrong"

[Chollis]

Connery hiding a boner there

[Joe Qunt]

Connery hiding a boner there

"Never had an Oddjob before."

[Memorex MP3]

when you say it's held up well, do you mean it doesn't totally shit on your memories of it or that you think someone could approach it for the first time now and potentially still enjoy it?

I wasn't able to play it until like 2006 and by then I was getting the impression it wasn't worth checking out so I didn't. Liked the Timesplitters series a fair bit though.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

GoldenTony 64

I had a few multiplayer matches with my mates back in 2007 (only 7 or 8 years after I'd last played it, but it seemed like a very long time back then) and it didn't disappoint at all. We were, admittedly, pissed as newts, which may have contributed to our enjoyment.

On the other hand, I played Timesplitters 2 (while sober) more recently and found that much less enjoyable. The controls, which were pretty much the same as Goldeneye, felt really clunky.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Smart money is on a remake being released this year:

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/01/goldeneye-007-is-getting-a-digital-release-on-xbox

[FredNurke]

Who was your multiplayer character of choice? I was Baron Samedi, despite everyone thinking he'd be too easy to headshot because of his to hat. They all wanted to be Oddjob, thinking that his stature would make him a smaller target - it was actually a disadvantage though, as his head was at gun height for all the other characters, you could just run up and plug him in the noggin without aiming.

I always played as Citizen #4 (little old woman) till I got banned. Impossible to draw a bead on.

A friend used to play as Valentin, and worked out how to kneel and then slid round the levels slapping everyone else to death.

[curiousoranges]

Crying shame that the planned option to play as previous Bond actors was axed.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I could have sworn that was in the game as a cheat, but maybe I'm remembering a cut content photo from a magazine.

Speaking of cheats: More games should include cheats the way this did. It's basically the same system as Achievements/trophies that every game does these days, but fun.

[Noodle Lizard]

Oddjob's the only one who doesn't actually appear in the game itself, right? Baron Samedi and Jaws pop up in the bonus levels, but I don't think Oddjob does.

I remember a kid at school convincing me there was a trick to use Jaws' teeth as a weapon in multiplayer. Spent the whole weekend trying to get it to work before he casually mentioned "Oh yeah, I made that up" on Monday. I'm still plotting my revenge.

[Zetetic]

Biting the cunt seems the most apposite option, but perhaps that's a bit obvious.

[Memorex MP3]

I could have sworn that was in the game as a cheat, but maybe I'm remembering a cut content photo from a magazine.

Speaking of cheats: More games should include cheats the way this did. It's basically the same system as Achievements/trophies that every game does these days, but fun.

I think the textures are on the cart?

[Cold Meat Platter]

There are some fan-made games in the goldeneye engine based on other Bond films.

[Shaky]

With all this talk of a new remake, it's weird how no-one ever mentions the Wii version with it's updated bells and whistles and Brosnan replaced with Craig.

From memory it was pretty decent, if much more of a homogenised, CoD style shooter.

[evilcommiedictator]

I think the textures are on the cart?

Hidden characters

Enter the multi-player mode character selection screen and display the last available character (Mishkin or Moonraker Elite). Then, press the following controller combinations: Hold L + R and press C-Left. Hold L and press C-Up. Hold L + R and press Left. Hold L and press Right. Hold R and press Down. Hold L + R and press C-Left. Hold L and press C-Up. Hold L + R and press Right. Hold L + R and press C-Down. Hold L and press Down. An additional thirty-one characters will now be selectable.

[Magnum Valentino]

A friend of mine knew the game so well that he ended up memorizing (by exposure, not intentionally, I mean) the order in which the game cycles through the fifteen or sixteen enemy grunts and oohs. Ugh. Wtha. etc. He could then entertain the rest of us by telling us which one would be next, shoot a guard, and voila. It was deadly.

I've since noticed those stock exclamations in loads of things myself, particularly in trailers from the 1990s but even more recently in a few really big budget things.

Why has it taken so long for Goldeneye to be re-released? Legal issues to do with likenesses maybe?

Mental that in an age where nostalgia is such prime social currency that fucking GOLDENEYE has never been made available for download.

[earl_sleek]

Why has it taken so long for Goldeneye to be re-released? Legal issues to do with likenesses maybe?

Various different rights holders not willing to play nice with each other, mostly.

Apparently Rare almost got a re-release some time back but someone high up at Nintendo stopped it as they didn't want a Nintendo game appearing on a competitor's platform.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Various different rights holders not willing to play nice with each other, mostly.

Apparently Rare almost got a re-release some time back but someone high up at Nintendo stopped it as they didn't want a Nintendo game appearing on a competitor's platform.

Yup, there was an Xbox 360 version that was completed and ready to go. It got leaked via the old Partnernet and you can play it on an emulator or hacked Xbox 360 console.

[colacentral]

Oddjob's the only one who doesn't actually appear in the game itself, right? Baron Samedi and Jaws pop up in the bonus levels, but I don't think Oddjob does.

I remember a kid at school convincing me there was a trick to use Jaws' teeth as a weapon in multiplayer. Spent the whole weekend trying to get it to work before he casually mentioned "Oh yeah, I made that up" on Monday. I'm still plotting my revenge.

I used to have this Jaws toy from the James Bond Junior cartoon and got to use his teeth to attack people in real life:



Clamp that down on some cunt's ear.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Yup, there was an Xbox 360 version that was completed and ready to go. It got leaked via the old Partnernet and you can play it on an emulator or hacked Xbox 360 console.

haha that fucking face.

(splitting hairs here) I think it was a version or two just before completion that leaked. can't remember what was missing in the leaked version but it's barely anything, still perfectly playable! one thing that surprised me was playing Surface and realising just how small the level is without all the distance fog.

shame it didn't get a release, I can't remember where I read it but wasn't there a bit of progress when they renegotiated recently? thought I'd read that it was scuppered by No Time To Die still not being released and the bond lot not wanting any distraction from it. I'm sure it'll appear eventually but what a luxury it must be to be able to leave money on the table like that.

[crankshaft]

shame it didn't get a release, I can't remember where I read it but wasn't there a bit of progress when they renegotiated recently? thought I'd read that it was scuppered by No Time To Die still not being released and the bond lot not wanting any distraction from it. I'm sure it'll appear eventually but what a luxury it must be to be able to leave money on the table like that.

I think it was Nintendo who stopped it; the rumour at the time was that someone near the top of the Nintendo corporate tree said that there was no way a Nintendo game was appearing on a competitor's console.

[colacentral]

But Rare already released a load of Nintendo games, including Perfect Dark, on the XBox. The odd one out is the one with the Bond license.

[RetroRobot]

But Rare already released a load of Nintendo games, including Perfect Dark, on the XBox. The odd one out is the one with the Bond license.

If I'm remembering right the difference is Nintendo, not Rare, paid for the James Bond license? Rare got to keep the rights to their original IP, Banjo, Conker, PD etc.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Yeah, Nintendo own the Goldeneye game, so even if Microsoft/Rare can get the Bond licence, they need Nintendo's permission to release it.

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

for anyone interested, an announcement for the HD version's likely to be this sunday apparently.