Spong preview

http://spong.com/feature/10110210/Preview-Goldeneye-007

Spong said:

So I don't recommend throwing all your nostalgia-fuelled hatred at the game just yet. My first impressions – of a full stage, and perhaps one of the most iconic – is positive. You'll probably react to it the same way as I did - in that the Daniel Craig, the not-Sean-Bean and all the changes inbetween would amount to a near-desecration of a 13-year-old classic. But the controls are solid, the detail is impressive and the change in scenery is done in a tasteful, yet interesting way.

Spong said:

In a special preview event earlier today, executive producer Julian Widdows seemed keen to explain just how much the development team respect the original Nintendo 64 classic, insofar as to constantly refer to Rare's 1997 masterpiece at every step of the creative process. Nintendo's own Mario Club – a testing and consultancy division usually reserved for first-party titles – has had a hands-on involvement with control schemes and level design.



          And developer Eurocom has already cut its teeth with past James Bond titles, as well as proven its Wii development worth with Dead Space: Extraction. It really doesn't look like Activision are kidding around when it comes to living up to expectations.

GoldenEye 007: Tanks a Lot IGN preview "GoldenEye looks far superior to Blood Stone on the 360 and PS3"

G4TV Goldeneye preview

Destructoid Goldeneye preview Along with the massive amount of enemies, buildings are getting bombed all around you in an attempt to stop Bond

Goldeneye unlikely to hit other systems

Goldeneye modifier will blow up campers Mode blows you up if you stand still for more than 3 secs

Activision: Goldeneye is our biggest Wii game yet more than 100 guys at Eurocom are working on [GoldenEye 007].

NEWS

There’s no doubt that Eurocom‘s GoldenEye 007 for Wii is a marquee title for publisher Activision. The game re-imagines a classic Nintendo 64 title known as one of the greatest first-person shooters of all time.

And Activision seems to be aware of the project’s magnitude, after talking with Graham Hagmaier, an Activision producer, about the game at a San Francisco press event last week. Hagmaier stated that GoldenEye 007 has the largest Wii development team for an Activision-published game.

“This is the biggest team ever for Activision on a Wii project — more than 100 guys at Eurocom are working on [GoldenEye 007],” Hagmaier said. “This is also the biggest partnership Activision has ever had with Nintendo on a game, too.”

Nintendo unveiled GoldenEye 007 at its E3 2010 press conference in Los Angeles, as well as showcased the game at the company’s booth. But Hagmaier explained that Nintendo’s assistance did not come only from the marketing side.

“[Nintendo] mainly just helped with the gameplay side — constant feedback and constant visits to the developer [Eurocom],” said Hagmaier.

When pressed further about Nintendo’s developmental help, Hagmaier said that he could not reveal any further details. Thus, in regard to being asked about the possibility of Shigeru Miyamoto paying a visit to Eurocom, Hagamaier only laughed and said, “No comment.”

GoldenEye 007: Villains for Hire VIDEO

Gamespot Goldeneye hands on One of the most surprising elements of the demo was just how similar the AI behaviour was to that of the original game

Gamespot said:

This year GoldenEye 007 returns to a Nintendo console with Activision's reimagining of the original classic for the N64. The game is being treated with great respect, says Activision, with the company's largest-ever Wii development team of 125 staff at Eurocom. The studio promises modern gameplay with some nostalgic twists. The game takes place in the new James Bond universe, meaning Daniel Craig as 007 and less gadget-driven action.

The developers also have tremendous Wii experience; they produced last year's underappreciated Dead Space: Extraction. GoldenEye 007 actually runs on the engine created for that game.

The graphical fidelity is mightily impressive for a Wii game, though there are still some rough edges that need to be addressed.

One of the most surprising elements of the demo was just how similar the AI behaviour was to that of the original game. Guards will often perform theatrical rolls and dives before engaging you in combat and will foolishly take refuge behind explosive barrels and crates. There's also a new destructible cover system which helps to keep the gameplay fast and forces you to concentrate. This makes finding cover in which to regenerate health particularly challenging. If you play in 007 Classic difficulty mode, though, health doesn't regenerate at all. Instead, hardcore fans will be able to use the original system of health packs and body armour, right down to the classic HUD design.

This should be a good FPS experience for Wii owners who want some more traditional games for their collection, as well as an awesome trip down memory lane for those who remember the original.

We had a brief chat with Activision producer Gragam Hagmaier on what to look forward to with both the Wii and DS remakes of 007 Goldeneye.

http://nds.gamezone.com/editorials/item/activisions_graham_hagmaier_on_rebooting_goldeneye/

They brought their whole creative staff with them. We got access to their costume designer, their concept artist, the music composer, the writer, and of course all the executive producers. Activision, Eurocom and Danjaq worked together in reviewing builds and asking often, “Would this fit in the James Bond universe? Does this fit Goldeneye?” It like being involved in a film, really. Both this and Blood Stone have had that kind of treatment. That film composer I mentioned actually did the music for Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale. It’s fantastic.

I thought this was pretty cool:

One of the most surprising elements of the demo was just how similar the AI behaviour was to that of the original game. Guards will often perform theatrical rolls and dives before engaging you in combat and will foolishly take refuge behind explosive barrels and crates. There's also a new destructible cover system which helps to keep the gameplay fast and forces you to concentrate. This makes finding cover in which to regenerate health particularly challenging. If you play in 007 Classic difficulty mode, though, health doesn't regenerate at all. Instead, hardcore fans will be able to use the original system of health packs and body armour, right down to the classic HUD design.

New  Nintendo Power pics

GoldenEye

- tone of the original game changed due to Craig's more gritty portrayal of Bond

- Bond arrives in Severnaya before the GoldenEye satellite is activated

- frigate level takes place in Dubai instead of Monaco

- new level in Zukovsky's nightclub

- Zukovsky is now a hard-edged mobster

- use the 'subdue' command to take out enemies quietly

- this could include choking someone out, taking them out with a back blow, or smashing someone's head into a rock

- using silenced weapons works for stealth, but you have to make sure no one sees you shoot

- alerted enemies can call for reinforcements

- backup example - backup enemies arrive in a helicopter and enemies rappel out

- backup example - backup enemies arrive via snowmobile

- destructible cover

- multiple routes in levels

- stages divided into sub-areas

- blowing your cover in one area won't screw you over in teh next

Goldeneye roundtable preview

Goldeneye can control without the sensor bar

GoldenEye 007 Producer Discusses Wii Remote Controls, Co-Op

http://www.nintendojo.com/news/single-stories/goldeneye-007-producer-discusses-wii-remote-controls-co-op

Activision has not shown GoldenEye 007 playable with Wii Remote and Nunchuk. But do not fret, according to the publisher.

Julian Widdows, an executive producer at Activision, said Wednesday in a conference call that pointer controls are his preferred method of playing GoldenEye 007 on Wii. In fact, he believes the game ups the ante for Wii Remote controls on Nintendo’s home console.

Widdows said that Activision and developer Eurocom worked “really closely with Nintendo” to make the controls as good as possible. And this partnership included “working really close with the Mario Club in Europe” to optimize Wii Remote and Nunchuk controls, he said.

GoldenEye 007 also offers players a plethora of customization options, according to Activision. In the game, you can adjust:

• Dead Zone
• Max Turn Speed
• Horizontal Turn Speed
• Vertical Turn Speed
• Cursor Sensitivity
• Auto Re-center
• Turn While Off-screen
• Aim Assist

But what about players who choose the Classic Controller Pro, especially online, to play GoldenEye? When questioned about multiplayer balance issues with various control schemes, Widdows said, “We [Activision and Eurocom] did not find it a problem with people playing with the Classic Controller Pro [in online testing].”

Activision Explains Lack of Co-op in GoldenEye 007

Activision and Eurocom hope GoldenEye 007 becomes the ultimate Wii multiplayer game. The title features a robust 4-player split-screen mode, as well as 8-player matches online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. But missing from the gamut of options is a co-op mode for friends to play together.

Widdows addressed the exclusion of co-op from GoldenEye 007. He said, “The fiction would be stretched for the single-player campaign.” He wondered aloud whom the second player would control and believed co-op just did not make sense.

When asked about a co-op mode similar to Horde (from Gears of War fame) or Firefight (from Halo fame), Widdows said those two features still did not fit into the Bond mold. Basically, Widdows felt that co-op was not a “problem that needed to be solved [for GoldenEye 007].”

GoldenEye 007 hits store shelves Nov. 2 as a standard package at a MSRP of $49.99 or as a Gold Controller Bundle at a MSRP of $69.99.

GoldenEye 007 Villains, Weapons, and Choices Video