GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
North American cover art Patrick Price pictured
Developer(s)	EA Los Angeles (PS2/Xbox/GameCube) EA Tiburon, n-Space (DS)
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	November 22, 2004 PlayStation 2 NA November 22, 2004 PAL November 26, 2004 Xbox NA November 22, 2004 PAL November 26, 2004 GameCube NA November 22, 2004 PAL December 3, 2004 Nintendo DS NA June 13, 2005 PAL July 1, 2005
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T OFLC: M PEGI: 12+
Media/distribution	2 × Nintendo optical disc, 1 × DVD-ROM

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a 2004 action-adventure Science-Fiction First-Person Shooter video game, developed and published by Electronic Arts. Despite it is set in an alternate timeline of James Bond universe, the player takes the role of an ex-MI6 agent who is recruited by Auric Goldfinger, a member of a powerful unnamed criminal organization, to assassinate his rival Dr. No. Several other characters from the Bond film series make appearances throughout the game, including Pussy Galore, Oddjob, and Xenia Onatopp as well as Francisco Scaramanga, playing a Q type character with the voice and likeness of Christopher Lee, who played the same character in 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun.

Plot

At the start of Rogue Agent, a recording by M (head of MI6) reveals that: "Three years ago, while on assignment, the agent was severely wounded in an encounter with Dr. No, and subsequently lost the use of his right eye. Consumed with vengeance, he frequently resorts to violence and brutality, and is no longer fit for service with MI6." According to the account, the agent was shot in his right eye by Dr. No during a mission.

Three years after the incident which claimed the agent's right eye, he is evaluated through a holographic simulation in which he is paired with 007 to stop Auric Goldfinger, a member of a criminal organization, from detonating a suitcase nuke inside Fort Knox. He fails the test, and is held directly responsible for the "death" of 007. Charged with "reckless brutality", he is dismissed from MI6. As he leaves the headquarters, he is seen reading an offer by Goldfinger to enlist in his organization.

The agent accepts Goldfinger's offer and is recruited as his enforcer, meeting with him at Auric Enterprises, where Goldfinger's scientists have developed a weapon known as the OMEN (Organic Mass Energy Neutralizer), which releases energy capable of breaking down organic matter on a nearly atomic level, resulting in disintegration. For his job of eliminating Dr. No, a fellow official of the criminal organization who has declared war on Goldfinger's branch of the organization, he is given a gold-hued cybernetic eye created by Francisco Scaramanga, another official of Goldfinger's organization (from which he receives his codename "GoldenEye") Scaramanga provides upgrades for the eye, starting with MRI vision. At Hong Kong, GoldenEye has to get a sniper rifle to take down Dr. No with the EM hack feature. At the Midas Casino, GoldenEye has to get to the vault (which can be found in multiplayer) to protect the OMEN with the magnetic polarity shield. At the Hoover Dam, GoldenEye has to destroy the dam and kill Xenia Onatopp. GoldenEye also tosses Oddjob over a rail into a pit inside the Hoover Dam after he betrays and attacks GoldenEye for unknown reasons. At The Octopus, GoldenEye has to download the navigation coordinates to Crab Key with the help of the generated force field from his golden eye Dr. No's base. He is eventually sent to Crab Key, where he confronts Dr. No. During their duel, GoldenEye uses his mechanical eye to sabotage the island's nuclear reactor, causing it to electrocute Dr. No. Upon No's death, Goldfinger contacts GoldenEye and informs him that he believes he is too dangerous to be left alive, and that he had contacted GoldenEye earlier and told him to activate a program which would shut down the Lair's defense grid. Goldfinger reveals that he is intent on taking over the Lair, and leaves GoldenEye to die in the impending nuclear meltdown. GoldenEye, however, manages to escape in Dr. No's osprey before the reactor overloads and the island is destroyed in a large explosion.

GoldenEye returns to the Lair intent on confronting Goldfinger. Pussy Galore rendezvous with GoldenEye and informs him that Goldfinger has used the OMEN to wipe out most of the Lair's guards, and taken control of it. Scaramanga provides the mechanical eye with a computer virus which he can use to overload the OMEN.

GoldenEye fights his way through the Lair, implanting the computer virus in the process, eventually reaching the area where Goldfinger and the OMEN are. Goldfinger traps GoldenEye inside a chamber which he claims will soon be devoid of oxygen. The computer virus then activates the OMEN, causing it to explode in a burst of energy, killing Goldfinger and his troops. GoldenEye and Galore leave the Lair aboard Galore's chopper, and Scaramanga and Number One (Ernst Stavro Blofeld) later discuss what to do with GoldenEye, and decide to simply see what he does next before proceeding.

Multiplayer

The game featured a highly customizable multiplayer component. It featured 4-player split screen play, as well as online play on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. On November 26, 2006, the servers for both versions were shut down due to "inactivity" online. Players can unlock additional customization options, skins, maps, and gametype variations by playing through Story Mode and performing well. There are some locked skins such as Oddjob, Dr. No, and Xenia Onatopp. There are also locked maps such as the Pump Room, Carver's Press, the BathHouse, the Vault Core, the Lower Turbine, Dr. No's reactor, the Fissure Platform, and GoldenEye's Retreat.

Cancelled Sequel

A sequel was originally planned but scrapped due to poor sales and reviews. The game's ending heavily suggested a sequel as well. According to various sources, the sequel would have included vehicles and a longer story mode. On the EA website for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, a form with many questions about what fans wanted to see in the next game was available. Rogue Agent's engine for the DS was used as a concept for a version of Halo: Combat Evolved for Nintendo's handheld (informally called Halo DS), but didn't get past verification, despite a playable demo being made.^[1]

Reception

Rogue Agent was largely considered to be an attempt to recreate the success of one of the best-selling video games in recent history, GoldenEye 007,^[2][3] which was a first-person shooter for the Nintendo 64 based on the Bond film GoldenEye. Aside from the character Xenia Onatopp, the Uplink multiplayer level, and the fact that both involve a good agent going bad (although in the case of the original, not the protagonist), GoldenEye: Rogue Agent actually has nothing to do with either the film GoldenEye or its video game adaptation although his scarred appearance considerably resembles Sean Bean's portrayal of rogue agent, Alec Trevelyan, in that film.

Rogue Agent was preceded by the critically acclaimed Bond game Everything or Nothing which featured the likeness and voice talents of Pierce Brosnan, Willem Dafoe and Judi Dench along with other Bond actors. Rogue Agent, however, was released to mediocre reviews. Reviewers criticized its lack of innovation and personality, despite its unique premise, as well as its mediocre gameplay. Several reviewers also disliked its departure from James Bond canon in its introduction and killing off of characters.

The game was however noted for showcasing certain levels and multiplayer maps based on locations from the Bond movies, such as Fort Knox from Goldfinger, the space shuttle base from Moonraker, and Scaramanga's hideout from The Man with the Golden Gun.

References

1. ^ "SR388 Sanctuary - Halo DS". http://blogs.ign.com/Matt-IGN/2007/10/02/67886. 
2. ^ "Gamespot". http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/jamesbond007goldeneye2/review.html. 
3. ^ "About.com". http://xbox.about.com/od/reviews/fr/goldeneyerarev.htm. 

External links

• GoldenEye: Rogue Agent at MobyGames