Old Game First Impressions: Goldeneye 64 (Single Player)

Goldeneye is a game fondly remembered by a generation of players for its frantic 4 way split screen multiplayer, replete with strategic ghosting (being a screenwatching little turd) and the rush to choose, or embargo on, Oddjob for being the ultimate in cheap. For this reason I'm going to cover the multiplayer component separately to the much less nostalgia-hyped single player campaign. Well that, and the fact I don't have multiple controllers yet so can't test it out. 

Gaze into the face of fear!

Coming to Goldeneye from a modern perspective, one thing is immediately obvious: it looks like shite. The character models are pretty basic, bearing about as much resemblance to actual humans as the stick figures in an exercise book margin do. Added to this are dodgy animations, though the pointless sidewards roll being rocked by most of the disposable flunkies  is a sight to behold. To round out the visuals, are the hallmarks of this era of 3D games: muddy textures and a draw distance that, though familiar to myopics such as myself, can make it difficult to deal with enemies that are lost in the very fog used to "hide" the draw distance issues, for  particular reference see the Severnaya surface missions.

The most amazing thing about the truly horrifying graphics (again, this is by modern standards) is that after 10 minutes I'd stopped caring. After another 20 it was only in the really open areas, (Severnaya I'm looking at you... again), that I was even noticing, and that was only because of the draw distance/fog allowing guys to shoot me before I could see them. The only crime that Goldeneye 64 really commits graphically is being a product of its time. Whilst, in my opinion, 16 bit sprite graphics are fairly timeless, and cel shaded 3D (Wind Waker, Jet Set Radio, Borderlands...ish) holds up long after contemporary "realistic" 3D looks dated, early the polygonal graphics of the Playstation and N64 generation have aged the worst of any mainstream graphical style. The ambitions of the designers very much outstripped the capabilities of the hardware, leading to the aforementioned low quality textures, iffy models and persistent fog over every outdoor area. Still, the graphics aren't so bad as to hinder enjoyment, and there is genuine fun to be had, not as a nostalgia trip (I didn't have an N64 growing up, and never played singleplayer at friend's houses) but as a real solid gaming experience.

Mmmm, muddy.

Speaking of the gameplay, one thing that immediately shocked me was how well suited to the console controls this game was. Until I played Halo 3 on XBox 360, I had never come across a first person shooter that really worked well on a controller. Timesplitters 2 on PS2 was fun for instance, but I never got on with the controls, same with Metroid Prime on the Gamecube. In the case of the latter, I really tried hard to get enjoy it out of respect for the series but never could get past the limitation of the controls. Well, after playing Goldeneye, its clear that I should have been looking backwards to the N64 for an FPS experience that worked properly on a console. Rare seem to have truly looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the input method and have tailored the game to it rather than attempting to cram a PC-like shooter experience onto a pad. This is best achieved through the implementation of a reasonably high amount of autoaim, overcoming the issue of the difficulty of fine aim with a controller, especially the N64 controller, as opposed to a mouse. Manual aim is possible, and needed for certain set pieces such as shooting locks, but it only serves to highlight how right Rare were in making the decision of marginalising manual aim as a game mechanic. Seeing as shooting is a big part of any first person shooter, getting this key mechanic right goes a great distance toward creating a spectacular feeling game experience.

Sadly, its not all great. Interior levels may overcome the fog issue (that's your drinking game kids!) but they can have a tendency toward being labyrinthine and this leads to walking around in circles looking for the illusive door, key, or item that will allow you to progress. Objectives too can be rather obtuse, but this is often as rewarding as it is confusing, as you have to think about what you are doing and make a decision on what the game is asking. An example that stands out is an objective to sever a bunker's communication links. If you merely interact with the communications array, then you will activate it and fail the objective, something that is counter-intuitive both to modern by-the-numbers shooter objectives and even to interaction based objectives in the game up to that point. However, if you think about it, the instructions were clear, "sever" the link; not activate or play with it. Instead, what you do is fill the communications unit full of lead. Still, it was annoying to fail the objective the first time around. In spite of these minor gripes, the gameplay is solid with the good really outweighing the niggling details.

The sound design deserves special mention, particularly the music, which is pretty good for what seem to be 90 second loops (which would not be surprising given the storage limitations of the N64 Carts). The music works well in generating an appropriate atmosphere and manages to be unobtrusive without being boring and repetitive without being annoying, both difficult tricks of pull off. 

The sound effects in the game are, unfortunately, a little weaker, whilst the western-esque ricochet noises are a nice touch, the guns themselves can "feel" a little  anemic thanks to sounding just a little light. Not quite as bad as the Aliens pulse rifle (oh yeah, I went there) but still, sound is a big part in giving an in game gun a feeling of impact, and in Goldeneye's case this seems to be lacking. 

So, overall impressions (based upon about 4-5 hours of play for reference) are really quite good. The game is slick, controls well, and is a tight, cohesive package. Of course it isn't perfect, but many of my gripes with it are indicative of games of the period, and as much as people love to moan on the internet, there have been advances in game design since 1997. Nevertheless, I will be playing Goldeneye to completion because it isn't just a milestone in FPS history, it's also a damn good game.