GoldenEye 007

aka: GoldenEye
Moby ID: 3528
Nintendo 64 Specs
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Description official descriptions

The name is Bond. James Bond. The famous hero of Ian Fleming's novels returns in this first-person shooter, which is based on the movie of the same name. Agent 007 and his friend Alec Trevalyan (a.k.a. Agent 006) were sent to the Soviet Union on a secret mission. But everything goes wrong, James Bond barely escapes, and his friend is presumed dead.

Ten years later, a mysterious organization named "Janus" appeared. Commanding a new satellite called "GoldenEye", the organization attempts to steal money electronically from banks, deleting all evidence of transfer. It's up to our Agent 007 to venture to the Soviet Union once again and to put an end to Janus' ambitions.

In this 3D action game, the player controls James Bond from a first-person perspective, using a variety of weapons (from knuckles to grenade launcher) to eliminate his foes. However, many parts require the player to be careful, to stay unnoticed, or to snipe guards from distance, since they will react to his presence and alarm their comrades. The game is divided into missions, and in most of them Bond will have to perform other tasks besides killing his enemies: disarm bombs, take pictures of important evidence, or avoid killing scientists. The game features a multiplayer mode with a variety of options and three difficulty levels. Higher difficulty means, besides having to deal with tougher enemies, additional objectives needed to be fulfilled in order to successfully complete the level.

Spellings

  • ゴールデンアイ 007 - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Nintendo 64 version)

84 People (77 developers, 7 thanks) · View all

Produced and Directed by
Director of Photography
Original Screenplay
Game Screenplay based on GoldenEye 1995 film screenplay that written by
Characters written by
Scenic Art Director
Backgrounds
Production Designer
Costume Designer
2nd‑Unit Director
Original Music
Sound Effects
Production Manager
System Support
Hardware Support
Additional Graphics
Sound System and Tools
Additional Programming
Elevator Music by
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 94% (based on 47 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 226 ratings with 16 reviews)

Proved that First Person Shooters werent just for the PC

The Good
First of all, the graphics really astounded me, with the ships and tanks and sky textures and detail. it is all so real looking. Sound was also a very good aspect of the game. The musicand sfx were excellent, and combined with the rumble pak, it proved for a really great game. Multiplayer is very fun, as you can get a bunch of friends over and have a great time with this one.

The Bad
Some missions could get very hard, like the control mission. It took me a long time to get past that one.

The Bottom Line
Good game, despite difficulty. Nice graphics, great sfx and music, and well designed levels and music.

My Rating < 4.5 / 5 >

Nintendo 64 · by ThE oNe (180) · 2002

Bond. James Bond.

The Good
It has a huge variety of guns from the RCP-90 to the PP7 to the rocket launcher. The multiplayer mode is one of the best I have ever played.

The Bad
I thought that the way the bad guys reacted after you shot them was really unrealistic.

The Bottom Line
A first-person shooter in which you play 007.

Nintendo 64 · by Attila (553) · 2001

James Bond's 'Golden' moment in gaming history!

The Good
Its fast-paced gameplay and stealth missions honor Bond's cinematic heritage in this game, and the 1990s 64-bit era charm oozes out of this game in spades. The music, the action, the recreations of the movie, the new stuff they put in like the Rocket silo, the Aztec level and turning the satellite climax of the Goldeneye movie into a stage for a very impressive boss battle.

The Bad
It's more technical, but I wish that you could see James Bond holding more of the guns physically instead of the PP7s and other pistols. It'd be great if you could see his hands holding and reacting to the firing of an AK-47.

The Bottom Line
Want James Bond to have the ready-to-go entertainment value of Super Mario 64 and take what made Doom so great into the realm of 3D? Goldeneye has the answer; and IS the answer.

Nintendo 64 · by John H. (52) · 2019

[ View all 16 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
What gameplay features were first in Goldeneye? BurningStickMan (17916) Aug 12, 2011
Which is better? Perfect Dark or GoldenEye? TwoDividedByZero (114) Apr 5, 2010
Worth the playing time ? GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) May 29, 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

GoldenEye 007 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cheats

Was one of the first games to feature unlockable cheats. In other words players were required to work for cheats in this game.

Cut Content

  • The gun that you see in some of the screen shots on the back cover of GoldenEye 007 (the one that looks like a Soviet, except it's mostly black and brown at the tip) was called a Spyder --- it was scrapped at the last moment and replaced by the Klobb.
  • In the beta version of the game, Bond was required to cross the Dam level on a boat to reach the mysterious island. At the far reaches of the level sits a protruding dock, where a boat waited for Bond. On the island he had to defeat a drone gun and a guard to acquire the pontoon gun to rappel down the side of the dam. However in the release version the idea was scrapped due to complications. Now the dock sits idly and no boat awaits. The island now sits with no guard, only an inactive drone gun. However by using the gameshark you can play the beta version and play this part of the mission.
  • Originally the runway level there was a motorbike which was intended to be in the game however was scrapped before the release probably due to the difficulty of controlling the bike in a first person shooter.
  • The truck in the dam level apparently has no purpose. Though there is speculation that in the beta version you were intended to destroy it, it was either scrapped or never taken into account. Rare responded to this and simply said it was to guide the player through the first level. However this only leads to more questions and most doubt this was the original true meaning.
  • The back cover for the American release for the game includes multiple false screen shots and false information. In the description it says that you can navigate 12 interactive 3-D environment. However there were way more levels actually in the game. The screenshots show the original Spyder gun, a gun which was included in the beta version of the game, however scrapped before the release for the Klobb. The screen shots also show Bond shooting a man and blood shooting out of his body, which was not included in the release. Finally, the screenshot of Bond in the silo shows him holding an AR33 assault rifle, a weapon you cannot acquire in that level without cheats.
  • It was intended that there would be a cheat that allowed you to play as all Bonds (Moore, Connery, Lazenby, and Dalton) in multiplayer mode. However because the rights of their names belong to MGM and the respective actors, the idea could not be pulled through.
  • The statue and cradle levels of the game were included in multiplayer in the beta version of the game but strangely scrapped before its release. Some speculate that cradle was too slow and too big to be included, and statue park in multiplayer when played on the gameshark has multiple glitches which were possibly not fixable. Both can be played in beta version using a gameshark.
  • There is an inaccessible trapdoor in a guardhouse in the dam level, where you install the covert modem on the back of it. It was speculated that this is where Bond got explosives for the rumored mission where you had to blow up the truck. However, no one is certain. There are also rumors that it once led down to the data backup room, as it is almost directly over it.
  • In the dam level, there are three guard towers on the main dam, and one is across the lake on the mysterious island. The ones on the dam are marked 2, 3, 4 in order, and the one on the island doesn't have one. So what happened to tower #1. It is speculation that it was immediately to your right once you shot the lock to the dam, and was probably removed and the programmers forgot to change the other numbers.
  • At the very beginning of the Silo, you can look down and see this vent, and have an even closer look with a Sniper Rifle. It was originally believed that it was somehow connected with the level's lost elevator (that can be seen in an early promo video), but I now suspect that the area below was the original starting point for the level. They just placed a grate over it instead of deleting it. Notice how at the end of the walkway, the railing ends... Why would it do that?

Development

GoldenEye 007 was originally going to the Super Nintendo as a side-scrolling game but with the *new* Nintendo 64 Rare decided to scrap their original idea and make a totally 3D First Person shooter instead.

German Index

On March 31, 1998, GoldenEye 007 was put on the infamous German index by the BPjS. For more information about what this means and to see a list of games sharing the same fate, take a look here: BPjS/BPjM indexed games.

GoldenIsland

On the first level, the Dam mission, it is possible to see what has been dubbed the "GoldenIsland", a distant platform with a tower and a gun turret. Go to the very edge of the level's end, to an outcropping pier at the base of the dam. Use the fullest zoom of a sniper rifle to see it.

Inaccuracies

In the dam level, the climate appears mild, however in the runway level, which is a few hundred feet below it, it appears absolutely freezing. Normally the higher locations are colder.

Multiplayer

Despite the fact that Oddjob and Mayday were both selectable characters in multiplayer mode, neither of them were included in a singleplayer mission.

Player's Guide

A screenshot in the players guide for GoldeEye 007 depicts a Russian Guard at the ending cutscene of Surface 2 with two (maybe three) faces.

References

  • David Doak, as of 2001 the Managing Director of Free Radical Design, was part of the Rare team when GoldenEye 007 was developed. He was rendered into the game as Dr. Doak in the 2nd mission.
  • The Klobb is named after Nintendos Ken Lobb. His head is in the game as well, it has black hair and a mustache.
  • One of the items in this game, the CCVV tape, has the GoldenEye movie poster on it.
  • A reference to every Bond movie (except, of course, those made after GoldenEye's release) is made in some form throughout the game.
  • Many of Rare's games have their logo throughout the levels. In GoldenEye 007, there is the Rare logo in the Depot, in front of the Train building.
  • The clever people at Rare included a no Bond sign in the Facility. It's the famous James Bond silhouette, of course with the line across it. Those soldiers must really have something against Bond, huh?
  • The faces of all of the guards in the game are the faces of people who developed the game.
  • Joseph Stalin and Karl Marx both make an appearance in GoldenEye 007. Stalin's face appears in the Statue Park level. It is a bit hard to find it, but it is inscribed into the side of a block of stone, and it is a bit hard to make out his face. Marx is much easier to see. In the archives, near the windows where you have to jump out on the second floor, Marx's face appears on a poster near the door.
  • The "D.K. Mode" cheat appears to be a reference to Donkey Kong, due to the similar build of the character used on the cheat. It should be noted that the developer Rare was involved with Nintendo's Donkey Kong franchise at that time.

Sales

One of the best selling video games for the Nintendo 64 with over a million copies sold, allowing it to become a Player's Choice title.

Scientists

The scientists are normally passive, putting their hands up and running away when the shooting starts. But on the harder difficulty levels, Secret Agent and 00 Agent, if you shoot the scientists they get out their guns (DD44 Dostovei) and attack you.

Secrets

In the second Bunker level, a few interesting things pop up on some of the computer screens. One is a man on a skateboard. The other, a man moving his mouth as if he's talking.

Truck

Some rumors went around that a soldier was actually driving the truck in the dam level. It makes sense for Rare not to let us see it, the doors are locked and the windows are blacked out. By using tiny bond mode you can wait for the truck to run you over by crouching. When you see under it you can clearly see that no one is driving the truck, unfortunately.

Unused Room

There is a strange last room in the Train where Xenia and Alec disappear to after you shoot Ourumov. If you have cheats to move fast enough or have a Gameshark, then it is accessible. In the room there is another locked door, and if you use a Gameshark to go through doors, there is only an empty space. The room was only added for completeness.

User Created Content

GoldenEye 007's popularity as a game has cemented it as a classic and has made it the subject of mods for other FPS games. Two notable mods are: GoldenEye: DOOM II - this is a complete total conversion (meaning it does not need the original DOOM II). Due to the restrictions of the engine, the mod lacks many aspects from the original game, most notably the lack of 3D graphics, multi-player and targeting. * GoldenEye: Source*: the entire game recreated using the Source engine, with many enhancements.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly

    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #25 (Best 100 Games of All Time)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Game of the Year
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - N64 Game of the Year
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Action Game of the Year
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Multiplayer Game of the Year Runner-Up
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - First-Person Shooter Game of the Year
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Best Sound Runner-Up
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Game of the Year Runner-Up (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - N64 Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Action Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - First-Person Shooter Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Multiplayer Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Best Graphics Runner-Up (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Best Music Top Write-In (Readers' Choice)
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Best Sound (Readers' Choice)
    • 1998 Buyer's Guide - Most Addictive Game
    • 1998 Buyer's Guide - Best Movie to Game
    • February 2006 (Issue #200) - #16 on the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
  • Game Informer Magazine

    • FAugust 2001 (Issue 100) - #16 on the "Top 100 Games of All Time" Poll
  • GameSpy

    • 2001 – #38 Top Game of All Time
  • Retro Gamer
    • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #26 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Ben Fahy, Big John WV, Chris Chidester, DOS Boot, Evil-Jim, J. Michael Bottorff, Matt Neueboorn, MegaMegaMan, NeoMoose, Paul Graves, Silverfish, Tiago Jacques and Xoleras

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Related Sites +

  • Detstar.com
    This website is fully dedicated to every aspect of the Bond game, with weapons stats, player stats, enemy stats, level walkthroughs, and gadget and weapon listings. There are examinations of how well each level translated from the movie as well, and an entire section dedicated to answering strange mysteries of the game including the mysterious damn level island and the missing citadel level.
  • Goldeneye 64 Soundtrack
    GoldenEye Mp3's on rare-extreme.com
  • The Elite
    Time attack competition community for GoldenEye and Perfect Dark.
  • The GoldenEye Arms Reference
    Detailed analysis of the game's weapons.
  • The Making of GoldenEye 007
    A transcript of a speech given by Martin Hollis, the game's director and producer, at the 2004 European DeveloperÂ’s Forum. It describes the process of making the game and reasons why Hollis believes it was so successful.
  • Wikipedia: GoldenEye 007
    Information about GoldenEye 007 at Wikipedia

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 3528
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Contribute

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Brolin Empey.

Nintendo Switch added by gonsalet. Xbox One, Xbox Series added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, Unicorn Lynx, Alaka, gamewarrior, Matt Neuteboom, formercontrib, Various Things, DreinIX, Patrick Bregger, Dawgbb, TwoDividedByZero, FatherJack.

Game added April 3, 2001. Last modified December 28, 2023.