Relive youth with GoldenEye Source trailer
by Zack Stern 
{ Oct 4th 2006 at 8:55AM }
A team of fans is rebuilding GoldenEye 007 with the Half-Life 2 Source engine; that ought'a teach today's kids about good game design. The team just released an impressive trailer of its efforts, showcasing many of the recreated environments. While the project is still unfinished -- we'll call it "pre-cease-and-desist" -- you may soon be able to relive that Bond classic on a PC.But let's take a moon-walking step backwards here. These rebuild-the-classic game projects seem aimed at the gamer who looks at how perfect life was back then, with the velour car seats and prom date. And wait a minute, GoldenEye came out less than ten years ago. (Replace "moon walk" with "pop-n-lock," "velour" with "neoprene," and "prom date" with "internet porn.") It's not like your N64 won't work with your new TV. You might even be able to download the original on the Wii.
Modders, we salute your ingenuity and desire to bring your GoldenEye experience to today's dirty, ungrateful youth. Judging from the video (embedded after the break), we know you've put a lot of work into the project. But why not spend that energy on making something unique? We know you can, and we want to play it.
[Thanks, nowhere]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
J.Goodwin @ Oct 4th 2006 9:01AM
Oh yeah, you've got to think this one's going to get Rare's attention in a bad way.
It's practically a shoe-in for the XBLA.
Franky Digital @ Oct 4th 2006 9:05AM
If this actually gets released before crashing and burning via lawsuits, I would think that it would be the biggest HL2 mod this side of the never-to-be-released Fortress Forever.
But still, it shouldn't take this to make younger gamers realize the majesty behind the original Goldeneye. For shame, younger gamers without knowledge of the past. For shame.
ejflex @ Oct 4th 2006 9:08AM
How odd that it looks better than PDzero. haha
Goldeneye was one of the great games of all time... God I miss the good ol' days.
32_Footsteps @ Oct 4th 2006 9:09AM
"But why not spend that energy on making something unique? We know you can, and we want to play it."
Two comments on this.
First, we don't know if they can make something unique. Some people just lack the creativity to actually make something new and fresh. However, they might be able to compensate by being very good at refining what's already out there. There's no shame in this, but it does keep them from making "something new."
Second, you know you could levy that charge against pretty much every video game company out there, right? If you wanted to argue that, you should be arguing against pretty much every updated rerelease produced, from Super Mario All-Stars to the two PlayStation Lunar games to Conker: Live & Reloaded.
Duscrom @ Oct 4th 2006 9:43AM
How was this game really al that great? I think nowadays it'd be boreing as the genre has grown so much. It's like Doom 3. Doom 3 plays just like the origonals.. but due to the growth of the industry, and the genre, the game is just Dull.
Nastalgia is one thing. But claiming that something is better then new just because it was the best (Debateable) at the time, dosen't mean it can still stand up.
elnico @ Oct 4th 2006 9:16AM
i'm not a lawyer, but aren't there many legal obstacles to goldeneye coming out either for the wii or xbla? it was made when rare was second party to nintendo, now it's owned by MS, and the bond license is currently owned by EA
foobob @ Oct 4th 2006 9:23AM
I loved the music soundtrack in the original, best described as 1001 variations on the Bond Theme.
The deep bass and electronic keyboards and drums showed the N64 didn't have to necessarily sound lame because of small cartridge storage...
kip @ Oct 4th 2006 9:27AM
"You might even be able to download the original on the Wii"
I think I remember reading that none of the Rare games (Goldeneye, DKC, KI, Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing, and I can't think of any others) will be coming to virtual console. Something about non-compete clause since they are a 2nd party for MS now.
ejflex @ Oct 4th 2006 9:29AM
More thoughts...
Lets face it... RARE W A S awesome. Goldeneye and Perfect Dark were two of my fave games. I said WAS. What a failure PDzero was. Ok... I just said "was" again.
But, am I the only one here that would love to have Goldeneye remade like this for a console(prefferably the Wii?)
Not only would it bring back memories, but I think it would fly off the shelves. Of course it would need updated gameplay, and a few other goodies... but I think it would be phenominal. I'm sure Rare would have to develop it.... but hey it's just a childish wish on my part.
delldude420 @ Oct 4th 2006 9:29AM
5. i'm not a lawyer, but aren't there many legal obstacles to goldeneye coming out either for the wii or xbla? it was made when rare was second party to nintendo, now it's owned by MS, and the bond license is currently owned by EA
Posted at 9:15AM on Oct 4th 2006 by elnico 0 stars
dont forget whos owned by mgm who sold out to sony.
Cyde Weys @ Oct 4th 2006 9:43AM
Um, this isn't new at all. The alpha has been released for months. I was playing this thing in the summer. I guess there's another version coming out, but the article write-up makes it sound like this is unreleased, which it isn't!
Pete @ Oct 4th 2006 9:42AM
If this game made it to XBLA it would be a phenominon. Imagine if this was the game announced at X06 rather than friggin Doom. People would have gone wild, rather than the courtesy applause that was received in the face of what they clearly thought was a home-run. Goldeneye is one of those games that really needs to be brought to Xbox Live.
#4 I was going to write exactly what you did when I came in here...not everyone can make a great game just because they can bang out code.
Axel @ Oct 4th 2006 9:47AM
I think people overrate Goldeney for N64 too much. Yeah, it was good...back then. But going back to play it now after years of having a dual analog stick set-up to play FPS just makes the gameplay annoying as hell. Also, the environments are drab as hell.
Same goes for Perfect Dark, except instead of being drab, the environments are hideous.
Breachless @ Oct 4th 2006 9:48AM
I would rather play this than most of the newer games that come out to be totally honest. I mean, imagine a LAN game where you can get a bunch of guys together that probably still remember every nook and cranny of every one of those maps, give them the superior mouse/keyboard control scheme, and take the ability to "look over each others shoulders" nature of classic 4-player splitscreen away, and bump up the max players above just 4. I think it would be an absolute blast to play. A few slight twists on an old favorite: you can't argue with the potential there.
The chances of this game seeing an official re-release on ANY system are slim to none anyway considering that even if Rare themselves wanted to re-release it (and you know they would love to if they could), they no longer have the rights to the Bond name anyway (this is why we got Perfect Dark instead of a new Bond game... damn you EA...)
I am stoked. I can see this being a lot of fun to play, and after watching the video, I am really impressed with just how well they appear to have recreated some of those classic maps.
Frexy Q. @ Oct 4th 2006 9:48AM
---
5. i'm not a lawyer, but aren't there many legal obstacles to goldeneye coming out either for the wii or xbla? it was made when rare was second party to nintendo, now it's owned by MS, and the bond license is currently owned by EA
Posted at 9:15AM on Oct 4th 2006 by elnico 0 stars
---
If I'm correct, EA doesn't even own the lisence anymore, it's Activisions now... if my memory didn't let me down...
Someone back me up on this one?
Franky Digital @ Oct 4th 2006 9:53AM
@11: "N[o]stalgia is one thing. But claiming that something [old] is better th[a]n [something new just because it was the best ([debatable]) at the time, dosen't mean it can still stand up."
You're right. A rereleased old gem doesn't necessarily hold up when put against more contemporary games of the genre. That is to say, it doesn't hold up if the advancements to the genre are large and obligatory.
With the first-person genre, we see no such necessary advancements. Graphics have been the only major change in the way FPS games play in the last 10 years, with real-time physics being the next major change. However, at this point in time, the core FPS action in games like DOOM and Goldeneye is timeless: compared to today's shooters, it still holds up on a number of levels - stage design, weapon selection and balance, and so forth. So, yes, Goldeneye (as of today) stands up and bests a lot of the shooters out their now in every category but graphics. That's why it's beloved. Not simply because it's old.
Case in point, Zelda. Find me someone who prefers the original NES Zelda over Ocarina. In that case, advancements beyond graphics had a fundamental effect on the gameplay. The FPS genre has not had such a luxury.
Paul Gale @ Oct 4th 2006 10:07AM
Great job to the team on recreating Goldeneye using the Source engine from Half Life 2. This Nintendo 64 game is one of the most loved and memorable titles of the 32/64-Bit era and I'm sure that many gamers out there are going to tottally dig this. I'm looking forward to it and perhaps this "remake" will gain them some fame and motivate them to make a whole new game that we can all enjoy in the future.
Paul Gale
1up.com
Erik Novak @ Oct 4th 2006 10:17AM
"Case in point, Zelda. Find me someone who prefers the original NES Zelda over Ocarina. In that case, advancements beyond graphics had a fundamental effect on the gameplay. The FPS genre has not had such a luxury."
*raises hand* I, for one, greatly disliked Ocarina. It was loosely designed so that you had to run on foot for miles, causing extreme boredom, and the fighting engine sucked. While some things were improved w/ Wind Waker, if I didn't have an internet connection nearby when I did the sailing, I would have never made progress in that game.
Oh, and keep spreading that Nintendo propaganda that it still holds up with today's design. Goldeneye can't hold a candle to the advances that Half Life 2, HL2: Episode One, and Call of Duty 2 have made.
The best illustration of this is Perfect Dark Zero. It too was made by Rare. It plays JUST LIKE Goldeneye, believe it or not. Guess what? It ain't all that hot. I've always told people that you'll like Perfect Dark Zero if you like Goldeneye. The design they've put into it doesn't hold up to today's standards in many ways, including the much-too-open level design and fields, which just leads to players running around like buttmonkeys chasing each other.
FPS's have gotten better since Goldeneye. If you want to live in denial that's your decision.
@werk @ Oct 4th 2006 10:31AM
Drab environments? Yes indeed. And that is why I love it. It seems now environments are complicated because they can be. Give me the library and the complex for multiplayer any day. I also enjoyed the simplicity of the guns. I'm not saying a gravity gun or a portal gun isn't cool but now goldeneye managed to find a sweet spot between realistic and fun.
Moogle @ Oct 4th 2006 10:30AM
32 footsteps, the difference between these guys and a company rereleasing their own product is that these guys are expending 90% of the effort of creating new content in just re-entering level design and updating the little details (adding sunbeams, more detailed textures, staircases, etc).
Super Mario Allstars, on the other hand, took a tiny fraction of the original work since they had all the assets and they only needed a very minor port and update. It probably took 3 people a couple months to end up with a finished product. Those people couldn't have made original content in that time. (And SMAS was valuable to me as I had a SNES but no NES.)
As for the timeless (or lack thereof) of GE64 - The gameplay is HL2, the graphics are HL2, the only thing they're really retaining is level design, which is often done poorly in new games and well done level design survives the test of time better than control schemes and graphical detail.
Nicolas Redfern @ Oct 4th 2006 10:34AM
Activision now holds non-exclusive rights to Bond, but Nintendo was the puplisher for GoldenEye so they may own the copyright for the game itself. Could someone get their copy and see who the copyright belongs to.
Did you know that only 2 of the Goldeneye team had made a game previously. (Wikipedia)
Breachless @ Oct 4th 2006 10:37AM
Goldeneye was far better than either Perfect Dark game in my opinion. The levels were more imaginative, and the Bond license gave it that "cool" factor that, in my opinion, has yet to be matched. Goldeneye had PERSONALITY. Something the majority of FPS's have severely lacked ever since Goldeneye (even newer Bond games: no one has been able to handle the Bond license as well as Rare did...) Sure, graphics have improved, and the control schemes have improved, but other than that, I really do not believe there has been another FPS that could really beat Goldeneye at it's very core. If you remade Goldeneye with better graphics and an updated control scheme and left everything else exactly as it is, Goldeneye would still be better. Again, it's the fact that it had it's own personality that has allowed it to stand head and shoulders above so many other well-made FPS's, and that is why it is so fondly remembered by all who played it.
And to this day, I have yet to see a good FPS multiplayer game with maps as perfectly balanced and as well designed as those in Goldeneye either. Some have come close, but those maps were superb. The Complex map is probably the greatest multiplayer map I have ever seen.
KilgoreTrout XL @ Oct 4th 2006 10:52AM
Looks fantastic.
darryl @ Oct 4th 2006 11:11AM
Goldeneye and Perfect Dark both sucked bollocks. Like seriously, who played this crap? I was too busy playing real FPS titles on the PC.
J.Goodwin @ Oct 4th 2006 10:51AM
Activision currently holds the Bond license. However, that's not important, because this game was licensed previously. You'd have to check the actual contract to see if porting the game to a new system would require a new license, but if it was needed, you can be sure that Activision would probably co-publish it with MGS for a cut of the receipts and a logo on the front of the game.
This game, along with Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini, Conker, Killer Instinct, and other Rare titles that do not feature Nintendo's characters (Donkey Kong in particular, so all those DK games will surely be up on the VC) will not be released on the Wii without specific negotiations on that point, because they are completely owned by Rare (and by extension Microsoft).
I'm not saying it would be impossible (Microsoft and Rare since the purchase already develop and publish games for the GBA and DS, occasionally), but I think that with the overlap in the downloadable games functionality on the 360 and the Wii, it's unlikely that you'll see them on Wii's VC.
Rare is also wholly owned by Microsoft, and is therefore a first party studio.
Huzzah!! @ Oct 4th 2006 10:56AM
I bet it will go to bot Wii and XBLA.
More money for EA! (or whoever)
Colon D @ Oct 4th 2006 11:01AM
As #12 said; this isn't exactly new (the trailer is, but the mod's not).
Their first public release was Christmas Day last year. Keep up folks.
Pat @ Oct 4th 2006 11:03AM
Dude, you are an asshole. Go write something useful, or choke on something. Don't put down people just because you can. They spent a whole lot of time making this mod, about 2 years. It took you a day to see the trailer and say that it is unoriginal and they should have made something else. Way to go.
TRUTH @ Oct 4th 2006 11:13AM
The games from the past will always seem better than the new ones because thats how the human mind works. When we were exposed to the old games it was new and exciting. We felt something emotionally back then that is hard to achieve with the newer games because we have the "been there done that" perspective. Kids that have only been exposed to ps2 and newer consoles will think that our old games (that we thought were awsome) suck.
That is why parents think their kids music is horrible. Likes and dislikes change from generation to generation.
aphallatosis @ Oct 4th 2006 11:22AM
Goldeneye and RE4 (gamecube) are the only console shooters worth playing, and they're both perfection.
Other than those two the PC still kicks every consoles ass for FPS's.
Kevin @ Oct 4th 2006 1:13PM
oohhohhh my pants
HaloBreaker @ Oct 4th 2006 11:30AM
Darryl:
Real FPS titles? in 1997... Quake II, Outlaws, Hexen II, shadow warrior, blood. they were just as fun.
Okay maybe in 1998 when Halflife, SiN, Delta Force, and tribes came out.
Franky Digital @ Oct 4th 2006 11:53AM
@ Eric Novak:
"The design they've put into it doesn't hold up to today's standards in many ways, including the much-too-open level design and fields"
...which is in no way similiar to the level design in Goldeneye. /point
ck @ Oct 4th 2006 12:01PM
Part of the fun that stems from Goldeneye and Perfect Dark was the fact that you could play with 3 of your friends in the living room. There was a social gathering to these games. You don't get that with PCs & Xbox - for the most part. Sure you could hook up 4 or more PCs and have a LAN party, but who has time to do that and the resources? That's why I always had the most fun with GE and PD because that was a daily thing for me & my friends. Most computer FPS games & Xbox live I cannot play online, simply because I need more interaction than text messages or voice.
And nostalgia does take a part in saying this game was a classic, but I have to agree with the majority, Goldeneye was one of the more perfect FPS games to come out. Sure, Half-life, HL2 and some others have made advancements, but I can't remember having as much fun as I did with GE with the well-developed levels and weapons.
Fish @ Oct 4th 2006 12:25PM
Let's compare yesterday's top console shooter (Goldeneye) to today's (Halo)
Single Player:
Goldeneye- Objective based missions designed with emphasis on player style (IE, run and gun, or stealth).
Halo- Linear "get to the end without dying". You can't fail a mission by killing an NPC. It's impossible. And only one segment of one stage in both games has the option to get a "gameover" without dying. However, Halo has superior graphics and play control (granted by superior technology)
Multiplayer:
Goldeneye- 4 player support with numerous maps, weapon sets, game modes and *gasp* more than 2 playable characters.
Halo- Up to 16 player internet support with more maps, less weapon sets, same amount of game modes. 2 Player models. Maps are more detailed and complex, as granted through superior technology at the time.
So, what it would look like is that Halo's (which had the benefit of traveling on Goldeneye's newly broken ground) strengths are granted through newer technology and control input.
Look, Biodome isn't better than Casablanca because it uses color film and special effects.
NorCal05 @ Oct 4th 2006 12:28PM
darryl = troll
Digital Death @ Oct 4th 2006 12:31PM
Golden Eye was a well thought out, immersive game that I would love to see updated and be playable again. The other game I loved by Rare was the original Turok. Again, great levels and immersive story. The good ole days indeed.
Korexz @ Oct 4th 2006 12:46PM
Grow a brain people.
Ask yourself this:
Can Microsoft make money by selling a game to be played on a competitors system?
Answer... YEAH!... DE DE DE!
So, in what order will Microsoft remove competition?
Sony, THEN Nintendo...
Will releasing GoldenEye on the VC/Wii make Microsoft money and take away from Sony's market share?
Yeah... I would think so...
Microsoft would rather buy Nintendo than bankrupt them. I hate to say it, but this is the first phase of a plan to eliminate Sony and buyout Nintendo.
Baby steps...
MetaHuman @ Oct 4th 2006 12:44PM
ERIK NOVAK:
Zelda, 2D or 3D is not meant to have a combat system. As an adventure game it's mainly just to ward off enemies. Most of the items Link carries are for getting around in the environment. People, including me, like A Link to the Past because the puzzles and overall difficulty were harder than OoT. OoT did some groundbreaking work in its own right however.
Good job comparing HL2, HL2: Ep.1 and CoD2 to GoldenEye. The reason GoldenEye is so significant is because it was an FPS developed SPECIFICALLY for consoles, where as the former three were created primarily for PC. GoldenEye was significant for straying from the tried-true PC FPS set-up. The reason that HALO succeeded was that they changed the game to suit the Xbox rather than PC, where it was originally meant.
The people who made GE64 and PD64 were NOT part of Rare when PDZero was released. You'd want Free Radical and the TimeSplitter series. Now those are FUN FPSes in the vein of GoldenEye, though very different from Halo's feel or the PC ports you mention. They might end up good on consoles, but people will have the option and probably continue to be vocal about how keyboard-mouse setups are better than console controllers, with good reason.
---------------
As for the mod, it looks great, and I'm suprised at the amount of detail the mod team added with their freetime and it does make the original seem drab. Maybe because it's sharper. :P
Maybe I'll play it someday, and honor its console heritage with the 360 PC Controller.
Russell @ Oct 4th 2006 12:53PM
#13, I completely agree with you about going back and trying to play FPSs on the N64. I tried to play Perfect Dark a month or so ago and it was like I was just learning to play FPSs again. I just ended up running around in circles looking at the floor or ceiling. It really made me realize how terrible the N64 was for FPSs.
However, I still think that Goldeneye is awesome. Or it was awesome at least. I haven't played it in a very long time but I have very fond memories of playing it when I was younger.
DG @ Oct 4th 2006 12:55PM
I'd rather play Goldeneye than Halo and Street Fighter 2 than Tekken.
I'm not alone.
MetaHuman @ Oct 4th 2006 1:01PM
@ KOREXZ
They already tried and already failed to buy Nintendo. Even if they bought every single publicly-traded Nintendo share in a hostile strategy, Nintendo would still be dominant because most of their assets are in cash in a bank. Nintendo continually buys their shares back with the money the make as well.
I don't think it will happen.
J.Goodwin @ Oct 4th 2006 1:20PM
Turok was developed by Iguana, not Rare.
J.Goodwin @ Oct 4th 2006 1:30PM
Nintendo could theoretically be subject to a hostile takeover. Only 32% of their total oustanding shares (41,239,500 of 127,915,000) are closely held (employees, original family, etc). With a voting majority, you could replace the board and force a merger.
However, I think that Nintendo is something of a blue-chip type stock, where many smaller investors own a certain number of shares, and hold them as a dividend investment (Nintendo has about a 2% yield when you compare the dividends declared each year with the current purchase price, which is nearly twice what the Japanese average is. If you bought in earlier, then you're doing a lot better than that).
It would be hard for a single entity to get enough shares to be able to force a board change. IIRC, recently the investors overruled a board proposal for the very first time, so you can expect that anything Microsoft might want to push with less than something around 40% of the shares would probably fail. And shares are at like, 25,000 yen per share right now. As you aquire more shares, that price is going to rise for every additional block of shares that you try to buy.
And Microsoft just doesn't have enough money to do that. We're talking many billions of dollars.
Pete @ Oct 4th 2006 1:34PM
I'd rather play this new Source engine-based game than the original on the Wii's VC, if that even does happen. I would not be able to stand the N64-era blur-o-vision graphics now. I read up on this new version, and they are not simply updating the graphics, they are updating the gameplay to today's standards as well. The maps will look familiar, but I saw several level designers on the credits list...so it seems they are probably addressing any issues with the original and making it a more playable game for today. Hopefully these developers have some talent and this does come to fruition like we all hope it will.
Kestrel @ Oct 4th 2006 2:29PM
Looks good. Music sounds like shit though.
CubeGuy @ Oct 4th 2006 3:33PM
"I read up on this new version, and they are not simply updating the graphics, they are updating the gameplay to today's standards as well. The maps will look familiar, but I saw several level designers on the credits list...so it seems they are probably addressing any issues with the original and making it a more playable game for today. Hopefully these developers have some talent and this does come to fruition like we all hope it will."
It's true. I've been playing the game for months. The levels have gotten overhauls in some places. In the facility, for instance, there's a whole new ventilation shaft system. The rooms have more in them, and they have added completely new areas.
bm @ Oct 4th 2006 4:19PM
"I think people overrate Goldeney for N64 too much. Yeah, it was good...back then. But going back to play it now after years of having a dual analog stick set-up to play FPS just makes the gameplay annoying as hell."
rofl
Guy, let me ask you this: do you EVER use the analogue stick used for walking to walk at anything other than full speed?
That's right, it's bullshit to say that dual analogue is superior because it is used in the exact same way as analogue+digital (in the control mode where the digital c buttons are used for walking). In fact, I'd say that all current generation controllers outright suck for FPS games compared to the N64's controller.
Chris @ Oct 4th 2006 10:16PM
I personally loved the origonal Goldeneye, probably because of the similarity to the film, but it was also challenging with actual goals that involved thinking. Sure, I love Halo as well, but its totally different. Halo involves a liniar shoot your way to the end stratagie. Its possible to argue that halo has goals as well, but I can't remember any goals which aren't completed just by logically walking from end to end, Unlike the complexness of Goldeneye.
I also loved the origonal Perfect Dark, and i beleive the reason why was because it added another fun element, you could progress through the game with your best friend as a co-op player, yet you still had objectives to the game without just shooting everything up.
And I honestly admit I have a hard time going back to the n64 controller for GE and PD, since i find the c-buttons awkward to use.
Strud @ Oct 4th 2006 11:25PM
It seems MGM doesn't like their intellectual property being posted on YouTube. I wonder if the mod will be shutdown too?
From YouTube:
"This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. because its content was used without permission"