James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is the newest entry into the James Bond series of video games. EA Games has spent a whopping three million dollars to create this game, and it definitely shows. Has EA finally created a James Bond game to out-do Rare's GoldenEye legacy? You'll just have to read the review to find out.

Graphics:

EoN's graphics are a lot similar to those of Nightfire. However, EoN's graphics are a lot more polished up and are generally presented in more cinematic style cutscenes than Nightfire's were. Along with the good graphics are excellent actors portraying each character. Instead of creating characters from scratch, EA decided to get real life actors to lend their likeness to the game. This means that James Bond actually looks like Pierce Brosnan, just like in Nightfire. The movie characters are still the same as well, which means Judi Dench is still M and John Cleese reprises his role as Q. As for new characters, Shannon Elizabeth plays Serena St. Germaine, Heidi Klum is Dr. Katya Nadanova, Mya is Agent Mya Starling, and the great actor Willem Dafoe plays the arch villain Nikolai Diavolo. Among some other characters are Misaki Ito as Q's assistant Miss Nagai and Richard Kiel as the all time bad guy Jaws. Overall, EoN's graphics are nothing less than stunning.

Sound and Music:

Yet another category this game succeeds in. From start to finish this game is music to the ears. All the character's voices are done by the real actors, which means this is the first Bond game to actually have Pierce Brosnan do the voice of 007, let alone the first Bond game to use an entire real cast of actors for the voices. As for the music, it has been composed by the top notch composer Sean Callery, who worked on the hit TV series "24". Among other musical achievements in the game, EoN actually has its own theme song, which is performed by Mya.

Storyline:

As with most of my other reviews, this section will contain spoilers pertaining to the storyline. If you don't want to know, then just continue to scroll down. Anyway, the storyline in this game revolves around an ex-KGB agent by the name of Nikolai Diavolo. Apparently he is so ruthless that the KGB itself tried to kill him. Diavolo also happens to be the prodigy of Max Zorin, who was the main bad guy in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill. The game starts off with you searching for Dr. Katya Nadanova, who was kidnapped during a speech she was giving. Bond destroys an entire lab in Egypt in order to rescue the doctor and gives the last remaining nanobot to her. You find out later in the game the entire thing was a setup so that all evidence of nanobot technology would be destroyed and that the last remaining nanobot would be in the hands of Diavolo. You heard me right, she's one of the bad guys. Anyway, you do a lot of investigating here and there and don't really find out what he plans to do until five or six missions before the end. Basically, the nanobots were built to help repair structures that humans can't reach. Anyway, he's upgraded the nanobots with a certain technology that allows them to eat through any metal they touch. Among that, he's also built and entire army of tanks out of platinum, which happens to be the only metal that the nanobots won't eat through. With this in mind, Diavolo plans to use his nanobots and his tanks to first take over the Kremlin in Russia and then move onto taking over the world. The storyline of the game was written by James Bond veteran Bruce Feirstein, who was also the writer of GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World is Not Enough. Overall, the storyline is definitely interesting, and Willem Dafoe makes a great arch nemesis.

Gameplay:

This time around, you'll play as Bond in third person view instead of the normal first person view. While many thought that this was a bad idea, the game works extremely well in third person. There are so much more things that you are allowed to do and it makes the gameplay an overall better experience. There are many types of levels you will go through, including shooting, stealth, driving, and even a free fall from the top of a cliff. EoN isn't like the normal Bond game where you are able to beat the level by running and gunning. This time around you are going to need to take cover behind walls or crates and shoot when the time is right. The shooting levels are generally fast paced and fun, with some of them being extremely challenging. A new feature added to the game is the ability to repel up and down walls. I thought this would be used just once or twice in the game, but you will find yourself repelling very often. The driving levels are mainly fast paced, with only a few of them being a "get from point A to point B" type of level. Overall, the single player levels are very diverse and will keep you hooked until the very last level. As for multiplayer, there are two different types of play. You can either join a friend and go through co-op mode, or you can get three of your friends together and play four player arena mode. The co-op mode lets you and a friend play through various missions created specifically for the mode. As for arena mode, there are hardly any customizable options, hardly any playable characters, and only a few levels to play in. Overall, the arena mode is very bland. Also, if play co-op mode, be prepared for a challenge as it is extremely difficult.

Controls:

The controls in EoN are very nicely organized. While there may be a slight learning curve on them, the game has a level entitled MI6 Training which walks you through on the basics of combat and all the buttons you will need to know. While I don't know about the PlayStation or XBox controllers, the Gamecube's controller works perfectly with the game. Every button serves its purpose, and the control scheme is easily learned.

Replayability:

The game definitely has a lot to offer in this field. Let's begin with the single player mode. You can go through all the levels on the hardest difficult and try to get gold medals. Getting gold medals will unlock rewards such as weapon upgrades, alternate character costumes, and various behind the scenes pictures. Once unlocking a gold medal and beating that level on 00 Agent, you will then have the ability to try and complete platinum objectives. These objectives range from taking no damage in that level, using no ammo, or beating the level in a certain time limit. Gaining platinum medals will unlock in-game cheats such as infinite ammo, golden gun, and all weapons. Along with that, there are four extra unlockable levels to add to the twenty-seven normal levels in single player. Now onto the replayability level of multiplayer. There are eleven co-op missions that you and a friend can go through. Completing certain objectives in those levels will gain you points. As you gain more and more points, you will unlock multiplayer extras such as playable characters and arena mode levels. However, before playing arena mode, you will have to gain enough points to unlock it. Don't worry though; it is the first and easiest thing to unlock. Arena Mode however is very boring, and it isn't even worth unlocking.

Overall, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing definitely lives up to the GoldenEye legacy. However, EoN's major problem is its lack of good multiplayer. While the co-op mode is fun and challenging, the four player arena mode is lacking what made the multiplayer in previous Bond games so fun. Even though the multiplayer is in need of help, the single player outweighs the flaws it presents and makes for a truly remarkable gaming experience.
Graphics: 9.8/10
Sound and Music: 9.5/10
Storyline: 9.0/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Controls: 9.0/10
Replayability: 9.0/10
9.0
Out of 10