November 22, 2004 - In a fall season slammed with AAA first-person shooters, Electronic Arts' move to release GoldenEye: Rogue Agent only two weeks after Halo 2 and one week after Half-Life 2 can be seen as either gutsy or stupid -- either that or just plain bad luck. One really must wonder. However you dice it, EA took a chance with the Bond license, giving gamers the opportunity to play as an evil agent, an anti-Bond character with all the skills and smarts as the world's most famous British spy, but with none of the rules, restrictions or ethics.

Conceptually the idea sounds brilliant, but in actuality the game is a superb bore. From the deceptive name (it neither plays like the original N64 classic nor is it in any way related) to the me-too Halo gameplay to the distinct lack of personality, story or level variation, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a bland slog of a game. Its slightly above-average gameplay disappoints more than it succeeds, and its dual paths -- the attempt at nailing the visceral combat of Halo and the technical features of the character's "golden eye" -- forces one to wonder what exactly the team was going for. In the end, Rogue Agent is just another Bond game that could have been.

Gameplay
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a first-person shooter that takes a different look at the Bond universe. You take on the role of a "00 agent" who is let go from duty thanks to reckless brutality, taking a turn to the dark side of the world and joining Auric Goldfinger's criminal organization. The interesting theme of man vs. machine is briefly touched on as Dr. No's shot to the head turns the former 00 agent into cyborg of sorts, but instead of creating empathy here, you get nothing. Instead of delving even minimally into the cause of your character's downfall, the thin excuse for a story melts into a puddle of who the heck cares. Your character doesn't talk much and there is no character development to speak of. Since there is little to like or dislike about him, caring about his outcome is simply not an issue. This simple theme is repeated in booming echoes throughout the game's entirety.

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But Rogue Agent could have succeeded without a good story. For years, videogame design teams have searched to tap into Hollywood's magic, but in lieu of it, gameplay, graphics, sound, and originality, usually make up for it. Sadly, after a level or two, the hope for any fleck of originality quickly fades. Once you get past the idea that Rogue Agent is actually not a sequel in any way to the Nintendo 64 game -- nor in any way related -- you'll wonder why it's actually called GoldenEye in the first place. Sure, the guy's eye socket is teeming with evil "golden eye" technology, but it's surely no coincidence that this James Bond game is named after the best Bond game ever.

The high concept weapons are quite fun.

So you turn to gameplay. From the get-go EA has told us that Rogue Agent is all about being bad, being evil. Using a Halo weapon set-up (two weapons and a grenade), players find themselves rewarded with points for being evil, over-the-top, and roguish. Unfortunately, being bad here is like being rewarded for simply playing any FPS. You're rewarded for headshots, using human shields, grenade use, using the golden eye technology, etc., but not one of these things is particularly evil or bad -- as videogames go.

Are Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher, Halo 2's Master Chief, or Killzone's Templar deemed "evil" for blowing guys lights out? Nope. Your GoldenEye dude is void of doing anything more evil than Insomniac's furry platform character Ratchet. He shoots stuff, right? If you want bad-ass or evil game characters, play The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay or Manhunt; both are dark, violent games that genuinely explore the darker side of human nature. Rogue Agent is vanilla in comparison.