It's agreed between most Bond fans this is the best Bond game ever developed, or quite possibly the best FPS game on the N64 (with Perfect Dark in mind). Amazingly, everything that's been released on systems afterwards have NOT YET BEATEN this game, though some have come in extraordinarily close (however, opinions matter there).
GRAPHICS: These were very impressive graphics during the N64's term in everyone's homes. Though the character models are a little blocky and bland, you probably won't even care. The environments were nicely detailed, though. This game was only a 1997 game, but even PS1 games that were released afterwards had more bland graphics than this one (compare GoldenEye to PS1's World is Not Enough, and you'll be surprised).
SOUND: Sorry, you won't be hearing a lot of blazing gunshots here. That probably won't surprise you seeing as how sound on N64 games was low quality, anyway. It's the music that will catch your attention, though...after hearing some level tunes, you'll automatically be notified you're playing a Bond game. Personally, my favorite level song is the "Cradle" stage at the end of the game. I play through the level every now and then just to chase Tevelyan through and listen to it while shooting at him.
GAMEPLAY: Though some games have come close, I still haven't seen anything this good. You've got an entire boatload of weapons at your disposal, and you've got a few gadgets, but you only get those gadgets in certain levels. In most levels, you won't be using gadgets, though. The pause menu is probably THE most original of all time...pressing "START" will make Bond go into his Q-Spec watch and tune options to your liking. You can also customize your controls and fool around with miscellaneous things, such as play the game in Widescreen. Not many games have done that (at least not without a GameShark).
STORY: The game follows the same story as the movie, which means it's actually a pretty good story. Warning, though...you have to have seen the GoldenEye movie in order to fully understand the game's story. It's not always clear when playing through it (I played the game before seeing the movie, so I should know).
BOTTOM LINE: Though this is an exciting game, it gets a LITTLE dead after playing it for a really long time. Don't worry, the death factor probably won't kick in for years. It's not TOO perfect, but it does the job in terms of excitement and thrill. The game does present a passable difficulty system, and it could take a while to unlock everything there is to unlock. 8.75/10.
GRAPHICS: These were very impressive graphics during the N64's term in everyone's homes. Though the character models are a little blocky and bland, you probably won't even care. The environments were nicely detailed, though. This game was only a 1997 game, but even PS1 games that were released afterwards had more bland graphics than this one (compare GoldenEye to PS1's World is Not Enough, and you'll be surprised).
SOUND: Sorry, you won't be hearing a lot of blazing gunshots here. That probably won't surprise you seeing as how sound on N64 games was low quality, anyway. It's the music that will catch your attention, though...after hearing some level tunes, you'll automatically be notified you're playing a Bond game. Personally, my favorite level song is the "Cradle" stage at the end of the game. I play through the level every now and then just to chase Tevelyan through and listen to it while shooting at him.
GAMEPLAY: Though some games have come close, I still haven't seen anything this good. You've got an entire boatload of weapons at your disposal, and you've got a few gadgets, but you only get those gadgets in certain levels. In most levels, you won't be using gadgets, though. The pause menu is probably THE most original of all time...pressing "START" will make Bond go into his Q-Spec watch and tune options to your liking. You can also customize your controls and fool around with miscellaneous things, such as play the game in Widescreen. Not many games have done that (at least not without a GameShark).
STORY: The game follows the same story as the movie, which means it's actually a pretty good story. Warning, though...you have to have seen the GoldenEye movie in order to fully understand the game's story. It's not always clear when playing through it (I played the game before seeing the movie, so I should know).
BOTTOM LINE: Though this is an exciting game, it gets a LITTLE dead after playing it for a really long time. Don't worry, the death factor probably won't kick in for years. It's not TOO perfect, but it does the job in terms of excitement and thrill. The game does present a passable difficulty system, and it could take a while to unlock everything there is to unlock. 8.75/10.