James Bond 007: NightFire Review (no fat)

Game Description

Bond. James Bond. A secret agent, that gives us the impression of living his life at the highest possible level: surrounded by beautiful women, driving only the most exotic cars, always looking as if he was a very rich business man. Well, he’s not actually a business man. He is a man of action, a spy that has to infiltrate secret buildings, a driver that has to get his car to the top gear to evade his chasers. He can even be an astronaut, or a soldier that has to make his way through enemies with his guns…James Bond 007: NightFire has it all.

That, however, is not all James Bond 007: NightFire has to offer. There is a sense of variety at the highest level. None of the 12 missions have anything in common amongst then (…except, of course Bond), each of them offering a unique experience. The experience of a secret agent that must save the world once again using special gadgets and an exotic car: Aston Martin Vanquish.

James Bond 007: NightFire Gameplay

The story is built very well, and you will notice that James Bond is doing exactly what he knows best: drives exotic cars, uses very expensive gadgets, dates unbelievable beautiful women. Other characters will also appear in the game, like the French explosives expert Dominique Paris or the negative character, Raphael Drake helped by his head of security Armitage Rook. p>

The main characteristic of the gameplay is, of course, variety. Although the game is basically a FPS, it has driving portions, stealth parts, and two unique missions as well. One will take you one underwater, and the other into outer space. Throughout the game, Bond will use his gadgets, like the night-vision glasses, electricity-shooting keys and all the other secret agent stuff. His car will follow him almost everywhere, on the roads, underwater or on snow. The Aston Martin is modified, and has some weapons on it too.

The best built part of NightFire is the shooting one, and it also covers most of the game. It offers moments full of action and varied, from sniping and eliminating enemies with high speed, to the classic assault moments when you use maximum firepower. Not only conventional weapons are used for shooting, some special gadgets being used too, like the tranquilizing gun which is silent and effective, or the car keys that shoot electricity to shock the enemies.

The enemy AI is good, and they hide behind objects, or roll to make it harder for you to shoot them. There also are some harder to beat enemies, like the ninja soldiers that carry both guns and a sword, and they boast the maneuverability of a…err…ninja.

Within some unique situations, Bond even takes to space. The laser gun provides some spectacular and potent firepower in such situations. You will oft find well created stealth moments, sneaking being one of the strengths of Bond.

The driving is also very stimulating, though the moments when you are at your Aston Martin’s steering wheel aren’t so well created as the shooting moments. Especially because of the car’s physics, which isn’t too realistic at all. But you surely will not find the driving moments monotone, because you will take part in highway car chases and you will do some spectacular stunts like jumping over a bridge full of police cars.

The driving parts of the game take you to different areas, the highway being left often, in the favor of frozen rivers or supermarkets, and even underwater. The collisions between the car and other objects do not work as they should with real world physics, and you will some times see results that you wouldn’t expect to.

While there will be people around in the environment while you drive, sadly, you wont be able to run anyone over…a feature that resembles more the Night Bus from Harry Potter than a Bond outing. However, to keep the trigger happy gamers at bay, the Aston Martin is equipped with rocket launchers that will blow the enemy cars to smithereens at will.

James Bond 007: NightFire Multiplayer

The game has a multiplayer mode, allowing 4 “secret agents” to fight one versus the other or against bots. Interestingly, you can tune your challenger Bots to have a specific personality so different Bots would behave in a different manner while trying to take you down.

Althoug the multiplayer mode is not created as well as the rest of the game, it can be entertaining and offers the game a little more longevity considering that the single player is rather short, taking about 10-12 hours to be finished.

James Bond 007: NightFire Graphics

While it certainly isn’t the best looker around on the Xbox, the game certainly looks great and you will notice a lot of visual effects, from the great particle system (rain, snow, sparks) to the amazing reflections. The environment is 3D, and a great thing is that you will notice video variety but with constant (and very good) quality. You will play during the night and day, under water or outer space, on foot or in the car, indoor and outdoor…all should be enough merit for this eye candy.

James Bond 007: NightFire Audio

The sounds are also great, however, while the graphics show an uncanny resemblance to Pierce Bronson, the voice acting could have benefited from his involvement. Overall, the music is stimulating and atmospheric and the weapons sound realistic. And when hear the Aston Martin’s engine you will definitely want to be in James Bond’s place. All in all, Nightfire hails good quality audio presentation, from the smallest noise to the largest explosion.

NightFire Verdict

Combining shooting and driving in a game full of action and tasteful narrative, James Bond 007: NightFire excludes the aura of genuine James Bond finesse. Although NightFire has some bug troubles and some imperfections, even those can’t stop Bond from accomplishing his mission.

Bond fans won’t forgive themselves if they missed this one and even other FPS fans will find plenty to keep them more than occupied in this timewaster.

NightFire Cost

The game retails for $14.95, at the time of writing.