First Impressions: The eternal international super spy returns to Nintendo, in yet another port.
Another month sees another GameCube port of an already released PlayStation 2 product. However, unlike the majority of recent GCN ports, EA’s James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire features a variety of additions and general enhancements that should warrant its delayed release. A terrorist organization armed with cloning technology, run by the evil Malprave, is attempting to gain control over the world. Agent Under Fire will put James Bond, newcomer Zoe Nightshade, and a slew of both new and returning Bond icons against this oppressive organization through ten varied locales. The primary action is represented in the classic first person shooter style, such as Goldeneye or Quake. However, stealth missions and the third person vehicular action scenes will help to add variety and individuality to this newest Bond experience.
All of the weapons and gadgets that you would expect from a Bond action game will reappear in this title, in some form or another. With weapons ranging from pistols to automatics and from explosives to rocket launchers, Bond’s arsenal has never been more varied or effective. The sniper rifle will be making a triumphant return and be of particular use throughout the more stealth-orientated missions. The GameCube version of AUF will also feature cleaned up textures and a surprisingly boosted frame-rate. The slightly enhanced visuals do not exactly stress the GameCube hardware, but when the consistent frame-rate is taken into account, the technical upgrade begins to look and feel significant.
Additionally, the GCN port of this game will feature an out-of-the-box multiplayer mode that easily incorporates all four of the system’s controller ports. Furthermore, EA decided to add “bots” or for those more inclined towards Perfect Dark, simulants. Unfortunately, the number of characters on screen cannot exceed four, be they human, bots, or a combination of the two. As of tight now we aren't sure whether EA plans to make any additional changes to the single player story mode or if they intend to add new multiplayer features or gameplay modes but we will be sure to keep you updated.
