I’m invincible! My Hawaiian shirt is a blur to the AI
opponents as I zip around Facility; hunting the dots on the radar. Cougar
Magnum in hand, the slaughter begins as I get one head shot after another. Then out of the blue, a hail of incredibly
accurate shots from a KF7 Soviet takes me down. I have brought shame to Boris
players everywhere. The new version of GoldenEye Source has been released and
bots are ready for battle!
It’s fair to say the AI introduced in version 4.2 is
inconsistent. But I wasn’t looking for the high standard you would expect from
a AAA title, it’s a mod project after all. And they do put up a reasonable
fight. If you’re a veteran of FPS multiplayer you won’t find them very
challenging, especially when they get stuck. However they are useful for
filling out server spots, as sadly the mod still doesn’t have a large
community.
This is the first version of the mod that I’ve really spent
a lot of time playing. It was quite nostalgic to be running around the hallways
of Complex and scaling the heights of Cradle. The map layouts vary between
faithful recreations to updated versions with additional areas, Facility
Backzone is great example of this. The extra rooms and corridors help balance
the map by removing dead ends and providing enough space for more than four
players. However the idea was taken too far with some levels. Runway looks
great, but with all the additional content that has been added, it takes
several minutes get around.
The biggest change to gameplay is the controls. The N64 pad
was great and Rare’s control scheme for FPS with a single stick was clever. But
with the extra controls available on a keyboard, the game dynamic takes an
interesting shift. In the original, it was odd for someone to use the R button
to aim. Almost all fights were circle strafes to the death! But in this remake,
aim is easily accessible on shift. You’re also allowed to move slowly whilst
aiming, resulting in everyone aiming for headshots.
I don’t often discuss soundtracks to games as few are truly
memorable. But as anyone who played the original knows, GoldeneEye 64 has an excellent
soundtrack. So full credit to everyone who has worked on the fantastic remixes
for the mod. The new soundtrack strikes a good balance between using the source
material and mixing it subtle dance themes.
Multiplayer FPS has gained the reputation of being an
endless grind for unlocks since the first Modern Warfare. This makes GoldenEye
Source really refreshing to play. All the content is available so you can get
on with having fun on a level playing field.
The modders have created an incredible amount of content. There’s a lot
of game modes, guns, characters and maps crammed into the 1.4GB download. Of course achievements were included as well,
but most of them are themed and give you an actual challenge.
If I take off my rose-tinted glasses, take a step back and
really examine it. I genuinely think I’ve had a lot more fun with GoldenEye
Source, than most other multiplayer FPS’ that have been released in the past
few years. The quick, frantic and fun
pace of classic multiplayer FPS’ like GoldenEye and Unreal Tournament seems to
have been lost in recent years. So Kudos to GoldenEye Source, here’s hoping the
a single-player remake is not far away.
