The legendary game GoldenEye. This is the game I got with my N64 and I spent all day searching around the dam level for bungee rope as it wasn’t in my inventory. It was a landmark game for not just first person shooters, but video games in general.

GoldenEye had the brilliant idea of adding objectives that were more than just pushing buttons then going through the level again to look for something that has changed. You had to protect certain people, blow up certain objects and find objects. On higher difficulty options, you have more objectives to complete.

The praise of GoldenEye has been done countless times before, but one aspect I think is overlooked is the level design, in terms of how the levels feel like actual places and buildings and not a nonsensical string of rooms and corridors.

Part of this is due to how the developers made the game: the GoldenEye team had never made a video game and was a risky experiment from Rare to throw people who had never worked in the video game industry to see if they would come up with unique methods. It’s quite shocking that they were willing to do this with an IP like James Bond, but it paid off.

Typically, the objective and player path is made first and then the level is built around that, but for GoldenEye, the levels were constructed and then they added the objectives and decided where the player would start. This meant that some rooms are essentially “pointless”, but it helps makes everything feel real.

The muiltiplayer was another huge surprise – a few of the developers started it with 6 weeks of development left and without getting permission to do so first. It was simple, but at the same time extremely enjoyable and is still one of the most famous multiplayer modes in a video game.

Some aspects of GoldenEye haven’t aged well, particularly the controls (although there are dual analogue options hidden in the settings, requiring two controllers), but sort that out and it’s still an absolute joy to play.

Fave

In truth, this is so far ahead of Doom 64, and even Turok, that comparisons are pointless. You’ll look at GoldenEye’s filmic feel, lashings of originality and – yes -frequent genius, and wonder why id or Iguana couldn’t have done similar things. And the reason? Because Rare, like Nintendo themselves, know the N64 inside-out and, plainly, are breathtakingly talented to boot.

Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #9. Review Score: 94%

Remake or remaster?

There was an XBLA version of GoldenEye that was nearly finished. You could swap between old and new graphics (although the “old” graphics weren’t fully finished) and it played great on a modern controller. Finish that version and release it, as it’s what GoldenEye deserves.

Official ways to get the game.

You can buy the game by purchasing a digital copy of Rare Replay on Xbox One/Series. It is also available for subscription as part of Xbox Game Pass or Nintendo Switch Online

Re-releases

2008: XBLA, Cancelled

2023: Nintendo Switch Online (Subscription Only)

2023: Xbox One/Series