Agent Under Fire is EA's second offering set in the James Bond universe. After the decent The World Is Not Enough (developed by Eurocom), that stood its ground quite admirably; EA is set to give us another treat, and the very first of the Game Cube's First Person Shooter library. Most people would obviously know who plays the starring role in this ported PS2 game, but some of you may be scratching your head as to what movie is titled 'Agent Under Fire'. I have news for you people, this is one of the first James Bond games not based off of a movie license, EA has shelled out big bucks to take James, Moneypenny, Q and other 'Bond' characters off of the Silver Screen and exclusively into a game. Agent Under Fire looks decent graphically, however, it looks like nothing compared to Rouge Leader or some of the upcoming games; but it does look good. Agent Under Fire is, as I have said, a ported PS2 game, but what the Play Station 2 couldn't handle the Game Cube executes virtually flawlessly. I have not been able to play Agent Under Fire, but when it has finally been released I plan on getting a copy to test out on my own, which is right around the corner; the 12th of this month to be precise.

In this totally new adventure for James Bond and his allied friends, you must (as James Bond, of course) destroy Malprave, the head honcho of an elite terrorist organization that seeks to take control of the world by any means necessary. Now, this next section of the plot is quite tired and one of the oldest tricks in the book to reason for endless enemies… This elite terrorist group has the technology to clone humans so they have an endless supply of 'evil-doers' at their disposal. James Bond must go in and stop this terrorist threat before it grows any larger. This is where Zoe Nightshade (nifty name, no?) comes in. Zoe Nightshade is a brand new creation that has come in to help James Bond take down this evil organization; she is just the first in the cast of new and old characters that make up Agent Under Fire.

Agent Under Fire is probably one of my more eagerly awaited games out of the first quarter of 2002; most likely due to it being the very first FPS on Game Cube hardware. I have never played the original Play Station 2 version of Agent Under Fire but from reviews I have read it was a very solid game. With the improvements in frame rate and the inclusion of new features I see no reason why this game doesn't have the potential for greatness. The best improvement added would have to be a tossup between the FPS increase or computer controlled opponents, the PS2 is not that underpowered and was able to execute Agent Under Fire with only a bit of slowdown; however, where the PS2 slouched, the Game Cube stands tall. Personally, I like the bots feature the most, too many times I wanted to get some four player Goldeneye action, only to have buddies say "Nah, I'm busy waxing my dog"… well, maybe nothing along those lines, but you get my point.

Along with the bots, some other features include ten huge locations for all your single-playing needs. You will also be treated to a nice assortment of weapons and functional gadgets for you to dispatch various enemies with. From the pistol to the sub-machinegun to the always-welcome sniper rifle you will have enough variety of weapons to keep you from too much complaining. The kinds of gadgets you can expect are meant for a super spy just like James Bond, such as the Q-Claw, and ingenious grappling hook devised by none other than Q, but of course, this is only one example of what Q has cooked up for you.

The graphics are not bad when compared to many recent first person shooters in the market right now, but they do seem sup par when compared to games such as Soul Calibre II, Rouge Leader, and Star Fox Adventures; but nonetheless, they still look like a next-generation title. To make up for the lack in incredibly sharp and complex textures, extremely detailed models, and fur (I don't know why that would be in a bond title, however) there is said to be vast locations for you to romp in, in multiplayer and especially during your single player mission. Despite its graphical prowess, Agent Under Fire is sure to please everyone in North America this upcoming Tuesday; look out for my US Review is a few short days!