I'm probably one of the few Bond fans with an unapologetic love for the third Brosnan Bond film; The World is Not Enough. Not to imply it's flawless, but I never viewed it as an invalid or forgettable entry to the series compared to others. Regardless of the film's quality among the Bond community, it indeed transferred over to video game form just as well as Quantum of Solace did. Unlike the previous section where I tied both games together, here I'm going to do something a little unconventional. I intend to review both games separately, however, I do think one is better than the other. And considering how I rank them close to one another that share plenty of similarities, it would make sense for me to compare and contrast both games and give a final result. So, consider these two posts as me breaking down on which game is better.
The only video game version of The World is Not Enough that I knew about when I was a kid was the PlayStation version. The first time I heard of the N64 game was spotting a trailer for it from a VHS copy of the film during the previews (and all the special features it crams in at the start). The promo did not announce what system it was for, so when I saw footage of the game, I was bewildered at how different it looked compared to the game I played. It looked similar from its first-person layout and familiar locations, yet had more expansive spaces, new areas and gadgets, and henchmen with different models. In contrast, the game looked way more exciting than the version I was playing at the time. But having no idea, it was for another system; I just shrugged it off as demo footage of an earlier version of the game that hasn't been finished. Eventually, I discovered the truth behind the promo and would have loved to play it if I had an N64. I received an N64 console during my mid-20s, bought a copy of the game, and when I finished playing it, I wished I could've played it at the time I was playing Bond games religiously. The game was EA's second effort at creating a Bond game after the failed Tomorrow Never Dies. As gamers were displeased by its third-person presentation, terrible controls, limited levels, and no multiplayer, EA decided to return the game franchise to form. This time they acquired help from the gaming company that would both make (Nightfire) and tragically breaks the franchise (007 Legends) Eurocom.
For players to understand the story for previous Bond games, they were given a mission briefing, whether from dossiers or a cutscene of M explaining the situation. There were occasional cutscenes or written text from the characters in a few places, but they were usually placed in the middle or end of the level. Without reading or watching the briefings, players will most likely be confused when trying to make sense of what is going on. The World is Not Enough contains mission briefings similar to Goldeneye's file design, with M setting up the mission, Robinson giving more details, and R explaining how the gadgets work (I was disappointed not to read Moneypenny's flirtatious advice). The briefings include images and descriptions of the villains, allies, and civilians Bond will encounter in the level; making it helpful for the player to identify who to kill and what role they play in the story. What separates the game's storytelling from the previous two is the game relies heavily on telling the story through its cutscenes. Instead of a cutscene of Bond entering a level or M explaining what to do in the briefings, the game recreates scenes from the movie to make the story feel a little more cinematic. The briefings are helpful and give more details to the storyline, but they're not required to understand what's happening. The cutscenes set up the level (sometimes having M or R give information to Bond during the cutscenes, which kind of makes the text briefings pointless), show the characters' interactions and provide some action, which would become a common form of storytelling in further installments. However, since this is the first Bond game to take that approach to the story, the graphics have yet to appear as cinematic as the following games. The movements are stiff, the characters still appear blocky, and the voice acting sounds robotic. That's not to say there haven't been some improvements in the graphics. Compared to Tomorrow Never Dies, there is still a little more detail in the designs, and the characters have a little more movement. The camera work itself saves plenty of the cutscenes limitations by using a variety of different shots and angles to have the action, locations, and conversations taking place appear dramatically prominent as the film.
As far as accuracy goes when recapturing the source material, the majority of action scenes and critical plot points are present. If a person playing this game has yet to see the film, it's based on; they would not be lost when trying to understand the plot and characters. Most of the key plot points are addressed, the characters are identifiable, and the majority of action scenes are recreated. It's pretty amazing how much the game stays faithful to its source material as it uses a flowing narrative to prevent the missions from seeming like just a collection of crucial action scenes from the movie tied with an exposition dump. There's time with James bonding with Elektra before the player has to ski to kill goons. And there's a cutscene with Bond confronting Renard while gaining a clue he's in cahoots with Elektra King before shooting up the terrorists in the base. I was impressed with how some of the missions closely resemble scenes from the movie. The mission at the nuclear base covers every action from the film, from using the grapple watch to escape the pit, to pushing a mine car for cover while killing terrorists, to ending with the player running from an explosion. One of the original ideas of the Tomorrow Never Dies game was going to have an underwater level that never made it to the final game. The idea for an underwater level is reused for the game's last mission to mirror the film for how Bond has to swim to Renard in a damaged sunken submarine when it could have easily just taken the liberty to have the climax take place on foot. Before the final level, when entering the submarine, the player is even allowed to kill an assassin at the bottom while entering to mimic the film, similar to how Goldeneye 64 mimics the bathroom scene from the film. It's not one hundred percent accurate, but a nice little touch for those familiar with the movie.
For everything, the game does well to recreate the film for Bond fans to appreciate and gamers to grasp the story and characters without seeing the film; the liberties the game does take are pretty much welcomed. Many movie games tend to create new levels that have little to do with connecting to the film's plot to create an interactive experience. However, The World is Not Enough doesn't take as many detours from the story as one would think. Most levels created specifically for the game come from small scenes from the film that the game decides to expand upon. After the bomb placed by Bullion goes off, rather than Bond getting instantly captured, players chase him on the rooftops and through the apartments while fighting against Elektra's goons. To make up for not having a playable boat chase against the Cigar Girl, Bond chases her on land before trying to make her escape on the balloon. My personal favorite out of the levels that elaborate on small scenes from the film is the blowing up of the MI6 building. It's not typical in Bond games to have Bond walkaround MI6 headquarters. Usually, a cutscene takes place to move players right into the action quickly. So, to have the privilege to explore this important location while the action is happening makes for a particularly unique setting for Bond fans. It was quite a big deal at the time to see some destruction take place at a sacred area mainly used for exposition on film. The game makes the situation more intense by having assassins breaking in. Depending on the difficulty, players are given more to do than just fighting their way to find Robert King through a burning building. Players have to seal the building from any more intruders, protect M, bring Dr. Molly Warmflash to a wounded victim, and receive an exploding pen from Moneypenny (Q, who does not at all resemble Desmond Llewelyn, is too busy finishing up his fishing boat).
I'm not saying all the added levels are based on small moments or don't take serious liberties that differ from the film. For those from the pre No Time to Die days who felt the pre-title sequence was the longest, the game not only has three but four levels before the story gets moving. I understand having a level dedicated to finding King in MI6 headquarters and a chase with the Cigar Girl, but in the fourth level, the Cigar Girl somehow has the time to set a bomb in a subway station that Bond has to defuse before time runs out. I'm not saying the level itself isn't one of the game's highlights for its setting, tension, and unsuspected obstacles. But it is quite a significant detour from the story when other levels knew how much to keep from the film and alter for the gaming experience without losing focus of the story. Midnight Departure is an excellent example of it. When facing the main villains, and the Cigar Girl (the only memorable foes in the film), the game doesn't take any liberties. They die precisely how they did in the movie. Standard henchmen like Bullion, Davidov, and Gabor receive a different demise. When killing Davidov during the Midnight Departure mission, rather than having a cutscene of Bond killing him in the trunk of his vehicle, players have an opportunity to assassinate him at any time. It could be on the road, in a military truck, or on the airfield, allowing the players to think like Bond about how to eliminate him. While finding the right moment, Bond still has to take the right items to allow access on the plane (including the duffle bag) to prevent it from feeling like a drawn-out level that could be finished from the start and have Bond making his way to the final checkpoint.
My only real gripes with the changes to the film (more so nitpicks) are not in the gameplay but in the cutscenes themselves, mainly from the viewpoint of someone who has seen the film. Take the first level, for example. In the movie, Swiss Banker Lachaise refuses to give Bond information threatening him with his bodyguards. Bond retaliates by setting off his flash bang gun on the bodyguards, takes them out, and holds Lachaise at gunpoint, only for him to get killed by the Cigar girl before he can tell Bond the information he seeks. In the game, it's all backward. The Cigar girl kills Lachaise while he's threatening Bond, and Bond uses his gadget on one guard after the assassin (and one of the bodyguards, for some reason) is out of sight. Later in the game, R mentions the inflatable jacket to protect Bond from avalanches when fighting against assassins in the snowy mountains. You'd think the game would recreate the climatic avalanche, only for it to end with Bond and Elektra escaping through a helicopter, making the mention of this gadget pointless. Zukovsky's demise is the dumbest change for me that applies to both crowds. In the film Elektra kills him by hiding a gun behind his late nephew's cap when asked to bring it to him after finding out he's dead. Here, the gun is sitting in plain sight next to the cap in the game, and he never notices it. A flaw that could've easily been fixed by having Elektra suddenly materializing a gun, suggesting she's carrying a concealed weapon.
The biggest gripe I have with the game when connecting it to the source material is how it does nothing new with Elektra's henchman Renard. The concept for Renard is that he's a terrorist who feels no pain after surviving a bullet to the brain. As foes like Oddjob and JAWS are superhuman for no reason, the film gives Renard a reason to be an unstoppable force. And aside from taking a few punches from Bond, holding a piece of burning coal, and breaking a table, his invincible ability to withstand pain is never fully utilized. A terrific concept that's disappointingly wasted but at least is saved by Robert Carlyle's performance, which makes him one of Bond's few tragic foes. You'd think the video game would take full advantage of his inhuman ability to keep on fighting Bond without holding back by having a few boss fights, but it never delivers. Renard is always hidden behind bulletproof glass, leaving no possibilities for a proper boss fight. The only time a player can ever harm him in story mode is by impaling him with the plutonium rod, like in the film. Could there be some proper firefight to weaken him before finishing him with a plutonium rod? Bond and Renard did get into a brawl beforehand in the film; unquestionably, the makers could've come up with something better than just swimming to the finish before time runs out. Giving a villain who would fit a Bond video game perfectly the same limitations the film provides him for accuracy is on the same level of dumb laziness as having no gadgets in most Daniel Craig games. Just because it's accurate to the film doesn't mean it will translate well to the video game medium.
Gameplaywise it's very similar to Rare's Goldeneye. It's in first person, has new objectives for each difficulty setting, has unlockables, and grants players the freedom of how to make their way to the mission objective. The game goes as far as to allow the player to proceed to interact in a level after failing a mission instead of throwing them out. The game's a solid duplication of Goldeneye's gameplay and mechanics though it doesn't mean it's one hundred percent up to par either. Coming from a person who never really advances the difficulties when playing video games, Goldeneye 64 was one of those exceptions. Part of that was because of the rewards, but the main reason was how the game would give me new things to do besides having more guards, lower health, and less ammo. These additions in objectives told casual gamers there's more to see and do in the levels if you want to be challenged and will receive a special surprise when finished. At first, the change of difficulty delivers in The World is Not Enough. Some of the guards shooting at you are civilians, and additional tasks are added to complete during the MI6 Headquarters mission than just fighting your way to Sir Robert King. But most of the changes after those levels involve the player rescuing more hostages rather than contacting new people or finding different items. The rewards are good enough to want to raise the stakes in difficulty but lack variety to make it more adventurous. To still be playing a level after failing doesn't feel as free as Goldeneye either. Instead of pausing to see if the player failed or checked off every objective, The World is Not Enough contains a flashing sign in the middle of the screen telling players to "Abort Mission." I can't act like I don't understand this change since Goldeneye hardly tells the player to abort unless they check their status, which can get annoying and confusing. But to always stare at flashing signs as I'm taking more liberties than Bond would ever do does get distracting. Some levels don't even allow the player to stay after failing an objective; it either shows a cutscene or fades to black, making this special privilege less consistent. Considering Bond games after this would mainly abandon these concepts to move with the times, I can't say it isn't still lovely to have them in some form.
For everything the game does to mimic most of what made Goldeneye 64 successfully, Eurocom's involvement helped make a few improvements that I dare say, may even rival Goldeneye. Gadget-wise, there have been a few upgrades, mainly towards Bond's watch. Trying to improve upon this gadget sounded like a difficult task as it can fire lasers, detonate explosives, pull metal items with its magnetic force, and make for an excellent pause screen. Apart from keeping the laser part of Bond's watch, all the other features have been discontinued. It sounds like a downgrade to such an iconic part of Goldeneye until discovering the new features it has. Bond's watch now has an electric stunner, tranquilizer darts, and a grappling hook that can be used multiple times in the game instead of every once in and while. As old gadgets like the bugs and a mini camera make a reappearance, Bond is equipped with a couple of new ones from R's lab, including an exploding pen and a bomb disposal kit. The glasses Bond wears for most of the game are the most practical out of the newer items. Players are allowed to see better in the dark when setting the glasses to night vision and can use ex-ray vision simultaneously to see their opponents through the walls to have a stealthy upper hand. It certainly makes fighting the guards under the radar easier than Goldeneye. The only gadget I wish I could use is the flash bang gun. The only time the device appears is during the first level, which is handed to Bond and can be used before meeting Lachaise but will only lead me to a mission fail for starting trouble. Maybe the player can use the flash-bang gun at any point during the meeting, however a cutscene does all the work for the player. If the game is going to supply players with a weapon that they can use, wouldn't it be appropriate for them to use it when it's needed or have it in any other level during story mode?
While using these gadgets, I couldn't help but think of later Bond games that would use similar methods. While Bond gamers may have fond memories of playing critical stealth levels such as Bad Diplomacy from Agent Under Fire and Night Shift from Nightfire, the level Night Watch was the first to set the standard for those types of levels. Players can't kill the guards but can knock them out with their fists or a dart gun. Must avoid the guards from sounding the alarms, or else it will lead to an instant game over. And use gadgets to hack and bug electronic devices to gain information in the middle of the night. I was surprised to discover that the game mechanics even includes the guards waking up after being tranquilized where the only efficient way to keep them out is by punching them, just like in Nightfire. I was just as in awe by its familiar game mechanics as Nightfire when I found the ability to take away a guard's firearm from behind and hold them at gunpoint at my mercy. It was one of my favorite stealth tactics from NightFire that I could not believe was predated by this game. A level where I was chasing after Bullion gave me some moments of déjà vu when thinking back to the later released Quantum of Solace game. The second mission in Quantum involves chasing a traitor who failed a hit at a secret base. So what, big deal that happened in the film it's based on. However, where the similarities to this game start to take form involve the settings the chase takes place. Not so much the country but on the rooftops, the apartments and through the marketplace. And playing the level on the main game in first-person shooting certainly adds to the familiarity with playing the second Bond N64 game.
Bond games indeed take influence from other Bond games all the time, which isn't a shock considering this game is not even trying to hide from mimicking Rare's Goldeneye. But how often does one play a Bond game retrospectively and think of a scene from a Bond movie that would not come out at least a decade after the game's release? While playing the subway mission, I thought of my favorite Craig-era Bond film Skyfall. The idea of rushing through a subway station, sliding down an escalator, and dodging a train to get through a door as an assassin is on the loose reminded me so much of the train station scene from the film that, without those classic N64 graphics I would have forgotten I was playing Brosnan era game. At any moment, I'm expecting a train to nearly collapse on me after an explosion. There's no evidence that the level inspired the scene for the film, which could be coincidental. Then again, the infamous 007 Legends game chose not to release the Skyfall levels until after the film was released. Considering that both the game and the film Skyfall were meant to celebrate the franchise's 50th anniversary, it wouldn't seem far-fetched to think that in early development for the film, somebody played through some of the best of the Bond games for inspiration of what to add to the film and game. Perhaps this level happened to be one of the few keepers that made the film and was scrapped from the video game because of the rushed production. It's most likely not what actually happened. Still, I can't help but think the level must have served as some inspiration for the scene in the film someway.
Diving into the history of the Bond games, it was pretty underwhelming that the driving levels originated from the series' weaker games. I was relieved that it wasn't the case with the first on-rails shooting level in the series. The mechanic gets introduced through the level in the mountains as goons are in pursuit of Bond. What could've been either a generic level of Bond walking through the snow or sliding and gliding with little to no control (we'll get to that in part 2) becomes an exciting thrill ride. Multiple enemies keep popping up, turning at the right moment leads to different routes, and players can choose the speed of this chase. It's my favorite of the on-rail levels in Bond games for its variety and freedom compared to future levels of its kind. Nightfire would use a similar environment for its second on-rails level, complete with goons on snowmobiles and towers to blow up but wouldn't give the player as many choices. 007 Legends would provide gamers with options to choose their speed and move a bit freely, only for it to fail by throwing in so much at such a small period with no time to get a feel of the controls or focus on the objective.
The multiplayer itself is ahead of its time. As someone who used to often play Nightfire's multiplayer mode, half of the reasons I loved playing it stemmed from here. Playing against friends will always remain fun but fighting against A.I. Bots doubles the stakes. Most of the character skins outside of the characters from The World is Not Enough would become playable in Nightfire as well, including Oddjob, Baron Samedi, Jaws, Max Zorin, Francisco Scaramanga, May Day, and Wai Lin. Players can also choose different wardrobes for some of the characters, just like in Nightfire. But the game has the dumb rule that good characters can't fight one another, meaning players would have to split up into teams or give one player the advantage to play a non-villain skin. As someone who usually loves playing villains, it never really bothered me, not to say it's not an unnecessary limitation. It's just more fun climbing into a skin of a Bond villain after fighting against them during the story mode.
Of all the things in multiplayer that would translate to Nightfire, the biggest surprise was finding an early version of the Skyrail map. The Skyrail map in Nightfire was always my go-to in multiplayer, so to play the original version of it before the later game would perfect made my attempts of finishing the level Cold Reception at a new record time to unlock it was rewarding. The other maps the multiplayer includes are just as amusing as the Skyrail. Many are taken straight from story mode with a few minor alterations, such as the bank, MI6 headquarters, the forest, and Istanbul. Some maps allow players to fight in places that were only shown through the cutscenes, like Elektra King's command center, where she captures M, and MI6 headquarters in Scotland. Most of my favorite levels are the ones that aren't playable in story mode. Not to say I don't like fighting my friends or A.I. Bots in the main MI6 building; how often do Bond games allow that? But I also know I don't need to play multiplayer to visit it when story mode makes it one of the highlights in the game. I'd likely rather fight in the hedge mazes of Spectre's training base or fight by the flames of the Devil's Breath when Renard first appears in the film. A unique level that is an extension of one of the levels is the one based on Cold Reception. As that level functioned as an on-rails shooting, it's nice to freely fight in the middle of the mountains through ice caverns and a lone cabin (reminiscent of the one in The Spy Who Loved Me). The level I hope to someday unlock upon recent discovery is Air Raid. I'm currently happy to unlock a map where I can kill people on cable cars just like old times, but I'm also ready to fight on top of two flying planes where I could fall to my doom. It's pretty much a claustrophobic version of Skyrail, with danger lurking at every corner.
I don't typically talk too much about weapons in Bond games, as many of them are primarily used in most games. But there were a few that really caught my attention when playing this game, especially when knowing they're part of the early stages of EA's Bond games. The Frenesi shotgun and the Raptor Magnum are weapons I would recognize in later Bond games, while others I wished became more commonplace in the EA games. Spear guns are one of the many iconic weapons that come to mind when I think back to 007 films, and The World is Not Enough is the only Bond game that allows players to use it when you think it would transfer over to future Bond games. The later games would have a MAC-10, except they would never bring back the silencer for this incredible gun. And compared to the games that followed after it, it's the coolest, fastest, and deadliest this gun has ever been. One of my favorite weapons in Agent Under Fire, the Viper, was already perfected in this game known as Mustang 44. It's not only as fast and more powerful than the latter. But it contains a sniper scope for an assured kill and reload animation reminiscent of a western. The only weapon in the game that's still in its crude stages is the guided missile rocket launcher. Nightfire would improve the mechanics for the weapon so much that using it in multiplayer would be considered just as much cheating as playing Oddjob in Goldeneye 64. The controls for guiding the rockets are as hard to steer as the cars and the same weapon in 007 Racing, and staring at a small screen instead of playing through the missile's point-of-view doesn't make it any easier to navigate.
It's a real shame the N64 game of The World is Not Enough gets overshadowed by so many other Bond games. The reasons are valid; otherwise, why isn't this game on the top of my list? But I hardly ever hear Bond fans mention this as one of the important games. It not only captures the source material more accurately than most Bond games, but its liberties don't feel out of place or lose focus of the story, making it pleasing for both audiences. When improving upon the games, the game takes more steps forwards than it does backward, making the experience as playable here as it will later be in future installments. Of all the games from EA during the pre-Agent Under Fire period after Goldeneye, this is simply the best. Does the Ps1 version measure up to it? Stay tuned for part 2.
Least Favorite Mission: City of Walkways Part I & II
Fighting Elektra's henchmen in Zukovsky's caviar factory while I'm riding on conveyor belts and making my way past collapsing docks as I'm avoiding the buzzsaw helicopters is exciting, with some incredible moments that make me appreciate playing the levels. However, the number of times I died is almost as high as dying in the skiing level in 007 Legends, especially on the Secret Agent difficulty setting. It's already hard enough that I have limited ammo and body armor with twice as many goons. Except now I have to also watch out for helicopters slicing me from out of nowhere if they don't try to blast me first. Then again, I'm less likely to die from an unseen helicopter missile than I am from a henchman firing a rocket launcher at me in the fog. I died so many times from not seeing my opponent that I had to start wasting my ammo by blindly shooting, praying I hit him and kill the other person with a grenade launcher. I tried using the night vision goggles to improve my vision, only to discover that they can see through anything except for the fog. The final straw was fighting against a helicopter with a primitive missile-guided rocket launcher, where standing underneath it becomes just as much of an unnecessary challenge. On the lowest difficulty, the level is a little more fun and bearable, but that doesn't mean it's easy to survive. To ask which City of Walkways level is the least frustrating, is like asking which twin in Agent Under Fire has more personality. They're both so alike in many ways it's not worth ruling one out.
Favorite Mission: Fallen Angel
The level throws as many obstacles and objectives as it possibly can when trying to apprehend Elektra. I have to fight against her top henchmen Bullion, and Gabor. Use my gadgets to get into certain rooms or escape from a death trap. And free M from her cell. All while I'm exploring the docks and different rooms in Madien's Tower with various surprises. Then when the time comes for me to finally kill Elektra rather than the game rushing me to kill her by her holding a gun towards M, or having a countdown before the submarine launch, I have the time to take in a few moments before proving that Bond never misses. Wait too long however she'll call the sub to launch, and miss, and M is "everywhere." So, I like the game doesn't awkwardly wait for me to kill her either. In fact, at the start of the level I can choose the fate of Zukovsky. If I take his gun (that isn't his cane gun) he tells me to avenge his nephew before passing on. If I don't, he lies there wounded. Knowing one of his guards are still present, I'd like to think that he is rescued by him as I pursue Elektra. It's wishful thinking, but I at least rather give my favorite Bond ally a few more moments to live, especially after freeing me. There are some things the Ps1 version does better with this level in comparison, such as a challenging boss battle, and freeing M with a gadget and protecting her. A part of me feels I should pick a level the Ps1 version either doesn't have (King's Ransom) or does better here (Cold Reception). But this will be my favorite for its non-stop obstacles, atmosphere, and having more freedom taking on important objectives. It's a far more exciting level than the game's actual last level.
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