James Bond 007: NightFire – GBA – Review

Who hasn’t ever wished
they were a sophisticated secret agent that prefers his martinis shaken and not
stirred and his women a bit dangerous or daring enough to come along for the
ride as he attempts to save the world from a brilliant fiend?  If you’re an
owner of any of the big consoles, 007: Nightfire let you slip into the
tux of James Bond in an original story (meaning you won’t find this one in the
theaters).  Now Game Boy Advance will get a chance to take on the roll of 007 in
this first-person shooter.  Is this gadget-filled game enough to make Q proud? 
Please read on.

 

The Game Boy Advanced has
definitely seen its small share of first-person shooters (ah, Doom, how
we still love thee) but seeing Bond in one is definitely a pleasantly surprising
change.  Like the Xbox, GameCube and PS2 version of the game, Nightfire tells a
story true to the Bond universe.  It seems like Raphael Drake, the head of the
Phoenix International Corporation in charge of dismantling warheads throughout
the world, has decided to seize this opportunity to use the warheads to his own
sinister advantage.  He even stole the secret component of missile guidance
hardware intended for the U.S. Space Weapon Platform.  This, of course, calls
for the help of Agent 007 who is sent to stop Drake before he carries out his
plans for world domination.

 

The missions themselves
take gamers through a number of different locations seen in the other versions
of this game, although here you won’t take command of Bond’s classy
gadget-filled cars.  And speaking of gadgets, Bond carries around a few Q
inventions such as the grappling device that poses as a cell phone, the key
chain stunner or the wristwatch laser.  Your arsenal list is also numerous,
giving Bond the chance to handle everything from pistols, sub machine guns and
also a sniper rifle. 

 

Aside from the obvious
gunfights you’ll get into, the game also puts Bond in situations where you need
to use stealth.  These situations are far and apart, but it does add something a
little different to the mix. In Tokyo, for example, your mission is to keep an
informant named Mayhew alive.   Mainly, though, Nightfire is about action and
Bond will face everything from dozens of Drake’s henchmen and, at one point,
even a military helicopter.  On the plus side, the game offers a large number of
sub-missions gamers will be happy to go through.  Another thing you’ll gladly
notice is that the game gives you three slots for your save game so you can pass
the game along to a friend even if you’re still in the middle of the fourth
mission.

 

The bad news is that the
controls just make for really awkward movements and aiming.  This is especially
true when you are on the top of a flight of stairs and an enemy is shooting up
at you.  Seems unfair?  Yes it this is not as half as bad as the fact that when
you take damage, you don’t even know where it came from until you turn around
completely.  The framerate also doesn’t help here, making for a less than smooth
ride. And lastly, there are no checkpoints to be found in each level so if you
die during the middle of a mission, you have to do it all over again.

 

Sadly, Nightfire isn’t a
great-looking game either.  The graphics are not only blurry but they also make
it hard to distinguish friend from foe or foes from that moving camera on top of
that tower.  The unfortunate part about all this is that the game tries
to bring out the details of each location and even goes as far as lovingly
restore all the places we seen in the console versions.  It’s great to see
Drake’s Austrian Castle complete with all the fine paintings and huge tables. 
This all could have been done a little better.

 

Surprisingly, though, this
game showcases some of the best sound heard on the GBA in a long time.  From the
very start you’ll be treated with Bond’s familiar theme music and the original
Nightfire score scattered throughout the game’s levels and cut scenes.  The
gunfire sounds are also nicely done and the game does a great job of making each
weapon sound distinct so you’ll hear a different sound come from your Wolfram
P2K than the sound that comes out of your Deutsche M9K.  Your enemies even shout
things out at you and cry out when you shoot them dead.  Overall, this is just
great stuff and it does make up for the weak visuals.

 

There are a number of
things that keep Nightfire from being the best first-person shooter on the Game
Boy Advance but what flaws there are don’t keep gamers from enjoying the
action.  Despite the poor graphics and sometimes frustrating controls, you’ll
enjoy all the goodies each level has to offer and making use of each gadget just
adds to the fun.  If you’re looking for a decent FPS on your GBA, look no
further.

 

#Reviewer’s
Scoring Details

 
Gameplay: 6.5
The game’s flaunts are all directed
at the game’s controls that make Nightfire a bit awkward to play and thus taking
the fun away from the overall experience.  This is not to say that gamers won’t
enjoy what this first-person shooter has to offer but it does make for some
frustrating moments.   One of these flaws are the fact that our favorite British
00 Agent can’t lower his weapon on the top of the stairs to shot a foe shooting
up at him.

 

Graphics: 6.6
Unfortunately the second weakest
thing about this game is its visuals, although it should be pointed out that
Nightfire’s attempt to bring to life many of the locations seen on the console
versions is astonishingly admirable.  Still, the blurry details make it
difficult for you to make out character.  At one point during the first mission
I accidentally shot ally Zoe Nightshade because in the distance she’s a white
blur just like the rest of the opponents you go up against.  Still, it was a
worthy attempt.

 

Sound: 8.0
Complete with the opening Bond theme
music we’ve come to instantly recognize, the sound is just one of the best
aspects of this game.  The original soundtrack is found throughout the game’s
cut scenes as well during the action itself.  And to top it all off, each weapon
has it’s own distinct sound.  The bullets from your pistol, of course, sound
different than those that come out of a sniper rifle.  The enemies spout out
one-liners or simple words like “Freeze!” or “Stay where you are!”

 

Difficulty: Hard
Part of the game’s main difficulty
comes from trying to figure out where the enemy fire is coming from and getting
an accurate aim.  Most of the time you have the element of surprise, but the
enemy has the advantage since you don’t know where they are shooting at you
until you turn around to look for him.  Your enemy also surprisingly attempts to
get close enough to shoot you and does a good job of moving out of the way of
direct gunfire.  This all makes for some really challenging levels.

 

Concept: 7.0
As far as first-person shooters go;
Nightfire manages to tell a story while thrusting you into the action.  The best
part about this is that the game makes full use of the James Bond license and
showcases the things you would associate with Bond such as Q’s neat gadgets and
the obligatory Bond Girls.  You also see a number of exotic locales, although
unlike the other versions of this game you do not get to drive vehicles.  There
are a number of bonuses scattered throughout the levels, though, but a
multiplayer option would have been a welcome addition. 

 

Overall: 7.0
Nightfire has flaws aplenty but,
regardless of the not-so-good graphics and poor controls, this is still a good
first-person shooter that GBA gamers should definitely own.  With interesting
levels that throw many bonuses into the mix and an assortment of fun 007 gadgets
to play with, the game is certainly true to the console game it was ported from.