Public Servant Lifestyle

Tired of playing the good guy? Just as well - villains rule in the new James Bond universe first-person-shooter (FPS).

Goldeneye: Rogue Agent

Why save the world when you can rule it? Good question, well presented. The latest PC game from the 'Bond franchise asks just that question.

It’s time to take a different slant on the world of Ian Flemings’ master spy as Goldeneye: Rogue Agent puts you on the side of the baddies as a renegade ‘00’ with a prosthetic (wait for it) ‘golden eye’.

Goldeneye: Rogue Agent goes where no previous James Bond game has dared to tread, giving you the chance to cross over to the dark side of the Bond universe to experience life as a high-rolling, cold-hearted villain. The focus of this first-person shooter shifts from that of 007 himself, to the corrupt underworld and its criminal masterminds.

‘Reckless Brutality’

As an aspiring ‘00’ agent (that is: licensed to kill in the name of Her Majesty’s most secret service) who has been dismissed from MI6 for ‘reckless brutality’, the player is recruited by one of the Bond universe’s most famous screen enemies: Auric Goldfinger. Goldfinger, it transpires, is embroiled in a ruthless war against another underworld mainstay of Bond’s international super spy background: Dr. No. With these two arch criminal geniuses vying for control costing the central character (the player) an eye – the result of a particularly brutal encounter with Dr. No- Goldfinger's technicians are forced to replace it with a gold-hued, synthetic and upgradeable eye, which earns the character the nickname ‘GoldenEye' – and motivates the former British agent further on his quest fro revenge.

This game allows you to wreak havoc as only villains can (though, to be honest, the distinction between villains and ‘heroes’ in the murderous world of the Bond books, films and videogames has always been somewhat blurry…). As the mysterious, titular bad guy players get the chance to make their unrelenting rise through the ranks of villainy, encounter such legendary allies and enemies as Oddjob, Scaramanga, Xenia Onatopp and Pussy Galore on globe-spanning missions of vengeance and demolition.

World-renowned DJ Paul Oakenfold has composed an original score and creating the game's overarching musical personality with hard-driving, rhythmic beats hand-crafted for every mission. Music supervisor for the game, Oakenfold’s original score creates the game's overarching musical personality with hard-driving, rhythmic beats hand-crafted for every mission.

Oakenfold has enjoyed two decades of worldwide acclaim as one of the top dance and electronic music DJs. Since entering the world of theatrical music composition four years ago, Oakenfold has created scores and other musical contributions for such high-profile motion pictures as the 2000 remake of Get Carter, Swordfish(2001), the Tim Burton version of Planet of the Apes (2001), The Bourne Identity (2002), Austin Powers: Goldmember (2002), and The Matrix: Reloaded (2003), as well as the theme song for the NBC TV show Las Vegas.

Christopher Lee

The Hollywood talent roster involved in the game includes no less than Count Dracula/Lord Summerisle/Count Dooku himself: Mr. Christopher Lee. Here, he is reprising his role as the villainous assassin Scaramanga from The Man with the Golden Gun - a role he first played some 30 years ago! Also voicing her electronic counterpart is another British acting legend: Dame Judi Dench, who returns her as Bond’s boss, the fictional MI6 chief ‘M’, a role she has performed in four James Bond films so far.

Rounding out the talent behind the game is Academy Award-winning Production Designer Sir Ken Adam (who has been involved in the recent James Bond film series), Costume Designer Kym Barrett (of The Matrix trilogy), and Character Designer Rene Morel (whose most famous work so far has arguably been on animated feature film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within).

Key game features include:

Fully integrated single-player, multiplayer split-screen, and online gameplay for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system from Microsoft.

Travel to famous Bond locations such as the top of the Golden Gate Bridge from A View to a Kill, the Pyramids of Egypt from The Spy who Loved Me and the satellite uplink from GoldenEye, as well as original locations including Auric Enterprises, the Hoover Dam, the mountains of Switzerland to the streets of Hong Kong and from Fort Knox to Dr. No's Crab Key lair in the Caribbean.

‘Rogue Agent has been produced by a stellar creative team consisting of more than 120 accomplished artists, game designers, and engineers, including veterans of such hit films as Shrek, Titanic, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, and X-Men 2.

"By allowing fans to step into the shoes of the 'bad guys', GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is the most exciting, cutting-edge episode of the Bond video game series to date," said Patrick Gilmore, Executive Producer at EALA. "We feel that to deliver a blockbuster entertainment experience, this game deserves a dynamic musical score and world-class production values that reflect the rebellious and original style of the game itself. We wanted the best of the best, and this line up is just that."

Going where no previous James Bond game has dared to tread, this latest first-person shooter breaks all the rules by transporting players to the dark side of the Bond universe to experience life as a high-rolling, cold-hearted villain. This radical twist to the Bond franchise works well – and effectively makes the player's goal to rule the world - or at least, contribute to it’s overthrow - rather than save it. What will be interesting to see, is whether this game will itself spawn a sequel. After all, once the villain has defeated all his enemies in succession, what comes next?

Hi-Tech Lair

Well...my guess is the villainous Goldeneye gets himself a band of followers, builds a hi-tech lair (in a mountain, volcano, submarine or satellite – the usual villain’s des-res.) and sets about global domination.

Perhaps a more strategic game could be devised in this way: combining features of the sort of sophisticated ‘city-building’/commerce games now on the market – to custom build your own base – and prepare it for the inevitable attacks from other villains/massed ninja commandoes etc… A game of this nature might also work towards bringing the game Bond franchise full circle. After all, what happens when the villain in every Bond film eliminates the competition, corners the market in diverse nefarious trades, gets himself a beautiful (but deadly – of course!) sidekick and a pool of sharks? Why James Bond walks through the door of course! Now THAT would be a game climax worth playing...

Golden Eye: Rogue Agent seamlessly integrates single-player, multiplayer split-screen, and online gameplay for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft. Featured modes include story-driven campaign missions, deathmatch style simulator trials, and objective-based war games. Officially licensed by MGM Interactive, Golden Eye: Rogue Agent was developed by EA's Los Angeles studio.

For more information on Golden Eye: Rogue Agent , including news and downloads, follow this link to check out the official game website.

Golden Eye: Rogue Agent is out now for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox, from EA Games. Previous 007 game titles; James Bond: Nightfire, James Bond 007 in...Agent Under Fire and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing are all still available.

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