James Bond: Agent Under Fire
is another game based on the adventures of the charming government assassin,
but with the major difference being that this is a whole new outing for the man,
so while previous games (Goldeneye on the N64 and Licence To Kill
on the Atari ST and Amiga, for example) saw you aim to achieve the missions
acted out on film, you knew which way they were heading. Here, anything could
happen.
Being N64-less, I never got to play Goldeneye but heard so many good
things about it and - despite the slow start to the game where the first few
levels are too short and require just one or two brief tasks to be performed
- once you've got stuck in this title, it becomes a fantastic first-person-shooter
(with your Walther PPK and several automatic and semi-automatic weapons)
and problem-solver, using gadgets provided by Q's successor, R, to outwit
the enemy.
With no slow-down in frame rate when the pace quickens, whether you're working
your way in a fairly linear fashion or just dropped into the action with all
guns blazing around you. Crisp, sharp, fast, colourful - just what we're expecting
from the PS2 at the moment (I say "at the moment" because as we knew with the
original Playstation it took a couple of years before higher quality performance
was seemingly unlocked, even if it then went back a tad with some recent titles).
Soundwise, it's a spectacle too. The classic Bond theme - which never fails
to impress, the gunfire, the explosions, the taunts from the baddies as they
locate you and then call their mates over to all take a pop at you... There's
great directional movement in the audio dept. although a DTS soundtrack would
not have gone amiss.
Playability is high on the agenda as well. While it takes a little time to
get to grips with the control method for moving and shooting, as well as
intertwining this with the gadgets, all your efforts are largely paid off as
you watch the end results unfold and the enemy A.I. is much better than I've seen
in other games. Once they know where you are, try hiding in the vent ducts and
watch as they move from room to room after you.
After the single-player option, multi-player fun can be had with up to four
people connected via the multi-tap in the 12 deathmatches contained within.
Overall, this comes highly recommended, but don't forget to give it a chance
past the duff early few levels which made me think I'd rather be playing
Spy Hunter at first.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
James Bond: Agent Under Fire
is another game based on the adventures of the charming government assassin,
but with the major difference being that this is a whole new outing for the man,
so while previous games (Goldeneye on the N64 and Licence To Kill
on the Atari ST and Amiga, for example) saw you aim to achieve the missions
acted out on film, you knew which way they were heading. Here, anything could
happen.
With no slow-down in frame rate when the pace quickens, whether you're working
your way in a fairly linear fashion or just dropped into the action with all
guns blazing around you. Crisp, sharp, fast, colourful - just what we're expecting
from the PS2 at the moment (I say "at the moment" because as we knew with the
original Playstation it took a couple of years before higher quality performance
was seemingly unlocked, even if it then went back a tad with some recent titles).
Playability is high on the agenda as well. While it takes a little time to
get to grips with the control method for moving and shooting, as well as
intertwining this with the gadgets, all your efforts are largely paid off as
you watch the end results unfold and the enemy A.I. is much better than I've seen
in other games. Once they know where you are, try hiding in the vent ducts and
watch as they move from room to room after you.
