James Bond 007 (1998 video game)
James Bond 007 | ||
---|---|---|
Composer(s) Eric Nunamaker | Brent Lambert Nathan Davidson | |
Series | James Bond | |
Platform(s) | Game Boy | |
Release | ||
Genre(s) | Action-adventure | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
James Bond 007 is an action-adventure game featuring James Bond. The game was developed by Saffire and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy.[2] Released in North America on February 9, 1998, the game features a story that includes characters from multiple James Bond films, such as Oddjob and Jaws.[3]
Plot
The game begins with Bond in a Chinese village,
After a little bickering within the black market, betting at a casino, and meeting the Rat Man, Bond receives a sleeping dart gun which he uses on Oddjob's henchman. After stealing the henchman's room key, Bond is ambushed by Oddjob inside his hotel room and taken to the
While awaiting torture in the secret weapons base, Zhong Mae arrives and tells Bond that she has changed sides, stating that she was only trying to aid her village financially. With her help, Bond defeats Oddjob and interrogates him on who is behind the plot. Oddjob gives the name: General Golgov, a top general in Russia. Oddjob tells Bond to return to Kurdistan where he finds Golgov's two associates, Saddam and Khatar, while Zhong Mae tells Bond to find her friend, Mustafa. After Bond defeats Khatar and Saddam, Mustafa thanks him for stopping the war that destroyed Iqbal's village and gives him a mirror. With aid from a guide, Bond makes it to the edge of Golgov's base which Bond manages to infiltrate. Inside, Bond kills Jaws and begins to unravel the general's true intentions: a nuclear holocaust with the general emerging as the ruler of the world. Bond uses a bazooka to destroy the General in his robot and aids Zhong Mae in shutting down the base. Bond and Mae take a boat out to sea where a British sub rescues them and congratulates Bond.[4]
Gameplay
The gameplay of James Bond 007 is presented from a top-down perspective.[2] As James Bond, the player controls an arsenal of weapons and items. Bond must use items at the appropriate place and time to either sneak past impossible odds or to solve a mission. The player can save up to three games and/or delete them. The player can perform fist and karate moves. The game is played across 11 levels,[3] and incorporates gambling minigames, such as baccarat and blackjack.[5] The game is presented in black and white, as it was developed for the original Game Boy.
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Nintendo Life | 8/10 (2010)[9] |
Nintendo Power | 6.2/10[10] |
Nintendojo | 7/10[11] |
Critics praised the inclusion of the "James Bond Theme" and stated that the game adequately captured the spirit of the films.[7][5][10] Gameplay was compared to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.[7][10][11]
Alex Huhtala of Computer and Video Games stated that the game "may be simple, and quite easy to complete, but there hasn't been anything like it on the GB for ages", writing that it is "full of brilliant innuendo and humour to bring home that Bond flavour".[7] Conversely, reviewers for Electronic Gaming Monthly opined that it did not feel like a James Bond game, criticizing the mundane tasks like retrieving a hammer and cutting down weeds; reviewer Kraig Kujawa remarked "I'm surprised they don't have [James Bond] wash dishes to pay for business expenses." Kujawa's co-reviewer Dan Hsu gave it a 1.0 out of 10, additionally deriding the overly obvious clues.[8]
Monica Wilbur of IGN praised the character designs and the musical score used for the game's casino area, but she criticized the sound effects, and the lack of a "decent" map system for the game's maze-like levels. Wilbur concluded that the game felt too short, but stated that the inclusion of card games was a "nice touch."[5]
In a later review, Ty Krys of Nintendojo praised the story and array of classic Bond characters, but was critical of the gameplay: "The RPG elements don't feel rewarding and the action sequences suffer from poor control (for an action game) and a slow pace". Krys also criticized the "James Bond Theme", writing that the composers "tried to add to it with other silly noises that take away from the feel".[11]
Dave Frear, writing for
Chris Freiberg, writing for Den of Geek in 2018, included the game on his list of 25 Underrated Game Boy Games. He praised the music and wrote that in some ways, James Bond 007 is "a better Bond game than more recent games with much higher production values".[13]
References
- ^ "Nintendo: James Bond 007". 1998-02-05. Archived from the original on 1998-02-05. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ AllGame. Archived from the originalon 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
- ^ a b c "James Bond 007". Nintendo.com. Archived from the original on 1998-02-05. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- ^ a b c "James Bond 007". Nintendo Power. Vol. 105. United States. February 1998. pp. 72–77.
- ^ a b c d Wilbur, Monica (1999-06-23). "James Bond 007". IGN. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
- ^ "James Bond 007". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09.
- ^ a b c d Huhtala, Alex (April 1998). "James Bond 007". Computer and Video Games. No. 197. United Kingdom. p. 68.
- ^ a b "James Bond 007". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 105. United States. April 1998. p. 102. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
- ^ a b Frear, Dave (2010-10-30). "James Bond 007 Review (GB)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
- ^ a b c "James Bond 007". Nintendo Power. Vol. 105. United States. February 1998. p. 96.
- ^ a b c Krys, Ty. "James Bond: 007". Nintendojo. Archived from the original on 2003-10-13.
- ^ "James Bond 007". Retro Gamer. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
- ^ Freiberg, Chris (2018-08-27). "25 Underrated Game Boy Games". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2021-09-14.