Goldeneye - is it really the best shooter for the N64?

Possibly. Perhaps one of it's appealing features is that it's not just another slaughter-all-that-moves games; it actually has added objectives. Let me adjust that a little ... it was one of the first shooters to have "Mission Objectives." Because of this, some people don't like the game. Those people are morons! Ignore them at all costs! Well, that may be a little extreme, but then again, maybe it isn't....

Graphics are pretty good. The only real complaint I have is with the characters' faces. Could they make them any more ugly?! Yeesh. Sound is good, but many get tired of hearing the same tracks over and over and over. One wonderfully realistic feature is the guards, or rather their "hearing." It adds an extra challenge to the game when you know that if you pump that guard full of lead, about 6 of his buddies will come after you.

Replay value? Higher than a hippy at Woodstock '69. First off, the multiplayer mode. This thing is loads of fun. Something about hunting down your friends in a video game may seem sick, but it's actually quite fun. Adding to the mayhem are all sorts of options to tweak your battle. How about having three of your friends stalking you down in a situation where one bullet will kill you? Gets the adrenaline pumping.

The cheats are a huge factor in the replay value. As if it wasn't enough fun earning all of them, playing the game with them makes it about 10x better! For all the work required, Invincibility is definitely the best. Imagine walking right up to an enemy firing at you, an explosion, or even the dreaded drone guns, and never taking a lick. "Sounds cool," you say? Very cool.

Now for the bitter truth; the bad parts of the game. As I mentioned earlier, the faces are awful. Character detail is pretty good, with the exceptions that Valentin doesn't limp in the game, and they made Oddjob about the size of Mini-me. Like all games, yes, it does get boring after a while, but it takes a while. One little thing that bugs me- in the movie, the helicopter was the Tiger, but in the movie, it's the Pirate; what's up with that? The only thing that I think the game could use but didn't have any of is voices. The guards don't shout, no one actually talks, nothing. Only sound effects. Trust me, when people are talking to you and you're busy, those text boxes get really annoying. That's really about all that's worth mentioning that bothered me.

Goldeneye - is it really the best shooter for the N64? You bet your arsenal.