GoldenEye: Rogue Agent Updated Hands-On

The last time we got to take a look at GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, the game was making its playable debut on the E3 show floor. The early playable version of the game offered a rough taste of what to expect from the promising shooter. However, at its upcoming summer press event, Electronic Arts is debuting an updated playable version of the game that demonstrates considerably more polish work and more features. We recently had the chance to take an exclusive look at the game to find out just how good it is to be very, very bad.

Take a look at some intense action from a work-in-progress build of GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. Click "stream" for a larger view.

For those who haven't followed the game, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent puts you in the role of an MI6 agent who has been expelled from the British agency and fallen in with a really bad crowd--namely Auric Goldfinger. Despite his obviously evil rep with the public, the legendary Bond villain seems to offer new employees a pretty nice employment package. After signing on with the dastardly one, you're outfitted with a slick cybernetic eye and given your own groovy code name: GoldenEye. The downside to the deal is that your cybernetic eye was a necessary cosmetic upgrade after your own, actual eye was shot out during a turf war between Goldfinger and Dr. No. Well, no one ever said being a villain was all fun and games, right?

The updated playable build on display at EA's event is basically the third level of the single-player game. From a story perspective, this level is essentially your first outing as GoldenEye. The first level of the game, which was shown at E3, tracks your fall from grace from MI6 during the classic Fort Knox siege that served as the climax to Goldfinger. The second level follows you as you are caught in the middle of the impending turf war between Goldfinger and Dr. No. The third level on display at the press event finds you coordinating with an informant within Dr. No's organization, who appears to be helping you take a crack at assassinating the crime lord on his home turf in Hong Kong.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with informants, things end up going horribly wrong. As a result, you're actually set up, and you wind up having to fight for your life when you're ambushed. While this certainly sucks from a work perspective, getting ambushed by a veritable army of killers loyal to Dr. No is never a good thing. However, there's abundant "gameplay gold" here because the level shows off action that's been refined from the E3 demo, in addition to brand-new features that revolve around your cybernetic eye.

When the level begins, you're fighting for your life in a half-constructed building as No's killers flood in and pull out all the stops to plug you full of holes. The game's artificial intelligence ensures that the attacks you'll be defending against will force you to use your brain as well as your guns. The presence of so many construction materials and the building's incomplete layout presents you with a hefty escape challenge, but, when firepower isn't enough, you do have your trusty eyeball to fall back on. While the optic gizmo will have a number of different features that will serve you well in combat, EA only showed two of them at its event. The first is a flashy godsend that coats you in a magnetic shield that temporarily deflects all incoming gunfire. The second is a most excellent "grab" feature that uses an electromagnetic field to snatch and throw your enemies.

But before you get too excited by visions of running through the game with your shield on while flinging people every which way, know that these are limited-use features. Both abilities require a charge, and, as you'd expect, this charge can be run down or depleted. Building up a charge requires excellent gameplay performance on your behalf, and, as far as the game is concerned, the eye is tied to your brain and adrenal system. What this means is that as you pull off headshots and all manner of cool kills, the resulting "rush" will slowly build up your eye's charge.

The Hong Kong levels also showed off a host of other gameplay elements that were coming together. Nabbing a human shield from among your foes was a nice feature that's still being tweaked to ensure it's accessible. The melee system, while obviously not as deep as one found in a fighting game, was a nice up close and personal break from the ranged action you'll mostly be engaging in. Zip lines--which are wires that you'll use to get to the various rooftops you'll be fighting across--were in, and they let you shoot as you made your way from building to building. Death traps were also on display, and they ranged from subtle snares, such as unleashing gas on a foe in a bathhouse steam room, to wicked flash-jets of flame from a massive ornamental dragon, which could even take out a helicopter if properly timed.

In addition to the single-player mission, the demo on display also features a taste of a two-player multiplayer map. The level is set in the area in which the climactic battle in GoldenEye took place--the uplink wherein Bond fought on a massive antenna. The tightly constructed level featured a tiered design that was broken up into three levels. The top and bottom floors featured a collection of weapons and armor, some laid out in the open and others precariously set in areas where you'll have to carefully sneak to reach your prize.

It's Good to Be Bad

This multiplayer level is hardly as straightforward as it sounds. The top floor features weapons, yes. However, there are also helicopters zipping about that are all too eager to perforate you as you try to reach weapons. The other floors feature trapdoor death traps that, when triggered, can send you sailing to the ground with very unpleasant results--although nooks and crannies are revealed that you can use to hide in. The split-screen game we played offered a fun experience, which bodes well for when the game really starts to polish up.

The control in the game, while still being tweaked, is fast and responsive. The dual-wield mechanics are smartly thought-out and incorporate nicely with the melee system. The current setup lets you alternate between blowing people away and beating them to a pulp, which is always a good thing. The mechanics for some of the cooler aspects of the experience, such as taking a human shield, are still being tuned but are certainly satisfying.

The graphics in the game are coming along quite nicely and showcase the impressive and very cinematic approach EA is taking toward the levels. The Hong Kong environments you'll explore over the course of the massive level run the gamut from the half-finished-building construction site that's strewn with all manner of building materials, to massive open-air areas that span a good chunk of rooftops across the city, to a steam-filled bathhouse. The Uplink level, while not as showy as the neon extravaganza in Hong Kong, is more of a subtle testament to level design with its three-tiered layout that's chock-full of booby traps.

Although the action can get insanely fast-paced when the entire free world opens fire on you, it's still possible to appreciate the environments, which feature all manner of little touches to sell the chaotic atmosphere. You'll see debris kicked up as gunfire explodes around you--à la the lobby scene from The Matrix--in addition to a host of destructible elements in the environment, some of which can double as death traps. Lighting has been bumped up considerably and adds a rich depth to the Hong Kong levels that's quite appealing.

The work-in-progress heads-up display used in this latest version of the game has its own share of cool visuals based on whatever eye ability you're using. Of course, this also adds to the game's atmosphere. However, what's really catching our eye in this version of the game is the enemy animation--which comes courtesy of a heavily modified Havok engine--and the other elements of activity that are being put into the levels. You'll see your foes aggressively making use of cover, in addition to making use of other elements, such as helicopters that they'll buzz around in while trying to shoot you.

The nice thing to note about what we've seen so far of the game is that there seems to be no wasted effort or elements. In fact, most of the elements we've seen are functional in some way, and they keep the experience fresh and lively depending on how you chose to play. Now, despite all of the above, the game's frame rate has managed to stay pretty consistent. Obviously, though, the work-in-progress version we played wasn't anywhere near final, so there were a few frame rate inconsistencies. However, considering the game's current fall release, all signs point to an eventual smooth frame rate.

The audio in the game is coming together really well and offers a great complement to the insane action. The bass-heavy music tracks that change dynamically as you play are a catchy accompaniment to the mayhem. The liberal use of voice in the game also adds a nice immersive touch to the experience, because you'll hear your foes yelling to one another as they try to corner you. This is contrasted by death cries and assorted sounds of shock that come from your foes as you cut through their numbers like a hot knife through butter. But, while all this is well and good, the standout in the audio package for us right now is the weapons fire, which consists of a meaty collection of gunshots and explosions that sounds really right.

Based on what we've seen so far, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is headed in a very promising direction. While the team's goals have sounded pretty ambitious since the sequel was officially announced, this latest playable version of the game shows positive progress toward realizing them. Both the single- and multiplayer levels in the game are showing the beginnings of the kind of graphical and gameplay polish we hope to see more of as the project takes shape. While this fall will see more than its fair share of first-person shooters, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is certainly looking like it can swim with the sharks when it ships. The game is currently slated to ship for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox this fall, so look for more on it in the coming months.