James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing Impressions

We watched a firsthand demonstration of the PS2 version of James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing at E3 2003. EA recently announced that professional model Shannon Elizabeth would lend her voice and likeness to the game as its "official Bond girl," while actor Pierce Brosnan would once again do the same as Bond himself.

Interestingly, Everything or Nothing will be third-person action game (rather than a first-person shooter, as the previous Bond games have been). Apparently, some players felt that the previous games were merely first-person shooters with gadgets. The developer hopes that the new game's third-person view will help you really feel as though you're James Bond (rather than a nameless, faceless first-person shooter character), since you'll actually be able to see Bond use his gadgets and perform daring maneuvers to accomplish his mission. Additionally, the environments in Everything or Nothing will feature many more interactive elements, such as the turbines in the factory level we saw, which Bond jammed to blast out a section of the roof, giving him an exit point.

The first gadget we saw was a belt grapple that Bond was able to attach to a fixture on the factory roof to scale down the outside of the factory wall. In the demonstration we watched, Bond rappelled down the face of the now-burning building while shooting at enemy soldiers on the ledges below. Once Bond hit bottom, he cut his cable and dealt with the enemy soldiers on foot. Bond will have access to a variety of conventional firearms, including pistols and submachine guns, and since the game will be played from a third-person, behind-the-back view, Everything or Nothing will offer auto-aim and targeting lock-on control options. However, Bond has never been known to be a flat-out commando, so when he gets up close to his enemies, he'll take his gun in both hands and pistol-whip his enemies, or just put his gun away and pummel them into submission with his fists. He'll even be able to grab environmental objects, like an industrial lamp, and fling them at his opponents.

Like the previous Bond games, Everything or Nothing will feature drivable vehicles, though the new game will have a wider variety of them (such as dirt bikes, sports cars, and helicopters), and in some cases, you'll be given a choice as to which vehicle you'd like to use to take on an upcoming vehicular level. In the demonstration we saw, Bond was on a tenuous iron scaffolding in Cairo outside a building that was about to explode. Faced with the choice of a hot rod or a dirt bike, Bond chose the two-wheeler (moments later, the area with the car burst into flames). When driving a car, you'll generally have to worry less about environmental hazards and focus on shooting down enemies, though if you're on a bike, you'll have have to jump gaps and even slide your bike forward to duck under barriers. James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing will be released this November, in time for Thanksgiving.