| 007 Racing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Eutechnyx |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts[a] |
| Composer(s) | Allister Brimble |
| Series | James Bond |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
007 Racing is a 2000racing video game based on theJames Bond license. It was developed byEutechnyx, published byElectronic Arts (EA), and released for thePlayStation console system. This game marks the seventh appearance ofPierce Brosnan's James Bond; the game included his likeness but not his voice, which is provided byTim Bentinck. Including many revived characters from previous entries, the game is considered to be a spin-off of the original chronicles.
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In007 Racing the player takes on the role ofBritish secret agentJames Bond, behind the wheel of several of his vehicles from the then-19 official films. Cars include theAston Martin DB5 made famous in its initial appearance inGoldfinger, theLotus Esprit fromThe Spy Who Loved Me andFor Your Eyes Only, and theBMW Z8 that briefly appeared inThe World Is Not Enough as well as seven other automobiles. Each car is equipped with all the usual gadgetry and weapons issued byQ, the Quartermaster of a special branch ofMI6 referred to as Q-Branch.
In007 Racing, a high-ranking European diplomat and businessman plan to hijack a shipment ofNATO weapons and smuggle them to international terrorists inside cars that roll off the assembly line of his automotive plants. As Bond, it is up to the player to stop him. The gamer is supplied with several gadget-filled cars from the Bond universe to thwart the villain.
The story opens with Bond rescuing Cherise Litte from an Eastern European country (presumablyEstonia) and getting her over the border in hisAston Martin DB5. Upon his return toLondon, he is informed by M that a freighter carrying top secret NATO weapons including laser-guided surface-to-air missiles, long-range missiles, missile shields, latestGPS technology and Q equippedBMW 750iL bound forHalifax was intercepted in theLabrador Sea, south ofGreenland. Bond is tasked with finding the cargo. His mission takes him toNew York City, where he is met by his friend from theCIAJack Wade. Upon arriving in New York he is informed by a villain that a bomb has been planted on his car and that any attempt to defuse it or slow down the vehicle will cause it to explode. Bond jettisons the car in theHudson River.
Bond continues with finding theelectromagnetic pulse device that was stolen and destroying ten computers in the distribution center from which a car transporter carrying the smuggling cars. He intercepts the transporter with his Aston Martin. Bond then goes toMexico with hisBMW Z3, where he is pointed by questioning the transporter driver, the henchman Whisper. He is trying to trackZukovsky and once he manages, he finds out that behind everything is Dr Hammond Litte, Cherise's father, and that her rescue was just a decoy mission aiming to distract him from the freighter. Bond then engages in a race withXenia Onatopp and herFerrari F355 after which he gets captured and taken toLouisiana. He manages to escape and finds the stolen BMW, after which he pursues and destroys the boat driven by Jaws.
Back in New York, Bond downloads the files from four limousines with his BMW Z8 and discovers that Litte's real plan is to release a deadly virus that will kill millions. Bond then goes to theBaltic Sea with hisLotus Esprit and after infiltrating the opponent's underwater base he destroys the plane transporting the virus.
007 Racing was developed byEutechnyx, which worked with MGM to create the game's storyline. It includes objectives and vehicles based on those featured in the James Bond films.[2]007 Racing uses a modified version of thegame engine that was developed for Eutechnyx's earlierLe Mans 24 Hours. Lead programmer Peter Davies recalled in 2021: "given the huge differences in the game style it was a massive overhaul, but some core components like the physics engine, renderer, and build tools were retained."[3]
In North America,007 Racing was released in November 2000.[1][4][5] A sequel for thePlayStation 2 was announced shortly thereafter, but was never released.[6]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 51/100[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [4] |
| Edge | 2/10[8] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 2.83/10[9][b] |
| EP Daily | 5.5/10[10] |
| Game Informer | 7/10[11] |
| GameFan | 42%[12] |
| GameRevolution | C−[13] |
| GameSpot | 5.3/10[14] |
| GameZone | 8/10[5] |
| IGN | 5/10[15] |
| Next Generation | [16] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | [17] |
| Maxim | 4/10[18] |
007 Racing received "mixed or average" reviews, according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.[7]
Game Informer's Paul Anderson called the graphics "ugly" and "nasty", but said there are some "well-designed" missions. He called the voice acting "excellent", particularly praising the performance given by Cleese, but thought the game had an inconsistent mix of content.[11]
Douglass C. Perry ofIGN stated that007 Racing is "a decent little game, as long as you don't expect too much from it". He added: "It's not original, nor is it good looking. It's filled with awkward spots and questionable areas (like when I reached the broken bridge in Escape and the vocals chimed in after it was too late to launch my parachute), and it becomes a chore rather than fun. Occasionally, there are little flashes of goodness (Escape and Gimme a Break are examples), but the game never really reaches any new planes of play that we've did already experience in Spy Hunter, back in the early 1980s. I mean if you're simply dying to drive Bond cars, rent this game, but don't buy it full price. Now, if you don't mind, I've got an old-school arcade to find."[15]
Jeff Gerstmann ofGameSpot gave a mixed review, stating: "The game's varied mission objectives occasionally give it aDriver-like feel, but the clunky control issues really manage to take you out of the game. The heavily modifiedNeed for Speed engine [sic] is great for the fast action, fast driving missions, but the slower-paced, more combat-heavy levels suffer from the game's rough control. Overall,007 Racing isn't polished enough to fill the needs of objective-based driving game fans. Fans of these types of games would be better served byDriver 2."[14]Retro Gamer criticized the slow pace of the missions.[19] David Chen ofNextGen said that the game was "Fine as a rental car, but not worth the sticker price."[16] Jake The Snake ofGamePro said that the game "offers mild fun that will appeal for sure only to gamers who love both Bond and action-driving games.[20][c]