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| GoldenEye 007 | |
|---|---|
 North American box art featuringPierce Brosnan asJames Bond007 (top center and bottom) andIzabella Scorupco asNatalya Simonova (left) | |
| Developer | Rare[a] |
| Publisher | Nintendo[b] |
| Director | Martin Hollis |
| Producer | Martin Hollis |
| Designer | Duncan Botwood |
| Programmers |
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| Artists |
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| Composers | |
| Series | James Bond |
| Platform | Nintendo 64 |
| Release | |
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
GoldenEye 007 is a 1997first-person shooter game developed byRare and published byNintendo for theNintendo 64. It is based on the 1995James Bond filmGoldenEye, with the player controlling the secret agentJames Bond to prevent a criminal syndicate from using asatellite weapon. They navigate a series oflevels to complete objectives, such as recovering or destroying objects, while shooting enemies. In amultiplayer mode, up to four players compete in severaldeathmatch scenarios viasplit-screen.
Development began in January 1995. An inexperienced team led byMartin Hollis developedGoldenEye 007 over two and a half years. The game was conceived as aside-scrollingplatform game for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System, but evolved into a 3D shooter for the Nintendo 64 inspired byDoom (1993) andVirtua Cop (1994). Rare visited theGoldenEye set for reference, andEon Productions andMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) allowed them to expand the game with sequences and characters not featured in the film.
GoldenEye 007 was released inJapan on 23 August 1997,North America on 25 August 1997, and theUnited Kingdom on 7 November 1997, two years after the release of the film but shortly before the release of its sequelTomorrow Never Dies. It faced low expectations from thegaming media during development. However, it received critical acclaim and sold over eight million copies, making it thethird-best-selling Nintendo 64 game. The game was praised for its visuals, gameplay depth and variety, and multiplayer mode. In 1998, it received theBAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award, as well as four awards from theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.
GoldenEye 007 demonstrated the viability of home consoles asplatforms for first-person shooters and signalled a transition fromDoom-like shooters to a more grounded style. It pioneered features such as atmospheric single-player missions,widescreen gaming,stealth elements, and console multiplayer deathmatch. The game is considered to be one of the most influential andgreatest video games ever made, with many of its elements, such as the Klobb gun, leaving an enduring impression invideo game culture. Aspiritual successor,Perfect Dark, was released in 2000, while aremake developed byEurocom, also titledGoldenEye 007, was released in 2010. The original game was re-released in 2023, both as a standalone title anddownloadable add-on for the compilationRare Replay onXbox One andXbox Series X/S, as well as theNintendo Classics service forNintendo Switch Online, available onNintendo Switch andNintendo Switch 2.
GoldenEye 007 is afirst-person shooter in which the player takes the role ofSecret Intelligence Service agentJames Bond through a series oflevels.[2] In each level, the player must complete a set of objectives while computer-controlled opponents try to hinder the player's progress.[3] Objectives range from recovering items to destroying objects, defeating enemies, or rescuing hostages. Some objectives may also require the player to use high-techgadgets. For example, in one level, the player must use Bond's electromagnetic watch to acquire a jail cell key.[4] Although the player begins each level with a limited amount of supplies, additional weapons and ammunition can be acquired from defeated enemies.[5] There are nohealth-recovery items, butbody armour can be acquired to provide a secondary health bar.[4]
The game features more than 20 weapons, includingpistols,submachine guns,assault rifles, asniper rifle,grenades, andthrowing knives.[5] Most weapons have a finite magazine and must be reloaded after a certain number of shots.[6] Although each weapon has its own characteristics, ammunition is interchangeable between some weapon types. For example, pistols and submachine guns share the same ammunition.[5] Weapons inflict different levels of damage depending on which body part they hit. Head shots cause the most damage, while arm and leg shots inflict the least damage.[6] The Klobb, a submachine gun with a foldingstock, possesses a high rate of fire and a wide bullet spread compared to other weapons, but is severely underpowered with a heavy recoil.[7] The Klobb can bedual-wielded for additional firepower.[8]Stealth is often encouraged, as frequent gunfire can alert distant guards, and alarms canspawn enemies.[3] Certain weapons incorporate asuppressor or atelescopic sight to aid the player in killing enemies discreetly.[5]
Each level can be played on three difficulty settings: Agent, Secret Agent, and 00 Agent.[9] These affect aspects such as the damage enemies can withstand and inflict, the amount of ammunition available,[6] and the number of objectives that must be completed.[10] Two bonus levels can be unlocked by completing the game on Secret Agent and then on 00 Agent.[9] The player may also replay previously completed levels within target times to unlock bonuscheat options such as infinite ammunition or invincibility.[11] Upon completing the game on the three difficulty settings, an additional mode is unlocked, allowing the player to customise the difficulty of a level by manually adjusting enemies' health, reaction times, aiming accuracy, and the damage they inflict.[9]
GoldenEye 007 features amultiplayer mode where up to four players can compete in severaldeathmatch scenarios viasplit-screen.[3] These include Normal, You Only Live Twice, The Living Daylights, The Man With the Golden Gun, and Licence to Kill.[12] Normal is a standard mode where players score points by killing opponents. Players can be grouped in teams or compete individually.[12] You Only Live Twice gives players two lives before they are eliminated from the game, resulting in the last surviving player winning the match.[3] In Licence to Kill, players die from a single hit with any weapon.[13] Due to its high rate of fire and wide bullet spread, the Klobb is highly advantageous in this scenario.[8]
In The Man With the Golden Gun, a single Golden Gun, which is capable of killing opponents with one shot, is placed in a fixed location in the level. Once the Golden Gun is picked up, the only way to re-acquire it is by killing the player holding it.[13] In The Living Daylights, a flag is placed in a fixed location in the level, and the player who holds it the longest wins. The flag carrier cannot use weapons but can collect them to keep opponents from stocking ammunition.[12] Options such as the chosen level, characters to play as, weapons available, and game length can be customised for each scenario. Additional levels and characters can be unlocked as the player progresses through thesingle-player game.[12]
In 1986Arkhangelsk,Soviet Union,MI6 has uncovered a secret chemical weapons facility at the Byelomorye Dam.[10] James Bond and fellow 00-agentAlec Trevelyan are sent to infiltrate the facility and plant explosive charges. During the mission, Trevelyan is shot by General Arkady Ourumov, while Bond escapes by commandeering an aeroplane.
Five years later in 1991, Bond is sent to investigate a satellite control station inSevernaya, Russia,[10] where programmer Boris Grishenko works.[14] In 1993, Bond investigates an unscheduled test firing of a missile inKyrgyzstan, believed to be a cover for the launch of a satellite known as GoldenEye. This space-based weapon works by firing a concentratedelectromagnetic pulse (EMP) at any Earth target to disable any electrical circuit within range. As Bond leaves the silo, he is ambushed by Ourumov and a squad of Russian troops. Ourumov manages to escape during the encounter.[10]
In 1995, Bond visitsMonte Carlo to investigate the frigateLa Fayette, where he rescues several hostages and plants a tracker bug on thePirate helicopter before it is stolen by the Janus crime syndicate. Bond is then sent a second time to Severnaya, but during the mission, he is captured and locked up in the bunker's cells along withNatalya Simonova, a captive computer programmer unwilling to work with Janus.[14] They both escape the complex seconds before it is destroyed—on the orders of Ourumov—by the GoldenEye satellite's EMP. Bond next travels toSaint Petersburg, where he arranges with ex-KGB agentValentin Zukovsky to meet the chief of the Janus organisation. This is revealed to be Alec Trevelyan—his execution by Ourumov in the Arkhangelsk facility was faked.[10]
Bond and Natalya escape from Trevelyan, but are arrested by the Russian police and taken to the military archives for interrogation. Eventually, Bond escapes the interrogation room, rescues Natalya, and communicates with Defence Minister Dimitri Mishkin, who has verified Bond's claim of Ourumov's treachery. Natalya is recaptured by General Ourumov, and Bond gives chase through the streets of St. Petersburg, eventually reaching an arms depot used by Janus. There, Bond destroys its weaponry stores and then hitches a ride on Trevelyan's ex-Sovietmissile train, where he kills Ourumov and rescues Natalya. However, Alec Trevelyan and his allyXenia Onatopp escape to their secret base inCuba.[10]
Natalya accompanies Bond to the Caribbean. Surveying the Cuban jungle aerially, their light aircraft is shot down. Unscathed, Bond and Natalya perform a ground search of the area's heavily guarded jungle terrain but are ambushed by Xenia, who is quickly killed by Bond. Bond sneaks Natalya into the control centre to disrupt transmissions to the GoldenEye satellite and force it to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. He then follows the fleeing Trevelyan through a series of flooded caverns, eventually arriving at the antenna of the control centre'sradio telescope. Trevelyan attempts to re-align it in a final attempt to restore contact with the GoldenEye, but Bond destroys machinery vital to controlling the antenna and defeats Trevelyan in a gunfight on a platform above the dish.[10]
GoldenEye 007 was developed by the British studioRare and directed byMartin Hollis, who had previously worked as a second programmer on thecoin-op version ofKiller Instinct.[15] In November 1994, afterNintendo and Rare discussed the possibility of developing a game based on the upcomingJames Bond filmGoldenEye, Hollis toldTim Stamper, Rare's managing director, that he was interested in the project.[16] Due to the success of Rare's 1994 gameDonkey Kong Country,GoldenEye 007 was originally suggested as a 2Dplatformer for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System.[17] However, Hollis proposed a 3D shooting game for the upcomingNintendo 64 console.[16] He created a document with design ideas, including gadgets, weapons, characters, story digression from the film, andartificial intelligence (AI) that would react to the player.[16]
Rare namedSega's 1994 light gun shooterVirtua Cop,id Software's seminal 1993 first-person shooterDoom and the Nintendo 64 launch gameSuper Mario 64 as influences.[16] Features such as gun reloading, position-dependent hit reaction animations, penalties for killing innocent characters, and the aiming system that is activated with the R button of theNintendo 64 controller were adopted fromVirtua Cop.[16] The developers considered having players reload weapons by unplugging and re-inserting theRumble Pak on the controller, but Nintendo opposed the idea.[17] The concept of several varied objectives within each mission was inspired by the multiple tasks in each stage ofSuper Mario 64.[18]
The team visited the studios of theGoldenEye film several times to collect photographs and blueprints of thesets.[17][19]Eon Productions andMGM, the companies that control theJames Bond films, granted the team a broadlicence,[20] and many levels were extended or modified to allow the player to participate in sequences not seen in the film.[16] Although the reference material was used for authenticity, the team was not afraid to add to it to help the game design.[17]John Woo films such asHard Boiled influenced the visual effects and kinetic moments. Details such as bullet marks on walls, cartridge cases being ejected from guns, and objects exploding were part of the design.[16] Hollis wanted players to receive a lot of feedback from the environment when they shot.[20]
The team considered implementing bothon-rails and free-roaming modes because they did not know how the Nintendo 64 controller would work,[16] and the game's gas plant location was modelled with a predetermined path in mind.[17] A modifiedSega Saturn controller was used for some early playtesting.[17] The designers' initial priority was purely on the creation of interesting spaces; level design and balance considerations such as the placement of start and exit points, characters and objectives did not begin until this process was complete.[16] According to Hollis, this unplanned approach gave many levels a realistic andnon-linear feel, with several rooms having no direct relevance to a level.[16] After completing the levels, the developers modelled around 40James Bond gadgets that had been depicted in the films and attempted to find uses for them in each level.[16]
Work onGoldenEye 007 began in January 1995[21] with a team hired by Hollis: programmer Mark Edmonds, background artist Karl Hilton, and character artist B. Jones.[20] Edmonds focused on creating agame engine that could render 3D graphics from art packages into Nintendo 64 data structures.[16] Hilton modelled levels based on the film material, while Jones constructed characters based on photos and costumes they had.[16] Since final Nintendo 64 specifications and development kits were not initially available to Rare, the team had to estimate the finalised console's capabilities using anSGI Onyx workstation and Nintendo's custom NINGEN development software.[16][19] In the following months, designerDuncan Botwood joined the team to construct the levels. The first year was spent producing art assets and developing the engine, which originally only allowed the player and enemies to move around a virtual environment.[16]
After the first year of development, Rare added more staff to the project. The first addition was designerDavid Doak, who helped with the level designs and worked on the AI scripting.[16] He explained how the stealth elements were implemented: "Whenever you fired a gun, it had a radius test and alerted the non-player characters within that radius. If you fired the same gun again within a certain amount of time, it did a larger radius test and I think there was a third even larger radius after that. It meant if you found one guy and shot him in the head and then didn't fire again, the timer would reset."[17] Windows throughout the game were programmed so that enemies cannot see through them. Though unrealistic, this encouraged the player to use windows to spy on enemies.[16]
Hollis hired a second programmer, Steve Ellis, six months later.[16] Although Ellis assisted the development team in many areas and programmed the cheat options, he was mostly responsible for implementing the multiplayer mode,[20] which was added roughly six months before release.[22] According to Doak, Ellis "sat in a room with all the code written for a single-player game and turnedGoldenEye into a multiplayer game."[23] The team spent numerous late evenings playtesting it.[21] The multiplayer levels are based on single-player missions and some of them do not support four players because they were initially not designed to handle multiplayer action.[22] Afiring range was modelled as an environment, but was not added.[20]
Because the team assumed they could use anything from theJames Bond universe, the multiplayer mode features characters that appear in previousBond films.[24] Actors who portrayed Bond in previous films were playable during development, but were removed because Rare was unable to getSean Connery's permission to use his likeness.[25] However, the player select screen with the actors' likenesses was left in the game, though it is only accessible with cheat devices.[26] Despite their fictional names, most weapons were modelled after real-world firearms such as theWalther PPK, theAK-74, and theFN P90. The Klobb was inspired by theŠkorpion, aCzechoslovak submachine gun with a folding stock.[8] Its name was chosen to honorKen Lobb, who was Rare's Nintendo-side producer and contact at the time. Another weapon, the DD44 Dostovei (modeled afterTokarev pistol), was named after Doak's initials.[8] Adrian Smith, the game's third and last artist, who had already worked on some games at Rare,[16] was in charge of producing visual effects such asmuzzle flashes and explosions. He mentioned the 1995 filmHeat as an influence.[20]
The final Nintendo 64 hardware could renderpolygons faster than the SGI Onyx workstation the development team had been using. This helped the developers significantly, as some backgrounds rendered at 2frames per second on the Onyx without even drawing enemies, objects, or Bond's gun.[16] However, the textures had to be cut down by half.[17] Hilton explained one method of improving performance: "A lot ofGoldenEye is in black and white.RGB colour textures cost a lot more in terms of processing power. You could do double the resolution if you usedgreyscale, so a lot was done like that. If I needed a bit of colour, I'd add it in thevertex."[17] WhenSuper Mario 64 was released in 1996, the 3D collision detection system was influential for Hollis becauseGoldenEye 007 was originally using a 2D method.[17]
The music was primarily composed byGraeme Norgate andGrant Kirkhope. Norgate previously penned the music ofBlast Corps, while Kirkhope composed the music ofDonkey Kong Land 2.[22]Robin Beanland, the game's third composer, only wrote the elevator music that can be heard in certain levels.[20] All the sound effects were created by Norgate and a lot of effort was put into combining and permuting sounds in different ways to create a satisfying feel.[20] According to Hollis, whenever the player shoots a gun, up to nine different sound effects will randomly trigger.[20] When the game was reviewed by Nintendo shortly before it was released, the company was slightly concerned about the amount of violence and gunplay. As a result, the team toned down the killing and added anend credits sequence that introduces all the non-player characters, giving the game a filmic sense.[18] The game received a Teen rating from theEntertainment Software Rating Board.[22]
GoldenEye 007 was released on a 96-megabit cartridge on 25 August 1997.[27][28] Although this was over a year and a half after the release of theGoldenEye film, the game benefited from publicity for the upcomingJames Bond filmTomorrow Never Dies.[3] Every cartridge of the game contains aZX Spectrumemulator with ten Rare developed games. This function was originally made as an experimental side project by Rare and was deactivated in the final version, but has since been unlocked throughfan-made patches.[29] The development ofGoldenEye 007 took more than two and a half years to complete and had a budget of US$2 million.[18]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 96/100[30] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Edge | 9/10[3] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9.5/10, 9.5/10, 9.5/10, 9/10[c][31] |
| Game Informer | 8.5/10[27] |
| GameRevolution | A−[32] |
| GameSpot | 9.8/10[33] |
| IGN | 9.7/10[2] |
| N64 Magazine | 94%[9] |
| Next Generation | 5/5[34] |
| Nintendo Power | 9/10[35] |
| Gaming Age | 9.1/10[36] |
Despite low expectations among thegaming media and an unsuccessful showing at theElectronic Entertainment Expo inAtlanta in 1997,[16][37]GoldenEye 007 received widespread acclaim from critics and was a commercial success.[30] In 1998, it sold approximately 2.1 million copies.[38] By 2001, it had sold over seven million copies worldwide.[39] Overall,GoldenEye 007 sold more than eight million units worldwide, making it the third-best-selling Nintendo 64 game, behindSuper Mario 64 andMario Kart 64.[16][40] According to a paper published on the website of theEntertainment Software Association, the game grossed $250 million worldwide, more than 70% of the movie's box office despite having only 3.3% of the movie's budget.[41]
Graphically,GoldenEye 007 was praised for its varied and detailed environments,[3][31][33][42] realistic animations,[3][33][34][42] and special effects such as glass transparencies and lingering smoke.[3][2]Nintendo Power said theframe rate in multiplayer games was high,[35] whileElectronic Gaming Monthly described it as somewhat choppy and sluggish.[31] Thezoomablesniper rifle was praised as one of the most impressive and entertaining features,[31][32][43] withEdge describing it as a "novel twist"[3] andJeff Gerstmann ofGameSpot noting its ability to alleviate thedistance fog.[33] The music was praised for its inclusion of the "James Bond Theme" and for adding ambience.[2][33][34][42] Some levels begin in lifts and feature transitions fromelevator music to full soundtracks, which Gerstmann cited as an illustration of the attention to detail.[33]
The gameplay was highlighted for its depth and requiring more stealth and intelligence than earlier first-person shooters.[31][36][2][33][34][42]IGN's Doug Perry calledGoldenEye 007 an immersive game which "blends smart strategy gameplay with fast-action gunmanship".[2] Similarly, Greg Sewart of Gaming Age remarked that players have "a bit of freedom as to what they want to do in any given situation, and what order the directives are completed in".[36] Reviewers also enjoyed the wide variety of weapons and the multi-objective-based missions, stating that they kept the game fresh.[31][36][3][2][34][42] The controls were praised for being more intuitive thanAcclaim's earlier well-received Nintendo 64 first-person shooterTurok: Dinosaur Hunter,[2][44] though some found the cursor targeting difficult to master.[31][42]GameRevolution credited the gameplay for being realistic and different from other shooters, but also criticised the campaign for being badly paced. The publication noted thatGoldenEye 007 "takes it for granted that you have already seen the movie" and that players may get stuck due to the game's lack of orientation.[32]
At the time,GoldenEye 007 was considered the best multiplayer game on the system,[31][2][34] "edgingMario Kart 64 by a hair" according to IGN.[2]Edge called it addictive and praised the originality of some of the scenarios such as You Only Live Twice.[3]GamePro said the multiplayer modes "will have you shooting your friends for the rest of the year",[42] whileNext Generation highlighted the number of multiplayer options, callingGoldenEye 007 "a surprisingkiller app, if only for the smashing multiplayer options. The excellent single-player game backing it up makes it well worth buying indeed."[34] The game was also hailed for its accurate and detailed adaptation of the film,[3][31][33][2][42] withGamePro going so far as to call it "one of the best movie-to-game translations ever".[42] The ability to use numerous signature Bond gadgets and weapons was considered a particularly strong element in this regard.[3][31][2][42] Crispin Boyer ofElectronic Gaming Monthly stated that Rare "has packed everything that's cool about 007 into this game."[31]
GoldenEye 007 received multiple year-end awards, including theBAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award in 1998,[45] and four awards from the inauguralAIASInteractive Achievement Awards: "Interactive Title of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", "Console Action Game of the Year", and "Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering"; it also received nominations for "Outstanding Achievement in Art/Graphics" and "Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design".[46]Electronic Gaming Monthly named it both Most Addictive Game and Best Movie to Game in their 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide,[47] and Game of the Year in their Editor's Choice Awards.[48] Rare won the BAFTA award for Best UK Developer.[45]
GoldenEye 007 has been credited for proving that it is possible to create a "fun" first-person shooter experience on a home console in both single-player and multiplayer modes—when the game was released, the first-person shooter genre was primarily forPC games.[49] The game opened the genre to the console market,[49] and it has been credited for paving the way for the popularity ofHalo andCall of Duty.[50] The game's introduction of a multiplayer deathmatch mode on a console is often credited for having revolutionised the genre,[51] withEdge stating that it set the standard for multiplayer console combat until it was surpassed byHalo: Combat Evolved in 2001.[52]GoldenEye 007 also introduced stealth elements that were unprecedented in first-person shooters.[17] The game's use of realistic gameplay, which contrasted with the approaches taken byDoom clones,[2] and its context-sensitive hit locations on enemies added a realism that was previously unseen in video games,[53] although the 1996Team Fortress computermod forQuake had previously introduced headshots.[54] AlongsideShiny Entertainment's 1997 third-person shooterMDK,GoldenEye 007 has been credited with pioneering and popularising the now-standard inclusion of scoped sniper rifles in video games.[43] The game's mission design, enemy AI, and stealth gameplay influenced contemporary titles such asHalf-Life,[55]Thief: The Dark Project,[56]Syphon Filter,[57] andDeus Ex.[58]
GoldenEye 007 is frequently cited as one of thegreatest video games of all time. Shortly after its release in 1997,Electronic Gaming Monthly rankedGoldenEye 007 the 25th-best console video game of all time, calling it "easily the best movie game, and, more importantly, the best first-person game ever."[59] In 1999,Next Generation editors placedGoldenEye 007 at No. 10 on their list of Top 50 Games of All Time, commenting, "MarryingDoom-style shooting with trademarkBond missions,GoldenEye is the perfect thinking-man's shooter."[60] In 2000,Computer and Video Games readers rankedGoldenEye 007 first place in the magazine's poll of 100 Greatest Games of All Time,[61] and fifth in a similar poll the following year.[62] In 2001,Game Informer ranked the game 16th on its list of Top 100 Games of All Time.[63] In 2004,Retro Gamer readers votedGoldenEye 007 as the 33rd-greatestretro game, with editors calling it "easily the bestBond game to date."[64] In 2005,IGN editors ranked the game 29th on their list of Top 100 Games of All Time,[65] while readers placed it at seventh on a separate list.[66] In 2009,Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the game 55th on a list of greatest Nintendo games.[67]
Edge has featuredGoldenEye 007 prominently in several "greatest game" lists. The game was ranked third in a staff-voted poll in 2000,[68] was included as one of the publication's top ten shooters in 2003,[37] and was placed at No. 17 in a staff, reader, and gaming industry-voted poll in 2007.[69] AlthoughEdge awardedGoldenEye 007 a score of 9 out of 10 upon its release, the publication acknowledged in 2013 that the game should have received the highest score.[70] With its eight million copies sold,GoldenEye 007 was a significant contributor in helping the Nintendo 64 remain competitive against thePlayStation,[49] although Nintendo ultimately lost much of the market share.[71]GamePro calledGoldenEye 007 the consolekiller app of the 1990s and the greatest licensed game from a film of all time,[72] whileNintendo Power considered the multiplayer mode one of the greatest multiplayer experiences in Nintendo history.[73]
In a retrospective analysis,Nintendo Life editor Mark Reece gaveGoldenEye 007 eight out of ten, stating that although the multiplayer mode stands up well, its graphics, audio and "fiddly" aiming system are dated. He noted thatGoldenEye 007's approach to difficulty settings provides considerablereplay value, but is a system rarely used in modern first-person shooters.[74] Writing forNME on the game's 20th anniversary, journalistMark Beaumont highlighted the immersive graphics, aesthetic, location-based damage on enemies, and revolutionary multiplayer mode, stating that it "helped to introduce gaming as a group event".[75]
In 2011, the game was selected as one of 80 games from the past 40 years to be placed in the Art of Video Games exhibit in theSmithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.[76]
In its 2023 ranking of every North American N64 game,Hard Drive calledGoldenEye the best title on the console, saying it was "an inarguably era-defining game that not only established the gold standard of the day for the burgeoning FPS genre, but also opened the floodgates for nearly a decade of z-grade shooters adapted from blockbuster IPs, all made in a limp, flagrant attempt to replicate its success." The site said that "the most enduring testament to [the game's] legacy is how it’s grown to overshadow the movie it’s based on."[77]
In 2025,The Strong National Museum of Play inductedGoldenEye 007 into itsWorld Video Game Hall of Fame.[78] Andrew Borman of The Strong Museum said "Critics laudedGoldenEye 007 as the premier example of a first-person shooter to succeed on a console rather than a PC, and it is still considered one of the best multiplayer experiences ever produced on a Nintendo system."[79]
During development, this weapon was called the Skorpion VZ/61 after itsreal-world counterpart but was changed due to legal reasons.[80][81] The weapon was renamed the "Spyder" but had to be changed again for legal reasons, as the name itself is trademarked by a paintball manufacturer of the same name[82] before finally, being renamed as the Klobb.[83]
The Klobb has been retrospectively described by critics as a memorable aspect of the gameplay ofGoldenEye 007, albeit for its negative traits; despite its high rate of fire, it deals a low amount of damage and is extremely inaccurate.[7][84][85][86][87] In a contemporaneous review,Edge remarked that the ability to dual-wield the Klobb is one of the most satisfying moments, and argued that it is likely to be remembered by players unlike the vast majority of video game weapons.[88] In their view, imperfection adds both realism and unpredictability to a game, and that the moments created by this were something that designers were beginning to realize were just as valuable as creating a "perfect" weapon.[8] Simon Parkin ofEurogamer noted the naming of the Klobb as one of the first times that issues arose over using real-life gun names for in-game weapons, asGoldenEye 007 was one of the first console games to feature 3D firearms.[89] Parkin noted that while the invented gun names were "acceptable in the fictional universe ofJames Bond", he emphasized that "for those games based around real armed forces, the inclusion of brand names was necessary to remain faithful to the source material."[89] The gun was included in the video gameToo Human as "KLOBB", due to Ken Lobb's association with the game's developers,Silicon Knights.[90]
The weapon has also been referenced in other games as well. InPerfect Dark, the KL01313 is one of the "Classic Weapons" featured as a duplicate of the Klobb with its numbers "01313"spelling the name "KLOBB". In the HD remasterGoldenEye 007: Reloaded and the later release007 Legends, the Kl-033 Mk2 is a submachine gun classified under the Special category. The name is an obvious reference to the original Klobb. The weapon's name also follows a similar naming convention to the one inPerfect Dark with the 0 as an O and the 3 as a B with it being identified as Mark 2, supposedly as in improvement over the originalGoldenEye version. It is also referenced inState of Decay, where the description for the Skorpion gives "Klobb" as a nickname for the weapon amongst Network operatives, who favor the gun.
AnXbox Live Arcade (XBLA) remaster was in development at Rare and4J Studios for several months in 2008.[91] The remaster was set to add several new features, includingonline multiplayer and the ability to toggle between the original and updated graphics.[92] Though it reportedly needed only two more months of development before it was finished, the remaster was cancelled because Nintendo, MGM, andMicrosoft, which acquired Rare in 2002, were unable to come to a licensing agreement.[93] According to Rare's Ross Bury, Mark Edmonds, and Chris Tilston, Rare began developing the remaster in late 2006, shortly after theStamper brothers had left Rare and after the company had completedPerfect Dark Zero andKameo. Microsoft had suggested thatGoldenEye 007 would be appropriate for XBLA, leading Rare to start on the remaster prior to getting Nintendo's permission, believing it would not have been a problem becauseGoldenEye 007 was one of the most popular Nintendo 64 games. Rare had completed the conversion and removed most of the bugs before they learned that Nintendo had not cleared it. This halted development until negotiation on rights could be discussed, which ultimately fell through.[94][95] In January 2021, a full playthrough of aprototype of the XBLA version was streamed toYouTube, showcasing improved graphics running at 60frames per second.[96] Later, a near-final playableROM image of the XBLA game was leaked online from an unknown source.[97]
In January 2022, achievements for anXbox One version ofGoldenEye 007 were leaked. In June 2022, the same leaked achievements were seen on Xbox servers.[98]VGC andEurogamer reported that the leaked achievements suggested an official release was imminent.[99][100] In September 2022, Microsoft, Nintendo and Rare announced the Nintendo 64 version would be rereleased on Xbox One andXbox Series X/S throughXbox Game Pass, and onNintendo Switch through theNintendo Classics service.[101][102] The Xbox version was remastered byCode Mystics and supports4K resolution displays, but does not include any of the enhancements from the canceled XBLA remaster. The Switch release is playable in both the original 4:3 aspect ratio as well as widescreen (the same goes with the Xbox version), and is the only one to feature online multiplayer, via the Nintendo Classics emulator's built-in online multiplayer functionality.[103][92] The Xbox version was published byXbox Game Studios and both versions were released on 27 January 2023.[104][103] Players who digitally purchased Rare's 2015 Xbox One compilationRare Replay received the game for free.[105]
AfterGoldenEye 007 was released, Rare began development of aspiritual successor,Perfect Dark.[106] Using an upgraded version of theGoldenEye 007 game engine,Perfect Dark was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000.[107] Although the game features a setting and storyline unrelated toJames Bond, it shares many gameplay features, including a similar control scheme, mission objectives that vary with difficulty settings, and cheat options unlockable through quick level completions.[107] WhilePerfect Dark was still in development, Martin Hollis left Rare to work as a consultant on the development of theGameCube atNintendo of America.[15] Other members of theGoldenEye 007 team also left the studio to formFree Radical Design.[108][23] The company developed theTimeSplitters series of first-person shooters. These games contain several references toGoldenEye 007, including the design of the health-HUD, the nature of the aiming system, and the Russian dam setting of the opening level ofTimeSplitters 2.[109][110][111]
After forming a partnership with MGM in late 1998,[112]Electronic Arts published games based on then-recentJames Bond films,Tomorrow Never Dies andThe World Is Not Enough, as well as entirely original ones, includingAgent Under Fire,Nightfire,Everything or Nothing andGoldenEye: Rogue Agent.[113] Although Nintendo considered the possibility of bringingGoldenEye 007 to theWii'sVirtual Console in 2006,[114] the game was never released for the platform due to legal issues involving the numerous licence holders with rights to the game and to theJames Bondintellectual property.[115] In 2006, theJames Bond game licence was acquired byActivision.[116][117] Activision published more games, includingQuantum of Solace,Blood Stone and a2010 remake ofGoldenEye 007. The remake featuresDaniel Craig as the playable character, contemporary first-person shooter conventions, new level layouts, and online multiplayer.[118] Activision lost theJames Bond game licence in 2014.[25]
In 2010, an independent development team releasedGoldenEye: Source, a multiplayer-onlytotal conversion mod that runs on theSource engine.[119]GoldenEye 007 had initially been intended for inclusion inRare Replay; a behind-the-scenes featurette for the compilation was produced, but was not released until being leaked in 2019.[25] A fan remake powered byUnreal Engine 4,GoldenEye 25, was in development and originally scheduled for a 2022 release in honour of the game's 25th anniversary, but it was retooled into an original property calledS.P.I.E.S. (the title was later changed toDeceive Inc.) after MGM sent acease and desist letter to the developers.[120]
As of 2025, the game continues to have a strong speedrunning presence, a following it has maintained since at least as far back as 1999, which was whenGoldenEye 007 andPerfect Dark speedrunner and gaming documentarianKarl Jobst first discovered the community.[121]
OnGoldenEye 007's 25th anniversary in 2022, a full-lengthdocumentary film titledGoldenEra was released.GoldenEra details the chaotic and intense development process as well asGoldenEye 007's effect onpopular culture and modern first-person shooters.[122][123]
Don't tell anyone, but no one expected this to be any good. Early videos looked decidedly ropey, there was no marketing behind it (Rare had to come down to show the game itself), and, of course, it was a film licence.
… the tangible connection between the controls in your physical hands and the action of the little toy on screen is a clever semiotic trick that fools you into ever-increasing absorption into the cartoon world. A similar trick is worked by the videogame paradigm of the sniper rifle, introduced by MDK (1997), perfected by Goldeneye (1997) and then cropping up everywhere—for example in Metal Gear Solid (1999) and Perfect Dark (2000). This gadget zooms in on an area and lets you view it in close-up, usually for the purpose of delivering an exquisite head shot to a bad guy. A virtual environment that reveals more detail when viewed telescopically is naturally more convincing than one which only works on one informational scale.
