A simple tuck and spit-polish of the game engine from EA's blockbuster Tomorrow Never Dies would have been acceptable as a sequel for any other normal man. But this is James Bond, the man who's drink can never be served wrong. Top dollar is but a pittance when you're rolling at the Baccarat table with 007. Only the finest cars, the most modern gadgets, and the ultra-chic fashion belongs can withstand all of the explosive action of a Bond film.
So it was back to the laboratory for Black Ops, the developers behind the disappointing and dull Tomorrow Never Dies. Scrapped was everything that slowed down the action and betrayed the game as a James Bond property. And with the redesign for The World Is Not Enough, so too was scrapped every idea that rated only average. Everything point that hopes to make final approval better be a 24-karat diamond, or it's out.
When talking to EA about TWINE for the PlayStation, that's the feeling we got from the producer and designers. Already dropped early on was any inkling of multiplayer. Unfortunately, this means that the game won't feature the everlasting gameplay of Rare's ephemeral N64 Bond Goldeneye, but the decision was for the best of the game. Any development time spent hashing together a quick multiplayer mode would take away valuable production time from an already stressed schedule and drastically hurt the quality of the main game.
Instead, Black Ops concentrated on explosive action and complex missions taken from the best scenes of the film, and they're going for the gusto. 007's legendary status as a Secret Agent will be tested to the fullest in this game, as the missions range from stealthy tasks of sabotage to impossibly ferocious action sequences as James battles the world's most deadly terrorists in a duel to the death. Keep your shotgun cocked.
Though quite early, some of the stages of the game are dazzling interpretations of the film's key scenes. One has James rushing through throngs of pedestrians and assailants in a mad chase after a fleeing assassin. Up to six characters can be on the screen at a time, and EA's goal is to have many of those bodies be human traffic and bullet hazards. Of course, being an agent of the Queen, it would be terribly unbecoming for James to rack up a casualty list, so saving lives is as much a part of the gameplay as is ridding the world of killers. This kind of careful gunplay is something that's rarely been explored on the huffing and puffing PlayStation system, so we'll see if this significantly changes the world of gameplay, a world that up until now may not have been enough.
The stealth missions of the game were only roughly implemented in this game at this stage, but the design was familiar and based on working models from prior espionage games. One has 007 slipping out of the sheets of a lover's bed to bug the room's telephones and sneak around her mansion to steal incriminating evidence, then returning to her bosom before she awakens. Evading the guards is the key to staying undercover, so whenever Bond finds himself inches away from trouble, he can always whip out his Nokia Cellular Phone / Stun Gun and put his man out of harm's way. Another stage puts you knee-deep in a thick Russian accent in a den of thieves as you try to infiltrate a nuclear testing ground. Armed only with an ID Badge and a smirk, James has to smooth talk his way down to the nuclear core in a mission much like Medal of Honor's base missions.
Some of the more unique stages are teetering on the drawing board right now, as EA plans to skim the fat if stages don't measure up to the overall quality of the game. The film's outstanding skiing sequence is under the works right now, and though there is a chance that it may not make the final box, it would make a fantastic addition if it did. Players control James on skis as he sluices down precipices while evading armed snowmobiles. Already in the graphic set are the parachuting snow mobiles, as seen in the film -- they glide down from the air, land with only the sound of packed snow, and instantly start up to give deadly chase. If Black Ops can design an incredible skiing sim to go along with this, the stage might stand as the game's best. Added to that is a full Blackjack game (which has earned its place in the final game and will not be cut), where 007 romances the women and antes up with the big rollers as he attempts to win enough money to barter with his adversary.
Graphically, EA has given no quarter to the challenges of making a Bond game. The title shines and glimmers, literally. EA has drawn up one of the most taxing graphic engines for a PlayStation game yet, complete with curved surfaces and brilliant lighting. One breathtaking underground corridor measured up to Rare's design achievement in Perfect Dark. Even the game's background detail is painstakingly designed, with every stained glass in the game an individual painting. The little touches, like the painting of Winston Churchill hanging over the mantelpiece of a London bar, are worthy of seeking out. Also sterling in the game is the character texture, with faces more clear than even Goldeneye. Though at this early stage the character movement needs fine tuning, everything move in the game is backed by motion capture. The finer points have been captured well -- for instance, when a villain is shot in the arm and drops a weapon, they will reach into their jacket and pull out a secondary hand gun. The only unfortunate graphic problem that needs desperate fixing is the lack of faces in the version we saw -- women magically transported from room to room, and though we weren't upset with their reoccurrence, a little variety is the spice of a man's life.
What is impressive is that all of this graphic polish comes riding on the wheels of a solid framerate and rock-steady draw distance. Backgrounds recede long into the horizon, and some rooms allow you to see up to four floors up flights of steps. Again, six characters can be on-screen without taking a hit on the framerate, allowing for action sequences impossibly dense and dangerous.
The question begs itself to be asked: What will be the difference between this game and the already proven N64 version. The answer is, or course, for better or worse, everything. Black Ops has had a different gameplan from that of the N64 developers at Eurocom, and though both games share the same key sequences, they are interpreted drastically differently. For instance, the N64 version picks up the first scene with the assassin taking out Jame's contact, and goes into an escape mission. The PlayStation version skips the escape and moves right on to a chase mission where James cannot fall out of view of the assassin while in chase. All the while, armed guards and pedestrians will block his path as he chases her to her hot air balloon. Visually, the games are similar, and aside from the FMV bridging the main action sequences, the two games has a similar visual style (though they share no art resources and utilize completely different architecture and level design). The biggest difference is in the gameplay. The N64 game whips around like a game of Quake, spinning madly at high speeds with tremendously frenzied action sequences. The PlayStation game is a little more methodical. The control is slower to turn for more accurate sniping, and the action is generally less harried but more crisp. That's not to say that there's not more than enough action in the PlayStation game, as the game's big action sequences have are as exhilarating as can be, but the two games will feel different.
We'll have more on the PlayStation version of TWINE very soon, as EA plans to ship the game this November. A thousand particles need to be brushed off of this Armani game before it's worthy of becoming part of Bond's wardrobe, but the design is there, and the cut is right. All that's needed is the perfectionist tailoring needed to sew up the loose ends. God save the Queen if that doesn't happen.
Update 8-17-'00
We got a real good look at The World Is Not Enough (TWINE) today for the PlayStation, but we simply didn't have enough time to write about it in detail. So, here's a brief rundown on the game's status:
- TWINE will not feature a two-player mode, EA confirmed with IGNPSX today.
- Black Ops is currently working on a skiing level, to coincide with the skiing level that was shown in the movie of the same name. But there is a chance that the game will not have a skiing level. We did get a chance to look at it, and it looked quite impressive. The drawn-in distances were excellent, the enemy crafts that flew in for the chase were zipping around and looking accruate, and Bond should be able to ski around in a nice looking mountain-scape. We'll have more on this section soon.
- The levels are beautifully detailed, and have little to no draw-in. Each level has extraordinary textures that take a while to notice, if you have the time to slow down between enemies. Believe it or not, even the ceilings were very nice looking.
- When players get the chance to use the Sniper Rifle, they won't be disappointed. The aim and control of the guns is excellent -- much better than in Tomorrow Never Dies.
- Several stealth levels are being worked on, including one in which Bond must sneak around in the enemy's house and plant phone bugs, and avoid being seen by the guards who traverse the mansion. Sweet!
- There is a gambling level in which you really gamble! It's like real gambling and has Vegas odds! D'oh! One of the level missions is to win $100,000, and if you lose, well, you lose!
- There are lots of sweet looking female characters in the game. Well, actually, all of the characters are phenomenally well textured and are realistic. Impressive stuff.
We'll have a full, detailed report tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the new screenshots! See you then!
Previous Information
World domination. The same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they're Napoleon. Or God. And only one man can stop them. That man is Bond. James Bond.
If ever a company could pull off wearing Gucci, it would be EA. The megalomaniac corporation is using all of its forces to bring another suave suit into an adventure of global significance. (You know, EA is getting so big that we think it wouldn't be a bad villain for the next Bond film.)
EA has secured the exclusive rights from MGM Interactive and Danjaq, LLC, for many years to develop and publish multiple titles using the Bond character, and The World Is Not Enough is the first in that deal. The PlayStation game will be built from the skeleton of the Tomorrow Never Dies Engine, and developed by Black Ops, which also developed Tomorrow Never Dies.
Using the formula that Rare employed so well with Goldeneye on N64, Black Ops is implementing a mixture of stealth and action elements into the gameplay across 10 missions (which will probably each have sub-missions of their own) for the PS game. TWINE is based on the movie of the same name, but EA is taking creative license to enrich gameplay situations and is adding new villains into the mix. According to its own producers, the gameplay involves situations in which more than one solution to a dilemma can get Bond out of a dangerous situation.
TWINE sets gamers in several international locales, including the Caucasus Mountains, Istanbul, and Baku, and pits them in many different situations, involving skiing, head to head shooting battles, and a wild foot race through Istanbul. EA also reports that the targeting system has been improved over Tomorrow Never Dies, and that as many as 30 Q lab weapons and gadgets are available for pure destruction. A few of the confirmed weapons feature Bond's trusty PK99, a BGK-74 Russian assault rifle (with grenade launcher), and an AR-36 Tactical Assault Rifle (with scope).
A handful of Bond's allies will come into play during the course of the missions, including Dr. Christmas Jones, and possibly the late Q, M, the John Cleese character, R, and a few others. They will help you through the intelligently designed missions and complex levels. EA's producers said that this game differs from other Bond games, and other First-person shooters, in that gamers can complete a mission in more than one way. One of the newest gadgets includes an exclusive PlayStation specific gadget -- a video camera that doubles as a missile launcher. Not bad, eh?
There is no doubt that various forms of clever thinking and spontaneity will reward you, just like in real Bond movies. Intelligently designed interactive backgrounds will play a key part in how players complete their missions. Additionally, the games weaves more than 20 minutes of actual film footage and in-game cinematics into the levels to seamlessly progress players through the game.
Taking a cue from Goldeneye's everlasting gobstopper gameplay, EA is planning to multiplayer capability for The World is Not Enough at least for the PS2 version. We have yet to get EA to confirm a two-player mode for the PS version.
Perhaps the most significant information about the game is that EA is deep enough into development to bring the game out on by the end of the year 2000. That means this Christmas, folks. So, make all the puns about how often Christmas comes, but get it all out of your system before the game hits stores this fall.
-- Douglass C. Perry