GoldenEye 007 - The first (only?) FPS game I've ever played

[doomed]

HL1 (both "WON" and "STEAM" versions) have music. I should know, it's my favorite game!

[rewak]

I could never get into Half Life 1, i thought it was dull and boring. Half Life 2 on the other hand, brilliant game.

[Branden_Lucero]

golden eye was alright, but i preferred perfect dark more.

there needs to be another DOOM (not the one currently in development) that goes back to the roots where it was very violent, and had a plethora of satanic imagery.

there's too many modern day and war style FPS games.

[OKeijiDragon]

So by you playing one FPS other than Goldeneye and you didnt like it you judged every other FPS and figured they all suck?

I never said every other FPS sucked, I just said I wasn't all that impressed with Perfect Dark. And isn't it true that all you do in FPS is just shoot stuff? It is a shooter genre after all.

[nemesiswontdie]

Yes it is a shoot genre but isnt Goldeneye the same thing?

[Beanovsky Durst]

While Goldeneye may be an awesome game, you should try Doom, Quake and Wolfenstein 3-D. The games that made a game like Goldeneye possible.

ID Software did something that really revolutioned FPS: Customization. Having mods was the best thing that could ever happen to FPS. I remember making maps for Doom in the good old days.

Yeah I agree with you. Quake is a very good game and the OST is flat out amazing.

Why I'm not surprised? cough... Trent Reznor cough...

Anyway, Goldeneye is definetly in my FPS shrine. In it's era was the holy grail of gameplay, simple yet effective, and as Carnivol said, adding mission objectives to scale difficulty was brilliant, plus giving the enemies better aim / damage.

It was THE GAME for N64 and it's shame it won't get a proper revival because of licensing issues. However Perfect Dark is a nice follow up to it, and I'll surely gonna buy it as soon as it is released on XBLA.

[OKeijiDragon]

Yes it is a shoot genre but isnt Goldeneye the same thing?

Did I ever seriously say it wasn't?

[randomwab]

They (GE/PD/TS) all have a way of handling difficulty settings that actually makes the games very much replayable on all difficulties (not just for the unlocks). Instead of just upping the damage dealt by the enemies (and their hit ratio) which is what probably 99% of all FPS games do when you up the difficulty, GE/PD/TS adds additional objectives, mission events and fail-triggers to the mission + also adjusts the enemy stats and sometimes also shuffle certain things a bit.

Has there been any other shooters to implement this feature? It blows my mind that of all the influence Goldeneye had over the genre, this wasn't stolen by every first person title out there. I mean, this was one of the defining aspects of Goldeneye back in the day and one of the most praised areas for this and Perfect Dark/Timesplitters.

I mean, on a level like Dam, there's a ton of the area you don't need to go to on the lower difficulties because they're specifically for higher levels. The only thing close to that idea is the optional sub-objectives in Crysis or some of the vehicle sections in Half-Life 2 and Episode 2 which attempt to reward you for exploration.

Modern day FPS are often poorly and lazily designed on the gameplay side of things. A genre that is as stale as a statue and slowly moving backwards in most cases.

Hey now, you're going to hurt Modern Warfare 2's feelings.

Unlike everyone's favorite, Half-Life 1-2, which quite frankly has some of the worst audio design I've seen (*event starts* - *plays sequenced track; Likely to be a random techno jiggle* - *regardless of outcome, music stops once track is finished*)

I'm currently replaying Half-Life 2 (as I end up doing every couple of months now ) and this very thing has been very jarring for me. Not so much the "once track is finished" thing, but rather *music is playing, I drive into tunnel, load, music gone* which has been very annoying. In fact, the game loads a ridiculous amount, something to with having to unpack everything out of Valve's compressed files.

Having said that, I don’t really like half of the music in Half-Life 2. There are a couple of good tracks, like the Ravenholm music and the music that plays when you get the cart, but the random techno never really sat well for me. I was so happy to see them finally get there music right for Episode 1 and the Orange Box titles. The Orange Box Soundtrack has probably been my most listening to soundtrack this generation. So many amazing tracks.

[Stu]

And isn't it true that all you do in FPS is just shoot stuff? It is a shooter genre after all.

Allow me to put this as elegantly as possible....erm...FUCK NO.

You seriously are in need of an education.

Start with Half Life, then we'll talk some more.

[randomwab]

You seriously are in need of an education.

Start with Half Life, then we'll talk some more.

Yeah, if you're OK with old graphics then Half-Life is a total blast, and it's generally thought of as the turning point for shooters from Doom style run and gun games to a better paced single player experience.

If you're really not into shooters though, you could try something like Portal or Mirror's Edge. Both fantastic first person titles without the focus on gunplay.

[Zombie Fred]

I have to say Time Splitters is the best first person shooter series out there to date (with Halo being second close, for console wise), and it even takes the trophy when Goldeneye become the benchmark of the genre back in its time. Nothing has come close to how much was included in each game. Something that still is a gem to this date. All I hope now is if Crytek UK (former of free radical) will continue the series and still has that magic in them.

Goldeneye -> Perfect Dark -> Time Splitters, they all have something other FPS games still struggle with and that's proper mission structure and sensible difficulty settings (not to mention how Perfect Dark and Time Splitters' multiplayer modes still piss all over the lack of customization found in most FPS games that don't support mods).

Oh, and they have the lean function... gotta love the leaning function (I'm still upset about F.E.A.R. having it, while F.E.A.R. 2 did not)

Rare/Free Radical (when some of the team left Rare to form FR with the main designers from GE/PD) probably are the best multiplayer first person developers out there when you can consider the total hours spent playing on the time splitter series with friends alone offline and just split screen. It's one hell of a job on how it was completely fluid with many enemies and modes you could have on screen, thanks to their talented staff all round. I guarantee you that who are fans of the time splitters series will know how much fun it is to play virus on many of their designed maps, or even other modes, given the choice to listening to some great music (dance like a monkey anyone? Or how about Scottland the brave!).

They (GE/PD/TS) all have a way of handling difficulty settings that actually makes the games very much replayable on all difficulties (not just for the unlocks). Instead of just upping the damage dealt by the enemies (and their hit ratio) which is what probably 99% of all FPS games do when you up the difficulty, GE/PD/TS adds additional objectives, mission events and fail-triggers to the mission + also adjusts the enemy stats and sometimes also shuffle certain things a bit.

Best thing to remember is when it come to the challenges on Time Splitters, trying to earn the platinum trophy (which I still think all the bundle they have done;map maker, modes, co-op for campaign and created story, Easter eggs, etc) and so on, I dare you to remember the total hours you have spent on that game compared to other console first person shooters back then. They also probably had the best robust collection of playable characters and unlocks to fit your needs (Leo <3), nothing that many game companies do these days for the FPS Genre.

Modern day FPS are often poorly and lazily designed on the gameplay side of things. A genre that is as stale as a statue and slowly moving backwards in most cases.

I think Halo is probably the best modern first person shooter series out there, in my opinion anyhow, at this time being when you consider the sand box that's opened for the player. Multiplayer also has a robust collection of gameplay (and created by fans thanks to forge) modes and maps that other modern titles normally don't do, other than the standard norm play lists you get with first person shooters. It's probably a safe bet to see Reach having a map making system like with Farcry 2 coming with it and much more, seeing this is their most personal Halo title since the first game, I wont be disappointed to see what will all be packed in when released.

And, yeah, soundtracks are a bit of a nice thing in those games too (GE/PD/TS, that is). Unlike everyone's favorite, Half-Life 1-2, which quite frankly has some of the worst audio design I've seen (*event starts* - *plays sequenced track; Likely to be a random techno jiggle* - *regardless of outcome, music stops once track is finished*)

Got to agree with Half Life 2 having the worst scripted audio sequences in the game, due to the loading and poorly paced level sequences. I think Episode two remedied that thanks to less loading and the music fitting in the right areas from the beginning to the end during each set peice. The ambiance music in the first chapter worked great (other than dying which caused the music to cease when you come back alive...) and still some of the best tracks to listen to among with the orange box as Wayne has said above.

Perfect Dark XBLA can't come soon enough (though, I wonder how they'll handle the various control modes... Time Splitters 1-3 did a perfect job of moving things to a default setting w/dual analog while still keeping the manual aim an important feature. Of course, GE/PD did have dual analog support via double controllers... Guess we'll see.)

Perfect Dark would probably be similar to the controls Ala to Time Splitters as they are the best successor compared to how it played out in the Nintendo 64 controller, I just hope the game comes with changing the sensitivity as most other games of the genre allow.

Coming back to Half Life however, I think its design is unparalleled to other first person games. Nothing, saying this with confidence, has gave the exact tensity and feelings of feeling pressured under fire and fighting offense/defenselessly than what has occurred in the series. To date, opposing forces Acid radiation chamber sequence (even if it was developed by gearbox with supervised by valve) made me panic and think fast as everything around was falling apart. This MADE you want to get out, and I always felt like being sucked in the world when I can recall with Half Life 2 on many occasions (even still play the series occasionally) I felt I was the player inside the game. Just several of the explanations said already makes it why Episode 3 is a must when it comes out next year (who wants to bet it be another "box" with portal 2 and another game?)

Yeah, if you're OK with old graphics then Half-Life is a total blast, and it's generally thought of as the turning point for shooters from Doom style run and gun games to a better paced single player experience.

If you're really not into shooters though, you could try something like Portal or Mirror's Edge. Both fantastic first person titles without the focus on gunplay.

Holy shit, if you think Graphics are one of the biggest turn off points for the series that subtracts you wanting to play then there's something wrong with you. EDIT: Also to add, the platforming sequences and exploration is another huge factor on why I love it other than it being a primary shooter. Probably one of the best crafted universes out there. Naive to just consider it a Doom run and gun. Go and play Doom and then tell me where its narrative is that is similar to Half Life, then its robust of enemies, worlds (Xen, Black Mesa), etc.

[Stu]

I meant Half Life as a franchise really...but the original game's experience outweighs the lack of a graphical appeal by miles.

I wouldn't really put Mirror's Edge or Portal in the FPS genre either. They're first person, but they're not primarily about shooting. The Half Life series meanwhile is primarily a shooter, but still offers a whole lot more to go with it.

[randomwab]

Holy shit, if you think Graphics are one of the biggest turn off points for the series that subtracts you wanting to play then there's something wrong with you. EDIT: Also to add, the platforming sequences and exploration is another huge factor on why I love it other than it being a primary shooter. Probably one of the best crafted universes out there. Naive to just consider it a Doom run and gun. Go and play Doom and then tell me where its narrative is that is similar to Half Life, then its robust of enemies, worlds (Xen, Black Mesa), etc.

Some people are graphics whores, so I was just putting that out there. Graphics aren't a problem for me. And I said Half-Life was the turning point for the shooter gameplay, as in the point when shooters veered away from the Doom design style. Half-Life is nothing like Doom in design at all.

I wouldn't really put Mirror's Edge or Portal in the FPS genre either. They're first person, but they're not primarily about shooting. The Half Life series meanwhile is primarily a shooter, but still offers a whole lot more to go with it.

That's why I said if he doesn't like shooters. He mentioned how he thought FPS were all shooting, so I was guessing he didn't like this type of game, or else he likely wouldn't have said something along those lines. My point was there are still great first person games out there that aren't shooter heavy.

[Zombie Fred]

Some people are graphics whores, so I was just putting that out there. Graphics aren't a problem for me. And I said Half-Life was the turning point for the shooter gameplay, as in the point when shooters veered away from the Doom design style. Half-Life is nothing like Doom in design at all.

Must of read your post wrong as I thought you was saying Doom was similar to half life in design. My bad. And for the graphic whores who wouldn't want to go back and play the first game because of its graphics then they got black mesa to look forward too very soon.

[Stu]

Yeeeeeeah! Black Mesa is the reason i'll finally be building my new PC in 2010. Bring that shit on!