Xbox One Nintendo 64

GoldenEye 007

Shooter

Time to beat: about 9 hours

Overview

GoldenEye 007 is a 1997 first-person shooter game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is based on the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, with the player controlling the secret agent James Bond to prevent a criminal syndicate from using a satellite weapon. They navigate a series of levels to complete objectives, such as recovering or destroying objects, while shooting enemies. In a multiplayer mode, up to four players compete in several deathmatch scenarios via split-screen.

Development began in January 1995. An inexperienced team led by Martin Hollis developed GoldenEye 007 over two and a half years. The game was conceived as a side-scrolling platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but evolved into a 3D shooter for the Nintendo 64 inspired by Doom (1993) and Virtua Cop (1994). Rare visited the GoldenEye set for reference, and Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) allowed them to expand the game with sequences and characters not featured in the film.

GoldenEye 007 was released in Japan on 23 August 1997, North America on 25 August 1997, and the United Kingdom on 7 November 1997, two years after the release of the film but shortly before the release of its sequel Tomorrow Never Dies. It faced low expectations from the gaming media during development. However, it received critical acclaim and sold over eight million copies, making it the third-best-selling Nintendo 64 game. The game was praised for its visuals, gameplay depth and variety, and multiplayer mode. In 1998, it received the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award, as well as four awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.