Nintendo64′s Goldeneye 007

Posted by TheZimp on Mar 27, 2009 in Blog | 2 comments

The other night I invited my friends over, busted out my N64, and hooked that bad boy up to my T.V. All my games went missing somewhere except the only one that matters; Goldeneye 64. The feeling of popping in a cartridge is so awesomely nostalgic. It felt like I’ve just rushed home from school so I can get some gaming time under my belt. I have a special connection with my N64. I was 16 when it came out on the market and I played it way past my sexual prime. Obviously, had I known that males hit their sexual prime at the age of 18 I probably would’ve played less video games… actually… probably not. Anyways, I popped in that Goldeneye 64 cartridge, turned it on, and there was that James Bond music coming through my speakers.

How was the experience from a more “grown up” point of view? Well, the last time I had played the game wasn’t too long ago either. I go back from time to time to try and beat the “Cradle” stage on “00 agent.” I fail every time. I once got Trevelyan to descend the steps to the bottom of the satellite but ended up fudging the whole thing and falling off myself. The multiplayer experience was something I hadn’t done in a while – how was it? Just as awesome as it was when I’d go over my friend’s house to play many years ago. I remember playing this game EVERY NIGHT with my friends. We’d even make up games to add to the excitement. For example, one game we played was called “hostage.” We’d play in teams and if a player reached a player of the opposite team before that player could get a weapon, then that player would be taken hostage. This game usually worked best in the “complex” level because you can take the “hostage” to that room upstairs that held the best weapon and keep him in a corner while his partner tried to rescue him. Yes, that’s right, we played our OWN game, OUTSIDE of the N64 box.

Playing the game again with friends made me wonder why this game remains so awesome. Seriously. What does it have that other games don’t? How come they haven’t been able to match the awesomeness that is Goldeneye 64′s multiplayer? I think the game has a certain charm, a je ne sais quoi. There’s something about being stuck in the vent of the men’s washroom while your buddy waits for you with his P90. There’s something about playing the game with proximity mines with “license to kill” mode on. There’s something about punching your friend in the arm for taking Oddjob cause that fucker is too short to shoot at. This game is full of awesome.

If there’s one game that needs a VC release it’s this. The problem is, however, that RARE now belongs to Microsoft. Apparently RARE even remade the game for Microsoft Arcade but Nintendo refused the permission for them to release the remake. That sucks. I mean, even if it is going under another company Nintendo is robbing people of one of the most awesomest (it’s a word – google it) games ever made. I hope this pans out soon. If not, we can all settle down at my house and have Goldeneye tournaments.

What do you think? What are your favorites modes of multiplayer?