GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a first-person shooter released for the PS2, XBox, GameCube and Nintendo DS. It follows an unkown agent called GoldenEye who is drummed out of MI-6 for brutality. It features the voice talent of Christopher Lee, and Judi Dench does the voice of M. Only in one or two scenes though. This game was meant to be EA Games' answer for the original GoldenEye 007 for the N64, but wasn't popular with critics or fans. The game features a dual-wield system and multiplayer.

Plot
M starts off by saying that the "Agent was wounded in a confrontation with Dr. No several years ago, and lost the use of his right eye." The agent is also prone to excessive violence. The agent appears in a helicopter next to 007, and is going to Fort Knox to stop Goldfinger. As you both are heading up there, a missile takes out the chopper. When the agent lands, he walks up to 007 and he falls to his "death." The agent then proceeds down to the lowest level of the of the Fort. When the agent gets to the vault, the bars block his way, Oddjob kills the remaining soldiers, and a cutscene shows the nuclear bomb (from Goldfinger) going off. Then the agent is booted out from MI-6, because he failed to save Fort Knox and "killed" 007. As the agent leaves he looks at a business card that says, "The offer still stands." It is signed by Goldfinger.

After the titles, the agent receives a "golden eye," a mechanical eye that can do 4 things. The first power the agent receives is MRI imaging. The second power is a Magnetic Polarity shield. The third power is an EM hack ability and the fourth power is a Magnetic Induction Field. It is given to him by Francesco Scaramanga (voiced by Christopher Lee, and using his likeness from The Man with the Golden Gun), who acts as this game's "Q" figure.

The agent is then flown to meet Goldfinger at Auric Enterprises, in the mountains. There, Goldfinger unveils his OMEN device (the Organic Mass Energy Neutralizer). While unveiling the device, Dr. No's forces attack. Goldfinger flees while the agent (now codenamed GoldenEye) repels the attack. After beating back the forces, he is rescued by Pussy Galore. GoldenEye is then flown to Hong Kong, where he is supposed to assassinate Dr. No. A fellow "Octopus" agent has supposedly left him a sniper rifle in the adjacent building, but in reality he has betrayed GoldenEye. GoldenEye then tracks the turncoat down and kills him and downs an Osprey with Dr. No inside. After escaping, Goldfinger contacts GoldenEye and tells him that Dr. No's forces are planning an attack on his Midas Casino in Las Vegas. Goldfinger has hidden an OMEN device in his vault, and it must be protected.

Fighting past many guards, GoldenEye reaches the vault and the OMEN is triggered as he leaves, wiping out the attackers. Pussy Galore informs him that the attack originated at Hoover Dam, and flys him there. Working his way to the bottom of the dam, he realizes that the attackers plan on blowing up the dam, with a seismic charge. GoldenEye works his way back up to the top of the inside of the dam where the explosive is being held. After releasing the explosive, Oddjob betrays and attacks GoldenEye, who throws Oddjob over the edge. Pussy Galore again rescues GoldenEye. Back at the Volcano Lair, Number One (Ernst Stavro Blofeld) informs Goldfinger that Dr. No has hidden the coordinates to Crab Key in The Octopus, a secret underwater base that serves as a bank and auction house. Fighting past several of Dr. No's guards, GoldenEye reaches the central computer core for the Octopus and downloads the coordinates for Crab Key. While there, GoldenEye also buys an underwater sub and explosives. He then proceeds to Crab Key. Upon arriving, GoldenEye is taunted by Dr. No, and pursues him to the nuclear reactor below the island. They battle, and GoldenEye uses the EM Hack feature of his golden eye to destroy the controls on the reactor, setting it to meltdown. Goldfinger tells GoldenEye that his services are no longer required, and no pickup is scheduled. GoldenEye escapes the meltdown by getting Dr. No's Osprey. Pussy Galore then informs GoldenEye that the Lair has been taken over by Goldfinger, and Scaramanga gives him a virus that will overload the OMEN. Fighting through the Lair, GoldenEye finds the chair that he received the golden eye and gets the virus. GoldenEye is finally "captured" by Goldfinger. As Goldfinger berates GoldenEye for killing the guards, GoldenEye uploads the virus. By the time Goldfinger finally realizes what is happening; it is too late as the OMEN is triggered thus ending his brief reign.

GoldenEye and Pussy Galore fly off into the sunset on autopilot, while Francesco Scaramanga and Number One discuss GoldenEye's future.

Golden Eye Powers
This game features a "Golden Eye," with four powers.
 * MRI Vision: Magnetic Resonance Imaging, allows you to see through solid objects. Combined with the Mag-Rail gun, this combo is almost unstoppable.
 * EM Hack: This allows you to "hack" into machines and electronics from a distance. It can neutralize an enemy's weapon, or even hack turrets to shoot the enemies around you.
 * Magnetic Polarity Shield: This deflects all damage, but drains the Eye's power rapidly. You can also melee an opponent and discharge the power directly into that enemy.
 * Magnetic Induction Field: The last power allows you to "align magnetic fields" and throw your opponents. You can virtually throw them anywhere.

Weapons of GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
These weapons are different variations on the ones used in other Bond video games.
 * 1) Spec-9: This is the basic weapon that GoldenEye starts with. It has unlimited ammo, and a decent damage rating. It is holstered when holding another weapon.
 * 2) Type-S Frag: Basic explosive. Equipped in the left hand as a default. Is thrown when not holding a two-handed weapon or the left hand is free.
 * 3) Jackal .357: This game's most powerful handgun. Can be held in either hand.
 * 4) Mamba 12GA: A shotgun with close-range power. It looks like a sawed-off, and has a large dispesal pattern.
 * 5) HS-90: A sub-machine gun that packs quite a bit of power. As you continuously fire, the shots disperse.
 * 6) AR4 Commando: The basic machine gun. The same "dispersal" effect happens when you fire for long periods of time. It also features a scope for maximum range.
 * 7) Longbow SR: The game's sniper rifle. Packs a large punch, and a scope.
 * 8) Harpoon RL: The main rocket launcher of the game. Doesn't come with much ammo, but can take down multiple enemies and tanks quite effectively.
 * 9) Predator MG: A mini-gun that doesn't have the "dispersal" effect mentioned above.
 * 10) Venom 200mL: A serum gun that slows down the target while draining their health.
 * 11) Mark II Detonator: Shoots a small explosive that attaches itself to anything, including weapons and armor. You can then detonate it by remote located on the gun.
 * 12) Mag-Rail: A portable rail gun, that shoots through anything.
 * 13) Tesla EM: Similar to the EM Hack feature, you can disable machines, etc with this gun.
 * 14) Omen XR: This gun is basically a portable version of the OMEN device.
 * 15) Goblin Mine (MP only): You can only hold this mine, but it has a proximity sensor.
 * 16) Golden Gun: Does this really need an explanation? One shot, one kill.

Reception
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent wasn't well recieved by critics or fans. Much of the gameplay was described as boring and repetative. The "E. V. I. L." AI engine didn't make playing the game "new" as described on the box. Mostly the characters would just run back and forth. The different guns could be held in both hands (ala GoldenEye 007), but there wasn't "over 100 combinations" as described also on the back of the box. Overall the game was mediocre, and was followed by "Everything or Nothing" and "From Russia with Love."

Sequel
Because of the game's cliffhanger ending, there was a sequel in the works. The planned sequel was canned when the game was received negatively.