For many years, most good 007 games have been first person shooters and there isn't a problem with that. James Bond is just one of those characters that can be easily adapted for the first person, and lets every kid on the block pretend they're an agent under fire. But what if, just what if, we had a game where James was in the third person and voiced by Pierce Brosnan? Wouldn't that be Everything or Nothing!?

  Alright, that's enough of the tacky segues I promise. In February of 2004, EA games decided to give the gaming community a glance of 007 himself in Everything or Nothing. In a refreshing twist to the genre, this game would be featured in the third person instead of the typical first person perspective. At the time many felt Everything or Nothing could easily turn out like Tomorrow Never Dies for Ps1, which I hope I don't need to remind you all of that piece of trash. Anyway, luckily for us that was not the case. EA successfully transferred James Bond into a new perspective, and was able to add plenty of new game elements to an otherwise redundant shooter.

  One of the biggest elements that was added to Everything or Nothing was the chance to effectively use stealth. Now I know there are plenty of stealth based games out on the market, Splinter Cell, the Metal Gear Series, and to tell the truth Everything or Nothing doesn't come close to their level of sneakiness. But, now that Bond has some stealth kills to add to his arsenal it just makes the player feel that much closer to being an international spy. If trying to stealth your way through a level isn't your thing, you can also go the more straight forward approach and just blow away anyone who wanders into your sights. There is a large range of weapons for people to choice from, as there always are in a Bond game, and when the bullets fly the game play isn't ground breaking by any means. Another cool feature added into Everything or Nothing is the chance to use "Bond Moves". Bond moves are pretty much self explanatory, they're moves you'd see James use if this were a movie. They're triggered by engaging different things on each level, and overall are very clever.

  Just because 007 usually works alone (hot lady friends and Q aside), that doesn't mean you have to. Everything or Nothing offers a Co-op Multiplayer mode, that has it own unique side story. Although you can't play as Bond himself, you can pick from 4 non-007 status agents. The Co-op mode offers everything the main game does in terms of action, and I have to say its very satisfying see a friend stealthily taking care of an enemy that you might have missed. The Co-op missions are very entertaining, and on occasion you might even get a glimpse of Bond in action.

  Speaking of Bond in action, I mention before Pierce Brosnan does 007's voice work, and he does them well. Brosnan isn't the only star lending their voice for the cause however. Everything or Nothing was designed to act a Bond film, and was able to attract talents such as Heidi Klum, Judi Dench, John Cleese, and Willem Dafoe as lead characters. Everything of Nothing even brought back Richard Kiel's image as Jaws, and it was satisfying to fight old metal mouth again. The voice work is solid, although at times it sounds like Willem Dafoe is way to far away from the microphone. Character's in game likenesses are also outstanding. Every character looks as they should, which adds a deeper cinematic feel to Everything or Nothing. The game's story shouldn't be much of a surprise to people either. Dangerous villain plotting against good, and old 007 has to save the day. Other than that, I won't go into too much detail. If you want to find out more about the story, well you'll just have to play it for yourself.

  Ever since Goldeneye was released for Nintendo 64, we have seen an onslaught of Bond inspired games. Some are better than others, but many just leave us wanting more. Luckily, EA games provided us with a chance to see Bond in a whole new light and reinvigorated our dreams to be an agent with 00 status. Although nothing about this game is ground breaking, or overly original, Everything or Nothing is an excellent shooter with a touch of stealth.

Written by: RB

Over and Out

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