Gamer’s Review: James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire

Following the critical and commercial success of “Goldeneye” on Nintendo 64, Electronic Arts or EA for short made a deal with MGM to publish James Bond video games developed by separate studios beginning with “Tomorrow Never Dies,” “The World Is Not Enough” and of course, “James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire.” The latter game centers on 007 who goes on a globe-trotting adventure. He’s tasked to prevent world leaders from being killed and replaced by evil clones. Bond’s teams up with CIA agent, Zoey Nightshade assisting him to thwart Adrian Malprave & Nigel Bloch’s plans from coming to fruition.

Released in 2001 (same year Devil May Cry came out) on PlayStation 2, it received mixed to positive reviews from critics, fans and gamers alike. Despite divided opinions, the game sold enough copies. Agent Under Fire was later re-released in 2002 on Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. Anyway, James Bond’s latest game, “First Light” is out right now. As a huge fan of 007 since childhood, I wanna share my thoughts on Agent Under Fire.

Smart & Dumb Qualities

Smart: Voice Actors all did a solid job for their respective voiceover performances.

Judi Dench reprises her role as M briefing/guiding you on a mission.

Graphics are really good for a PS2/Xbox/Nintendo GameCube game.

Some of new characters like Zoey Nightshade & Nigel Bloch were interesting.

This game went into the sci-fi route involving clones. Bond went to space in “Moonraker.” Heck a space battle with frickin laser guns were present. It was 1979. MGM & EON Productions wanted to capitalize on the success of Star Wars.

Gameplay/Mechanics

Core elements from Goldeneye are You play as Bond in a series of levels completing certain objectives, using a specific gadget to bypass an obstacle, firing weapons at enemies, manually aim a target and sneaking your way through baddies making sure nobody triggers an alarm.
Certain levels swap first-person shooter to third-person vehicular combat and a rail shooter. A little variety spicing things up a notch.
Some levels have an alternate route. Pick which path suits you.
There are only 12 levels.
Weapon variety spans pistols, machine guns, assault rifles, snipers, rocket launchers etc.
Difficulty Levels are Operative, Agent & 00 Agent. It’s basically Easy, Normal & Hard.
Progression System tracks your performance. Performing a “Bond move” like explosive barrels at nearby enemies will trigger the Bond theme. Hidden tokens are scattered. If you achieve gold medal, you unlock a gold theme item. For instance, the Golden Gun. Cue Goldmember’s line, “I love gold!” Replaying any level to achieve a gold medal adds some replay value.
Some weapons have an alternate fire feature.
The best part in almost every Bond game, Multiplayer Mode. Like Goldeneye, you and three friends play various characters in different matches including Team Deathmatch, Protect the Flag, Bomb Defusing & Top Agent.

Fun Facts

Agent Under Fire is the first game to have an original story instead of an adaptation of a film.
It was originally developed as a third adaptation of The World Is Not Enough. We already got two versions on Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. Good thing game developers went with an original story.
A jetpack is used. A callback to that one scene from “Thunderball.”

Random Thoughts

My favorite level’s the oil rig.
I believe I got Agent Under Fire on my 9th birthday back in 2002. The exact same year both “Die Another Day” & “Nightfire” came out.
It was difficult for me to obtain every single gold medal. I did the best I can. Only wanted the Golden Gun.
My favorite gadget is the Q-Claw. It’s like Batman’s grapple gun.

Dumb: John Cleese appeared in a commercial to promote the game. I was expecting him to reprise his role as R from The World Is Not Enough filling as Desmond Llewelyn’s successor. Sadly, Mr. Cleese wasn’t asked to work on the game. Felt like a bait-and-switch.

The Final Verdict: A-

Despite one drawback, Agent Under Fire still holds up. I had fond memories playing this game on PS2 along with Nightfire & Everything or Nothing.” I miss my childhood. If you still have a PS2, Xbox or Nintendo GameCube relive the good old days and introduce your kids to this gem. Which James Bond game is your favorite? Please leave a comment.