The World Is Not Enough

Overall: D
Violence: D+
Sexual Content: B+
Language: A
Drugs/Alcohol: B+

Platform reviewed: Nintendo 64
Publisher: Electronic Arts
ESRB rating: T

The name is Bond - James Bond. We know just by the way he says his name that he's way cooler than the rest of us could ever hope to be. The immortal British agent is smooth and sophisticated, able to handle fast cars and plenty of fast women, and can shoot craps as well as foes. His bio is filled with just about everything we wouldn't want our children to become and yet for almost four decades we have been inexplicably drawn to this extreme spy fantasy.

Riding on the leading man's coat tales, Nintendo's The World is Not Enough (TWINE) lacks his debonair perfection. The game mimics the plot of the film, through 14 levels of first-player action tied together with movie sequences. At the beginning of each level, "M"--Bond's boss--briefs him with mission objectives that change to reflect the unforeseen circumstances encountered as you progress through the game. But if you are looking forward to riding the zippy little MI6 jet boat or the pipeline bomb, (some of the blockbuster's most exciting elements) you will be disappointed to discover they are only featured in the short movie sequences and not in actual interactive game play. Apparently the little cartridge couldn't fit the amount of game code necessary to make that possible.

The refinement is missing from TWINE's graphics too, even though I used the expansion pak that the instruction manual claims will make the game more "visually stunning." But improved clarity as an asset maybe debatable. Even with its blocky images, I could detect enough detail of my enemies bending over railings to plummet to their demise, writhing in pain, or in various other death throes. Of course you can avoid such theatrics by shooting them several times in the torso, or simply blasting them once in the head (no blood is shown).

Players don't require 007's suave sniper skills either. First of all, you have the advantage of "Q's" many gadgets. For instance, the standard issue Bond watch has four new accessories: an enemy stunner, a tranquilizer-dart shooter, a grapple hook, and a high-powered laser. Other spy novelties include night goggles, a bomb diffuser, data scrambler, phone tap, and safecracker. To defeat high-tech terrorists on your covert missions you're equipped with high-tech weapons like an Ingalls Type 20 heavy machine pistol or a Suisse SSR 4000 sniper rifle. Second, if you put the game into default "auto-aim" mode, you can go on a killing rampage no matter what your abilities. And third, the AI (Artificial Ignorance) of your enemies makes them easy targets that run right up to you instead of seeking cover. The only restrictions are innocent bystanders. Kill them and it's "game over."

To break the monotony of "run and gun," playtime is broken up with some missions that don't involve shooting your adversaries. You may need to sneak around rooms with no weapons, diffuse a bomb, assume someone else's identity, rescue hostages, swim through a maze of underwater tunnels, or evade grenades dropped from parachuting snowmobiles as you ski down a mountain side. Or you can try the (rather disappointing) multiplayer event, where you play against friends in games like capture the briefcase, golden gun, king of the hill, uplink, and last man standing. If you have no friends, you could play against some computer bots, but once again they are blessed with the same AI and become nothing more than cardboard target practice.

Although it falls short on many accounts, there is one expectation where The World is Not Enough hits its mark. The name James Bond has become synonymous with violence, and this game is no exception. Families concerned about guns becoming child's play should beware products bearing this hero's magnetic charm.

Melanie Law

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