GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (Pre-E3 2005)

As developers seek new and interesting genres to bring to the software-starved Nintendo DS, the system seems to be ideal for Real Time Strategy titles and First Person Shooters. At this years’ E3 show, the void on the console looks to be filled in both of these genres. Besides Nintendo’s own Metroid Prime Hunters, EA is looking to bring a big franchise on the small DS screen too. GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is just this title and it may turn out to be better than any of the recent Bond titles on the larger-screen consoles.

Players have a variety of control schemes they can utilize but the most precise way to play an FPS on the Nintendo DS is but using the thumb strap attachment. After sliding this on, players will be able to move their thumb over the touch screen and change the viewpoint on the top screen. This provides you with FPS controls that can only be matched with a mouse and keyboard. Unlike the Metroid Prime Hunters demo, players can even choose to invert the look. (I am still praying Nintendo adds this feature to Hunters.) Rogue Agent also features the ability to hold a weapon in each hand. While you can fire the weapons by tapping on the left or right side of the touch screen, this is very awkward. Thankfully the option to use the Left and Right button triggers has been included to fire your weapons.

Visually Rogue Agent won’t blow you away. This game was released on the Xbox, PS2, and GameCube with much better visuals. The DS does a good job of playing the game but just don’t expect the title to look as good as it was in its prior release. What you will get is a game that will run between 30 and 60 FPS.

Also included in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a multiplayer mode for up to eight players. The nice thing about this mode is that it will only require one copy of the game to play via the 802.11b connection. The downside is that you can only play one map if you are playing the multiplayer off one copy of the game. Once all your friends have a copy of the game plugged in to their DS, you will be able to play many more multiplayer maps.

EA is currently scheduled to ship this game in June and the title does need a little bit more work before it is ready for release. EA assures us that any bugs and issues in the gameplay should be ironed out before the release date. When the game ships, we will let you know if they succeeded.