James Bond is one of popular culture's most enduring icons. A suave spy always ready with a quip as well as a bullet, Bond has captivated generations of fans through his adventures saving the world. James Bond is a character built for video games, and with the recent announcement that the long-dormant 007 video game license is being revived by Hitman developer IO Interactive, it looks like Bond will, once again, return to save the world in video game form.
However, much like the films, Bond has seen iteration after iteration in a massive slew of James Bond games released over the years. Many game developers have taken the reigns and offered up their versions of Bond -- some great, many mediocre to awful. Here are four games that used the Bond license to great results.
In 1999, Electronic Arts took over the Bond license; three years later, it released James Bond 007: Nightfire for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC. Nightfire was a first-person shooter that featured an original story in which Bond (Pierce Brosnan's likeness voiced by Maxwell Caulfield) takes down an evil industrialist with eyes on world domination.
Bond could, of course, employ gadgets as well as gunplay, but Nightfire stood out by breaking up the first-person shooting with vehicle section -- a first for a Bond game. These vehicle levels saw Bond driving his Aston Martin, decked out with weaponry, in fast-paced car combat that provided a refreshing break from the first-person gunplay.
Outside of that, Nightfire's best feature was its multiplayer. Players could select iconic characters from the franchise, like Auric Goldfinger or henchman Jaws, and play in levels that were recreated from the classic films. These included Atlantis from The Spy Who Loved Me and Fort Knox from Goldfinger. Players could even deploy bots if there weren't any friends around, further adding to the multiplayer suite of options.
Just two years later, EA was back again with James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. Another Bond game starring Pierce Brosnan (and this time even voiced by the actor himself), EA opted for a third-person shooter this time. Everything or Nothing was a it among critics and fans, and it's still recognized to this day as one of the best Bond games.
Everything or Nothing sees 007 take on evil former KGB agent Nikolai Diavolo (voiced by Willem Dafoe) in a desperate effort to stop Diavolo's deployment of deadly nanobots. Bond must use his usual trusty gadgets and heap of guns, but (for the first time ever) Bond doesn't have to do it all alone. Everything or Nothing is the first James Bond game to feature a full two-player co-op mode where players control fellow MI6 operatives.
On top of its innovative co-op mode, Everything or Nothing also featured a return of driving missions similar to Nightfire. These were even based on fellow EA franchise Need for Speed's engine, which ensured they felt great and were a blast to play. Everything or Nothing was a massive improvement over the already excellent Nightfire in almost every way, and a thrilling campaign filled with a great cast made it an instant hit.
2005 saw a marked shift in the direction of Bond Games when developer EA Redwood Shore released From Russia With Love. This Bond game took things back to the 1960s and shockingly featured, not only the younger likeness of Sean Connery, but his voice as well. Connery once again stepped back into the role that made him an icon 22 years after his last Bond adventure for a game released on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.
Infinitely cool and retro, From Russia With Love saw a classic Bond taking on equally classic evil organization SPECTRE -- which had to be renamed OCTOPUS due to a legal dispute between MGM and United Artists. However, OCTOPUS is clearly SPECTRE in all but name, as Bond must take the organization down using guns, his classic Aston Martin DB5 Coupe and even the famous jetpack from 1965's Thunderball.
From Russia With Love is a fast-paced shooter that was praised at the time for its great artwork and graphical style. However, the real draw here is the 1960s Bond aesthetic. Some contemporary fans wish the films would return to the lightheartedness of the classic era, and From Russia With Love did it in video game form back in 2005.
Not much more can be said for this Nintendo 64 classic other than that GoldenEye 007 is one of the most beloved shooters ever. Developed by Rare in 1997, GoldenEye captivated an entire generation of Nintendo fans and expanded on the eponymous film while simultaneously becoming another iconic piece of James Bond history in its own right.
GoldenEye changed the landscape for console shooters, proving that they could be more complicated and cinematic than they were at the time. The game succeeded in wrapping a shooter around the Bond universe, producing a masterpiece that felt like a Bond film despite having almost no dialogue and zero voiceover performances. Rare made a shooter that was just as accessible as it was deep in gameplay systems, expanding on the film while remaining faithful to it. GoldenEye 007 is just as responsible for a whole generation of fans as much as any film, and it remains to this day the best Bond game ever made.
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