| Introduction
When Nightfire was first announced by Electronic
Arts, I have to admit that I was incredibly surprised.
After all, this was going to be the first time on a
handheld that a Bond game is seen through a first person
perspective. What made it more palatable, however, was the fact that it was
being developed by JV Games, the folks responsible for
Backtrack, which was the first notable FPS game to grace
the GBA platform. Thus, having just enjoyed the GameCube
version of Nightfire, my hopes of enjoying the GBA version
were pretty high. Hopefully, I wasn't going to be disappointed.
GamePlay
For those who have sampled the console versions of
Nightfire, the GBA version plays almost the same, albeit
in a much simplified fashion. Each level is split up
into a series of mission objectives, which must be completed
to move on to the next stage. The missions include the
usual lot of shooting and blowing up of things interspersed
with a handful of more thought provoking tasks, which
you'll be pleased to note, are not that mentally taxing.
When playing the game, you'll quickly realize that
you can't just fire at anything that moves because if
you hit a 'friendly' target you'll have to restart the
whole level. This is obviously meant to encourage a
more considered and thoughtful approach to playing the
game, but is also incredibly frustrating. One of the
more challenging aspects of the game is getting to a
hostage before they are shot. Be warned that if you
don't complete an objective in time, you'll be whisked
to the beginning of a mission. Not all of the game is
interactive though. An early mission for example, challenges
you to "spy on a secret mission whilst remaining
undetected" but as it's all played out with a series
of cut screens there seems little point to mentioning
the objectives in the first place.
By the third level you should be a little more familiar
with the game and the emphasis changes from shooting
to stealth. So rather than being rewarded for gunning
down enemies, the aim here is to carry out several objectives
without being discovered. Things really do begin to
get tough at this stage and the experience starts to
feel less like a straightforward FPS and something more
akin to Metal Gear Solid.
The famous 'Q-Gadgets' are available to aid you in
your various missions and their effective use (as well
as a lot of exploration) is how you'll solve the majority
of puzzles. One such instance places you in a sealed
courtyard with no visible means of escape. Use of your
handy Cell Phone Grapple soon remedies the situation
and aiming it at the hook inside a second floor window
will rescue you from what appears to be an impossible
situation. There are also some instances where a weapon
has a dual purpose, so even if you've completely exhausted
your supply of rockets, you could still use the thermo
screen to locate the guards on the other side of a door.
The 'Bond Bonuses' are also here but strangely, rather
than earning them by completing secret agent maneuvers,
you simply pick them up in random locations.
Each mission is rounded up with a final score and
a 'Bond Rating'. This is dependent on many things including
the time taken, accuracy and the number of enemies you've
'dispatched'. You can also try to 'par' the various
missions i.e. complete them in what the developers consider
an achievable time. Although your final score might
not seem like the most important thing in the world
and some players might be tempted to hurtle through
levels to avoid crossfire, be warned that points are
converted into end of mission medals. These points are
critical because you must attain pre-defined medals
in order to progress and this gets more difficult as
the game progresses.
Controls
As with most FPS games, the control system may seem
confusing at first. Nightfire uses quite a number of
button combinations for the various actions, and on
the GBA's somewhat limited interface, this will take
some time to learn.
Another feature that also further complicates the
control system is the "Q-Gadgets", but lucky
for us, JV Games have done a good job of sorting it
all out. As such, you'll be able to execute quite a
few advance moves like "crouch" and "jump",
moves that were simply unimaginable in earlier FPS games
on the GBA. All in all, the control system does run
smoothly, and while there are some aspects that could
have used a little tweaking, the whole thing is reasonably
intuitive.
The developers have also had the foresight to include
the control layout in the options menu, so there's always
help at hand if you do get completely confused.
Graphics
In terms of visuals and graphics, Nightfire is far
from perfect. This is particularly evident in some levels,
where things look a little scrappy and rushed with textures
appearing rather bland, although it must be pointed
out that in addition to the walls, there are both floor
and ceiling textures.
There are also some issues with the cut screens,
which have obviously been lifted from the console version,
and which appear so small on the GBA that it's very
difficult to see anything. The front-end presentation
is a little better but you can't help feeling that the
developers might have been a trifle over-ambitious in
attempting to port a console based FPS, almost in its
entirety, onto the significantly less powerful GBA.
Overall though, the visuals are above average and far
more impressive than JV Games' own Back Track, though
we may have to wait some time until any developer betters
the excellent Ecks vs. Sever.
Sound & Music
Things kick off with a truly excellent sample of
the famous James Bond theme, which is undoubtedly a
great way to start this game. This standard is maintained
throughout the various levels with the incidental themes
that accompany your every move helping you feel like
Bond every step of the way. The sound effects are also
well above average with some great voice samples enhancing
the on-screen visuals. In short, Nightfire is a great
sounding title that does justice to the Bond Universe.
Of course, to enjoy it all better, headphones are recommended.
Final Comments
You may recall that the last time we encountered
James Bond was on the GBC with the rather average, 'The
World is Not Enough'. That was some time ago, and surprising
too, considering how lucrative the James Bond license
is. The good news is that Nightfire is worth the wait.
Although the visuals are less than spectacular at
times, the good story line, controls and gameplay elements
in Nightfire do make up for it. Unfortunately, however,
the omission of any multiplayer option means that once
you've completed the single player game, there's little
incentive in replaying it again.
There are quite a few good FPA games on the GBA and
while Nightfire is not the best example of the genre,
the inclusion of inventive gadgets and intriguing missions
does separate it from the pack. As such, Nightfire is
one game I'd recommend for all James Bond fans aspiring
secret agents.
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