Rumor: Video surfaces of XBLA GoldenEye 007

by Dustin Burg { Jan 20th 2008 at 1:00PM }

We'd like to direct your attention to the embedded YouTube video above. This video is somewhat special. Special, because it's rumored to have been uploaded by an employee from Rare showing off an in-house build of what GoldenEye 007 would look like as an Xbox Live Arcade game. You know, because there have been numerous rumors of an XBLA version being worked on. But the video is very controversial. Controversial, because nobody can be 100% sure that it's real or fake. The improved textures, framerate and gameplay lends itself to being real, but some say it could be a l33t programmer doing a ROM hack. You'll have to ponder this one and analyze the picture evidence. Real or fake? We dunno, but we thought this video was worth your attention. That is all. Good day.

[Via N4G, Thanks Karl]

Tags: goldeneye, goldeneye-007, rare, rumor, xbla

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

a ham sandwich @ Jan 20th 2008 1:05PM

i saw this on youtube yesterday. i think its real.

Josh @ Jan 21st 2008 11:48AM

Hey, if anyone wants to play Goldeneye with dual analog on Project 64, I have a dual analog control file I made here:

http://potdparadiso.com/dotcom/goldeneye.cpf

You have to mess with in-game control options but it makes Perfect Dark and Goldeneye play like Halo. They are super easy when you don't have to stop and aim. I also have this one for general N64 ROM play with the 360 controller:

http://potdparadiso.com/dotcom/360.cpf

dan stabbingworth @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:03PM

Sorry, not to be a lazy noob, but can you go into a little further detail about this?

LesbianHam @ Jan 20th 2008 1:06PM

IMAIGODTHEMEMOREEZ

Zach S @ Jan 20th 2008 3:43PM

I just pulled out my N64 two weeks ago and played some Goldeneye with a friend- still just as fun as it was years ago! Hopefully the XBLA thing happens, with Live support!!!

P.S. Why don't Nintendo and Microsoft just both agree to allow each other to have it in their respective virtual consoles? Duhduuuh!

Tony @ Jan 20th 2008 1:11PM

Some people on XBLArcade.com were discussing how some of the textures are different, etc.

I don't know what to think about it. It really doesn't seem as nice as the supposed leaked screen, even when accounting for YouTube compression. If anything, most of these textures just look like they had a smoothing filter applied over them.

flameofdoom666 @ Jan 20th 2008 1:15PM

Even if that is the case, it is still an upgrade- plus the framerate is the only thing that REALLY matters.

Josh @ Jan 21st 2008 11:43AM

In the comparison screens some of the geometry (like the lite) is different. You can't change that by just smoothing a texture.

flameofdoom666 @ Jan 20th 2008 1:14PM

I hope it's real.

The framerate was nice, the textured were dealable, and that music is classic!

Ubercharged @ Jan 20th 2008 1:17PM

I think everyones memory of this game is distorted, i busted out my N64 the other day to play Ocarana of Time and decided to put goldeneye in. It is really not very good, mostly because of the one analogue stick on the N64.

Platinum_Skeet @ Jan 20th 2008 1:46PM

All the control problems though are thrown out the window now that your playing on a 360 remote. Plus multiplayer will be bad ass if they can make it more than 8 people...

Andy @ Jan 20th 2008 11:47PM

I feel the same way. I tried to give this game another shot recently... man it is downright unplayable.
They need to change the control scheme to the dual "left stick move, right stick look" modern FPS style.
That would rock.

Brave @ Jan 20th 2008 1:23PM

we should get GoldenEye for free instead of Undertow(i tink it was) D:

Tony @ Jan 20th 2008 1:22PM

Goldeneye had a controller option that allowed you to play it like Turok, essentially echoing the two-stick method we're all used to before the method even existed.

So I'd have to imagine the controls will be adjusted accordingly.

xenocidic @ Jan 20th 2008 7:56PM

heck yes, it was called "Honey" and that's how I rolled.

Magic Whiskey @ Jan 20th 2008 1:33PM

Gods....I really hope to God it's real, and that we'll get it via XBLA sooner than later (Castle Crashers, where the HELL did you go anyway???)

Anyway yeah..weirder things HAVE happened..like the TMNT Arcade game...

Andy @ Jan 20th 2008 1:43PM

As much as we all want this on XBLA, I really think the video is fake. I mean it could be someone using an N64 emulator and just recording gameplay, and you see the framerate reader on the top left...emulators do that all the time. I mean if it really is the XBLA version it could be an emulator Rare has put together, but I seriously doubt that.

SovietSpartan @ Jan 20th 2008 10:17PM

lol. of course its an emulator. most arcade games run on emulation technology by digital eclipse. your 360 emulates your old xbox games.

Now if you are saying this is a pc emulator i have to agree. back when voodoo 3 was all the rage on pcs i used to dl n64 roms and play them with a 3dfx glide emulator and it looks just like the video. It enabled texture smoothing and bilinear filtering which made it look much better. And if i remembered correctly, some people had been modifying the roms for better textures since the computers could handle it.

For now i have to say this is not running on the xbox 360 until i see it widescreen and recorded off a hdtv!but then again you can hook up your computer to the hdtvs now a days.

Code601 @ Jan 20th 2008 1:53PM

Just from the way its being played, I have to say fake!

Tom @ Jan 20th 2008 9:18PM

apparently you never played on agent, lol

Platinum_Skeet @ Jan 20th 2008 1:54PM

My big wonder is how much easier the game will be now that we have way better controls?

But hey if they can't bring this game back they need to push for Perfect Dark. If Goldeneye or Perfect Dark come to XBLA with online multiplayer. Millions of gamers will be satisfied...

DemonGSides @ Jan 20th 2008 1:55PM

Scientist minus a head.

I call N64 Rom.

OmegaIXIUltima @ Jan 20th 2008 1:58PM

Anyone notice how the sound was really off or is that just youtube or my computer being a piece of junk?

Rae @ Jan 20th 2008 1:58PM

wow no one mentioned the "saving content do not turn off your console" mesage at the end of the video

Rae @ Jan 20th 2008 2:01PM

also you can see the 'b' button to go the the previous page and 'start' to start the game

pretty sure this is real

lilbambit @ Jan 20th 2008 2:40PM

funny to think that one of the most revered, revolutionary and respected games is a movie tie-in

mattclarkie @ Jan 20th 2008 2:04PM

Looks to me like the AI really needs some work. They looked like they just stood there and did nothing, but it is hard to tell.

But as that would change the game they probably wouldn't be able to do that even if there was an XBLA version.

hydralisk456 @ Jan 20th 2008 2:14PM

Ha! Only pussies play on "Agent" difficulty!

mattclarkie @ Jan 20th 2008 2:16PM

What the hell is happening when he gets into the lift. It just stays there for 1 min, and then "Saves".

Maybe the reason the scientist has no head is that the Soviets are experimenting with Invisibility, and there was an accident and the scientists head became invisible.

JakubK666 @ Jan 20th 2008 2:55PM

Or maybe that's an alpha version of an Live Arcade Port?

dunnypop @ Jan 20th 2008 2:21PM

if this is real, this would be an amazing addition to XBLA... I'm sure there are millions of fans of this game.

aldim000 @ Jan 20th 2008 2:25PM

I haven't played Goldeneye back in the day, but from the video it seems quite terrible compared to a lot of PC shooters from the same year (Quake II, Jedi Knight, etc), not to mention the ones that were released in 98. Especially the AI appears to be all but nonexistent and the game tries to compensate by throwing loads of complete retards at you. I don't think I really care anymore whether this gets released or not.

Arno @ Jan 20th 2008 2:31PM

Hacking the ROM is no easy task, for someone to go through all that (we're talking weeks worth of work) to present this video is highly unlikely.

David @ Jan 20th 2008 2:34PM

Yeah, G4 Adam Sessler, of X-Play confirmed on a recent episode that Goldeneye for XBLA was a no-go: http://www.g4tv.com/pile_player.aspx?video_key=19792

(He'll tell you about it right after some PS3 sequel.)

Arno @ Jan 20th 2008 2:37PM

The game wasn't meant to be ran through like that.

Anyone who didn't play Goldeneye back in the day won't realize how amazing this game was back in the day. Different body parts took damage differently, the weapon would slighlty auto-aim when shooting enemies making the animation very fluid and realistic. Kids today won't be able to appreciate it, but the game paved the way for many FPS games to come, much like Half-Life did many years later. This game was revolutionary when it first came out.

Trekster_Gamer @ Jan 20th 2008 2:54PM

It was good for it's day as there was no other console FPS to compare it to. I am not impressed, nostalgia only goes so far.... Duke Nukem Atomic would have been more fun ; )

aldim000 @ Jan 20th 2008 3:32PM

Arno, Half-Life came out ONE year later. Knowing what Goldeneye introduced to the shooter scene, it doesn't look remotely as revolutionary and/or influential as the id titles that preceded it or Marathon, Descent, Duke 3D, Jedi Knight, System Shock, etc. Doesn't seem to have aged well either. It may be impressive for an early console FPS, but nothing more. And I don't think that the compromise of using auto-aim is not something a game should brag about.
Just like "kids today won't be able to appreciate it", back in the day console-only players had no idea how much more advanced PC shooters were. And it stayed that way until Halo evened the odds somewhat.

Zach S @ Jan 20th 2008 3:56PM

Actually it was very revolutionary and influential in both the single-player and multi-player modes.

It had a solid story, with cut scenes and missions in which you had certain objectives to complete (such as placing trackers, etc) and also others that could be considered "opportunity" objectives. It also featured the ability to drive a tank and I think maybe one other vehicle, can't remember. It had a ridiculous arsenal of weapons, most of which could be dual-wielded. Almost everything in the game could be shot and messed around with, and the AI was fairly intelligent (they would duck, roll, side-step, etc.), plus there were different damage points for the head, chest, arms, etc. It featured a very minimal HUD with only the bullets, with the health bar flashing when you got hit and otherwise it was in the menu (which was his freaking watch!) Also, the music was fucking amazing.

The multiplayer had a ridiculous amount of customization, from around 60 characters to different weapons modes, game modes, 15 or so levels, etc. The game featured like 6 different control styles and used the trigger on the N64 to great effect for up to 4 players. I think, overall, it really did have a profound impact, not only on the console FPS world, but also on following FPSes in general, plus on the fan base for the genre (practically everyone with a 64 had Goldeneye and/or Perfect Dark)

somedood @ Jan 20th 2008 9:22PM

No doubt the video is real. If you are pissed about the XBLA mess, there is hope for you. Play GE on your PC. Not a mod, the real deal. Online flasslessly also. Lot's happening with GE in 2008!! We could use some more fodder. Join us. www.GoldenEyeOnline.com

Stranger @ Jan 20th 2008 5:16PM

Wasn't there news like two weeks ago that a port of Goldeneye had been in the works for over a year, but was being scrapped because Microsoft and Nintendo couldn't come to agreeable licensing terms?

Cool vid and all, but thought this was sorta old news...

Roto13 @ Jan 20th 2008 6:49PM

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. O_o

T3H WICKERMAN (TMNT DF) (BWF) @ Jan 20th 2008 5:34PM

My hope is that the devs are trying to get strong support from the fans to help get this released. This may be the teaser that helps to force all of the parties involved to make this happen. I would pay 12 -15 bucks for an enhanced version with achievements, online multi, and cleaned up textures. You know this would be soo fun!!!

Mikeawesome @ Jan 20th 2008 6:14PM

I want this so bad.

For one reason, which I think everyone will agree with me on:

Slappers-only 16-man online.

I can't think of anything better, really.

Tony @ Jan 20th 2008 6:22PM

Fake. This is the GoldenEye mod for Half-Life 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfBhwFt7ZTY

ShadowedAsh @ Jan 20th 2008 9:34PM

Wow. Are you stupid? The video of the supposed "Goldeneye Live" looks nothing like the HL2 mod. I just can't believe how different it looks from the other then you say they're one and the same. Seek help, fast.

todde7 @ Jan 20th 2008 10:29PM

All it is is a speedrun of the N64 version of Goldeneye. If that's the XBLA version then it sucks there was a scientist w/o a head in the middle of the video.

mike shea @ Jan 20th 2008 10:48PM

alpha, my boy.
alpha.

aldim000 @ Jan 20th 2008 6:40PM

@Zach S:

"It had a solid story, with cut scenes and missions in which you had certain objectives to complete (such as placing trackers, etc) and also others that could be considered "opportunity" objectives."

Nothing particularly innovative here. Neither good storytelling (Pathways into Darkness, System Shock), nor cutscenes were anything new in FPS games.

"It had a ridiculous arsenal of weapons, most of which could be dual-wielded."

Dual-wield has been around since Marathon, years before Goldeneye.

"Almost everything in the game could be shot and messed around with, and the AI was fairly intelligent (they would duck, roll, side-step, etc.), plus there were different damage points for the head, chest, arms, etc."

The first really impressive jump in FPS AI was in Unreal. Though I'd agree about damage points. Their use became widespread only after Goldeneye came out.

"The multiplayer had a ridiculous amount of customization, from around 60 characters to different weapons modes, game modes, 15 or so levels, etc. The game featured like 6 different control styles and used the trigger on the N64 to great effect for up to 4 players."

The multiplayer of console FPS games wasn't even worth mentioning before Halo 2. It is Doom, Quake, and Quake II that paved the way for modern multiplayer shooters (and to a great extent - online gaming). Even Goldeneye's creators acknowledge that this mode was an afterthought.

I don't doubt that Goldeneye was an excellent game for its time, which introduced a couple of neat new features and turned a lot of heads in the console world, but its impact can hardly be compared to that of Half-Life (and even Unreal with its revolutionary visuals, AI, and pacing and the ancestor of MMO FPS games - Starsiege: Tribes), which were released the following year.

BlackICE @ Jan 20th 2008 6:41PM

This game was and is shit, I dont know why theres so much hype surrounding it, I dont care if they remake the game in the Crysis engine, the gameplay is still a steaming pile of shit. Revolutionary my arse, and didnt pave the way to games like half life which were released like 10 months later, I think by that stage half life would have been mostly done!