James Bond 007: NightFire

Works on: Windows XP / Vista /  7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11

Overview

James Bond 007: Nightfire is a 2002 first-person shooter video game published by Electronic Arts for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows, with additional versions released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003, and the macOS in 2004. The computer versions feature modifications to the storyline, different missions and the removal of driving sections used in home console versions.

The game's story involves fictional British secret agent James Bond, as he undertakes a mission to investigate the operations of a noted industrialist, uncovering a plot by them to conquer the world via a major defence satellite created by the United States. The game uses the likeness of James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, although the character is voiced by Maxwell Caulfield.

The home console versions received positive reviews from critics, while other versions received mixed reactions.

Gameplay

Nightfire features two game modes for use - a single-player mode featuring a variety of missions and focused on the game's story, and a multiplayer mode where players can engage with other players, as well as AI bots. The game operates from a first-person perspective and features a variety of weapons all based on real-life models, but, much like previous games involving James Bond, have alternate names. The game features a similar arrangement to monitoring health as with GoldenEye 007, in that players have a health meter that decrease when they take damage, with the player's character killed when its fully depleted, though armor can be acquired to absorb the damage during gameplay.

In the single-player mode, players must complete a set of objectives, which requires navigating around each mission's level dealing with hostiles and making use of gadgets. Completing a level is done by completing all objectives and reaching the level's exit goal. Each level has a number of unique tokens, referred to as "007 tokens", which unlock special rewards in the game, and are acquired by completing certain actions in a level. At times, the player also engages in driving sections during certain levels - these stages function in a similar style to those used in the Spy Hunter series of video games, in which the player uses offensive weapons and gadgets to deal with enemies, while following a linear A-to-B route from the start to the finish of the level. Completing a level allows the player to receive a score that denotes how well they performed.

Multiplayer

Multiplayer mode focuses on players battling with each other and AI bots across a variety of stages - while some stages are based on levels from the game, others are based on settings and fictional locations based from the James Bond film franchise, including Fort Knox, from Goldfinger (1964), and Atlantis from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Players can choose which characters to play as, including a selection taken from the film franchise such as Jaws, Baron Samedi, Max Zorin, Auric Goldfinger, and Renard. Players can customize settings before a match, such as length of play, conditions for winning and so forth, as well as the setting for any AI bots used in the match - alongside players, which can be customized with different reaction times, speed and health.