The GoldenEye Wii multiplayer shows a lot of promise, though the nostalgia is lacking.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/impressions/24017
At a recent event, I got a chance to play a lot of GoldenEye 007 local multiplayer from a near-finished build of the game. While I had a great time with the Wii-exclusive shooter, I didn't feel that the experience was similar to GoldenEye for Nintendo 64. That doesn't mean it's not a fun game, because it is. It just doesn't seem to be the nostalgic trip that most people are expecting.
Armed with a Classic Controller Pro, I dove in. The controls are very accessible, though I'm not a huge fan of using the Classic Controller's right stick for aiming. I can't really put my finger on what bothered me about it, but it just felt too imprecise. Hopefully, that can be remedied by customizing the controls, which you can do, or by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk control method. You also have the ability to run, crouch, switch to a sidearm, melee, and leap over certain obstacles.
There are different modes, most of which are your standard fare for multiplayer shooters. Naturally, there's a Golden Gun mode, which is executed well in this game.
At the start of each match, you can pick your character from a large roster, and then you can pick your load out. There are tons of different guns, grenades, and other bonuses in each one. The only bummer is that it's tough to figure out which gun does what by just looking at the name and picture of it. It also takes a long time to see the entire load out because the game slowly auto-scrolls through it all. I imagine that once you're more familiar with the game, you'll know how each weapon works, but it would be nice to have some inkling as to each weapon's strengths or weaknesses, or even just have a recommended load out for different types of players. Luckily, you can change load outs while in a match, but the changes you make won't be reflected until after you die and respawn.
Once you're in a match, it's a fun, chaotic shooter. There are no health packs in the multiplayer as your health regenerates over time, but there is still a quick pace to the firefights that break out. It feels very much like most modern first-person shooters, but with a little bit more light-heartedness than you'd expect.
What makes it very light-hearted and sometimes comical is the large list of modifiers you can turn on and off for multiplayer. See below for the full list with some notes on each.
Radar – You can turn radar on or off
Radar Dots Always Visible – You can toggle the dots representing each player on for the entire match if you please
Hot Shot – This modifier makes only head shots effective. It slows the pace of the game down, but also makes large explosions even more powerful.
Paintball – We all know what this is.
Singularity - If you run into a player, they explode. However, if you can land a melee attack in the small window before you both blow up, you can get credited with a kill.
Move Your Feet – If you stop moving, you die. This is kind of like the anti-camper.
Revenge – Each time you die, you get a boost. This makes me think of Venge Sims from Perfect Dark.
Rubber Grenades – Grenades bounce around like crazy!
Sticky Grenades – This basically makes all grenades like Halo's sticky grenades.
Nick Nack Mode – Everyone is tiny and can't leap over obstacles. I guess they couldn't do Big Head mode and did this instead.
Invisibility – This is a pre-order bonus at GameStop that wasn't playable at the event. However, it showed up on the modifier list. Players can turn invisible for short periods of time.
GoldenEye 007 Wii comes out on November 2. In addition to local split-screen multiplayer, it will also have an online multiplayer mode.