Tomorrow Never Dies (video game)

Tomorrow Never Dies
Developer(s)	Black Ops
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts MGM Interactive
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date(s)	November 16, 1999
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ACB: M ESRB: T

Tomorrow Never Dies (also known as 007: Tomorrow Never Dies) is a third-person shooter based on the James Bond film of the same name. Developed by Black Ops and published by Electronic Arts, it was released on November 16, 1999 exclusively for the Sony PlayStation. It is the first 007 game of many that was published by Electronic Arts since acquiring the James Bond licence. This game marks the fourth appearance of Pierce Brosnan's James Bond, although the voice of Bond is provided by actor Adam Blackwood in the game.

Plot

Screenshot of a wounded Bond outside a Russian military outpost.

Bond begins to cross the Russian border from China into a Russian radar base, which is intercepting messages delicate in subject. Using a laser designator, Bond targets the dish and a British jet flies over, dropping an Air to Surface missile. A helicopter arrives, and Bond kills the inhabitants, and recovers a key. He uses the key to unlock a large gate, and makes his escape on skis. Bond reaches the end of the run - a sheer cliff drop. Bond continues on, and opens his Union Jack parachute, reminiscent of that from The Spy Who Loved Me.

Bond later lands in an Arms Bazaar. After taking photographs of military hardware, a British naval ship launches a BGM-109 Tomahawk to eliminate all potential threats and hardware. Bond realises there are nuclear weapons at the Bazaar on a MIG jet (in reality, the jet was a L-39 Albatros). After an intense firefight between Bond and Russian terrorists, he hijacks the jet and returns to MI6.

Bond is sent to investigate a man called Elliot Carver during a party in Hamburg, Germany after a British warship sank in the South China Sea, with all hands going down. Carver media published the full story before MI6 received a full report, raising MI6's suspicions. During the party Bond meets his former lover, Paris, now Carver's wife, who slaps him. Carver arrives, and offers a 'tour of the facilities'. Bond follows, but is knocked out by a henchman. He wakes up in a room with a large 2-way mirror. He uses his laser-cufflinks to escape, then he destroys the central computer, allowing him to make his escape. He then makes his way to the press, and engages in a firefight between Carver's guards.

He recovers Henry Gupta's GPS scrambler which was used to lure the British Navy into Chinese waters to try and spark an international incident ss the existing Chinese government being not receptive to giving Carver Media Group Network exclusive broadcast rights in China, Carver plans to start a war to eliminate the government in favor of politicians more supportive to his plans. Bond then escapes to the 'Hotel Atlantic', where Paris is being held prisoner. He arrives, where he goes to the bar and asks to see Paris where he is meeted by guards loyal to Dr. Kuafman, who engage Bond in a shoot out. Bond uses the elevator to get to a luxurious area, where he meets Kaufman. Kaufman tries to kill Bond by using spinning razor discs and an AK-47 to try and kill Bond. When Kaufman dies, Bond helps Paris escape. They make it to the underground garage, where Bond drives away in his BMW 7 Series.

Bond is then sent to a ski ridge in Hokkaido, Japan, to track down and kill chemical expert Sotoshi Isagura, who is thought to be working for Elliot Carver after a nerve gas attack at Yokohama. The Carver Media was also the first to report the story. Bond kills Isagura and is sent to Saigon. Bond steals a data disk from Carver Media Tower in Saigon but is captured. Bond manages to escape with the data disk. The next night, Carver bribes the Saigon Military Police. Their orders are to kill Bond on sight, so MI6 pulls Bond out as the mission would be compromised. Bond gives Wai Lin the data disk. Wai Lin engages the Saigon Military Police in a gun battle with the Police setting roadblocks and using fast firing chain guns. She makes it back to her lab to find the location of Carter's stealth boat. On the stealth boat, Bond uses the boat's comm-link to give MI6 its position. Wai Lin is kidnapped but is later freed by Bond after he kills Carver's right hand man, Stamper. Wai Lin stops the engine and Bond kills Carver and stops the stolen nuclear missile from destroying Beijing. Bond escapes the stealth boat before it self-destructs.

Gameplay

Tomorrow Never Dies broke away from the gameplay that made GoldenEye 007 a success, by choosing to make a third-person shooter and by leaving out a multiplayer portion of the game. It is the first of three games in the James Bond franchise that allows players to control a character other than James Bond himself.

Reception

Tomorrow Never Dies was met with mixed reviews and currently holds a 5.9 rating on GameStats. It was criticized for its change from a first-person to third-person perspective, awkward controls, short length, and lack of a multiplayer component. As a result, it didn't capture the same success as it's predecessor. however the voice acting and soundtrack were praised, and for the most part stayed true to the film's source material. It was not until 2004 that another third-person shooter based on the Bond franchise, Everything or Nothing, would emerge.

External links

• Official website

Forgotten Playstation