James Bond 007: Nightfire

James Bond 007: Nightfire
The Official Boxart for the Playstation 2.
Developer(s)	Eurocom (PS2, GC, Xbox) Gearbox Software (Windows) Aspyr (Mac) JV Games (GBA)
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Engine	id Tech 3(console versions) GoldSrc (PC version)
Platform(s)	PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Windows, Macintosh, Game Boy Advance,
Release	November 18, 2002
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

James Bond 007: Nightfire is a first-person shooter video game that is based on Ian Fleming's British secret agent James Bond, of the secret British intelligence agency, MI6. This marked Pierce Brosnan's fourth appearance as James Bond before the release of his fourth and final Bond film Die Another Day, however, in the video game, his likeness was featured, but not his voice, which was provided by Maxwell Caulfield. 007: Nightfire was developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox video game consoles. Gearbox Software developed the game for Windows, which Aspyr later ported to the Mac. The computer versions are substantially different from the console versions, featuring different missions and a modified story line. It was published by Electronic Arts in 2002. In 2003 EA released Nightfire for the Game Boy Advance this time developed by JV Games.

Plot summary

In 007: Nightfire, James Bond is pitted against megalomaniac Raphael Drake, the world's largest green-industrialist and the president of Phoenix International. The goal of Phoenix International is to rid the world of unnecessary nuclear weapons and power plants to cleanse the environment. However, Phoenix International is soon suspected to be connected to the theft of a ballistic weapons guidance microchip that was meant to be part of the United States Space Weapon Platform. When Bond starts to investigate the Japanese branch of Phoenix International, he learns of the true purpose of the international corporation: to carry out a decades-long, secret operation codenamed "Nightfire" that when completed will drastically redraw the lines that separate the countries of the world along with their governments, and plans to take over the world by taking control of all global corporations.

The game's prologue mission (of the console) starts with James Bond helping Dominique Paradis evade enemy cars while chasing a truck with a stolen nuclear weapon. After helping Dominique from a helicopter with a sniper rifle, James Bond saves her from her car, and they go on in his. They finally make the truck crash into the river after sending an EMP into it. Dominique and James then celebrate the new year.

The game's first actual mission starts with Bond dropping in on a party for guests who have made contributions to his company, Phoenix Industries. However the party is also a cover for the exchange of the guidance microchip between Mayhew, who manages Phoenix's Japanese branch and had stole the chip from the US, and Drake. Also, Bond, Zoe, and Dominique, who is posing as Drake's wife, meet in the library. While Zoe distracts the guards, Bond makes his way to the exchange and steals the chip.

After this mission, James and Zoe must escape Drake's security in an armed snowmobile. While Zoe drives, Bond shoots with a machine gun and a missile launcher. They finally blast through a helicopter and make it to Bond's car. Then, the two escape Drake's pursuing forces in an intense car race through the streets of Switzerland and on a frozen lake, including taking down enemy snowmobiles and helicopters. An airplane piloted by Q comes to their rescue.

After the breach, Drake threatens to kill Mayhew should the operation fail. Mayhew then contacts MI6 and says he will provide vital information if James Bond comes to his rescue. At his Japanese house, Mayhew is attacked by Drake's men. Bond fights his way through and manages to obtain a file from Mayhew's safe, but Mayhew is killed by a ninja during the process. The file leads Bond to Mayhew's office at the Phoenix Building in Tokyo.

Bond if able to infiltrate the building while the guards are changing shifts and secures official Nightfire documents. He is then attacked by Drake's men, however Dominique provides a distraction which allows Bond to escape via parachute off the roof of the building.

The Nightfire documents lead Bond to a nuclear power plant that is being decontaminated by Phoenix, which is actually a front for testing new weapons and stealing nuclear devices. Bond manages to pick off a team of snipers and uses a laser implant to escape. However, he is then double crossed and captured by Kiko, Mayhew's former bodyguard. He is turned over to Drake. On the top of the Phoenix Building, Drake plans to kill Bond and Dominique, who's distraction was discovered by security cameras in the stairwell a few nights earlier. Dominique is kicked off the rooftop by Kiko and is killed. Bond manages to escape and rides the top of an elevator down to the ground floor. Just when it seems the battle is lost, Australian agent and ally Alura McCall crashes through the front doors and saves Bond.

M then sent Bond to Drake's private island, where Drake has set up a jamming signal and where Alura is held hostage by Phoenix forces. Bond then goes and rescues Alura. On the way, they disable nuclear missiles and submarines. They then infiltrate the island by hijacking an SUV, an airplane, and finally use an anti-aircraft battery to finish Drake's forces. Next, Bond uses the ventilation system to make his way to the underground silo. Once he reached a missile silo, Bond has to fight of Kiko, and gets onto one of three space shuttles intending to capture the Space Defense Platform. Kiko then dies in the blast pit when Bond's space shuttle launches. In a climactic battle, Bond successfully sends all eight missiles off course, saving millions of lives, and causes Drake's laser weapon to malfunction, leading to a huge explosion. Finally, Bond uses a Phoenix prototype laser gun called the Samurai to defeat Drake. As the station goes up in flames, Bond blasts from an escape pod and goes back down to Earth, where he celebrates the victory with Alura as the credits begin to roll.

Note the entire stroyline draws very close to the actual James Bond film 'Moonraker'. Even the charater names come close such Raphael DRAKE close to the villian in 'Moonraker' Hugo DRAX. Also the final mission takes place in space were Bond trys to stop Drake from firing missiles at Earth, this is very much like the final scene of 'Moonraker' where Bond tries to stop Drax from firing bombs containing poisonous gases at Earth.

Characters

Main article: List of James Bond characters in Nightfire

• James Bond
• M
• Q
• Raphael Drake
• Dominique Paradis
• Makiko Hayashi
• Alura McCall
• Armitage Rook
• Zoe Nightshade
• Alexander Mayhew

Gameplay

Overall there are many weapons that the player can carry including grenades of various sorts and other types of explosives. In addition, there are numerous amounts of mounted weapons found throughout the game. As with previous James Bond games, the weapons that appear are based on actual weapons, but with the names changed. Some weapons appear in the console version but not the PC version, and vice-versa.

In the multiplayer mode of Nightfire, players can play in many different levels, including Fort Knox, from Goldfinger, Atlantis and the sub docking pen from The Spy Who Loved Me, and many Nightfire related levels, including Drake's castle, Drake's underwater base, and Drake's secret missile silo. Other levels include Skyrail and Ravine. The player may choose to play against AI bots with customisable reaction time, speed, and health. In the console version, up to six bots may be used in a match. In the PC version, up to 32 bots may be used.

Reception

Gamespot gave it a 7.9/10.
IGN gave it 8.5/10.
XPlay gave it a 3/5.

Other versions

Each version of the game differed significantly from the other. The PC version, for example, had fewer levels than the console game and did not implement driving mode. The Game Boy Advance version resembled the PC NightFire, more than the console game. However, the main storyline and characters remained the same in all versions.

External links

• James Bond 007: Nightfire at Eurocom
• 007: Nightfire (2002) at IMDb
• 007: Nightfire at MobyGames