Product Description
-------------------
The most complete Bond experience ever. As suave secret agent
007, you'll employ your cunning wit and dozens of high-tech
gadgets to survive multiple levels of espionage based on exciting
situations from the blockbuster film. Expect danger, but expect
to handle it. After all, you're Bond...James Bond. There are
multiple action modes! Sniper, skiing, driving, and more. Various
combat styles! Tuck-and-roll, dive-and-fire, and stealth. Dozens
of classic Bond weapons and gadgets-cufflink lasers, infrared
cameras, and more.
.com
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Expectations ran high for this game, due to its exciting,
eponymous movie and the exceptional Nintendo 64 James Bond game
GoldenEye 007. And while this game presents the variety and
intrigue one would expect from the beloved licensed-to-kill,
martini-sippin' , it would have benefited from a bit more
polishing. Don't expect this game to be on par with the games and
movies that preceded it. In fact, if you're looking for a
GoldenEye-like experience for the PlayStation, you'd be much
better off with the WWII period piece, Medal of Honor.
Tomorrow Never Dies uses an auto target mode, but it's far too
restrictive to be of use here, requiring players to stand still
in order to keep the target locked. The game loyally follows the
film, but when the action intensifies--such as a hot pursuit on
skis, or flying a nuclear warhead-laden jet out of a hot
zone--players are forced to either relinquish control entirely or
have minimal input.
Gadgets from Bond's old pal Q are too sparsely used, and the
absence of any multiplayer mode seals this game's e as a small
diversion rather than a stellar accomplishment. --Jeff Young
Pros:
* Excellent music
* Good use of real film clips to propel the story
Cons:* Very poor control scheme and limited distance vision
inhibit stealthy playing style
* Skiing and driving sequences feature outdated graphics and
ambiguous controls
* Easy levels and no multiplayer mode give this game little, if
any, replay value
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Review
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Rare's GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 was certainly a hard
act for Black Ops to follow, urging an amendment to the old
showbiz adage so that it reads, "Never follow children or animals
or one of the best games ever made." Expectations have been
seriously high for the PlayStation James Bond title because of
the success of GoldenEye, and though it had appeared from the
beginning to be a radically different game, everyone hoped it
would at least meet the same level of quality as Rare's N64
masterpiece. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Instead of being a
mission-based first-person shooter like GoldenEye 007, Tomorrow
Never Dies is a mission-based third-person shooter much like 989
Studios' Syphon Filter. Though the bulk of the game has you
shooting enemy agents and running errands, TND also contains
levels where you destroy a convoy of vehicles by using a
tricked-out car, perform combat ski maneuvers, or enjoy a short
stint behind the controls of a jet plane. Considering that the
developers tried to vary the play modes instead of just sticking
with one, the graphics are pretty strong. But the third-person
shooting segments don't look nearly as good as those in Syphon
Filter - pop-up does occur, the explosions are uninspiring, and
you're not allowed to look far enough into the distance with the
game's sniper . The latter is probably because the pop-up
would have become even more evident, which is understandable; but
if you can't get really close up with a , a sniper
isn't worth much. Otherwise, the game camera is very agreeable.
It hovers above and behind Bond, and if he gets in the way of
something you want to see, he automatically goes translucent.
Also, if you're in a tight hallway or small room, the perspective
flips to a first-person view. You can your weapons using a
first-person ing or wait for a lock-on target to appear on
your enemies once you get close enough to them (at least for
every weapon except the rocket launcher). This makes a majority
of the game very easy, because all you have to do is to let the
auto-targeting lock on to a baddie and then fire several times.
Repeat and serve. In some cases though, you'll have to shoot
enemies that are just out of your line of . You know they're
there because you've been at, but you might only be able to
see a glint of something in the distance. The trick? You cheat by
standing just outside their visual range and shoot them, just as
they've done to you. Your character control is very tight, but
the game controls themselves take some getting used to. Changing
weapons is the stickiest part: You must hit the triangle button,
cycle through your entire inventory, and then select a weapon,
instead of the better option, which is to have a button setup
that lets you manually run through your weapons choices. The
first time you get while fumbling for a better will get
you pretty mad. The fifth time... you get the picture. Lucky for
you, the enemy AI isn't close to being the smartest the
PlayStation has ever seen. Agents who've at you from far
away will rarely come after you or even alert their friends to
your presence. An object in the mark of their ? They'll just
keep blasting away as if you're right in front of them. The
driving/shooting section of TND makes you long for a 3D
Hunter game. While the skiing segments are relatively fun, both
are over pretty quickly. You'll pick up the controls for these
side games easily, but that's partially because they're fairly
simplistic. In fact, all the levels end up seeming rather basic.
Instead of being epic, every mission ends on an anticlimactic
note, making you think, "Oh, it's over?" instead of "Whew!"
Unlike in GoldenEye 007, you won't want to play the stages over
again to get a better rating or to try a harder difficulty level.
And you can blow through the whole game in less than five hours.
Tomorrow Never Dies isn't a particularly bad game, but it's
definitely one you might want to consider renting instead of
buying. It's nowhere near the quality of GoldenEye 007, and it
feels like a watered-down version of Syphon Filter. If you've got
a jones for a good game, either pick up Syphon Filter or
Dreamworks' GoldenEye 007-style shooter, Medal of Honor.--Joe
Fielder--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without
express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot
Review
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- As suave secret agent 007, employ your cunning wit and high-tech gadgets to survive multiple levels of espionage based on exciting situations from the blockbuster film, including challenging shooting, driving and skiing game modes. Your mission will be dangerous, but you can handle it. After all, your Bond...James Bond..