TOMORROW NEVER DIES (PS)
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Publisher: EA.
Developer: Black Ops. Released: November 1999 (Europe). Genre: Third-person shoot 'em up. Posted 26th June 2012. By Tom Clare © 2012 |
The video game interpretation of the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies was in some ways the victim of timing. What would otherwise have been a standard film tie-in was instead paid significant attention in the wake of the immense critical success garnered by GoldenEye 007 on the N64. Developer Black Ops thus had to weigh unrealistic expectations against the comparatively modest hardware capabilities and were always on a hiding to nothing. However, this doesn’t excuse the fact that, even without the spectre of Rare’s colossus looming over it, TND was a sub-standard PlayStation outing.
Predominantly a third-person shoot ‘em up, there’s a light sprinkling of stealth, skiing, driving and gadget usage thrown in as well. Whilst the game certainly doesn’t lack endeavour, its execution leaves a lot to be desired. A few minutes of the first level hints at what you’re up against: a choppy frame-rate that goes into meltdown whenever there are more than three enemies on screen at once, lethargic controls and a general lack of polish that gives the game a rather cheap veneer.
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A.I. is highly questionable, sometimes utterly oblivious to your presence, whilst occasionally going a bit mad and either circling at high-speed or zigzagging towards the player’s position in an unusual kamikaze routine. It’s probably just as well though, given that much of your time will be occupied with getting Bond to face them. The manual crosshair is a proficient tool at distance, though not quite so practical up close. For this, a tap of Circle will have your character facing the target in a semi auto-aim idea. If they dodge though, you keep having to press it to readjust, and it is prone to letting you down in pressure situations, going haywire and facing the hapless spy in completely the wrong direction.
The shooting is competent if clunky, There’s a reasonable array of firearms (though the lack of a reload button is remiss) and the occasional level, such as Saigon (which sees you playing as Bond’s accomplice Wai Lin), comes close to forging an acceptable blend of stealth and action. For the most part though, levels revert to type with the usual shoot enemy/find key train of thought. Other promising settings, such as the Hotel Atlantic, are stifled by excessive enemy replication. Boss fights are also a big letdown, generally featuring a henchman chucking grenades or blades in your direction and running around gormlessly.
The shooting is competent if clunky, There’s a reasonable array of firearms (though the lack of a reload button is remiss) and the occasional level, such as Saigon (which sees you playing as Bond’s accomplice Wai Lin), comes close to forging an acceptable blend of stealth and action. For the most part though, levels revert to type with the usual shoot enemy/find key train of thought. Other promising settings, such as the Hotel Atlantic, are stifled by excessive enemy replication. Boss fights are also a big letdown, generally featuring a henchman chucking grenades or blades in your direction and running around gormlessly.
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Tomorrow Never Dies isn't short on action, but its gameplay mechanics and controls leave a lot to be desired
The skiing sections are dismal. The main challenge comes from fending off terrorists waiting at pre-determined points on the slope, the problem being that both parties “defend” themselves by poking at each other with ski poles in the most piteous fashion you could imagine, occasionally trees will deal some damage but on the whole, it’s an exercise in not getting wedged between foes. Driving Bond’s BMW meanwhile is more fun, a rare bright spot for the gameplay as it handles well and the general physics and graphics seem to cope better than elsewhere in the game. Disappointingly though, there’s only one short section to enjoy.
Whilst the developer has certainly delivered on a range of settings, there’s no getting around the fact that TND is an ugly game. Whilst Bond’s movement is moderately convincing, he is rather gorilla-esque in his appearance thanks to a massive, chunky torso and a small head. The jet-setting array of levels appear passable, but the draw-distance is very poor on the outdoor levels and the skiing bits are prone to liberal amounts of pop-up.
Whilst the developer has certainly delivered on a range of settings, there’s no getting around the fact that TND is an ugly game. Whilst Bond’s movement is moderately convincing, he is rather gorilla-esque in his appearance thanks to a massive, chunky torso and a small head. The jet-setting array of levels appear passable, but the draw-distance is very poor on the outdoor levels and the skiing bits are prone to liberal amounts of pop-up.
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TND has but two real areas of success. Its presentation is slick and attractive, whilst the occasional FMV action sequence lifted from the film, as well as a credits sequence re-designed especially for the game, look great. The soundtrack is also first-rate, bestowing a rickety game with a surprisingly rich atmosphere. The audio side loses marks thanks to some disinterested voice-acting and cut-scenes that are so poorly scripted, they’re funny.
The ten missions are relatively brief and but for the odd spike in the difficulty, fairly easy to polish off. The absence of multiplayer is also damaging to TND’s long term credentials and it’s likely most will have had their fill after just a few levels.
Tomorrow Never Dies is a disappointment and a surprisingly underwhelming effort considering it was published under the EA umbrella. 1999 would witness Solid Snake’s now-legendary stealth heroics in Metal Gear Solid, alongside the emergence of Gabe Logan’s high-octane mix of stealth and blasting in Syphon Filter. Between them, they would ensure Bond’s rather belated first landing on the PlayStation would make 007 seem like, as M might have put it, a relic of the Cold War.
The ten missions are relatively brief and but for the odd spike in the difficulty, fairly easy to polish off. The absence of multiplayer is also damaging to TND’s long term credentials and it’s likely most will have had their fill after just a few levels.
Tomorrow Never Dies is a disappointment and a surprisingly underwhelming effort considering it was published under the EA umbrella. 1999 would witness Solid Snake’s now-legendary stealth heroics in Metal Gear Solid, alongside the emergence of Gabe Logan’s high-octane mix of stealth and blasting in Syphon Filter. Between them, they would ensure Bond’s rather belated first landing on the PlayStation would make 007 seem like, as M might have put it, a relic of the Cold War.
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VERDICT
Visual: 5/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 4/10 Longevity: 4/10 OVERALL: 4/10 |
MORE JAMES BOND GAME REVIEWS
GoldenEye 007 (2010, DS)
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James Bond 007: Blood Stone (2010, PS3)
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