I played GoldenEye on the N64, so I was a little frightened to pick this up, a remake by a totally different company. I knew beforehand that it can't be as good, but I had some hope, however I cannot kill the urge to compare the two games.

I bought the Wii remake late, used and cheap. And I'm glad I did, because it doesn't beat the revolutionary N64 original in some essential categories and I would be even more disappointed if I picked this up full-price.

But before I get into this, of course it beats GoldenEye 64 in
1. graphics, 2. controls, and 3. online.

1. Naturally Wii graphics are much better than N64 graphics, but the Wii game didn't have the same WOW effect that GoldenEye 64 had.
Back in 1997 GoldenEye 64 had the best graphics ever seen on any console or PC.
GoldenEye Wii has no chance to repeat the effect: PC-, 360-, PS3- and even some Wii-games have better graphics. The graphics are still good for Wii.

2. After 5 years of playing Wii, Wii controls are nothing new anymore.
Wii controls are much more advanced (than the classic analog control setups you can find in GE64 or any other game on any other console for that matter). Wii controls are a perfect fit for first person shooters thanks to the Wii's pointer aiming. I think it's odd that the game is bundled with a Classic Controller (but well, it's a Golden extra that can be used on other games).
So yeah, Wii controls are the one definite plus, but not a revolution for fps anymore (since that award goes to Eledees, Call of Duty 3 Wii, Red Steel or Metroid Prime 3).

3. And online wasn't even a choice back then, but is a standard today. Of course online and splitscreen is much better than just splitscreen and no online, but it can't be denied the fact that GoldenEye 64's 4-player-splitscreen deathmatches were a first in the genre, a definite milestone in 1997, while online modes in FPS is a must in 2010.

So all three positives combined there's still no revolution visible.

What is a big plus though is GE Wii is very cinematic. Something the N64 couldn't really display. But we're talking games here, not movies.


Now for the negatives:

The Wiimake lacks in gameplay so much compared to GE64 that it hurts: The level design, enemy AI, weapon effects, and explosions are a huge step backwards. GE Wii feels like a shooter from 1995.

In GE64 you could destroy ANYTHING! In GEWii you mostly shoot THROUGH objects: for example many of the lamps and objects are indestructible, they don't even recognize you shoot at them. In GE64 everything blows up, everything seems more vivid and interactive!

The enemies! The Wii versions AI is plain dumb, the enemies even forget you altogether if you run away. In GE64 they were so smart they chased you through the whole stage and were a real threat!

The tricks you could do in GE64 were some of the best things about the game, you could do so many things, there was so much to try and find out. For example throwing remote mines that cling onto enemies. In GEWii they're not even accessible as weapons but rather context sensitive items, what a let down! The game is just so limited, you can only hold 2 or 3 weapons at a time. In GE64 you were a tank with 20-30 weapons in your backpack.

The multiplayer arenas: The new ones are pretty good, but I'd love to have seen some of the old ones as well. How is this a real remake if there's not a single retro level? I miss facility, bunker and complex so much.

And last but not least the music: GE64 had a great, awesome awesome soundtrack. GEWii is more calm and stealth and movie-like. Doesn't feel like videogame music anymore and is missing some charm.

Enough of my rant. You think I give GEWii a 3/10 by now, but no... I will still give a balanced score.

It deserves an 8/10 because the online mode is pretty exciting and the single player campaign was good to play through as well (making comparisons between the old and new game).

You should just not expect the love to detail that GE64 had.

8- Great This is a great game that might have a few flaws or could have been better, but is still a game we highly recommend!