see how exciting it is Golden Eye 007 The final reveal will be back on Nintendo Switch and Xbox. Granted, it’s been a long time coming, but it’s still one of the most exciting announcements of the day, and thanks to the Nintendo Direct and State of Play, it’s full of them.
It’s also an announcement, and then gives way to problems, and even disappointment, as the Xbox version is confirmed — but it’s not what we all thought it would be.
Let’s break it down. GoldenEye will soon join the “Nintendo Switch Online” subscription service as one of many Nintendo 64 games available on the service. This is a standard NSO build, which means it’s playable as long as you have the correct NSO subscription level, and is essentially an emulated N64 game rip that Nintendo has tweaked and tweaked to make it work on the Switch , and handles additional features like online playback.
This means that the Switch version of GoldenEye is largely the same as the original (it still has a 4:3 demo, for example), but it does have the hooks needed to play online like Mario Kart 64 on NSO packaged as is done in .
Meanwhile, the Xbox has its own, new, updated version of the game — and that’s where things start to get especially weird. This new version of GoldenEye appears to be a direct port – but it’s also a port that’s entirely based on the N64 original, with very few improvements. In fact, the solution for running an upgraded N64 game might be the same solution used for some other games in Rare Replay, such as Conker’s Bad Fur Day.
It has a widescreen 16:9 presentation and is rendered in crisp 4K, but otherwise seems identical to the original. This includes, shockingly, no online mode – multiplayer, but only what Xbox calls an “iconic split-screen local multiplayer mode” that encourages players to “compete wits and skill on the couch” .
I mean, for starters, what bizarre inside-out universe do we live in, where the Nintendo version of this classic shooter has online play and Xbox offline is all the rage? And, thanks to the massive leak from GoldenEye, we all know more. This especially makes disappointment unbearable. To understand, a small history lesson is required.
Rare was tasked with remastering GoldenEye for the Xbox 360 back in the late 2000s – but due to various rights-related issues surrounding the title, the remaster never came. At the time, the game’s legal status unfolded among multiple stakeholders, from the Bond boss of the film production company EON, to Nintendo (the publisher of the original), Microsoft (the developer and presumably the owner of the code) and Activision (then – Those who hold the Game Bond license, are more interested in making their own GoldenEye, starring Daniel Craig). All of this proved insurmountable, so the remake was dropped.
However, two things happened after this. Much of the work done on this GoldenEye remake is aimed at giving us the excellent Xbox 360 port of its spiritual successor, Perfect Dark. Then, later, the GoldenEye remake for the Xbox 360 just… leaked.
Apparently just being put on the internet by people who have accessed the file and are disappointed that it will never see the light of day, the remake is incredible – easily as good as the perfect dark version – and it’s basically done . But crucially — and that’s where the disappointment comes in — it’s far more comprehensive than what Xbox is getting right now in this new, different, official release. The remake has a complete visual overhaul, tweaked geometry and redone texturing work. It looks surprisingly good, and while this artistic change isn’t for everyone, it also has a button to switch back to the N64’s visuals. The comparison below shows the visuals of the unreleased remake versus the just-announced Xbox version.
Crucially, this version of the menu refers to local, system-linked, and online play via Xbox Live. This will be the final version of GoldenEye, just as Perfect Dark 360 is now the only worth playing version of the classic.
This version is playable. It’s more or less done. Above, you can see an embedded video of our buddies at Digital Foundry hanging out and playing in the Xbox 360 emulator. it works. It feels like a finished game, but with relatively minor finishing touches.
This raises the question: why was this version abandoned and replaced by a brand new, completely inferior version? 4K visuals for the N64, no online play… On the Switch, fans do get the N64 version, but they can at least play it online.
I’m fascinated by who or what is responsible for this. Is it to blame on EON, the company that has expressed distaste for the bloodthirsty nature of many old Bond video games in recent years? Do they just want to release the original, not more, which might add more detail to Bond’s slaughter of endless thugs? Is this part of a verbal spat over rights between Nintendo and Xbox, with both eventually having to get a gimped version?
Whatever the answer, it sucks. It’s also a cautionary tale about what happens when a project with an indeterminate status leaks: who knows it’ll get to see this new GoldenEye remake regardless of the premium version we’re not getting? not me. Even so, however, I think it’s a reasonable expectation that any GoldenEye re-release can match the processing Perfect Dark gets. It’s not even close.
Indeed, both platforms should have full-blown Xbox 360-era ports, polished and polished — preferably with cross-platform multiplayer. Instead, what we have is the best in the world. What was supposed to give us a definite GoldenEye only made the water more confusing – a shame indeed. Still, some argue, it’s better than nothing. After all, this is one of the greatest games of all time.
