Two levels of the single-player show off nostalgia, fun gameplay, and a tank.
I got to check out two levels of the single-player from GoldenEye Wii at recent press event. The first level I saw was the tank level, which is based off of the original tank level in the Nintendo 64 version. In this level, you control a tank and tear apart modern day St. Petersburg in an epic, scripted experience.
I make the stipulation that it's modern day St. Petersburg because this level is very different from the original level featured in the 1997 version of the game. You see, St. Petersburg has become a more modern city in the years following the GoldenEye film's 1995 release. Thus, you're romping around highways and freeways in your destructive tour of the city.
The tank is pretty simple to control using the Classic Controller Pro. The left stick controls its movement, while the right stick controls the turret. It's a little clumsy, but it makes sense since you are controlling a tank. Your two primary weapons are a high-powered gun that has the propensity to overheat, and lock-on heat-seeking missiles. The amount of destruction that you can do with those guns is spectacular.
The level itself is pretty linear, but it's an action-packed ride. You have to take down small and big helicopters along the way using your missiles while running over or blowing up smaller annoyances.
The second level I saw was the one shown at E3 2010: the dam level, which features a lot of throwbacks to the original introductory level of GoldenEye 64. Sadly, this section was a hands-off demo. The level starts off with a familiar perspective as you come up near the bridge where the original started. This time around, you have numerous ways to work through the situation. You can hit the enemies from afar, go guns-blazing over the bridge, or go underneath and around using a tunnel below the bridge. It's one of the many touches that show that this is a modern shooter and not just a retread of a 13-year-old game.
The level continues with another nostalgic touch. You can go up to the top of the guard tower and pick up a sniper rifle. You can use that to pick off enemies and help your compatriot in this level, the eventually traitorous 006 Alec Trevelyan. Soon after that, you overtake a vehicle with Trevelyan and ride shotgun as you pose as Russians. It's more of a cinematic approach that modern day shooter fans will be familiar with. Eventually, the Russians wise up and you have to start shooting dudes from your car. That's about when the demo ended.
While there seems to be a lot of single-player levels still under wraps, I'm impressed by what I've seen. As a big fan of the original GoldenEye, its cool seeing familiar aspects of that game be changed up and improved on in this new game. Eurocom seems to be putting together a modern shooter with a whole lot of nostalgia.