At the 2004 E3 Expo, EA is showing GoldenEye: Rogue Agent in a small theater and lounge on PS2 and Xbox. They began with a lengthy video detailing the concept, production, and some of the features of the game. Basically, you’re playing as a rogue agent dismissed from MI6, and working under the famous criminal Goldfinger. After the agent loses an eye, Goldfinger replaces it with a golden eye that has some special features like zoom, etc. The tag line is “Why save the world when you can rule it?” Although little is explained on how rest of the story plays out, the idea is to become the top criminal in the world.

As with other recent Bond games, EA is getting a lot of backing on the license from Hollywood with Sir Ken Adam, who made a number of classic Bond sets, bringing some of those sets into the game, and creating some creative new sets. The costume design is being headed up by the same gal who worked on the Matrix films. Plus, a number of classic villains, including Goldfinger, Dr. No, Oddjob, and Xenia Onatopp, are making appearances in the game, and EA has some very life-like CG models for the FMVs.

The gameplay itself actually does follow in the footsteps of the last GoldenEye game, being a straight first-person-shooter. The current demo starts at the beginning of the game with the agent’s reckless work bringing down a military helicopter and killing James Bond during a showdown at Fort Knox. This leaves the player battling through the stage on his own. As alarming as this may sound, when the agent is dismissed, it’s made clear that the entire mission was an elaborate holographic training simulation.

The action focuses on looking for and using cover intelligently, and is designed so that you won’t last long if you try to take on multiple enemies out in the open. As in the N64 GoldenEye, you’ll frequently be able to use multiple weapons, except now the triggers are independent, with one trigger controlling the gun on the left, and the other controlling the gun on the right. EA is also adding in certain areas where you can trigger a stunt-like sequence that clears out a number of enemies, but be careful, enemies can trigger many of the sequences against you as well.