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The Goldeneye 007remake project, made for Xbox 360 consoles and then canceled, is now in our hands. Yes, this is a high-resolution version of Pierce Brosnan from the N64 era, aiming and shooting at us at a much higher resolution than in 1996.
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Well, this is as close to the “end” as we are likely to see, so we will accept.
Microsoft / Rare
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Another high resolution Brosnan angle in the introduction sequence.
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Complex multiplayer game with updated graphics.
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Complex multiplayer combat, in “original” graphics, alternated by tapping the right button on the Xbox gamepad. (Most images in this gallery include a before and after comparison like this.)
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Multiplayer combat in the temple, with remastered graphics (plus an alternate screen orientation for two players).
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Multiplayer temple combat with original graphics.
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Multiplayer game of the temple, with updated graphics.
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Introduction to the dam level, updated graphics.
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Introduction to the Dam level, original graphics.
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Introduction to the dam level, updated graphics. The cabin and the geometry of the nearby tree are all new.
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Introduction to the Dam level, original graphics. Less detailed and much more confusing.
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Introduction to the dam level, updated graphics. Another angle of the skybox and the geometry of the nearby tree.
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Introduction to the Dam level, original graphics.
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Dam gameplay, updated graphics.
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Dam gameplay, original graphics.
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Approaching the hidden guards, updated graphics.
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Approaching the hidden guards, original graphics.
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Checking the pause menu clock, updated graphics.
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Checking the pause menu clock, original graphics.
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The Xbox 360 pause menu, organized differently from the original N64.
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Check your current mission objectives on the clock.
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You can now tap the B button in the middle of the game to quickly access the gadgets for each level. But they are on the pause menu to watch, if you like to check them out that way.
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This controller configuration interface has some errors, like the Y button is not marked correctly. The joystick settings can be changed, but the front buttons cannot be remapped.
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More options in the middle of the game.
It turns out that we didn’t have to track down a stolen ship, nor enter the password “knockers” in any computer system, to get our hands on one of the rarest and most elusive video games ever made. We only had to wait a few days.
Last weekend, the long rumored Goldeneye 007 The remake project, officially run by Microsoft and Rare before being summarily canceled, finally fell into the hands of a fan. The video of the gameplay of this Spanish game creator circulated and, four days after its upload on YouTube, someone decided to go further and send the complete and functional ROM for public consumption.
And Ars Technica does.
The upload, which we found on a publicly available website without any password or login, includes an NFO file dated August 24, 2007, complete with an elaborate ASCII art title card that you can expect from a hacking or hacking group. games. This one has a unique name, however, that we have not seen before: “Fyodorovna”. If that name escaped him, it is the middle name of Bond’s fictional character, Natalya Simonova, who appears largely in the film and video game of the same name.
The resulting 7Z file is 231 MB and contains a folder simply titled “Bean”, which was the game’s original code name – and its name on the obsolete Xbox 360 Partnernet service, from which the attached NFO says these files originated in August of 2007. Partnernet was previously used by Xbox 360 development kit owners to share game development projects, but access was terminated near the end of the Xbox 360 lifecycles after the game’s leaks were attributed to its gaming ecosystem. unprotected file sharing.
No limits, no fears, no substitutes
I easily initialized the game files on the Xevia emulator using Windows 10 without tweaks or workarounds – partly due to the included ROM being fixed to not require the use of an Xbox 360 development kit. In addition to some stuttering while the game loads assets in the middle of the mission or sound effects in memory, everything seems to work perfectly, even when maximizing Xevia in a 4K full screen window on my RTX 3080 test rig.
Among other things, this means the most intriguing promise of the canceled game – classic Goldeneye 007 split screen deathmatches, with only updated graphics, updated textures and a blocked 60fps update – it works without problems. (Teenager I, who played much less than 30 fps Goldeneye on the N64, I can’t believe it.) Although I would love to access this kind of affectionate update Goldeneye action in an official game launch, this Fyodorovna version on my PC, with four Xbox gamepads connected, will have to be enough.
The leaks at Fyodorovna have instituted some other adjustments, including one not seen in the Graslu00 video a few days ago: native 21: 9 resolution support. In addition, some of the game’s menu options have been removed by default, particularly the Xbox online mode Live (which, unsurprisingly, does not work enabled in the version of Graslu00). But the “system link” remains, and that means that more experienced users are likely to find out how to chain online sessions of this remake using the Xlink Kai in no time.
It is also a real pleasure to finally see how the Xbox 360 project implemented a “toggle updated graphics” button. Tap the right button of the Xbox gamepad at any time, whether in single player or multiplayer mode, and the entire game will transform from newly updated graphics, textures and geometry to an apparent 1: 1 match for the original N64 – complete with that console’s window, spotted anti-aliasing. Hilarious, this compilation allows any the player switches the graphics back and forth at any time and cannot be disabled, so get ready for the split screen action to be interrupted by any of your multiplayer friends who prefer to switch the graphics as a distraction.
In terms of gameplay details, Spanish streamer Graslu00 has already spoken at length with Ars about how this game behaves mechanically – look for the list of markers on the second page of this article – and I can immediately confirm that your descriptions are correct. AI, character speed, even the swing of a sniper rifle in his hand like a melee weapon: it’s all here. (The same link also includes an update on the history of this lost project, in case you’re still wondering what the hell is going on with a fully remastered multiplayer map like Temple.)
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I have to unlock the multiplayer arena.
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I also have some research to do about System Link emulation options, like Xlink Kai.
The gallery at the top of the article focuses mainly on the things I didn’t see on Friday’s Graslu00 upload, particularly comparisons of the new to the old enabled by tapping the right button in the middle of the game. If I discover anything more fascinating when playing the Xbox 360 version to the end, I’ll let you know. (Which I’m doing, by the way, because the game’s multiplayer arena selection isn’t fully unlocked without it.) Otherwise, if you’ll excuse me, I have, uh, work to do. And if you try to blame me for playing this ROM of strange origin, I will answer by asking if all the vodka martinis ever silence the screams of the men you killed.
Microsoft / Rare list image