Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 7.5
Sound: 8.5
Replay: 9
Multiplayer: Yes, Online (PS2) and Offline

It's an obvious fact that James Bond games definitely went downhill after EA snatched up the license to the games. Honestly, the first couple of games that EA made were simply god awful and made me want to puke. The problem is that Rare made the legend that is known as Goldeneye. EA has been trying to match Goldeneye since they started making Bond games, and so far they haven’t even come close. Does EA finally hit the mark with Everything or Nothing?

I wish I could say they did, honestly, I do. But EA still hasn’t reached Goldeneye. I have gone through many sites that say Everything or Nothing is close, but it really isn’t. The game is nowhere near what Goldeneye was. And it’s not because Everything or Nothing is a bad game, because it isn’t. On the contrary, it is actually very good. It just isn’t revolutionary.

That is what EA needs to realize. Goldeneye was revolutionary. It breathed life and started a craze for FPS on consoles. EA doesn’t even know the definition to revolutionary. All they know is how to stamp “EA” onto the boxes and sell millions of games. If they ever plan on matching Goldeneye, they will either have to do a couple of things, either continue to veer away from the path Goldeneye took (Everything or Nothing definitely has taken a turn into a different direction) and therefore the two games can’t be compared, or they will have to try to match Goldeneye head on and go back into the FPS realm.

That’s right, Everything or Nothing isn’t an FPS. I guess EA has decided to change their outlook onto the Bond series and rather than continue the FPS style, which has failed them in most cases, they have changed the view to third person. This change has made the game completely different from the others that EA has made, and I really haven’t decided yet if that is a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just sort of…a thing…

Now let’s get into the review itself. The gameplay in this game is a mixture of good and bad. The third person view has almost completely changed the way the game is played. Yes, you can still run in guns blazing, however it is MUCH more difficult to do so now. Unlike some third person games, Everything or Nothing does not have crosshairs unless you lock on to an enemy. Locking on is fairly simple, it just takes a tap of a button, but it makes killing massive amounts of enemies much more tricky.

The thing is that if you try to go in guns blazing, you must know that you most likely won’t live very long unless you decide to play on the easiest difficulty level. Since you can only lock on to one enemy at a time, the process of dispensing enemies now takes much longer than it did in previous Bond games. Basically, you have to lock on to the enemy, kill him, (maybe) reload, lock on to the next, kill him as well, and continue this procedure. Just killing two enemies can take up valuable seconds and in that time there are also enemies firing back at you.

This is how EA is changing the direction the Bond games are going in. They have decided to make the games more stealth oriented and less run n gun. It is a very interesting thing to do, and it may have worked if they would have made the gameplay run more smoothly. The thing is that the stealth kill moves, the variety of punches and what not, feel really clunky to use and they get very old since it is just the same thing over and over again. The animations for the moves aren’t very well modeled and it feels as if they were added in at the last second.

Ok, so hand to hand combat is just…blah…but then why can’t we just kill everybody with guns? Well, it is definitely possible to do that, just be prepared to change the way you play this game over previous Bonds. Now, if you plan on beating the harder difficulty modes, you MUST use cover to reduce the risk of being shot. EA made the use of cover fairly easy and straight forward in some cases, and annoying in others.

If you are pressed against a wall (it only takes a press of a button to do so), you can slide to the edge, press the lock on button, and then fire, and Bond will automatically leave his cover, fire at the enemy, and then duck back when you let go of the fire button. This generally works smoothly enough. However, the problem is that you can only do this with full size walls.

Trying to use crates on the ground as cover can be good and bad. It does provide cover, sure, but the problem is that the bullets don’t always go over the cover. You see, you don’t actually press yourself against smaller objects, EA didn’t implement that into the game. So when you fire, Bond won’t stand up or anything to hit the target, and so depending on the location of the target and how high the cover is, the bullets may simply bounce off of your own cover, forcing you to leave the cover if you plan on killing the enemy.

Ok, so you get the idea of the new setup for the gameplay. But EA added a lot of other things into their new Bond game. This new game comes complete with new gadgets, vehicles, cooperative, online play, and quite a few gorgeous women (acted out by famous actresses, of course).

The main new gadget is the Q-spider. Like most gadgets that EA has added into their games, this one ends up being pretty useless. It is simply a remote controlled spider that you can use to scout out ahead and also detonate it to blow up objects. There are other new gadgets in the game as well, but all of them are practically just as useless unless for a few reasons.

The AI has been somewhat improved in this game. They use cover much better than they did in previous games, and they are also much more aggressive. So, once they know where you are, they will duck behind objects so you can’t shoot them and they will also charge your position, come up right next to you, and either try to punch you or shoot you.

The new AI system makes using gadgets practically useless except in complete stealth situations. But really, stealth is almost impossible to maintain throughout levels. So, if you are a stealth addict, you can TRY to use stealth and feel free to use the gadgets while you can, but don’t expect them to come in handy.

The new vehicles include a new car, a helicopter, motorcycle, and RC car (a remote controlled car that is launched from your own vehicle that you can use just like the Q-spider). Like all Bond vehicles, these come complete with the standard machine guns and missile launchers.

There are, of course, missions where you have to use these vehicles. They are definitely a pretty decent change of pace from the standard game, however I think that EA needs to really change their mind set regarding vehicle levels.

You see, EA is putting effort into vehicle levels and I would rather have them concentrate more on the regular levels. Because like all Bond games with vehicles, this game ends up with both types of levels having bad physics and shoddy controlling. Nothing feels realistic or at the right pace. EA needs to take out the vehicle levels for once and just put their effort into making the game solid, and then later adding vehicles just for fun.

Ok, now it’s time for multiplayer. As anyone who had an N64 knows, Goldeneye was the most kick ass multiplayer game of its time. EA hasn’t made a Bond that can come close to Goldeneye’s multiplayer. And, of course, they still haven’t. In fact, the multiplayer in this game is the worst in my opinion.

The multiplayer in this game is pretty pathetic in most cases. The third person is just crap for multiplayer. The guns aren’t very impressive. The levels are only average. There are only a couple of gameplay types and they get old fast. The cooperative mode is halfway decent but it simply isn’t impressive.

The online play (for the PS2) is mostly the same. The standard VS type modes get boring since they are in third person. It feels like a cheap offshoot of SOCOM or something. The cooperative is much the same, very boring online. Talking via the headset to someone interesting is really the only thing that might be seen as “fun” for the online multiplayer mode. So, definitely don’t buy the game for the multiplayer or the online play.

Graphically, this game is a step above Nightfire, but it still can’t compete with many other games available. But then again, who has really ever heard of an EA game that has awesome graphics? EA NEVER puts much thought or effort into the appearance of their games. However, that’s not to say EVERYTHING looks bad, it’s just that very little looks good.

The best aspect of the appearance of this game is the facial models. They look surprisingly good and very close to their real life counterparts. James Bond really looks like Pierce Brosnan. “Q” looks just like the actress who plays her, same with “M”. The facial models are really good.

But everything is downhill from there. The character models overall are good enough. Nothing special, but at least they are in the right proportions and they look like real life models of people. But it just seems as if the same models have been used over and over in their games.

The environments are pretty pathetic, which is the standard for EA games. Nothing looks good. As a whole it looks decent, like usual, but it just looks plain and empty. There are some trinkets on the walls here and there, but nothing is detailed, everything has that “flat” look.

The sound department is definitely above par in this game. I’d say the sound is the best part of the game. From the spot on voice acting to the authentic Bond musical score, the sound in this game is definitely very good.

EA brought in some big time actors to lend their voices into the game. In addition to the regular cast (Pierce Brosnan, “Q”, “M”, etc.), other actors and actresses such as Heidi Klum (Hidalgo), Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie), and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man). They provide some awesome voice acting that really captures the feeling from the movies. The ladies are sexy and the antagonist is dark and evil. The dialogue is just like that of a Bond movie, plenty of flirting from Bond and the ladies, and plenty of threats from the baddies.

As mentioned earlier, the music in this game is also just like the movies. Of course, that is because most of it is taken directly from the movies. But overall, the music is really implemented well and it really helps the game to move and feel like a James Bond movie.

The special effects are only average. The explosions sound…blah…and the guns don’t sound realistic at all. EA needs to take a hint that they should put in life like sounding weapons into their games.

I already talked about the replay value of this game at the end of the gameplay section. But here is another rundown of it. It sucks mostly. Very few modes, most things have to be unlocked before it can be enjoyed even a little, the levels are only average, the third person mode sucks for multiplayer, and the cooperative and online modes don’t redeem the game.

So, basically it boils down to how much of a Bond fan you are. This game is easily the best that EA has made, and it veers off into a completely new direction. If you love Bond games and if you like the change into third person then feel free to pick this game up. Otherwise, just give it a rental.