Background

The story behind 007 Racing centers its theme upon the scheme of a high ranking European diplomat, seeking to hijack a shipment of NATO weapons, and in turn, smuggle its contents to international terrorists. Taking on the role as the suave and heroic James Bond, you'll engage 12 action-packed levels as you go behind the wheel of several exotic vehicles (as featured in various Bond films), including the Aston Martin, BMW Z8 and the Lotus Espirit. With each vehicle equipped with a diverse arsenal of weapons developed from the Q-branch headquarters, 007 Racing is engineered to have your wits and reflexes tested to the fullest.

Gameplay

No matter how you look at it, one does not need a "goldeneye" to discern that Eutechnyx endeavored to establish a fun and entertaining game, but how can one appreciate the essence of a Bond adventure with such an abundant degree of apparent flaws? Despite my diligent attempts to remain objective, the unforgiving choppy frame rate and a rather poor 3D graphic engine left me rather disappointed and unfulfilled as to the visual packed presented. Being quite fond of Black Ops and Rare's development respectively on TWINE and Goldeneye, serves to solidify my belief that the product of discussion would have fared better had it been programmed by either developer. Furthermore, the objectives would promote further incentive, challenge and excitement provided you weren't encountering conflicts with the control setup. While the fixed/auto aiming targeting systems are a breeze, it's the manual aiming that will leave one frustrated. One mission reminded me of Destruction Derby as a number of enemy vehicles engaged me in a closed rural area, and Q squealing numerous rants of worry and wit as my treasured BMW became the focal point of destruction.

Appeal

With some time and patience, 007 Racing could begin to grow on you. Text and audio voiceovers drive helpful tips and information issued prior to engaging the start of a new mission. Once again, John Cleese lends his voice talents to the role of "R" (adding his unique touch of wit, admonishment and humorous innuendoes all directed towards the casual/reckless actions you carry out throughout the game). Overall the voice acting among Bond's allies and enemies alike mirror the original characters more accurately in comparison to its Bond counterparts (TWINE and Tomorrow Never Dies). For an added touch of novelty, 007 Racing features opening and closing interludes in the form of exceptionally impressive CG sequences. In addition, the game enables players to challenge each other via the two player mode features: Pass the Bomb and Challenge. The breakdown is as follows:

Pass the Bomb

• Pass the Bomb takes adopts the themes of playing 'tag' and "survivor", as one player is designated as "the bomb" that slowly begins to count down and will explode when the time has expired. As the two cars collide, the bomb will be passed on from to each other. Once time expires and the bomb explodes, the round will be awarded to the survivor.

  Challenge

• The Challenge mode puts you and an "opponent" into a pre-determined mission location. Reminiscent of the high octane action in the popular Twisted Metal series, complete with weapons and health icons, the goal in effect is to eliminate each other by any means possible. Vintage destruction... ;)

Sound

Being an avid fan of the Bond series, one can understand that music has served to enrich the entire experience of the 007 films. Though unlike the motion pictures, the pace of the soundtracks' lack significant diversity, (but at least provide an aural escape that you'll occasionally require from the awkward gameplay mechanics. The songs start off being catchy...but are looped in such a redundant fashion that I was left shaken and stirred from the audible presentation.

Conclusion

In theory, 007 Racing seeks to deliver a high performance of action and entertainment, but comes up short in completing its objective. With the added mutli-player aspect to fall back on, perhaps this feature alone may instill greater enjoyment and added replay value to those who take interest. Though in retrospect, due to an overall degree of poor gameplay elements, superspy wannabes and action moguls alike should look elsewhere for a license to thrill.

Screens courtesy of EA Games.com

· · · Bahn