GoldeneEye 007 finally returned last week after 25 years in the wilderness. The Nintendo 64 classic redefined the first-person-shooter genre, and commonly winds up high on “greatest game of all-time” lists. However, a morass of rights disputes between Nintendo, Microsoft, Rare, MGM, and Eon Productions made a re-release tricky to negotiate.
Microsoft got there in the end. On Friday, the game was released on Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass, allowing a whole new generation of gamers to see what all the hype was about. After a weekend of replaying the game, though, it’s clear both versions have big issues.
Most of these stem from the new version emulating the Nintendo 64 game rather than porting it to modern hardware. On Switch, the game is hobbled by awkward controls (though remapping can mitigate this), and on Xbox there’s a disappointing 30FPS lock and many graphical bugs. It’s playable, but not the barnstorming comeback we’d hoped for.
So, what if we told you there was an all-but-complete port of GoldenEye 007 that blows this out of the water in every way?
From XBLA with love
GoldenEye developers Rare were controversially acquired by Microsoft in 2002, with Nintendo fans howling in despair as the creator of Nintendo 64 classics like Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo-Kazooie, and Perfect Dark departed for pastures new. Microsoft was keen to capitalize on its new IP, with Perfect Dark Zero and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts appearing on Xbox 360 in the 2000s.
Of course, everyone knew which game in the Rare catalogue the fans wanted back: he has a tuxedo, a silenced Walther PPK, and a license to kill. And so, in 2007, Rare began developing a faithful GoldenEye remake for Xbox Live Arcade, tapping the power of the 360 to make the game sing for then-modern audiences.
This was a direct port of the original source code, runs at a buttery smooth 60FPS, boasted vastly improved graphics, and features online multiplayer. The game even let you toggle between the original and new graphics, showing off the amount of work that’d been put into it. Check out some comparisons between these two versions, we think this slideshow speaks for itself:
For Rare’s Eyes Only
GoldenEye XBLAversion was essentially complete and ready to be released in 2008, so what happened? Well, developer Mark Edmonds admitted Rare and Microsoft didn’t actually contact the rights holders Eon Productions before starting work on the port. The game would have come out at around the same time as Daniel Craig’s second movie Quantum of Solace, so we theorize that MGM and Eon wanted to focus on his Bond, rather than a throwback to Pierce Brosnan’s.
Whatever the actual reason, the GoldenEye XBLA port was cancelled at the very last minute and consigned to Rare’s internal archives. Many had hoped it’d form the basis of the new Switch and Xbox ports, but it seems that the decision was made to focus on emulating the original game rather than digging up this version and reworking it for modern consoles.
This is a massive missed opportunity given the XBLA version’s obvious superiority, though perhaps would have complicated an already tricky rights situation even further.
Leaks are forever
For years, all we’d seen of the XBLA version were a few tantalizing screenshots, and only Rare knew how complete it was. Ordinarily that’s where the story would end, but a year ago things began to change. Streamer Graslu00 posted an extensive video playing through the game, hinting that a full release wouldn’t be far behind. Then, in February 2021 the XBLA version of GoldenEye fully leaked online, and champagne corks were popped.
This version isn’t entirely complete and features a few graphical oddities, but is light years beyond what we just got on Switch and Xbox. And if you want to play it for yourself?
Well, Google is thataway my friend, though if you have a decently powerful PC and an Xbox controller to hand, we doubt you’ll spend too long figuring it out.
It’s worth the effort, with GoldenEye XBLA underlining how much of a missed opportunity the Switch and Xbox emulated versions really are.
