GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
Encyclopedia
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a 2004 action-adventure
Science-Fiction First-Person Shooter
video game, developed and published by Electronic Arts
. Despite it is set in an alternate timeline of James Bond
universe, the player takes the role of an ex-MI6 agent who is recruited by Auric Goldfinger
, a member of a powerful unnamed criminal organization
, to assassinate his rival Dr. No
. Several other characters from the Bond film series make appearances throughout the game, including Pussy Galore, Oddjob, and Xenia Onatopp
as well as Francisco Scaramanga
, playing a Q
type character with the voice and likeness of Christopher Lee
, who played the same character in 1974
's The Man with the Golden Gun
.
(head of MI6) reveals that: "Three years ago, while on assignment, the agent was severely wounded in an encounter with Dr. No, and subsequently lost the use of his right eye. Consumed with vengeance, he frequently resorts to violence and brutality, and is no longer fit for service with MI6." According to the account, the agent was shot in his right eye by Dr. No during a mission.
Three years after the incident which claimed the agent's right eye, he is evaluated through a holographic simulation in which he is paired with 007 to stop Auric Goldfinger
, a member of a criminal organization, from detonating a suitcase nuke
inside Fort Knox
. He fails the test, and is held directly responsible for the "death" of 007. Charged with "reckless brutality", he is dismissed from MI6. As he leaves the headquarters, he is seen reading an offer by Goldfinger to enlist in his organization.
The agent accepts Goldfinger's offer and is recruited as his enforcer, meeting with him at Auric Enterprises, where Goldfinger's scientists have developed a weapon known as the OMEN (Organic Mass Energy Neutralizer), which releases energy capable of breaking down organic matter on a nearly atomic level, resulting in disintegration. For his job of eliminating Dr. No, a fellow official of the criminal organization who has declared war on Goldfinger's branch of the organization, he is given a gold-hued cybernetic
eye created by Francisco Scaramanga
, another official of Goldfinger's organization (from which he receives his codename "GoldenEye
") Scaramanga provides upgrades for the eye, starting with MRI vision. At Hong Kong
, GoldenEye has to get a sniper rifle
to take down Dr. No with the EM
hack feature. At the Midas Casino
, GoldenEye has to get to the vault
(which can be found in multiplayer) to protect the OMEN with the magnetic polarity shield. At the Hoover Dam
, GoldenEye has to destroy the dam and kill Xenia Onatopp
. GoldenEye also tosses Oddjob over a rail into a pit inside the Hoover Dam after he betrays and attacks GoldenEye for unknown reasons. At The Octopus
, GoldenEye has to download the navigation coordinates to Crab Key with the help of the generated force field from his golden eye Dr. No's base. He is eventually sent to Crab Key, where he confronts Dr. No. During their duel, GoldenEye uses his mechanical eye to sabotage the island's nuclear reactor
, causing it to electrocute Dr. No. Upon No's death, Goldfinger contacts GoldenEye and informs him that he believes he is too dangerous to be left alive, and that he had contacted GoldenEye earlier and told him to activate a program which would shut down the Lair's defense grid. Goldfinger reveals that he is intent on taking over the Lair, and leaves GoldenEye to die in the impending nuclear meltdown. GoldenEye, however, manages to escape in Dr. No's osprey before the reactor overloads and the island is destroyed in a large explosion
.
GoldenEye returns to the Lair intent on confronting Goldfinger. Pussy Galore
rendezvous with GoldenEye and informs him that Goldfinger has used the OMEN to wipe out most of the Lair's guards, and taken control of it. Scaramanga provides the mechanical eye with a computer virus which he can use to overload the OMEN.
GoldenEye fights his way through the Lair, implanting the computer virus in the process, eventually reaching the area where Goldfinger and the OMEN are. Goldfinger traps GoldenEye inside a chamber which he claims will soon be devoid of oxygen. The computer virus then activates the OMEN, causing it to explode in a burst of energy, killing Goldfinger and his troops. GoldenEye and Galore leave the Lair aboard Galore's chopper, and Scaramanga and Number One (Ernst Stavro Blofeld
) later discuss what to do with GoldenEye, and decide to simply see what he does next before proceeding.
and Xbox
versions. On November 26, , the servers for both versions were shut down due to "inactivity" online. Players can unlock additional customization options, skins, maps, and gametype variations by playing through Story Mode and performing well. There are some locked skins such as Oddjob, Dr. No, and Xenia Onatopp. There are also locked maps such as the Pump Room, Carver's Press, the BathHouse, the Vault Core, the Lower Turbine, Dr. No's reactor, the Fissure Platform, and GoldenEye's Retreat.
was originally planned but scrapped due to poor sales and reviews. The game's ending heavily suggested a sequel as well. According to various sources, the sequel would have included vehicles and a longer story mode. On the EA
website for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, a form
with many questions about what fans wanted to see in the next game was available. Rogue Agent' s engine for the DS was used as a concept for a version of Halo: Combat Evolved
for Nintendo's handheld (informally called Halo DS), but didn't get past verification, despite a playable demo
being made.
for the Nintendo 64
based on the Bond film GoldenEye
. Aside from the character Xenia Onatopp
, the Uplink multiplayer level, and the fact that both involve a good agent going bad (although in the case of the original, not the protagonist), GoldenEye: Rogue Agent actually has nothing to do with either the film GoldenEye or its video game adaptation although his scarred appearance considerably resembles Sean Bean
's portrayal of rogue agent, Alec Trevelyan, in that film.
Rogue Agent was preceded by the critically acclaimed Bond game Everything or Nothing
which featured the likeness and voice talents of Pierce Brosnan
, Willem Dafoe
and Judi Dench
along with other Bond actors. Rogue Agent, however, was released to mediocre reviews. Reviewers criticized its lack of innovation and personality, despite its unique premise, as well as its mediocre gameplay. Several reviewers also disliked its departure from James Bond canon
in its introduction and killing off of characters.
The game was however noted for showcasing certain levels and multiplayer maps based on locations from the Bond movies, such as Fort Knox from Goldfinger, the space shuttle base from Moonraker, and Scaramanga's hideout from The Man with the Golden Gun.
Action-adventure
Action-adventure may refer to:*A genre that can include:** action-adventure game*** action game*** adventure game** action *** action film** adventure *** adventure film*** adventure novel...
Science-Fiction First-Person Shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game, developed and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. Despite it is set in an alternate timeline of James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
universe, the player takes the role of an ex-MI6 agent who is recruited by Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
, a member of a powerful unnamed criminal organization
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
, to assassinate his rival Dr. No
Dr. No
Dr. No is the sixth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 31 March 1958. The story centres on Bond's investigation into the disappearance in Jamaica of a fellow MI6 operative, Commander John Strangways and his secretary, Mary Trueblood. He...
. Several other characters from the Bond film series make appearances throughout the game, including Pussy Galore, Oddjob, and Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Sergeyevna Onatopp is a supporting villain in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Famke Janssen.-Biography:Xenia, born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, was a fighter pilot in the Red Air Force. After the collapse of the USSR, she joined the crime syndicate Janus, led by...
as well as Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel The Man with the Golden Gun. The film was so named because it described Scaramanga's possession of a golden gun....
, playing a Q
Q (James Bond)
Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q , like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch , the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service...
type character with the voice and likeness of Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
, who played the same character in 1974
1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
's The Man with the Golden Gun
The Man with the Golden Gun (film)
The Man with the Golden Gun is the ninth spy film in the James Bond series and the second to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
.
Plot
At the start of Rogue Agent, a recording by MM (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
(head of MI6) reveals that: "Three years ago, while on assignment, the agent was severely wounded in an encounter with Dr. No, and subsequently lost the use of his right eye. Consumed with vengeance, he frequently resorts to violence and brutality, and is no longer fit for service with MI6." According to the account, the agent was shot in his right eye by Dr. No during a mission.
Three years after the incident which claimed the agent's right eye, he is evaluated through a holographic simulation in which he is paired with 007 to stop Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
, a member of a criminal organization, from detonating a suitcase nuke
Suitcase nuke
A suitcase nuke is a tactical nuclear weapon which uses, or is portable enough that it could use, a suitcase as its delivery method. Synonyms include suitcase bomb, backpack nuke, mini-nuke, pocket nuke and snuke....
inside Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
. He fails the test, and is held directly responsible for the "death" of 007. Charged with "reckless brutality", he is dismissed from MI6. As he leaves the headquarters, he is seen reading an offer by Goldfinger to enlist in his organization.
The agent accepts Goldfinger's offer and is recruited as his enforcer, meeting with him at Auric Enterprises, where Goldfinger's scientists have developed a weapon known as the OMEN (Organic Mass Energy Neutralizer), which releases energy capable of breaking down organic matter on a nearly atomic level, resulting in disintegration. For his job of eliminating Dr. No, a fellow official of the criminal organization who has declared war on Goldfinger's branch of the organization, he is given a gold-hued cybernetic
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
eye created by Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga
Francisco Scaramanga is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel The Man with the Golden Gun. The film was so named because it described Scaramanga's possession of a golden gun....
, another official of Goldfinger's organization (from which he receives his codename "GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
") Scaramanga provides upgrades for the eye, starting with MRI vision. At Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, GoldenEye has to get a sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
to take down Dr. No with the EM
EM
- Cities :* El Monte, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States* El Monte, Chile, Talagante Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile- Codes :EM is:* Aero Benin, in IATA reservation code...
hack feature. At the Midas Casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, GoldenEye has to get to the vault
Bank vault
A bank vault is a secure space where money, valuables, records, and documents can be stored. It is intended to protect their contents from theft, unauthorized use, fire, natural disasters, and other threats, just like a safe...
(which can be found in multiplayer) to protect the OMEN with the magnetic polarity shield. At the Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
, GoldenEye has to destroy the dam and kill Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Sergeyevna Onatopp is a supporting villain in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Famke Janssen.-Biography:Xenia, born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, was a fighter pilot in the Red Air Force. After the collapse of the USSR, she joined the crime syndicate Janus, led by...
. GoldenEye also tosses Oddjob over a rail into a pit inside the Hoover Dam after he betrays and attacks GoldenEye for unknown reasons. At The Octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
, GoldenEye has to download the navigation coordinates to Crab Key with the help of the generated force field from his golden eye Dr. No's base. He is eventually sent to Crab Key, where he confronts Dr. No. During their duel, GoldenEye uses his mechanical eye to sabotage the island's nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
, causing it to electrocute Dr. No. Upon No's death, Goldfinger contacts GoldenEye and informs him that he believes he is too dangerous to be left alive, and that he had contacted GoldenEye earlier and told him to activate a program which would shut down the Lair's defense grid. Goldfinger reveals that he is intent on taking over the Lair, and leaves GoldenEye to die in the impending nuclear meltdown. GoldenEye, however, manages to escape in Dr. No's osprey before the reactor overloads and the island is destroyed in a large explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
.
GoldenEye returns to the Lair intent on confronting Goldfinger. Pussy Galore
Pussy Galore (James Bond)
Pussy Galore is a fictional character from the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. In the film, she is played by Honor Blackman. As with many of Ian Fleming's creations, the name is a double entendre; in this case with respect to pussy, which is another word for cat, or is a slang term for...
rendezvous with GoldenEye and informs him that Goldfinger has used the OMEN to wipe out most of the Lair's guards, and taken control of it. Scaramanga provides the mechanical eye with a computer virus which he can use to overload the OMEN.
GoldenEye fights his way through the Lair, implanting the computer virus in the process, eventually reaching the area where Goldfinger and the OMEN are. Goldfinger traps GoldenEye inside a chamber which he claims will soon be devoid of oxygen. The computer virus then activates the OMEN, causing it to explode in a burst of energy, killing Goldfinger and his troops. GoldenEye and Galore leave the Lair aboard Galore's chopper, and Scaramanga and Number One (Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. An evil genius with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond and is arguably...
) later discuss what to do with GoldenEye, and decide to simply see what he does next before proceeding.
Multiplayer
The game featured a highly customizable multiplayer component. It featured 4-player split screen play, as well as online play on the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
versions. On November 26, , the servers for both versions were shut down due to "inactivity" online. Players can unlock additional customization options, skins, maps, and gametype variations by playing through Story Mode and performing well. There are some locked skins such as Oddjob, Dr. No, and Xenia Onatopp. There are also locked maps such as the Pump Room, Carver's Press, the BathHouse, the Vault Core, the Lower Turbine, Dr. No's reactor, the Fissure Platform, and GoldenEye's Retreat.
Cancelled Sequel
A sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
was originally planned but scrapped due to poor sales and reviews. The game's ending heavily suggested a sequel as well. According to various sources, the sequel would have included vehicles and a longer story mode. On the EA
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
website for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, a form
Form (web)
A webform on a web page allows a user to enter data that is sent to a server for processing. Webforms resemble paper or database forms because internet users fill out the forms using checkboxes, radio buttons, or text fields...
with many questions about what fans wanted to see in the next game was available. Rogue Agent
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
for Nintendo's handheld (informally called Halo DS), but didn't get past verification, despite a playable demo
Game demo
A game demo is a freely distributed demonstration or preview of an upcoming or recently released video game. Demos are typically released by the game's publisher to help consumers get a feel of the game before deciding whether to buy the full version....
being made.
Reception
Rogue Agent was largely considered to be an attempt to recreate the success of one of the best-selling video games in recent history, GoldenEye 007, which was a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
based on the Bond film GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
. Aside from the character Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Onatopp
Xenia Sergeyevna Onatopp is a supporting villain in the James Bond film GoldenEye, played by actress Famke Janssen.-Biography:Xenia, born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, was a fighter pilot in the Red Air Force. After the collapse of the USSR, she joined the crime syndicate Janus, led by...
, the Uplink multiplayer level, and the fact that both involve a good agent going bad (although in the case of the original, not the protagonist), GoldenEye: Rogue Agent actually has nothing to do with either the film GoldenEye or its video game adaptation although his scarred appearance considerably resembles Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
's portrayal of rogue agent, Alec Trevelyan, in that film.
Rogue Agent was preceded by the critically acclaimed Bond game Everything or Nothing
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
007: Everything or Nothing is a third-person shooter video game, where the player controls James Bond. Bond is modeled after and voiced by the former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, making it his final performance for the character in game and film...
which featured the likeness and voice talents of Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
and Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
along with other Bond actors. Rogue Agent, however, was released to mediocre reviews. Reviewers criticized its lack of innovation and personality, despite its unique premise, as well as its mediocre gameplay. Several reviewers also disliked its departure from James Bond canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
in its introduction and killing off of characters.
The game was however noted for showcasing certain levels and multiplayer maps based on locations from the Bond movies, such as Fort Knox from Goldfinger, the space shuttle base from Moonraker, and Scaramanga's hideout from The Man with the Golden Gun.