Goldeneye is what you'd expect, but not

Think back to the game you loved on N64. GoldenEye was considered the premiere first-person shooter, the game that actually pioneered the genre. It's been 13 years since that original version of the game came out, and a few months ago, a new version of GoldenEye was released for the Wii. I got my hands on a copy a few weeks ago, and let me tell you something: this is not the GoldenEye you remember.

This game is better.

GoldenEye for Wii is not that same story you remember from the movie or the original game. Instead, we are given a vivid retelling of the story, and Daniel Craig is James Bond this time, giving the action more spunk and pep, and more danger. Instead of jumping off the dam with a bungee-cord, we jump off the bridge with nothing at all. Take this idea and stuff it into every story line, update the technology, and there you have it: 2010's GoldenEye for Wii.

GoldenEye is a fun game to play with good weapons and realistic game-play. As in the original, you can still slowly move around maps to remain undetected, or go guns blazing and try to take as many of the bad guys with you. Which, as usual in these sorts of games, there are a lot of. They must offer great benefits packages to these goons. Maybe I can get in on that.

The graphics are smooth, and awfully good, but still video-game like. We are on a Wii after all. But hook up your system to a nice stereo-surround sound system, and prepare to be blasted away. One of my friends thought the explosions were actually taking place in his home.

Game-play is awfully interesting with the Wii remote and nunchuck. While it all makes sense, I found myself having trouble to turn right and left quickly enough to find enemies, especially in multiplayer mode. There is the option of using the classic controller or Wii Zapper (which I did not enjoy using). But overall the control scheme using the remote was clean and efficient.

Multiplayer mode, by the way, is exactly what you remember from the original. You can all go at it in a split-screen mode and try to kill each other, or go into a team mode. Of course there is a Golden Gun mode, where you kill everyone with one shot from the infamous weapon. And then there is the online mode: that's right, a Wii game with an expansive online play feature. Now you can team up with friends against strangers and shoot each others guts out in several different modes, and garner experience points to unlock new weapons, gadgets, and online-game modes.

Overall, this game is awesome, which is why it is already being hailed as the best first-person shooter on Wii (IGN). If you go and buy just one game for the Wii in the next few months, buy GoldenEye. Then make me your friend so I can come and kill you.

GOLDENEYE 007 FOR WII FINAL GRADE: A