The James Bond Game That Killed Off James Bond
In the opening mission of GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, you find yourself loosely recreating a scene from classic '60s Bond film Goldfinger. The villainous Auric Goldfinger is threatening to detonate a nuclear bomb in Fort Knox, and you have to stop him before the explosion irradiates the world's gold reserves and devastates the global economy. But here's the twist: you are not James Bond. You're playing as another MI6 agent, and 007 is your partner.
As you approach Fort Knox in a helicopter, it's hit by a rocket and comes crashing down. When the level begins, you see Bond hanging precariously from the wreckage, pleading for your help—but you do nothing. He falls to his death and is crushed by fiery rubble. It's a bold James Bond game that kills James Bond mere minutes in, but that was Rogue Agent's whole gimmick. You're a bad guy, and after this disastrous mission you don't stay with MI6 for long.
Related: In 1994 The Creator Of Tetris Was Back With a Brand New Puzzle Game... Or Was He?
It was all a holographic simulation, of course. There's no way the owners of Bond would let some video game kill off their star agent. After being shot in the eye by Dr. No, the unnamed player character is consumed with anger, and the Fort Knox simulation is a test by M (played by series stalwart Judi Dench) to determine whether he's stable enough to remain an MI6 agent. The fact James Bond dies and Fort Knox blows up seals his fate: he's off the team, forever.
It's interesting how, despite M saying you were 'directly responsible' for Bond's death when the simulation ends, all you really do is stand there silently and watch him fall. I wonder if the original pitch for the game suggested players took a more active role in offing the famous
Read more on thegamer.com
