Bond. James Bond. He's appeared in more than a few games in his time, including the classic Goldeneye and the blink-and-you'll-miss-it release of The World Is Not Enough for the Playstation. But with the release of NightFire, EA goes all out in trying to capture everything that made Goldeneye great with a ton of mini games thrown in for schizophrenic good measure.

    The first thing gamers will notice about Bond's latest console outing are the graphics. 007 truly does look like Peirce Brosnan in almost every way. He's even got the silly "raised eyebrow" thing going on. And lucky for those of us behind the controller, everything else about the game looks fairly spectacular, also. Locales are breathtaking, showcasing the amazing the skills of the developers even in the opening prelude as our man Bond snipes at henchmen from the back seat of a helicopter above the streets of Paris. And as though shooting at villainous Frenchmen isn't fun enough, the game also includes car chases, manic snowmobile rides, and even a submarine chase (one in which Q -- the old one, rather than the John Cleese version -- whines whenever you get shot at, blaming you for all the gadgets that get destroyed in the line of duty). And all of it looks nearly perfect.

    The Sound is better than would be expected, even impressing the most pessimistic of Bond fans. The gunfire, explosions, and random shouting all sound right out of a good 007 flick (and they probably are, come to think of it), but the voices aren't so hot. It's not that the acting is bad, so much; it's more that the quality is sub par. It sounds like the various allies and villains are speaking through large tin cans and can quickly drag gamers out of the story. The music, however, is fun and fits the action fairly well. There's even a neat opening theme that, sadly, doesn't last very long.

    The controls work fairly well and only take a little bit of getting used to. As in all console FPS games, both sticks are used in a way reminiscent of an old arcade tank simulator, only far less painful. The main nag is that it's rather difficult to switch weapons in the heat of battle. Chances are, if you don't plan ahead, you're going to take some serious hits; and near the latter stages of the game, that's a very dangerous thing. Aside from that, though, the controls work well with the action and should offer the smallest learning curve possible to gamers of all kinds.

    And it's a good thing, too, because chances are good that players won't have much time to perfect their sharp-shooting skills. Though the FPS aspect of the gameplay is well done, more than half the game's levels consist of mini games. Unfortunately, there's just not enough time to enjoy the real meat of the game, because the true shooter areas are packed in between short sections of shooting gallery levels and racing scenes straight out of Spy Hunter. While each mini game is entertaining, they detract from the main product and selling point of NightFire. In a longer game, these games would help break up the action, but in one of Nightfire's length, it simply makes things seem disjointed. In fact, depending on how well a gamer masters the tricks of the mini games; they may complete NightFire in a day's time.

    As a result of this, a few things suffer. For one thing, Bond has very few gadgets, and those he does have are surprisingly tame (watch lasers, for when it's time to kill; grapples, for the rare occasion when Bond needs a pick-me-up; and a decoder, for when the developers just don't feel like subjecting gamers to another puzzle, lest their supposed short attention spans stop them from playing further). Oddly enough, this isn't the case in the weapons department. James gets all kinds of entertaining weapons at his disposal and it's just a shame that he never gets the chance to break them in. There's a reason why people like Solid Snake and Vin Diesel have posters of Bond on the ceilings of their bedrooms, but the Bond portrayed in Nightfire almost doesn't realize his full, suave potential. Almost. And to Bond's credit, he does bed more than a few lovely ladies in this game, and still shows no signs of the clap at the end.

    To make up for the problems found in the single player game, the fine folks at EA remembered to include a multiplayer mode which is simply spectacular, rivaling the one found in the smash Xbox hit, Halo. It's a sure bet that gamers will enjoy suavely fragging their friends in multiplayer long after they complete the single player campaign.

    In the end, NightFire does leave a bit to be desired. However, the developers have successfully managed to capture the true spirit of the 007 franchise, almost (but not quite) bringing it to polygonal life on the consoles. For true fans, this review will be redundant; you already own this game. For those of you looking for a good FPS, NightFire would certainly be worth your consideration. You may get more than you expect.