A remake of the Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye 007 leaked online and can be played on PC using an emulator, Chronicle of video games reports. Originally intended for the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade service, the game features the original single-player campaign, as well as local split-screen multiplayer, but online multiplayer and leaderboards are reportedly missing. The whole package has been given a graphics overhaul, but players can switch back to the original graphics at the touch of a button.
The remake was never released, after it was canceled in 2008 when it was nearing completion. According to a report by 1 up at the time now confirmed by VGCthe issue boiled down to the sheer number of rights holders for the game. This included not only Nintendo (publisher of the N64 original) and Microsoft (owner of Rare, the developer of the original game), but also Bond licensees Eon Productions, as well as the actors whose likenesses appeared in the game.
Footage of the remake has already surfaced, including a two-hour gameplay video that came out last month, but now the single-player campaign and local multiplayer game is playable for anyone who can find a copy of the ROM on sharing sites. files and configure an Xbox 360 emulator (Xenia is apparently the best choice here). But if that seems like too much effort, this Digital Foundry livestream provides a good overview of the remaster’s content:
While this is specific GoldenEye 007 remaster has never been released, there are plenty of other related projects that have seen the light of day over the years. Although the complexity of the Bond license may have prevented Rare from remaking Golden Eye, it used to be ultimately able to release a remake of its spiritual successor, Perfectly dark, on Xbox Live Arcade in 2010. Perfectly dark was a similar game style to Golden Eye, and ran on an improved version of its engine, but was based on an original IP address.
Meanwhile a separate one GoldenEye 007 The remake was eventually developed by Activision (which owned the rights to develop and publish Bond games between 2006 and 2013) and released for the Wii in 2010 (the following year it was ported to the Xbox 360 and PS3). This remake was generally well received, but had little relation to the original N64. Many commented at the time that it felt more like one Duty game that also happened to be based on the 1995 Bond movie, rather than a remake of the 1997 game.
Aside from official projects, there have also been a number of attempts at fan-made remakes of GoldenEye 007 over the years. GoldenEye: source was a multiplayer remake of the original game made in Valve’s Source engine (you can download it here), while GoldenEye 25 was an attempt to rebuild the original game’s campaign in Unreal Engine 4, which shut down last year.