Ludography
64/100
Players43 ratings
69/100
Critics3 reviews
007: Agent Under Fire cover

2001 · Visceral Games · First-person shooter · Shooter

007: Agent Under Fire

James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire is the first James Bond game to appear on the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. The game casts the player as the legendary James Bond who must accomplish missions throughout different areas of the world. Bond is sent on a mission rescue Zoe Nightshade, a CIA agent in the hands of Nigel Bloch. Nigel Bloch is the CEO of Identicon, a section of a highly successful industry company known as Malprave industries.

Released
13 November 2001
Platforms
GameCubePlayStation 2Xbox
Genres
First-person shooterShooter
Developers
Visceral GamesElectronic Arts
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Series
James Bond
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
First person
Themes
ActionStealth
Engine
id Tech 3
Country
United States
Age ratings
PEGI 16ESRB TUSK 16
Languages
English

About

James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire is a 2001 first-person shooter video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. It originally began development as a PlayStation 2 and PC game based on the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. However, the game was delayed and eventually reworked into Agent Under Fire, featuring an original Bond storyline that is unrelated to the films. Playing as Bond, the player must thwart an attempt to replace world leaders with clones.

Agent Under Fire was released for PlayStation 2 in November 2001, followed by the other versions in March 2002. The game received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic.

Keywords

  • death
  • hand-to-hand combat
  • james bond
  • espionage
  • based on - movie
  • building
  • on-rails
  • one-man army
  • explosion
  • licensed game
  • 60 fps on consoles
  • polygonal 3d

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Agent Under Fire features over fifteen different types of firearms, as well as other weapons. Each firearm is based on a real firearm, but is given a pseudonym, the same manner as the weapons in GoldenEye 007, and The World is Not Enough. Most of the gadgets are concealed in a mobile phone, including a decryptor, grapple, laser, and remote transmitter. Bond is also provided with a card that disrupts electronic signals, as well as a jetpack. During the game, players may encounter opportunities to utilize the level's environment or their gadgets to dispatch enemies, clear obstacles, or open up alternative pathways; doing so awards the player a "Bond Moment" which contributes to the player's end-of-level score.

The multiplayer mode in Agent Under Fire features up to four players, with several unique arenas to host multiplayer battles in. The multiplayer games can also be played with one player against an AI player.

Story

CIA agent Zoe Nightshade, a mole in the Hong Kong-based botanical research firm Identicon Corporation, is discovered and captured while investigating Identicon as a possible front for a weapons-smuggling ring. MI6 Agent James Bond infiltrates the Identicon facility in an attempt to rescue her, as well as retrieve a suspicious courier case in the same building. After rescuing Nightshade from a submarine set to launch, the pair flee the facility with the courier case. Nigel Bloch, the head of Identicon, has his henchmen chase the agents through the streets of Hong Kong.

The two steal a second case of vials from a nearby Identicon factory, then rendezvous with R, who provides Bond with a gadget-laden BMW Z8. A limousine pulls up, and a figure inside fires a rocket at the agents, killing Nightshade, and steals the case. Bond pursues in his new car, stopping an armoured van containing the stolen vials.

Development

Agent Under Fire originally began development as a PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PC game based on the 1999 Bond film The World Is Not Enough (TWINE). The game would include 10 large levels, featuring a combination of stealth and action gameplay similar to the 1997 Bond game GoldenEye. The game would feature boating, skiing, and casino levels, and the player would have access to 20 gadgets throughout the game. Players would have multiple ways to complete a mission, with interactive environments playing a role. Multiplayer would be a prominent part of the game.

Electronic Arts (EA) was developing the game, which would run on the id Tech 3 game engine, commonly known as Quake III Arena. It was initially scheduled to release in late 2000, subsequently changed to late 2001. However, EA announced in February 2001 that it was delaying the game until the following year. The delay would allow the company to achieve its vision of a game that would be noticeably different from the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation version of The World Is Not Enough.

Reception

James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Most Disappointing Game" award among console games, but lost to Luigi's Mansion.

The Cincinnati Enquirer gave the PlayStation 2 version three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "Slick, sexy and jam-packed with action — but this adventure is short with limited playability over time, except perhaps for its multiplayer modes." However, it later gave the other two versions a score of four stars out of five. FHM gave the PS2 version three stars out of five, stating, "There is the usual mix of chick[s], cars and guns to keep even the most special of agents happy." Maxim also gave the PS2 version six out of ten and stated that "At last you'll infiltrate the secret lair, where you'll discover…you've been playing a very standard-issue game."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
PlayStation 213 November 2001North America · Europe 30 November 2001
GameCube13 March 2002North America · Europe 14 June 2002
Xbox26 March 2002North America · Europe 14 June 2002

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.