The official NightFire web site has announced that a patch is coming for the PC version of NightFire to fix various errors in the game.
No date has been given for the actual release of the patch.
Only a month till NightFire is released! To any normal person, it may not seem a long time, but to anyone waking up each morning longing to get their hands on it, it’s an eternity.
Today, CBn launches it’s mini site dedicated to NightFire. The first dedicated web site devoted to the game. At the moment, it is mini, but I can guarentee, the word “mini” won’t be quite accurate when fans of the game start making maps, skins, character models etc etc.
The EA 007 site has updated to cater for the release of NightFire this November.
You can visit the site by following this link 007.ea.com
The web site features music from the game, screenshots, all new videos from the games (all versions), missions, characters and much much more.
The site also announces that a NightFire demo will be released later this month – can’t wait for that!
Be sure to check out the CBn NightFire section for more details.
The cover art for NightFire has been revealed on Amazon! All platforms will have the same art work, bar the header which will display the platform of the game you’re buying.
Use the following links to pre-order your copy!
Gamespot have published the NightFire trailer that was shown at ECTS.
The trailer is available for download from the PC, X-Box and Gamecube gamespaces on the Gamespot website. However, after watching the trailer – it’s hard to tell if this trailer is for all versions, or just for one of the console versions featureing the driving levels, as clips of this part of the game are shown.
The clips from the driving levels look absolutely fantastic – and for a PC gamer, like myself, it’ll be a big shame not to see them in the PC version (however, we’ll have a better mulitplayer game than the consoles!).
We see the driving levels in two different perspectives, 3rd and 1st person. If you’ve played “Command & Conquer Renegade” – you’ll know that in this game you can switch between the perspectives as there are tactical advantages to do so in certain parts of gameplay. I’m assuming this will be done with the driving levels – you can either be seated inside the Aston Martin Vanquish, or view it from outside, while taking out those nasty henchman.
CBn Forums user, “JLMuench” recently posted a snippet from the Official Playstation 2 magazine which claims that the main aspect of gameplay, while in Bond’s shoes, will also have a 3rd person perspective:
“The rationale behind it was that in some situations you want to increase the drama by forcing the players view of certain things. For instance, Bond might be moving past a window and you want him to be able to see the position of the guards behind the window so that he can time his movement correctly. If you do that in first-person, you don’t know where the camera’s looking at any given moment.”
However, in this new trailer, we don’t see any of this, only a 1st person perspective. So if the news from the Official Playstation 2 magazine is correct, we may also see function where we can switch between perspectives.
EA are set to release a double James Bond pack later this month. A double-pack featuring Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough, both for the PlayStation console, will hit stores in the United Kingdom on September 13.
No word yet on if a similair offer will be available world-wide.
A big thanks to 'jetsetwilly' for sending that news in to us.
PC Zone features an interview with Michael Condrey, PC Producer of "James Bond 007 in Nightfire", which is due to release. Additionally we are given some information on locations Bond has to travel on his mission.
INTERVIEW: SETTING THE NIGHT ON FIRE
We chat to the producer on the PC version of shooter James Bond 007: Nightfire.
He gets the fast cars, he gets the gadgets, he gets the guns, he gets all the women – git – and at the end of the day he always gets the bad guy. Yup, James Bond rocks. And the prospect of stepping into the tuxedo and living the life of the hero on PC has got us all wobbly with excitement.
In development at Gearbox Software, shooter James Bond 007: Nightfire on PC is going to see the British special agent on the trail of megalomaniac Raphael Drake. A combination of stealth gameplay and adrenaline-pumping action, it'll see you trotting all around the globe as you try to put a stop to the schemes of the evil, cackling villain.
Drawing on the Bond movies – and, so we've been told, Bond game Agent Under Fire – Nightfire will contain many locations and characters familiar to fans of 007 and his universe. Fort Knox from Goldfinger will be represented in game-form as will the space station from Moonraker, and Odd Job with his metal-rimmed hat and the giant Jaws will also play part in some shape or form.
We recently got the chance to sit down with the producer of Nightfire on PC, Michael Condrey, so we thought we'd pick his brain for some juicy details to find out what's in store.
You've already explained that the PC version of Nightfire is substantially different from the console versions. Could you go into these differences in greater detail?
Condrey: Yeah, absolutely. We really want to focus on the strengths of each platform, so the consoles have different specs and there are different gameplay aspects that they focus on. With the PC version we've done some interesting things – an example would be level-specific layouts. We might share locations – all versions have an Austria level for example – but the way we lay out the Austrian level in the PC version plays on that platform's strengths.
We have PC-specific levels as well, stuff we've done only for that platform that you won't find on the consoles. And of course, the control method differs because you have a mouse and keyboard, so the way you interact in levels is quite different to the console versions. Then there's the multiplayer component for the online players, which is specific to the PC and allows us to take full advantage of people playing both on LAN and Internet.
And finally there're the hardware capabilities. With the latest nVidia technology and processor speeds available we've been able to push texture resolutions to a higher level.
So how would you persuade someone to buy the PC version of Nightfire over the other console versions that are going to be available?
Condrey: Hmm, that's a tough question. I think the console game is going to be a great game, and if you own a console you should definitely buy the console version. If you have a PC, you should buy the PC game. So if you have both, you should really buy both, as each offer different experiences and focus on different things. The console version has its racing levels, whereas the PC version is the only version that'll have online capabilities. For me the online scene is when first-person shooters get really exciting.
If I wanted to get online, fight against my friends and have some fun on the Internet, the PC product is the only product that'll allow you to do that?
So what's so exciting about the multiplayer features in Nightfire?
Condrey: I think for me, right off the top, it's the first chance to get Bond out there in the multiplayer arena. To be in the Bond world, to be able to play against Odd Job on the Fort Knox level using your gadgets… everything that makes the last forty years of Bond so exciting, to see that finally online… I think that's where it's going to be at. Plus we're supporting all the multiplayer modes that people have come to know and love.
How many players will multiplayer support?
Condrey: Our goal is to support up to 32 players simultaneously.
You mentioned Odd Job as a playable character in multiplayer. Will there be a range of classic characters available that you can play?
Condrey: Yeah, that's the goal. The goal is to take the best of the last 40 years and tie that in to both the environments and the levels and the characters that you play against.
Can you tell us about some of the things that are in the game that you've taken from the Bond universe?
Condrey: Sure. As you've seen today, we've got Fort Knox from Goldfinger, you'll see the space station level from Moonraker. You'll see characters such as Jaws that we've brought back, as well as characters that may come back from Agent Under Fire. It's kind of the whole spectrum of both the game history and the movie history – there's quite a lot to draw on.
Pierce Brosnan is used in the PC version. Obviously getting that is great from a marketing point of view as he's a great figurehead. But part of playing a first-person shooter, and especially a James Bond shooter, is about becoming the character, about becoming Bond yourself. Before it's been an anonymous Bond which almost made it easier to imagine yourself in that position. Do you think, conversely, that there's an argument that says that you lose that sort of immersion by having a Bond in there who's as recognisable as Pierce Brosnan?
Condrey: I personally think that this year, with Die Another Day coming out, it's on everyone's mind what Bond is. For me, actually seeing Pierce as the character helps me believe more who Bond is. Previously, the unknown Bond was a guy in Bond's world but we didn't really connect with him. With Pierce we connect with him, we recognise that he is the genuine, legitimate Bond of today. This is true for myself, and I hope this is true for consumers, that they actually make that same connection they make when watching the film.
Have you been restricted with what you can do with the character now that you're using Pierce Brosnan?
Condrey: MGM and Danjaq, who are the owners of the Bond license and property, have been great partners. They certainly have a very strong property that they want to protect, and I respect them for that. They've worked really closely to make sure that we understand their needs, and have helped us understand what Bond would do in his world.
I wouldn't say they've been restrictive at all, they've just been great partners and great in sharing expectations. It hasn't changed how we've developed the game at all.
Console first-person shooters are still coming of age, and they're not quite as hardcore as their PC cousins – PC shooter fans are very purist. In terms of that, and in terms of the competition that's out there, what do you feel that you're offering that's new to the genre?
Condrey: It's an interesting dichotomy in first-person shooters, because certainly there is a very hardcore audience that loves its first-person shooter experience. But we're also seeing that mass-market PC games are able to draw in a lot of consumers as well. For example, Harry Potter on the PC and The Sims on the PC have been hugely successful. So we want to try and address the needs of both groups. We've tried to introduce things like tuning on our multiple difficulty levels, so that a new gamer can come in, set it on Easy, and be prompted with a few hints and things to help him along.
But if a hardcore gamer comes in and wants a challenge, they can set it on a harder setting and go out there and struggle to succeed. We've tried to address both sides of that, and I hope that we've done a good job.
Gamespot have updated their NightFire section with their first trailer. You get to see some great action, gun fire, bad guys and girls during the odd minute of footage.
Download from Gamespot.
The new art work for the NightFire logo is enough to show you how good the game is looking out to be. But if you're not already drooling, if you take a look at some of the new screenshots that have come about on the new Gamespot preview, you'll be sure to start!
The preview goes into the differences between the console versions and the PC version of the game, clearly stating that the PC one is the more unique. The PC version will unfortunately not feature the driving and flying levels – but to make up for the loss, Gearbox has added PC specific levels that make the game longer than any of the console versions. Aswell as this, there is the Online Multiplayer feature which will add lots more excitement to the game (at last, I can settle the dispute of me being the best Bond gamer :D). Hopefully with this, we'll see mod capabilites (as we talked about earlier this year) which will allow the creation of fan based maps and skins – imagine running around in Blofeld's Volcano – one map I'd love to see created by someone!
Each area in NightFire will be more exotic than the next, finally culminating in the most exotic location on Earth: the stratosphere. The final mission in the game takes place aboard a low-gravity space station, which is clearly a tribute to Moonraker.
For more, be sure to check out the article over at Gamespot!
Electronic Arts announced earlier today that actor Pierce Brosnan is set to 'star' in NightFire. Of course, he won't be seen in quite the same way as he will in Die Another Day. EA reached an agreement with Pierce to use the actor's likeness for the game.
"Pierce Brosnan and Bond have created an unbeatable combination for the franchise over the past few years, so we're excited to have Pierce aboard to help deliver to fans the ultimate Bond experience," says Chip Lange, VP of Electronic Arts marketing. "I am confident that together, Pierce Brosnan, EA and NightFire will make for the most dynamic and appealing Bond game yet."
Neil Haldar, Vice President of Production and Business Development for MGM Interactive, observes, "We welcome this fantastic opportunity to collaborate with Brosnan, who so masterfully personifies James Bond, and to re-team with a great partner like Electronic Arts on Nightfire to deliver the finest integration of creativity and technology to date."
NightFire is scheduled for a simultaneous release on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game system , Nintendo GameCube and PC-CD. The release of the game will occur world-wide in November, to co-incide with the release of Die Another Day.