James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (Game Boy Advance)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.1 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 12/22/2003
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 11/17/2003
• Originally published on GameSpot: James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (Game Boy Advance) Review

Just eight months after 007: NightFire landed in stores, EA Games has published another installment in the James Bond franchise on the Game Boy Advance. This latest game is called James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, and it ditches the first-person shooter design from the previous game for a more traditional isometric guns-and-fists setup that's better suited to the GBA's graphical capabilities and button layout. The single-player mode doesn't take more than a few hours to finish, but the entire ride should be plenty enjoyable for Bond fans and action game lovers alike.

One of the first things you'll notice after playing for a few minutes is how well the game copies the look and feel of a typical Bond film. Without much fanfare or explanation, the opening stage throws you into the middle of a collapsing building with nothing more than a pistol and an arrow that points the way out. After you gun down a few bad guys and take a run down the side of the building using Q's rappel line, M appears on the commlink to give you the lowdown on what just happened. As it turns out, the information retrieved from the building suggests that a man named Dr. Diavolo is behind a series of nanotechnology thefts that have occurred in recent months. Apparently, he plans to take over the world with an army of nano-enhanced supersoldiers.

Each of the game's 12 missions does a nice job of portraying Bond's jet-setting lifestyle, as you'll travel between various cities in Russia, Africa, and South America in your search for clues while attempting to sabotage Diavolo's operations. However, the greatest aspect of the game's presentation revolves around the voices and likenesses used for James, M, Q, Diavolo, and the rest of the characters. They are all actually provided by the real-life actors who portray them in the movies. Bond looks like Pierce Brosnan, M looks like Dame Judi Dench, Diavolo is actually played by Willem Dafoe, and so on.

Roughly three-quarters of the game's missions take place on foot. Each stage has a main objective as well a set of optional goals associated with it. These goals usually involve collecting items, such as data discs and nanotech pieces, or killing a set number of enemies by using James' sneaking abilities. Stealth plays a big role in Everything or Nothing, and, much like Konami's Metal Gear Solid, James can sneak behind enemies and take them out with a choke hold rather than alert other adversaries in the area by firing a gun. Although there are a few spots where you have to destroy oil drums or hack into computers to get the items you need, most environments don't offer much in the way of interactive disposable objects. You can hide behind pillars, tables, and even people in a few levels, but your bullets will just bounce off as if you were standing behind a brick wall. James has access to a wide variety of weapons, from his trusty Walther PPK pistol to a couple of different machine guns--not to mention a healthy inventory of grenades, land mines, and medical kits. While this sort of arsenal does offer numerous opportunities for you to just cut loose and enjoy Everything or Nothing as an action game in the traditional sense, ammunition supplies are limited enough that you absolutely need to sprinkle in a few stealth kills to have enough bullets left for enemies that don't respond well to choke holds or Bond's basic punch and kick attacks.

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