This title has had one strange development cycle. Originally debuting in a large spread in the now defunct Next Generation magazine, the new James Bond title was being heralded as the best looking game for the upcoming Playstation 2. Things looked and sounded great. The development team had all kinds of neat ideas to bring the franchise into the next generation of consoles. At the time the game was known as The World Is Not Enough, which would basically follow the plot of the movie. Then all of a sudden the game practically dropped off the face of the planet. The PS2 launch came and went in both Japan and North America, with no mention of TWINE. When pressed about the issue, Electronic Arts kept quiet and deferred the project as in development. It quickly became apparent that the game was struggling. It was later announced that the original concept had been scrapped and an entirely new Bond adventure would appear in its place. The demise of TWINE appears to be a result of high expectations that finally could not be realized on the architecture of the PS2. In some ways, the development of TWINE is starting to sound like Sony's The Getaway which has also disappeared from site. Anyway, the resulting Bond game titled Agent Under Fire made its way onto store shelves this past holiday season. The end result is not a travesty as many had expected but the game offers nothing more than an average first person shooter experience with the 007 license attached to it.

Although Agent Under Fire is nowhere near the excellence EA had originally envisioned, it still manages to pull off some nice visual tricks and a good overall visual experience. Levels are nicely laid out and sharp in design. Most items are interactive and add nicely to the spy world present in the game. Those familiar with the original designs for TWINE may recognize some levels that were retooled and scaled down for Agent Under Fire. The developers did a nice job of utilizing some of the more advanced lighting features of the PS2 throughout the game. There is some use of particle effects that blend so well we wondered why they were not use more. Character design is competent and detailed enough for a next generation Bond title. Bond girls are stunning enough in their traditionally tight outfits. A few levels involve car chase missions. In these areas graphics are tight and colourful. In all areas of the game, the frame rate is solid at 60 frames per second refresh rate. Add to the visual splendor some great voicework that works extremely well. EA did an admirable job finding voice talent that resembles 007 himself as well as his sidekick Q.

The visual end of things is fine. The gameplay on the other hand is nothing more than a glorified arcady first person shooter. EA's decision not to go with violent visuals makes the experience feel very watered down. As James Bond you must go through just a measly 12 missions to stop international terrorists. All of the usual gadgets are present along with 007's sexual charm. The problem is the charm mostly comes across as cheesy one liners and the all of the gadgets, while neat, are no brainer items. For example, players must use the watch laser to cut through pad locks. A lot more thought should have gone into designing some more unique toys for 007 to play with. In fact, there are few levels that were designed just to take advantage of certain gadgets. By the end of the game we felt we were Inspector Gadget rather than super spy 007. Each of the 12 missions are linear by nature and even offer a slew of hints for those who get lost. On the default setting, the game is quite easy and will take less than 6 hours to complete. You can adjust the difficulty level, but it does nothing more than add tougher enemies and increase your frustration level. The four-player split screen mode appears as if it was added as an afterthought. Those longing for a return to GoldenEye goodness will be disappointed. The multi-player modes here are nothing more than extensions of levels from the one player experience.

Agent Under Fire is by no means a bad game, but rather an average run of the mill arcade experience. There are hints of greatness and what could have been. And considering the development hell this game went through, AUF came out a lot better than we had expected. Bond fans may want to still run out and purchase the game but for everyone else a weekend rental will suffice.