Special Agent Joanna Dark works with the Carrington Institute. When the Institute recieves a distress signal from Dr Caroll, Joanna is sent into the headquaters of sinister corporation DataDyne Inc to rescue him. With him in tow they find that DataDyne has made deadly connections with an alien race that seeks to bring it's rule to earth. With the lives of earth and other planets in the balance Joanna works to stop the alliance.
This "sequel" to Goldeneye uses the same engine to drive it and looks similar in style - the controls being identical in fact. However the graphics are considerably better, everything moves much faster, speech is involved in both the game and the cut sequences and the cinema scenes are longer. The game isn't just a shoot 'em up - it's not just a matter of shooting constantly. Some levels are, but the majority require some thought and plenty of stealth tactics. In some levels silencers must be used to avoid setting off the alarm, while in others you must capture staff alive in order to complete your objectives. With three difficulty levels on each stage (not only increasing the ability of your opponents but adding more objectives) and a range of challenges on each this will last you for a long time. Some of the levels are really difficult and you almost need to slowly work your way through by stealth. Even when you finish the level - for many if you complete it within a set time then you get a cheat (some of these are really hard).
Outside of the game you have the traditional multi player game. The degree to which you can tweak this is astonishing - you can set all types of weapons, all types of games (combat, king of the hill etc - not just games where you shoot everything in sight), time, scores and a set of 30 challenges to play against. This will keep the game alive for long after you finish the main game and, unlike Goldeneye - you can still play it even if you're alone!
The game has a gradual learning curve in both the game and the challenges, meaning that you will occassionally get stuck but not to the point of frustration.
Overall this is a perfect game - I'm sure the graphics etc will be superseeded with time, but the heart of the game is strong.
