A remake of GoldenEye 007 (codenamed “Project Bean”) for Xbox Live Arcade was in development at Rare Ltd. during 2007 and 2008. Goldeneye 007 was a critically acclaimed FPS for the Nintendo 64, originally published by Nintendo in 1997 and still loved by many fans. Although Microsoft, Activision (current owners of the game rights to the James Bond franchise)and Nintendo were said to have agreed upon a licensing deal for the title initially, Nintendo Japan allegedly refused to grant their permission at last minute. Therefore the remake had to be canned only months before completion.
Much like the original Goldeneye for the N64, the developers who were involved in the making of this XBLA remake had their faces scanned and implemented into the game (as enemies / civilians / scientists / naval officers). In the game we would have been able to change the HD converted graphics to N64 graphics, an online multiplayer mode was planned, along with the traditional split screen mode. Goldeneye XBLA would had over 200 point’s worth of achievements and a time trial leader boards.
Some more info can be found at Mundo Rare:
[…] the game was developed in just one year by just 8 people; Dam, Depot and Frigate levels are selectable as multiplayer arenas (even the fabled Citadel was considered just “for the fan reaction”) and the N64 version isn’t technically a port, but a rather smart graphic filter use that makes the new game look the old-fashioned way.
It’s possible that the engine used for this Goldeneye remake was later reused for the Perfect Dark XBLA Remake. Some images in the gallery below are from XBOX Magazine. In August 2016 Rare Thief uploaded on Youtube more than 30 minutes of footage from this lost game, you can see the video below! Some more details were also shared on their website:
Throughout the video the player uses the rumored feature of switching the game’s graphics between the original Nintendo 64 textures and the remake textures on the fly. The switch between the two appears to take zero effort or time, and can be done whenever without having to pause the game.[…] After the tour of some select missions, the video presents a few of the multiplayer options. On top of the expected multiplayer levels are three news ones including Dam, Frigate and Depot. Something even more interesting than that is the option to set all character heights to be equal, meaning Jaws and Oddjob would no longer have their advantages.
Thanks to DCodes7 for the contribution!
Images:
Videos:
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(26 votes, average: 4.62 out of 5)
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Anyone know if this was built from the ground up? (It almost looks like they took the 64 rom and improved textures/models/etc. It’s hard to tell.)
It wasn’t from the ground up…not entirely. They basically updated the models and textures, place them over the old ones and I believe, at least by looking at the Perfect Dark release, maybe some voice updating…not sure. :3
They just made it look prettier. No real core changes. I’m sure someone will make a hi-def graphic download that matches this for ROMs. xD
Well I am happy to hear the the Perfect Dark port is going to include all the weapons and levels from this game :D
As far as i know, the Perfect Dark Remake will have only the same GoldenEye weapons and levels (2 or 3 multiplayer maps) that were in PD 64 too
the game got leaked in january of 2021 guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This should be updated, the deal has been made to finish development