Golden Goose

Last week I talked about remakes so today I’d talk about it some more.

Recently, Goldeneye 007 has touched down on the Wii. Billed as a remake of the classic Goldeneye 64 for the N64, this was indeed a surprise when it was originally announced and no doubt had more than a few Nintendo devotees both alarmed and angered. But on paper, the idea of remaking Goldeneye 64 has a lot going for it: 1) With Nintendo and Rare parted ways there’s no way we’ll ever see the original turn up on the Virtual Console, 2) there’s no denying that Goldeneye 64, despite its importance to console FPS’s, hasn’t aged too well and 3) the opportunity for online play would be welcome addition.

So in this case, a remake could be a good idea - But at the same time, any good idea/intent can fall flat on it’s face.
I was talking to a friend recently –he’d just picked up this remake and he seemed disappointed with the finished product. Unsurprisingly, he dismissed the game as not being a patch on the original.
So is it impossible then? Impossible to recapture the spark that made the original work so well? Or isn’t it far more easier to dismiss a bold idea without giving it a chance?

Personally my money’s on the latter. But, I can’t draw my own conclusions about he remake without playing it– and that will have to wait until Christmas.
Stay tuned….