Inside Rare’s massive library of titles is possibly one of the most well regarded first-person shooters of the late 90s. Goldeneye 007 for N64 is one of the progenitors of Perfect Dark acting as the first shooter Rare had released. The title is well-beloved by fans for featuring some great fast-paced action and memorable multiplayer modes. Before Microsoft’s purchase, the company was producing some of its best titles and wanted to continue living up to that legacy. Yet, after creating ports of their other titles and remastering them with new elements; the success wasn’t enough to warrant more updates to their other licenses.
The plans to remake Goldeneye 007 for the Xbox Live Arcade ultimately fell through and was lost. The only released version of a new Goldeneye game is GoldenEye 007: Reloaded which was poorly received. Unlike other fan projects that have shown what a new iteration of Goldeneye could look like, a proper remaster was always desired. Yet, fans never gave up on the idea of there being a remake left out on the cutting room floor. In an over 2 hour playthrough of the campaign, a YouTube video has been published showcasing what Goldeneye XBLA could have been.
YouTube user Graslu00 has included a full campaign with 4k quality and 60 FPS gameplay. It’s the original Goldeneye fans love and remember with all the extra frames and quality you’d expect. Except, it’s also clear that Goldeneye XBLA was never fully completed. Some assets and bugs are clear when a full release would have them removed. For starters, the title screen has a very clear beta message, but otherwise, it is complete.
This is certainly different than the canceled fan project, Goldeneye 25, which planned to release on the original’s 25th anniversary in 2022. As the fate of most of these re-release projects is, the reality is that the James Bond license holder cancels projects before release and will probably never give it a proper remaster again. Though, Graslu00 didn’t throw out the entire potential for this to get a proper community release. Detailed in the description is the plan for its release sometime this year. While it’s unclear when that will be, it sure is a feat of gaming preservation to finally play this notorious remake.
