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A Look At the History of 007 Games From One Gamer

007 First Light launches later this month and marks the first James Bond game in nearly 14 years. Despite the long absence, the franchise boasts a rich gaming history, including iconic titles that redefined a genre alongside more unique entries. As a gamer and 007 fan, I have played all of them through the years, experiencing the good and the bad.

That is why I want to look back at the series’ rich video game history and rank the best entries I have played. I will rank my favorite titles, walk through each one’s history and my memories of playing it, and note which console I enjoyed it on. Even though many of these titles launched on multiple consoles, I will only list the one I played on.

Think of it as a list of recommendations to enjoy while you wait for 007 First Light.

5. 007: Nightfire (PS2)

007: Nightfire was the last first-person shooter adaptation from Electronic Arts before the series switched gears with later entries. It again follows James Bond as he races against time to stop Raphael Drake, a tech industrialist bent on taking over the world by hijacking nuclear weapons. While the story was not the most original, it was a standard 007 plot that fans would enjoy. Its multiplayer was stellar, and I enjoyed it for hours with friends on the weekends.

I put 007: Nightfire on this list not only because it was a fun shooter but also an admirable one, as it marked EA’s last attempt to recapture the success of GoldenEye. Unlike Agent Under Fire or The World Is Not Enough, most gamers have fond memories of 007: Nightfire over any other first-person Bond game, with the exception of GoldenEye. It was an improvement over its predecessor, and coming five years after GoldenEye, it delivered something new that players wanted.

So why did I rank it No. 5 on the list despite how fondly it’s remembered? I enjoyed it, but I do not share the same passion most gamers have for 007: Nightfire. I agree it is a good game and a solid shooter compared to most adaptations, but it also faces stiff competition as a Bond game.

4. From Russia with Love (PS2)

In the series’ rich history of 25 films featuring six actors who portrayed the iconic agent, Sir Sean Connery has always been my favorite Bond. His movies were the most faithful adaptations of the source material, and he defined what it means to be James Bond with a balance of charm, wit, sophistication, and brute force. So when EA’s run with the franchise was winding down, it only made sense to go out with a bang by bringing back the best Bond in a reimagining of his most iconic film.

From Russia with Love reimagines the classic film with Connery in the role of 007 for the first time since Never Say Never Again. Faithful to the film and story, the game makes changes to create a more action-driven experience and to navigate the franchise’s legal dispute with Kevin McClory over the rights to SPECTRE. The story follows OCTOPUS as it sets up a trap to humiliate and eliminate James Bond, luring him to Turkey under the guise of helping a Russian cipher clerk defect to the West with a Lektor coding machine. What follows is the Cold War heating up in Istanbul as OCTOPUS plays MI6 against the Soviet Union.

Like Everything or Nothing, From Russia with Love was not built to be another GoldenEye but a more action-adventure title with 007. The game focused less on gunplay and more on a globe-trotting adventure from London to Istanbul and up through the Balkans during the 1960s Cold War. It also packed in nods to the Connery era, from the jetpack in Thunderball to the iconic Aston Martin DB5 that made its debut in Goldfinger. The takeaway is that this game served as a treat for fans of the Connery era while allowing the iconic actor to reprise his legendary role one last time.

3. The World Is Not Enough (N64)

Following the poor reception of Tomorrow Never Dies, EA returned the series to the first-person shooter genre. To adapt The World Is Not Enough, development for the N64 version went to Eurocom, while Black Ops Entertainment again handled the PlayStation version. Though both are first-person shooters based on the same movie, they are radically different in gameplay and quality. The N64 version was superior in every way, capturing the experience of GoldenEye while delivering sharper visual detail, faster-paced combat, and refined gunplay. The PlayStation version, by comparison, played clunky and its incredibly janky gunplay made for an unbearable experience.

Having launched during the 2000 holiday season, I picked it up at Hollywood Video and enjoyed it for the weekend. I played it for hours, either the single-player story or multiplayer with friends. Purchasing it proved difficult, as every Target, Best Buy, and Toys R Us sold out during the lead-up to Christmas. They all had plenty of copies for the PlayStation, though. A few friends managed to grab it, and we got to play more rounds of multiplayer mayhem in the months that followed.

The World Is Not Enough was a strong game that took the lessons learned from GoldenEye and built on them. It also carved out its own identity by mixing shooting with moments that required stealth and quick thinking. It held up well for its time but remained trapped in the shadow of GoldenEye, which was still the better game even after so many years. Even so, it’s worth playing for how different it feels and for a sense of how GoldenEye influenced shooters going forward.

2. Everything or Nothing (PS2)

Following the success of Nightfire, EA decided to revisit the concept of a third-person James Bond adventure. Rather than chase another GoldenEye, they set out to create a true 007 experience that felt like what audiences saw in theaters. To pull it off, they went all out with Everything or Nothing. This third-person action-adventure featured a stellar cast, including Pierce Brosnan in the role for the last time, Judi Dench as M, Richard Kiel returning as Jaws, and Willem Dafoe as the main villain, Nikolai Diavolo. The plot served as a follow-up to A View to a Kill, with Diavolo presented as a protégé of Max Zorin out for revenge. Mýa, at the height of her career, performed the opening song and took on a major role.

When compared to other James Bond games, this one, along with From Russia with Love and to a lesser extent Blood Stone, seems to have the biggest influence on the direction of 007 First Light. Of the three, Everything or Nothing stands out the most in quality, cast, and worldbuilding while fitting cleanly into the Brosnan-era universe. In a stretch of mostly mediocre titles, this and the GoldenEye film stand out as the best 007 work starring Pierce Brosnan.

1. GoldenEye (N64)

The original GoldenEye taking the top spot should come as no surprise, as it is not only one of the best adaptations but also one of the greatest first-person shooters ever made, and I have mentioned it multiple times throughout this list. It is the reason my friends and I picked the Nintendo 64 over the PlayStation back in the day. Weekends always meant gathering at one of our homes to play the multiplayer, while that one kid with the GameShark was a hero for unlocking all the secret content for us.

It defined the concept of a first-person shooter on consoles and proved that licensed tie-in games can be masterpieces. In the years since, it has been ranked among the best video games of all time, the word “Klobb” has become synonymous with the Skorpion vz. 61, and the game has become a cornerstone of the speedrunning community. However, its success has been a curse for future developers who have worked on a James Bond adaptation. Many of the titles that followed would be compared to GoldenEye, and that pattern continued in the years to come. No matter how much gameplay evolved, technology changed, or consoles improved, every James Bond game would be trapped in its legacy of success. While The World Is Not Enough on the N64 came close, most of the best games that followed were action-adventure titles, not because they were trying to be GoldenEye but because escaping its shadow meant going in a different direction.

Yet even after 29 years, IO Interactive will have to deal with this when 007 First Light launches. They have a stellar reputation and have shown what they can do with the Hitman series. But at the end of the day, no matter how a studio approaches it, their James Bond game will be compared to GoldenEye.

For England, James

007 First Light is set to launch on all major consoles and PC on May 27, 2026. It is the first 007 game in almost 14 years and will be an original experience set in its own universe, separate from the films and novels.

What are some of your favorite 007 games? Did you play any of the ones listed? Did GoldenEye, Nightfire, or Everything or Nothing make your list? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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