With only a few weeks to go before release, MI6 previews the driving missions featured in "Everything or Nothing"...

"Everything or Nothing" Driving Preview
2nd February 2004

With only a few weeks to go before release, MI6 previews the driving missions featured in "Everything or Nothing".

Motorbike Madness

For their latest Bond adventure, EA have yet again pushed the boundaries on the vehicle selection. New to the line-up is the Triumph Daytona 600 motorbike. We see Bond whizzing along the impressive 14 kilometer long Pontchartrain Bridge in the Daytona, pursuing a tanker driven by Jaws - the objective to disable the tanker before it reaches the city. Bond is not alone in this mission however, as he also has goons on motorbikes to deal with who are attempting to obliterate him. As expected the Daytona is no ordinary motorbike, as it has been modified with high-tech weaponry - "Finger Rockets" which are mini forward-firing rockets with a quick reload while "Multi-Rockets" allow 4 missiles to deploy at once and have improved tracing. If that isn't enough, the bike has dual flame flowers attached to the wheels which aid Bond in disabling the tanker. The bike is also capable of doing a number of tricks such as wheelie's and slides that help Bond out of a few tricky situations along the way.

We later see Bond in South America driving and jumping rooftops in the Daytona, much like the sequence in Tomorrow Never Dies. It seems one bike is not enough for Bond, as he has the choice between a dirt bike or the Cayenne SUV in a train chase level early on in the game, where he must prevent a Diavolo's dual-track Russian train from escaping after the destruction of the Nanotech facility. This time Bond carries a shotgun with him, which auto-targets his closest threat.

 
Above: Early concept artwork for the Triumph Daytona 600, with Bond and the Mya Starling character (without Mya's true likeness at this point).

Vanquished

Making a slick reappearance from NightFire is the Aston Martin Vanquish. Along with the standard machine guns and missiles available, the car is equipped with a cool looking plasma gun which inflicts twice the damage as the machine guns. The car isn't short of gadgetry either; "Acid Slick" is deployed from the rear and corrodes the wheels of enemy vehicles which an electro magnet can be fired which polarizes an enemy, allowing Bond to get pulled closer. Fluid can also be deployed from the rear and ignited, sending up a temporary wall of flame. Though probably the wildest gadget to use is the RC Car Bomb, which deploys underneath the vehicle and can be remote controlled by Bond. It comes equipped with a laser cutter and can be remotely detonated as a bomb!


Above: Agent Mya Starling and James Bond model the Aston Martin Vanquish in downtown New Orleans.
 

Trucking Well

Bond does not use the modified vehicles provided to him alone. In one mission, you are informed that a factory that needs investigating gets regular deliveries. Bond finds the delivery truck in a car park and steals it, pretending to be the delivery driver allowing you to get through the checkpoint. Though take note of a game secret which allows you to lower the truck loading doors and drive the Vanquish in, giving you the best car later in the game.

Later on after leaving the Jazz club with Mya, Bond steals the limo the goons arrived in earlier, but comes to realise there is in fact a bomb onboard. In a nod to the movie "Speed", you must drive the limo above 10mph or it will detonate, until Mya manages to diffuse it. She then pops out of the sunroof and shoots at goons while Bond races to a safe house under the Kiss Kiss club (where a Vanquish awaits).

Rallying Support

In order to meet General Diavolo, Bond takes part in a local, annual rally race. The aim is to win a 3-lap race around the town - a mini game transplanted into "Everything or Nothing" by the Need For Speed team who developed the driving missions for 007. You have no weapons or gadgetry, so it's a genuine battle to the finish line.

An SUV Spree

The majority of the Porsche Cayenne action takes place in South America. In one mission, you drive to meet Serena St. Germaine but need to avoid the local militia, with the help of a new gadget which gives 60 seconds of cloaking much like that from the movie "Die Another Day". The RC Car Bomb is also available with the Porsche and is put to good use when you drive it into a fireworks factory, blowing it up and distracting the local militia.

"Everything or Nothing" will ship on Tuesday 17th February 2004 in the USA, and should be in stores by Thursday 19th February. Images courtesy EA Games.

Stay tuned to MI6 for the full review later this month.

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