Agent 64 Key Art
Image: Replicant D6

Even as a dyed-in-the-wool PC gamer, it's hard not to be a bit nostalgic for Goldeneye. Between it, Perfect Dark, and Timesplitters, they carved out a unique niche in the FPS genre. Simultaneously arcade and cinematic, simple and intricate. It's a kind of shooter that I've been sorely missing, so I'm more than a little bit excited for today's release of Agent 64: Spies Never Die, from mostly-solo indie developer (doing everything aside from music) Replicant D6. It's the culmination of six years of work.

We got sent an early preview key for this one, and while I've not dug as deep into Agent 64 as I would have liked, I've really enjoyed what I've played so far. It's like Goldeneye but with fast, responsive controls and graphics that I don't have to squint at. Importantly, the game replicates the feel of Goldeneye combat, where you're expected to mostly shoot from the hip, with your character automatically tracking targets in your field of view, freeing you up to focus on evasion and general awareness over precision.

Of course, for those precision shots there's an aiming mode that gives you a floating crosshair. My one gripe is that the deadzone for it feels a bit too large when playing with my gamepad - a problem that vanishes when playing with mouse and keyboard, of course. Beyond that, this captures that Goldeneye feel in general perfectly, right down to everything that isn't a wall being made of a highly volatile compound. Whether it's a computer monitor, crate, or padlock, everything explodes violently when shot. As it should be.

On top of your classic story campaign (with increasingly complex objectives as you reach for greater difficulties) being playable solo or co-op (split-screen or online, too), there are Perfect Dark-style botmatch challenges and some unlockable bonus modes for later in the game. So far, I've got no complaints, but initial reviews have criticized Agent 64 for hewing perhaps too closely to its inspiration. This is classic Goldeneye-style gameplay polished up for modern systems, but not doing much in the way of new and creative things with the concept. Which is fine if that's what you go in expecting, but I can see how it would be a disappointment to some.

Over on the game's Steam forums, it has caught some flak for its kernel-level anti-cheat (Easy Anti-Cheat, specifically), which this should keep out casual aimbots and wallhackers from online play, some consider it a step too far for game security. Similar tech is used widely across most major competitive shooters these days, but it is unusual to see it in a small indie title, especially one that is most likely to be played by casual groups of friends.

If nothing there sounds like a dealbreaker, then Agent 64 is out now on Steam for £19.64/$21.64 (Cute), with an 11% launch discount. No discount bundles here, and the demo (a hit during the recent Next Fest) is no longer available, so you'll have to trust in our recommendation, which may or may not self-destruct in ten seconds.