Post by lynod on Oct 30, 2010 0:36:10 GMT -5
Goldeneye N64: Gateway to Sadism
Most of you who reminisce of Goldeneye N64 have pleasant memories. Romps through the single-player, battling friends in the multiplayer, they were all equally good and exhilarating. After all, Goldeneye was a revolutionary game that provided a myriad of weapons, diverse levels, beautiful visuals and even the ability to realistically wound different areas of an enemy's body. Who couldn't gain enjoyment from that? Not all the fun gained from the game was the purehearted variety, however. From my own youth, I experienced the darkside of Goldeneye. The weapons and enemy reactions called to me, asking me to conduct Josef Mengele-style experiments, and by God, I did not, could not, disappoint. I took a wholely unhealthy relish of leaving destruction and havoc in my wake, and thus learned that Goldeneye N64 was A Gateway to Sadism
Old Friend In Goldeneye, I remember an enemy whose back was to me. His identity and location have been forgotten over the years, unimportant in my involvement with him. The only pertinent information was the fact that he was there, always unaware, with my PP7 trained on his back. With the gun I would wander across his body, wondering where to inflict the next round of pain. Sometimes I brought him to his knees. Others I took out his arms. A few times I sent his cap flying, seeming to fill his coded mind with horror before I inflicted copious amounts of horrible to him. One thing was always certain in my involvement with this nameless A.I. His death was never quick. I'm sure that somewhere, in a long forgotten N64 cartridge, he still exists. Tortured and broken, the A.I. babbles about the "monster" who constantly assaulted him. Years of therapy have done nothing for him, and any ties with his cybernetic family have since fallen apart due to his neurosis. All he has left are those vividly terrible memories from a decade ago. I need to pick up the cartridge again soon. Tank You Everyone remembers the tank level in Goldeneye. The raw power that was afforded the player and the sheer difference in gameplay style captured the imagination and made it an instant favorite of numerous fans. But I took it too far. Encased in several inches of metal, with artillery supplied instead of mere bullets, I was essentially a god. When enemies ran towards me, I rolled over them with my treads which registered a faint, insignificant bump on my Rumble Pack. When they ran from me, my turret spewed screaming death at them. I was not content to merely wreak destruction upon those who entered my path, however. No, I made patrols. By God, not one of those screaming ants was going to escape my monstrous might, and I was going to be sure they were all gone. I would circle back and destroy whatever would jump into my sights -- there were less, sure, but the idea of attacking cowards made the mission only sweeter. Once I had finished off that wave, I would lumber forward yet again, waiting for the last few enemies to appear, the dregs of the game, the lowest of the low who deserved only to be crushed underneath my steel frame. Once I finished my rounds, I was the only one left, the only life, a god amongst the burnt and trampled character models, the most powerful being to exist in that game! Who could stand before me? Who could challenge me, their ironclad deity? I alone was terrible and great! Looking back, I may have played that level a little too much. Cruising Through This officially was my favorite part of the single-player experience. Goldeneye is known for the wonderful marriage of stealth and action, combining the player to both think and be powerful -- on the Frigate, I said "the hell" to the former. Armed with two Spectre M4s, titled Phantoms in-game, I stormed the frigate with the sole goal of carnage. Clinging to my health and armor by the skin of my teeth, no one was an exception to my bullet-fueled rampage. I would take great relish in mowing through the level a room at a time, the pure power of dual Phantoms being all I needed to conquer the level. My bloodlust was not sated once the enemies were conquered. No, I turned my eyes to another enemy entirely. The lights. Never in a game had I seen glass explode, did I believe that a bullet could act as an "off" switch for a light -- Goldeneye changed all of that. So once the enemies that fired bullets at me were finished, I took on those who would dare fire illumination. I would go from room-to-room performing crack ceiling-light disposal operations. I could not, absolutely could not, leave the level until I had taken out every conductor of electricity in my ability. With everything destructible disposed of, I finally could leave the ship, knowing I had stripped it of all possibility of life and rehabitation. Golden Lies Goldeneye even served to pit brother against brother -- until the game's release, the last time such civil strife entered the United States was the Civil War. How that war paled in comparison to the treachery, deceit, and cruelty the game inspired. My brother and I would enter a match with golden guns set as available. We would swear arcane blood oaths to one another that no, we most certainly would not use the golden guns against one another, that only monsters and charlatans would do such a thing. The items were merely there as a set-piece, to perhaps add a glistening representation of the N64′s then unbeatable graphics. We were such horrible liars. In our treacherous elementary school hearts we knew the truth, that the dialogue was merely to placate the other so we'd have time to grab the weapon first. We would always race for the golden gun. Nigh invincible, the victor would walk around the stage, dishing out a mixture of perverted justice against the loser for not being quick enough to make it to the gun. The death cries of the characters, along with the whines of the loser, would fill the rest of the evening. My brother and I still can't look at a copy of Goldeneye without devolving into an all-out fist fight. So we've firmly established that the original Goldeneye was a game that created strife and turned mere children into child soldiers. So tell us about your experiences? How was Goldeneye a "gateway to sadism" for you? We'd love to hear the stories you have to share. After all, we were all there at sometime or another!