James Bond 007: Nightfire

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

James Bond 007: Nightfire is a First-Person Shooter released in 2002, featuring the likeness of Pierce Brosnan as secret agent James Bond in an original storyline.

The plot of the game revolves around an undercover investigation into philanthropist Raphael Drake, whose organization, Phoenix, works tirelessly to decommission old Nuclear reactors and missiles.

Or do they?

It soon becomes apparent that Phoenix’s intentions are less than scrupulous, sending Bond to Austria, Japan and an orbiting missile platform to stop Drake’s fiendish plot.

Nightfire was James Bond's second EA FPS outing after 2001's Agent Under Fire, which it is a sequel to (the CIA agent Zoe Nightshade appears in both). It was very well-received overall, with praise being given to the well-written storyline, impressive graphics and fun multi-player modes. However, it still fell in the shadow of its predecessor, GoldenEye, despite its attempts to move away by introducing a more engaging, in-depth plot.

Nightfire was released on PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Xbox, Gameboy Advance, PC and Mac. However, the PC, console and GBA versions of the game are all completely different works that follow roughly the same plot.

Tropes used in James Bond 007: Nightfire include:
  • AKA-47: The Wolfram PP7/P2K (Walther PPK/P99) and the Raptor Magnum (Desert Eagle), among others. This was the final Bond game to apply this to Walther products.
  • As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Guards at Drake's Austrian castle will repeatedly shout "Einzelfeuer!", German for "semi-auto". Appropriate to yell at allies in a firefight the first few times but quickly becomes silly as that's practically their entire vocabulary, plus enemy guards will still use full-auto or burst settings while solo guards still yell it.
  • Back Tracking: The mission Phoenix Fire sees you make your way through the office building you previously infiltrated in Night Shift; only with more armed guards and an attack helicopter.
  • Bond One-Liner: Numerous times.
    • "I’d give that one a “3”, actually."
  • Cool Car:
    • The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish.
      • Car Skiing: One of Q's gadgets, the Q Wedge, allows Bond to tilt the Vanquish on its side and skid past two blockade cars, earning the player a "Bond Moment".
    • Dominique's Shelby Cobra.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Raphael Drake.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Drake. He knows women can blind you with love; which is why you have other eyes to watch them.
  • Defector From Decadence: Alexander Mayhew, fearing he'll be killed by Drake after Bond's actions in Austria.
  • Disney Villain Death: The fate of Dominique.
  • Double Entendre: This is a Bond game.

Bond: Anything can be penetrated given the proper tool.

Rook: But if Bond does reach the facility, I'll be sure to thank him for the “makeover” he gave me.

Drake: Why waste caviar on someone who won’t live long enough to enjoy it?

  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: “It's a pity, I fell quite hard for you. And now it's time you did the same for me.”
  • Rail Shooter: The beginning segment of Paris Prelude and the missions Alpine Escape and Island Infiltration.
  • Sentry Gun: The Phoenix Ronin.
    • The Phoenix building also has ceiling mounted turrets that deploy and fire at Bond if he is detected by the security cameras.
  • Shown Their Work: The Fort Knox multi-player map on the PC version is pretty much an exact replica of what you see in Goldfinger, as well as including access to the exterior of the building.
  • Stealth-Based Mission: The mission Night Shift.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Raphael Drake is the leader of an organization that makes disused nuclear reactors and arsenals safe and founder of a World Refugee fund: He uses the nuclear weaponry he “disarms” as part of a grand plot to take over the world.
  • Weaponized Car: The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish totes machine guns and missiles, as well as a smoke-screen and the ability to transform into a submarine.
    • The Jeep you use on the Island Infiltration mission has a similar arsenal.