In the 2000s, you would seemingly expect that the PC version of a game like this would be a port of a console version. However, the PC version of Nightfire was developed separately by Gearbox. While they had access to some of the same resources of the console version, the differences are rather interesting.
The biggest difference is how the game feels. The PC version is built using the “GoldSrc” engine that was built for the original Half-Life (and Gearbox-developed Counter Strike). While this may sound like a positive thing, in Nightfire it just feels floaty and dethatched. Its limitations are very clear in this game and you can see why Valve created Source for Half-Life 2.
This version completely skips the opening section – it skips all vehicle sections. It opens up at the castle where M tells you to get into the truck (in the console version, they let you figure this out). The problem is…this is a closed top truck. There’s no way to get in it. You can get on top of it and crouch, but enemies still stop you. You get a “Bond move” jingle but it really doesn’t feel deserved.
Inside the castle walls and the game feels a lot more linear. Gadgets are used to find extra ammo and armour, but not for alternative routes. It’s very straightforward and just feels restrictive.
Upon getting inside the party, I was surprised to find that the cutscenes, while pre-rendered, actually reflect the different level design of this version. You also have an extra objective here: take photos of all the women. The game has a reason for it (which doesn’t affect the story in any way) and it just feels a bit strange and creepy. On that note – the X-ray glasses show skeletons for men, but reveals underwear for women.
Escaping this castle and everything just feels less detailed than the console version, and this section once again is just a single path.
Instead of the car chase escape, we have to sneak into an airfield to disable backup and get a plane to escape. Get spotted before a certain point and it’s game over (on the plus side, this game does let you save mid-mission). You get asked to deal with searchlights, but they make no difference: enemies in this game have amazing eyesight and you’ll find yourself randomly failing the mission often, having no idea who spotted you. Also, while this level looks open, there’s still only one way to progress.
Half way through the mission and it becomes an escort mission as you use a sniper to protect your ally, Zoe. At least in this, the enemy’s extreme eyesight means they often take pot shots at you instead of their target. The enemy AI is pretty non-existent, they never look for cover or dodge. On multiple occasions, they lost track of Bond and just shot at nothing for eternity.
The Japanese house level is more of the same feeling: this is a toned down and linear version. There are some nice secret routes in the console version which are just gone here. That said, even though it feels linear, it’s oddly also easy to get lost. The lack of enemy AI also makes the ninja fight extremely easy.
Back to stealth. One positive change is that your dart gun is now a pen, which suits Bond more. The problem is that the level design is still terrible and the enemies can see you from astounding distances (the game, knowing this, puts enemies on walkways you can’t get to). I also had to look up how to progress – turns out a keycard wasn’t being rendered.
Half way though this level you get to climb up the wall. This is very cool…to start with. This section goes on for what feels forever as you wait under windows for enemies to turn around. There’s more tedious stealth but on the roof, you get to enter a penthouse, which is a nice change to jumping straight to the helicopter fight.
Next up is the game’s best level – and one that wasn’t in the console version. You have to infiltrate an astronaut training facility. You also get a cutscene that happened in the second to last level of the console version, as one of the villains vows revenge on Bond.
The first part of this isn’t anything special, but then you get into a space suit and enter the training – cleverly done by being underwater. You don’t get full underwater or space controls, though, it’s more of a low gravity with Bond jumping higher and slower. It does end with a good battle with the villain, so he has a better moment in this.
Bond gets captured in the same way, but this level is different. Bond is trapped in a lift and enemies take out huge chunks of their building to take pot shots. It’s incredibly tedious and ends with a really hard to see grapple point (the first time you have to use it) and if you don’t use it quickly enough, you die. The rest of the level is an extremely long slog. It felt like it would never end.
Time for another vehicle-replacement mission. As you start, your objectives pop up saying “Agent McCall has been taken hostage by Phoenix Commandos. Find and rescue Alura”. This capture doesn’t happen in a cutscene (even though this cutscene is exclusive to this version) and isn’t mentioned in dialogue, that objective is all you get, after she was just introduced saving Bond a few seconds earlier.
This mission is fine, there’s some surprisingly open sections – although inly in terms of empty spaces, the level progression is still extremely linear. This mission is decent.
While I hated the penultimate mission in the console version, this one is just very, very tedious and boring. Difficulty in this game is all over the place, and done entirely by just throwing a ton of enemies at you. Enemies on the island also take a lot more hits than previous missions, because bullet sponges and more enemies are all the game can do for difficulty.
The final mission is extremely anti-climatic. You have an annoying jumping section (using a similar jetpack mechanic as Agent Under Fire where you get one burst upwards, although it likes to just not work sometimes) and disarm the nuclear missiles in a small room, before shooting the big bad as he stands around. The first time this level loaded for me, I didn’t have the spacesuit or laser, which was quite confusing as I couldn’t progress.
The PC version of Nightfire is just strange, and comes across in many ways like a PS1 title. It does have one mission which would have been nice to see in the console version, and a few interesting ideas, but ultimately, it’s not fun to play.
The biggest difference is how the game feels. The PC version is built using the “GoldSrc” engine that was built for the original Half-Life (and Gearbox-developed Counter Strike). While this may sound like a positive thing, in Nightfire it just feels floaty and dethatched. Its limitations are very clear in this game and you can see why Valve created Source for Half-Life 2.
This version completely skips the opening section – it skips all vehicle sections. It opens up at the castle where M tells you to get into the truck (in the console version, they let you figure this out). The problem is…this is a closed top truck. There’s no way to get in it. You can get on top of it and crouch, but enemies still stop you. You get a “Bond move” jingle but it really doesn’t feel deserved.
Inside the castle walls and the game feels a lot more linear. Gadgets are used to find extra ammo and armour, but not for alternative routes. It’s very straightforward and just feels restrictive.
Upon getting inside the party, I was surprised to find that the cutscenes, while pre-rendered, actually reflect the different level design of this version. You also have an extra objective here: take photos of all the women. The game has a reason for it (which doesn’t affect the story in any way) and it just feels a bit strange and creepy. On that note – the X-ray glasses show skeletons for men, but reveals underwear for women.
Escaping this castle and everything just feels less detailed than the console version, and this section once again is just a single path.
Instead of the car chase escape, we have to sneak into an airfield to disable backup and get a plane to escape. Get spotted before a certain point and it’s game over (on the plus side, this game does let you save mid-mission). You get asked to deal with searchlights, but they make no difference: enemies in this game have amazing eyesight and you’ll find yourself randomly failing the mission often, having no idea who spotted you. Also, while this level looks open, there’s still only one way to progress.
Half way through the mission and it becomes an escort mission as you use a sniper to protect your ally, Zoe. At least in this, the enemy’s extreme eyesight means they often take pot shots at you instead of their target. The enemy AI is pretty non-existent, they never look for cover or dodge. On multiple occasions, they lost track of Bond and just shot at nothing for eternity.
The Japanese house level is more of the same feeling: this is a toned down and linear version. There are some nice secret routes in the console version which are just gone here. That said, even though it feels linear, it’s oddly also easy to get lost. The lack of enemy AI also makes the ninja fight extremely easy.
Back to stealth. One positive change is that your dart gun is now a pen, which suits Bond more. The problem is that the level design is still terrible and the enemies can see you from astounding distances (the game, knowing this, puts enemies on walkways you can’t get to). I also had to look up how to progress – turns out a keycard wasn’t being rendered.
Half way though this level you get to climb up the wall. This is very cool…to start with. This section goes on for what feels forever as you wait under windows for enemies to turn around. There’s more tedious stealth but on the roof, you get to enter a penthouse, which is a nice change to jumping straight to the helicopter fight.
Next up is the game’s best level – and one that wasn’t in the console version. You have to infiltrate an astronaut training facility. You also get a cutscene that happened in the second to last level of the console version, as one of the villains vows revenge on Bond.
The first part of this isn’t anything special, but then you get into a space suit and enter the training – cleverly done by being underwater. You don’t get full underwater or space controls, though, it’s more of a low gravity with Bond jumping higher and slower. It does end with a good battle with the villain, so he has a better moment in this.
Bond gets captured in the same way, but this level is different. Bond is trapped in a lift and enemies take out huge chunks of their building to take pot shots. It’s incredibly tedious and ends with a really hard to see grapple point (the first time you have to use it) and if you don’t use it quickly enough, you die. The rest of the level is an extremely long slog. It felt like it would never end.
Time for another vehicle-replacement mission. As you start, your objectives pop up saying “Agent McCall has been taken hostage by Phoenix Commandos. Find and rescue Alura”. This capture doesn’t happen in a cutscene (even though this cutscene is exclusive to this version) and isn’t mentioned in dialogue, that objective is all you get, after she was just introduced saving Bond a few seconds earlier.
This mission is fine, there’s some surprisingly open sections – although inly in terms of empty spaces, the level progression is still extremely linear. This mission is decent.
While I hated the penultimate mission in the console version, this one is just very, very tedious and boring. Difficulty in this game is all over the place, and done entirely by just throwing a ton of enemies at you. Enemies on the island also take a lot more hits than previous missions, because bullet sponges and more enemies are all the game can do for difficulty.
The final mission is extremely anti-climatic. You have an annoying jumping section (using a similar jetpack mechanic as Agent Under Fire where you get one burst upwards, although it likes to just not work sometimes) and disarm the nuclear missiles in a small room, before shooting the big bad as he stands around. The first time this level loaded for me, I didn’t have the spacesuit or laser, which was quite confusing as I couldn’t progress.
The PC version of Nightfire is just strange, and comes across in many ways like a PS1 title. It does have one mission which would have been nice to see in the console version, and a few interesting ideas, but ultimately, it’s not fun to play.