>Best Use of Celebrity in a Game

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The World Is Not Enough
Electronic Arts/ PS2/ PC/ Eurocom/ N64/ BlackOps/ PSX


Too much celebrity is never enough.

The world makes celebrities out of anyone and everyone. From movie and rock stars to news anchors and sports figures, from royalty and politicians to heinous criminals and the everyday hapless Joe who falls into a well. The title of celebrity doesn't have the same venerable status that it once had. The public at large gawks over anyone who ever appeared on television. These are people who don't need nor deserve the same celebrity as the Pope, the Queen of England, Lauren Bacall or Darth Vader. Unfortunately, because of the public's insatiable desire to label everyone, we've come to acknowledge this accretion of new "celebrities" without a second thought; and that is why Madison Avenue has enabled corporate and not-so corporate America to cash-in.

The videogame industry is not immune to this development as this year's line-up of games at E3 included a diverse compilation of personalities from the big and small screens, animation, music, and literature. Ranging from the likes of Michael Jackson and Pamela Lee Anderson to Clive Barker and The Simpsons; this is the future of videogame marketing…whether you like it or not.

The employment of the celebrity endorsement may be blatantly obvious with the use of the physical likeness and real voice, or subtle and restrained as a hidden character, or even a voice-over or simple preface to the game's title. Either way, the desired effect is the same: to obtain the public's attention and cater to their inner voice that says, "If a celebrity is involved, it must be good."

The most successful of these celebrity-affiliated games coalesce in the sports arena, as, each and every year, sports titles are released with a modern day icon attached. One of the more popular of these sports titles is Madden NFL, which continues to flourish after ten years on the market; this year's model for the PlayStation 2 was all the rage at E3. South Peak unveiled Mia Hamm Soccer 64, marking videogames' foray into women's professional sports. Sammy Sosa is the poster boy for 3DO's High Heat and their latest venture aimed at a younger generation: Softball Slam. Besides starring in NBA Live, Michael Jordan links up with golf's latest superstar in Tiger Woods PGA Tour from Electronic Arts. Not to be outdone by this trans-genre scheme, Midway's Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 features a Thrilla in Manilla, of sorts, as pop-superstar Michael Jackson moonwalks his way onto the canvas.

Celebrities have pulled in less than stellar performances in the genre of movie-inspired games. These games tend to be the least prosperous as they are notorious for being rushed to market in order to meet box office deadlines. The Fifth Element and Batman were films that left moviegoers with a sense of awe and wonderment, but the tie-in games tainted an otherwise extraordinary experience. Only a rare few deliver an experience that equals or surpasses its inspiration such as GoldenEye, which didn't see store shelves until two years after the movie's premiere; corroborating the theory that movie tie-ins don't need to be hastened in order to coincide with their counterpart's theatrical release. Rarer still is that atypical breed of game that stands on its own; both the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises have managed to become entities unto themselves.

The realm of the first-person shooters doesn't have a reputation for utilizing celebrities unless there is a movie or television tie-in; GoldenEye being the prevailing example. Although the likenesses of stars Pierce Brosnan, Famke Janssen, Robbie Coltrane, and Sean Bean were utilized in the game and the packaging, the actors themselves had nothing to do with the game. Nonetheless, since GoldenEye is based on Ian Flemming's fictional character of British Secret Agent James Bond 007, the celebrity-affiliation assisted in the marketing and the appeal of the game; of course, the superb gameplay developed by Rare was the instrumental element in the game's triumph. Tomorrow Never Dies failed to deliver what Bond fans had come to expect, thanks, in large part, to comparisons with GoldenEye. Now Electronic Arts has unveiled The World Is Not Enough, the latest endeavour in the first-person, action meets spy experience. This is the first Bond title that will be made available across the gaming board on the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Nintendo 64, and the PC (Dreamcast being the notable exemption) as EA continues to court Sony and slight Sega.

This time around, players make their way through the 3D environments of The World Is Not Enough, encountering perfidious villains and supportive allies, both from the film and newly created for this game. As is standard in anything and everything Bond, Q-lab's weapons and gadgets fill out Bond's arsenal for his licence to kill. Sound, music and effect, empowers the gameplay experience; bullets ricocheting off the plaster inches from your head, the moan and whine off a downed assailant, or the thunderous riff of the Bond theme.

Electronic Arts is developing the PC and PlayStation 2 incarnations, which feature the Quake III Arena engine, bringing to fruition the photo-realistic quality of Bond's adventures. This engine allows for smooth and curved rendering, textures that detail every nuance, and fogs occupying space with dynamic fluidity that would make even John Carpenter cringe.

Tommorrow Never Dies was the first Bond release from Black Ops for the PlayStation. In this second attempt, they have created a new graphics engine that will maximize the rendering for Sony's console. A refurbished targeting system provides lethal, long and close range, accuracy. As is standard in many PlayStation titles, scenes and clips from the motion picture are interspersed to seamlessly move the story along.

Nintendo started it all when they released GoldenEye three years ago-it is because of this game that many gamers bought an N64. This is the official N64 Bond sequel and Eurocom is building it from scratch. Featuring single, two, and four-player modes, the engine is designed to optimize an invariable high frame rate for fast and graceful gameplay. An Expansion Pack will enhance the overall visual impression, but is not required.

The World Is Not Enough is a long awaited sequel in the Bond franchise after the disappointing effort put forth by Tomorrow Never Dies. This game harkens back to GoldenEye and what made Rare's outing flourish over Black Ops'. GoldenEye needed to be updated for the new millennium and Electronic Arts has dusted off Rare's recipe book and added a few touches of their own to make this game unique yet familiar. This is the title that the PlayStation 2 needs to boost sales; a recognizable brand name with clout and proven success-the only fear they will encounter is Free Radical's and Eidos' Timesplitters from the team that developed GoldenEye and Perfect Dark.

-Rob Koval

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