GoldenEye 007 Hits Nintendo Switch, Xbox: How to Play and Adjust Switch Controls

Load your PP7s with jamming and load these remote mines: Golden Eye 007 is available now on Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass subscription services. The favorite James Bond The first-person shooter originally appeared on the N64 in 1997, and this is the first re-release of the game since then.

I’m playing GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo Switch

You will need to be subscribed to Switch Online Expansion pack level for $50 per year to access GoldenEye and other N64 games. Online multiplayer is exclusive to the Switch version, the official 007 website noted, but this version is otherwise the same as the N64 original.

The default control scheme will probably feel a bit odd, but Reddit user Cuesport77 has suggested changes that will bring it in line with modern shooters. I tested this and it works beautifully (although I chose to use the left analog stick to move, the right to aim).

1. Go to System Settings > Controllers & Sensors > Change Button Assignments.

2. Create a control profile for GoldenEye.

3. Remap the left analog stick to function as the right analog stick.

4. Remap the right analog stick to function as a left analog stick.

5. Remap the ZR button to function as ZL so you can shoot ZR.

6. Remap ZL to function as L so you can aim manually with ZL.

7. (Optional) Remap L to function like B so you can activate things with L.

8. (Optional) Remap R to function like A so you can switch weapons with R.

(You will now need to navigate with the right analog stick and A/B or L/R, depending on whether you followed steps 6 and 7.)

9. Launch GoldenEye and start a mission by navigating the menus with the right analog stick.

10. Pause and go to Controls.

11. Go from 1.1 Honey to 1.2 Solitaire.

12. Go to Settingsand turn the Look Up/Down setting to Upright.

I’m playing GoldenEye 007 on Xbox

The Game Pass version playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S. Subscription costs $10 per monthbut people who own a digital copy of A rare repeat, the 30-game compilation of classics that came out in 2015, can also access GoldenEye for free. This does not apply to physical copies of Rare Replay and the game is not available for purchase separately.

“The game now offers modern control options (including support for dual analog sticks) and a constant refresh rate running at native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported),” Craig Duncan, head of Microsoft-owned developer Rare , said a blog post marking the game’s release. “There’s also a full list of Xbox achievements to aim for, some of which are sure to test the mettle of seasoned Agent 00.”

So it offers more advanced bells and whistles than the Switch version, but lacks online multiplayer (you’ll still have local split-screen).

What’s GoldenEye 007’s Big Deal?

The return of GoldenEye was revealed in a Nintendo Direct Live last September.

As a licensed tie-in to the 1995 film, which features actor Pierce Brosnan as the legendary British secret agent, the game won critical acclaim for its fun single-player campaign and epic split-screen competitive multiplayer. It became the third best-selling N64 title with 8.09 million units sold – it was topped only by Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64, which sold 11.91 million and 9.87 million copies respectively.

Rare also developed the GoldenEye sequel Perfect Dark for the N64 in 2000 before Microsoft acquired the company in 2002.

Fans have been waiting for a remaster for Microsoft Xbox Series X and S to be revealed for months, as achievements for him have been repeatedly leaked. It was reportedly slated for a late 2010 Xbox 360 release, and an apparently extended gameplay video surfaced in 2016. At the time, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the game license rights complicated efforts to put it on the console. The versions that came to Switch and Xbox are not remasters, but enhanced versions of the original game.

The original developer, David Doak, who was the face of it famously used for Bond’s in-game ally Dr. Doakexpressed both his joy and displeasure in a statement to CNET.

“It’s heartwarming and very special to see the outpouring of love and nostalgia for the game, it’s amazing to be part of the team that created something that touched so many people in a positive way,” he wrote. “It is disappointing that none of the parties involved in this re-release have made any attempt to include this original team in any way.” I feel low and disingenuous.”

Doak regularly tweets about the game and engages with fans. Last September, he posted a photo of himself dressed as his counterpart in the game, and joked that players shouldn’t “come crying” to him if they’re having trouble unlocking Invincibility’s infamous cheat. This is one of the hardest challenges in the game – you have to beat the Facility level in under 2 minutes and 5 seconds to get it. He spoke at length about the development of the game over the years and tweeted a 1997 shot of the original development team on Wednesday.

Read more: GoldenEye at 20: We Grow Martini to a Classic Game

This year marks 70 years since Bond first appeared in Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale. It was last year 60th anniversary of the Bond film franchise — with the latest movie No time to die is now available to stream Amazon Prime Video — but the series is in development as fans await its announcement Daniel Craig’s successor in the role. Hitman developer IO Interactive is too working on his own Bond game.