For the last 10 years, fans of one of the Nintendo 64’s most popular games have worked on updating it for modern audiences. Now they’re about to release the latest version.
GoldenEye: Source is getting an update to version 5.0 on Friday, August 12, and you can preload it on your system right now. This is a remake of the N64 shooter GoldenEye: 007 from developer Rare. That game retold the story of the James Bond of the same name starring Pierce Brosnan — although it is best known for its four-player splitscreen multiplayer. The team responsible has worked to bring that multiplayer to today’s gamers, which means this unofficial update does not feature the single-player campaign.
This update introduces key new features like the classic Dam map, remixed weapons, and more. The development team’s goal was to bring in some highly requested content while also maintaining the look and feel of GoldenEye on a PC. That means you can play with a mouse-and-keyboard and on a high resolution, but the character models, animations, and textures all look how you remember them.
Check the game in action in the trailer below:
GoldenEye: Source is a mod for Valve’s Source engine. That’s the tech that powers beloved shooter Half-Life 2 and multiplayer hit Left4Dead. You don’t need to own one of those games, but you do need Steam (Valve’s digital-game portal) and the Source SDK Base 2007. You can download that SDK right here.
This isn’t the only fan remake in the world. Recently, a group of developers came together to unleash an updated version of the Game Boy action adventure Metroid II: Return of Samus. After that game received press, Nintendo stepped in with cease-and-desist letters to halt the distribution of that update. On the other side of the spectrum is the fan-made revival of the unreleased Star Wars: Battlefront 3 called Galaxy in Turmoil. Disney and publisher Electronic Arts stepped in to stop the development of that unlicensed game, but all parties came to an agreement that would enable it to exist as long as it dropped all references to Star Wars. That game is now headed to Steam.
GoldenEye: Source, however, has 10 years of existence online. That’s bolstered in part by its availability as a peer-to-peer torrent file, which is difficult to cease and/or desist. But it’s likely also because the rights for GoldenEye, James Bond, and other content relevant to the Nintendo 64 original have changed owners a number of times. And elements that have a clear owner, like the familiar 007 theme song, do not show up in GoldenEye: Source at all.
Hopefully, GoldenEye: Source will continue avoiding legal action, and I can play the ever-living hell out of this new update. Now, I just need to get my middle-school friends together for an all-night pizza party in my basement for a slappers-only marathon … better stock up on Mylanta and Aspirin.