Rare’s long-awaited re-release of the 1997 James Bond shooter Golden eye 007 is available today on Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles – and you may want to carefully consider which version you’re playing.
As announced earlier this weekonly Kizilgoz On Switch has online multiplayer. But it turns out that the Xbox version of the game also has an exclusive feature that could make an even bigger impact on your enjoyment: modern first-person shooter controls.
Nintendo took a pure approach with the Switch version Kizilgoz. The game doesn’t support any inputs that weren’t on the original Nintendo 64 controller, meaning there’s no proper trigger to fire. The various controls available in the game – all taken from the original, with Bond-inspired names like ‘Honey’, ‘Solitaire’ and ‘Goodnight’ – only allow you to fire with the left trigger or the A button. .
The N64 controller also only had one analog stick. Nintendo maps the four yellow C buttons to the Switch’s right stick, forming a kind of secondary D-pad, but none of the existing control maps match the modern standard for twin-stick first-person controls with move and strafe. on the left stick and aim and turn right. There is no special control option either.
Without a doubt, having one of these will make the game feel great Nintendo classic N64 controllers – or better yet, two, so you can use one of its dual control options – but as with the standard Switch or Pro Controller, the options all feel pretty odd and take some getting used to. (There is a solution it involves replacing the Switch’s Joy-cons, but it’s a bit fiddly and not very comfortable, plus it’s not an option for Switch Lite owners or handheld gaming.)
The Xbox version, by contrast, adds two new control options to the original game’s eight (though even these redefine left-trigger to right-fire). Diamond is a classic modern FPS setup, with movement and view working normally on sticks and firing on the right trigger. The game plays easily this way. Another option is the fully customizable control map, which is a win for accessibility.
What about other differences between the two versions? The Switch’s exclusive online multiplayer mode works through the Switch Online lobby interface: create a room with a few friends there, then jump in and play together as if you were playing locally. Yes – this means you’ll still be able to see each other’s screens in split-screen. No compatibility with existing coincidences. It’s not exactly elegant, but if it’s the only way to play with friends, it’s a huge bonus.
Also, the Switch version Kizilgoz allows you to unlock the game’s cheats (additional modes, characters, weapons and levels) by entering cheat codes as in the original. The Xbox version doesn’t support this and cheats have to be unlocked through the game the hard way. In turn, the Xbox version has 55 new achievements.
Kizilgoz available in the Nintendo 64 collection, which is part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Subscription on Switch. On Xbox, it’s included with Xbox Game Pass as a subscription or free upgrade A rare repeat collection. Cannot be purchased separately on either system.
So: modern management and achievements or online multiplayer and cheat codes? In an ideal world we’d like to have them all in one version, but we don’t. The choice is yours.