One of the games that grabbed my attention more than most at E3 2010 was Activision’s remake of the class James Bond first person shooter, GoldenEye. GoldenEye, based closely on the James Bond film of the same name, originally debuted on the N64 as product by Rare back in 1997.

The remake is developed by Eurocom and it takes what we loved most about the original, improving it all for the current generation. It is exclusively available on the Wii this October and at E3 last week, we got up close and personal with the title through a private Activision demo. While you may have read our GoldenEye multiplayer hands-on, check after the jump for all the details on new game features, multiplayer options, the new actors and more!

From seeing the game in action through a demo of the first level and through some good hands-on time in multiplayer with one of the devs, we acquired a good understanding of what GoldenEye 007 for the Wii is trying to accomplish. Here's the short of it:

  • Modern melee function inserted to replace having to switch weapons to your fists. If you sneak up to enemies, your character can perform cool takedown sequences.
  • Destructible environments inserted to keep you moving forward instead of just waiting for enemy heads to pop up.
  • 4-player splitscreen and 8-player online.
  • 40 characters but only 5 maps (I don't get that part considering the first game had 20).
  • Some characters have special abilities (i.e. Oddjob's instant-kill hat throw).
  • Daniel Craig does the voice of Bond and his stunt double did the motion capture work.
  • Original Goldeneye writer brought up to augment the script for the game remake.
  • Another British actor takes over the role of Alec Trevelyan (Agent 006), replacing Sean Bean who portrayed the character in the film and first game.
  • Guns act and feel powerful, especially the sniper rifle which was a weak weapon in both GoldenEye and its spiritual N64 successor, Perfect Dark.
  • Faster Paced Gameplay.
  • Added environmental details including weather and pouring water off of towers, resulting from the rain.
  • Play with Wii Remote and Nunchuk or the Classic Controller (my preferred method).

During the demo, the two Activision reps providing us the private demonstration emphasized the ideas of “consequences for your actions” and “player choice.” By that they mean when you approach a situation in a level, you can run in guns-a-blazin’ or you can take the more stealth route. While this isn’t a new or uncommon aspect to modern first person shooters, the revamped Goldeneye title looks to extend upon this gameplay feature which was only touched on in the original game.

To accomplish this, GoldenEye 007 now features reaction and reinforcement timers to give players a more “Bond-like” experience.  These essentially give you the opportunity, once noticed, to kill your enemies within the time limit before more reinforcements arrive. In the case of the reaction timer, you're given the opportunity to remove yourself from the area in sticky situations so as to not get noticed. Some people do like to play it stealth y'know.

The best way to describe the new GoldenEye is to say that it’s Call of Duty Light. By no means, would the features and graphics title warrant it as a full retail release on the Xbox 360 or PS3 but as a Wii title, it makes for a legitimate hardcore game for a console in desperate need of them. Nostalgia and interest from the younger generations of gamers should spark strong interest in the Goldeneye remake and we know Activision will spare no expense in marketing this title.

GoldenEye will release on the Nintendo Wii this holiday season for $49.99. I'm in but that price point is questionable considering that for $10 more you can get Activision's other big release, Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Check out the GoldenEye Wii trailer if you haven’t seen it yet and visit all of our other E3 2010 coverage. Share your thoughts with us on Twitter @GameRant and @rob_keyes.