This James Bond adventure needs a bit more shaking and stirring before it can be a standout among the current breed of console shooters. It’s not that The World Is Not Enough is an awful game–it just seems that the world’s favorite superspy, despite his many gadgets and guns, just doesn’t compete with recent offerings like Medal of Honor Underground.

007 isn’t known largely for bursting into rooms with guns blazing, mowing down millions of baddies; so, many parts of TWINE require stealth and cunning, instead of an itchy trigger finger. Sadly, most enemies can’t shoot straight, and, if you move quickly enough, they’ll forget that they ever saw you trying to break into that high-security area.

TWINE features quite a few clips from the movie that keep the story moving along. However, the music features a repetitive, awful remix of the James Bond theme that quickly becomes grating. Fortunately, the highly detailed scenery breathes life into the locales that are featured in the 11 alarmingly short levels of the game.

However, what hurts this game most is its persistently generic gameplay. While the gadgets are cool, the level design is somewhat plain. Also, the enemies and other characters all display a rather bland, uninterested look. The multiplayer element that sold many a copy of Goldeneye 007 and The World Is Not Enough for the Nintendo 64 also is completely absent–a shame.

All in all, you could do a lot worse than help 007 save the world again; but, once you get past the name, music, good looks, and merely decent gameplay, you’ll find that TWINE still doesn’t offer enough to make it a standout in a crowded genre. –Mark Brooks