007 : Everything or Nothing

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing on PlayStation 2 is a cinematic third-person action adventure that puts Pierce Brosnan’s Bond at the center of an original mission, rather than adapting a single film. Developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by EA Games, it imagines a lavish 007 feature made for the PS2 era: opening-credits spectacle, globe-spanning danger, glamorous allies, outrageous weapons, and a villain with a world-threatening plan. Its story follows Bond as an investigation into stolen weaponry and experimental nanotechnology expands into a campaign against former KGB agent Nikolai Diavolo.

The PS2 game deliberately shows Bond on screen. From an over-the-shoulder viewpoint, players guide him through firefights, take advantage of cover, line up shots with the Walther P99 and trade blows at close range. The approach makes room for the character’s physicality: quick attacks, contextual moves, stealthier positioning and daring escapes all sit alongside gunplay. Bond Sense is the key reconnaissance tool, briefly slowing the action to spotlight useful objects, threats and possible interactions. It is a simple but fitting way to make observation part of the fantasy instead of treating every problem as a shooting gallery.

Q Branch supplies the toys expected from a James Bond adventure. Bond uses a wristwatch strobe, a remote-controlled Q-Spider, a rappel device and other gadgets to scout, distract, bypass obstacles and turn the environment to his advantage. Missions reward stylish accomplishments as Bond Moments, encouraging players to notice opportunities rather than simply clear an area. The result is an action game with a real sense of variety: a tight interior shootout can lead into an improvised escape, a gadget-driven objective or a theatrical stunt without losing the story’s momentum.

Driving is just as important to Everything or Nothing’s PS2 identity. Bond takes the wheel of the Aston Martin Vanquish and Porsche Cayenne Turbo, rides a Triumph Daytona 600 motorcycle and tackles sequences with other specialized vehicles. These chapters give the game the rhythm of a Bond film, changing from infiltrations and battles to chases, races and destructive set pieces. Vehicle gadgets reinforce the theme as well, so the cars feel like Q Branch equipment rather than ordinary transport. The home-console campaign combines these driving missions with third-person action in ways the separately developed Game Boy Advance version does not.

The production is unusually star-driven for a licensed PS2 game. Brosnan returns as James Bond, with Judi Dench as M and John Cleese as Q; Richard Kiel also reprises Jaws. Willem Dafoe brings menace to Diavolo, while Heidi Klum plays Dr. Katya Nadanova, Shannon Elizabeth appears as geologist Serena St. Germaine and Mýa portrays NSA agent Mya Starling. Their voices and likenesses help the original plot feel connected to the contemporary Bond films. Mýa also performs the game’s title song, adding a proper Bond-theme flourish before the first mission begins.

Across its campaign, the game moves Bond through snowy mountains, Egypt, Peru, New Orleans and Moscow, mixing covert entries with broad, high-stakes confrontations. Familiar Bond ingredients are all here: briefing-room banter, betrayals, secret facilities, eccentric henchmen, impossible technology and final-act machinery that needs stopping immediately. The writing treats the adventure as its own story set around the era of Die Another Day, while using faces and roles that longtime film fans will recognize. It is an accessible place to play as Brosnan’s Bond without needing to have watched a particular movie first.

Everything or Nothing also offers a cooperative campaign for two players, casting the pair as unnamed MI6 operatives rather than placing two Bonds in the story. The co-op material reuses some settings but provides its own scenarios, preserving the blend of shooting, gadgets and vehicles. On PS2, this release additionally supported an online form of co-op when the service was active; those official servers are no longer available, so modern play is centered on the single-player story and local multiplayer options. That detail matters when comparing PS2 copies with GameCube and Xbox editions.

For retro PlayStation 2 players, 007: Everything or Nothing remains a distinctive Bond game because it commits to the whole spy-movie package. Its camera lets the player see the tuxedo, stunts and hand-to-hand moves that distinguish 007, while the shifting mission types keep the adventure from becoming a single-note shooter. Whether the appeal is Brosnan’s final turn as Bond in a video game, the all-star supporting cast, gadget experimentation or explosive vehicle action, this PS2 release delivers a broad, polished slice of early-2000s licensed action.