Stylistically at least, 007’s latest PS one incarnation stands head and shoulders above its painfully mediocre predecessor, Tomorrow Never Dies. From the slick menu screens to the beautifully detailed levels, The World Is Not Enough embodies Bond’s hi–tech elegance like no title before it. If nothing else, kudos should be given to Black Ops for showing how far the humble PS one has come since the warp–heavy days of Code Name: Tenka. The character models are as detailed as the levels they inhabit, ensuring that rabid fanboys everywhere will spend hours staring at the developer’s polygon–perfect rendition of that deluxe edition, syntho–babe, Denise Richards.

Aurally, The World Is Not Enough is almost as appealing, with the only flaw in an otherwise compelling package stemming from the flat line–readings of Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang himself, sounding less like the world’s suavest secret agent than some loser waiting for a 4 A.M. pizza delivery. Fortunately, the propulsive soundtrack and a welcome appearance by the inimitable John Cleese more than compensate for mini–Brosnan’s lackluster performance.

Unfortunately, while this latest Bond title is as slick and exciting as the movie from which it takes its inspiration, it is as empty as a supermodel at a neurologist’s convention. Taking a simplified page out of Goldeneye’s book, players oscillate between relatively facile infiltrations and more adrenaline–intensive bursts of PPK–hoisting gunplay. Unlike Goldeneye, however, neither of these game play styles is deep enough to hold a player’s interest for more than an hour at a time. Despite the presence of security cameras and the occasional blaring klaxon alarm, most espionage segments boil down to little more than scripted sequences and the occasional bout of old–fashioned button pushing. Consequently, gamers will find themselves spending most of their time blasting villains in the exciting, but rather repetitive, action scenes. While the game engine’s ability to pack a location with gun–toting terrorists is commendable, the lack of intelligence displayed by said aggressors is significantly less appealing. For all intents and purposes, these villains are little more than humanoid gun turrets, piling into the room and then locking on with their deadeye aim — Medal of Honor this isn’t.

Despite these failings, the game does remain relatively enjoyable — big dumb fun in the Hollywood blockbuster tradition. There are a variety of 007–esque gadgets to play with, numerous weapons to find and even the occasional Bond girl to function as a momentary diversion from all that shooting. Still, it isn’t too long before all that single–player excitement starts to wane, sending players off to look for further jollies in the form of an action–packed multiplayer deathmatch. Unfortunately, while this feature is present in each and every other TWINE iteration, PS one gamers are once again left out in the cold — a disappointing turn of events, given that multiplayer was a significant factor in maintaining Goldeneye’s fabled longevity.

As a shallow movie–licensed action experience, The World Is Not Enough succeeds reasonably well. It’s just a shame that the developers couldn’t manage to do more with its impressive game engine than create a simplistic shooter, sacrificing depth and a much–needed multiplayer mode in the name of slick glossiness. Let us just hope that Bond’s next console gaming adventure provides us with a little more depth to accompany all that glitz.