Technologies

GoldenEye 007 Hits Nintendo Switch, Xbox: How to Play, Fix Switch Controls

The 1997 Nintendo 64 first-person shooter brings classic James Bond action to Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass.

Load up your silenced PP7s and prime those remote mines: GoldenEye 007 is available to play via the Nintendo Switch Online and Xbox Game Pass subscription services. The beloved James Bond first-person shooter originally hit the N64 in 1997, and this is the game’s first rerelease since then.

Playing GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo Switch

You’ll need to be subscribed to Switch Online’s $50-a-year Expansion Pack tier to access GoldenEye and other N64 games. Online multiplayer is exclusive to the Switch release, the official 007 website noted, but this version is otherwise the same as the N64 original.

The default control scheme will likely feel a little weird, but Reddit user Cuesport77 suggested changes that’ll bring it in line with modern shooters. I tested this, and it works beautifully (though I opted to use the left analog stick to move around, right for aiming).

1. Go to System Settings > Controllers and Sensors > Change Button Assignments.

2. Create a control profile for GoldenEye.

3. Remap the left analog stick to function as right analog.

4. Remap the right analog stick to function as left analog.

5. Remap ZR button to function as ZL, so you can fire with ZR.

6. Remap ZL to function as L, so you can manual aim with ZL.

7. (Optional) Remap L to function as B, so you can activate things with L.

8. (Optional) Remap R to function as A, so you can switch weapons with R.

(You will now have to navigate using the right analog stick and either A/B or L/R, depending on whether you followed steps 6 and 7.)

9. Launch GoldenEye and begin a mission, navigating menus with the right analog stick.

10. Pause, and go over to Controls.

11. Switch from 1.1 Honey to 1.2 Solitaire.

12. Go over to Settings, and turn the Look Up/Down setting to Upright.

Playing GoldenEye 007 on Xbox

The Game Pass version is playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S. A subscription costs $10 a month, though people who own a digital copy of Rare Replay, the 30-game compilation of classics that came out in 2015, can also get access to GoldenEye for free. That doesn’t apply to physical copies of Rare Replay, and the game isn’t available to purchase separately.

«The game now offers modern control options (including support for dual analog sticks) and a consistent refresh rate, running at a native 16:9 resolution up to 4K Ultra HD (where supported),» Craig Duncan, head of Microsoft-owned developer Rare, said in a blog post marking the game’s release. «There’s also a full roster of Xbox achievements to strive for, some of which are sure to test the mettle of proficient 00 Agents.»

So it offers more modern bells and whistles than the Switch release, but lacks online multiplayer (you’ll still have local splitscreen).

What’s the big deal about GoldenEye 007?

GoldenEye’s return was revealed in a Nintendo Direct livestream last September.

As a licensed tie-in to the 1995 movie that introduced actor Pierce Brosnan as the legendary British secret agent, the game won critical acclaim for its fun single-player campaign and epic split-screen competitive multiplayer. It became the N64’s third bestselling title, with 8.09 million units sold — it was only topped by Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64, which sold 11.91 million and 9.87 million copies, respectively.

Rare also developed GoldenEye followup Perfect Dark for the N64 in 2000, before Microsoft acquired the company in 2002.

Fans have been expecting a remaster for Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S to be revealed for months, since achievements for it have leaked multiple times. It was reportedly planned for release on Xbox 360 in the late 2010s, and an apparent extended gameplay video appeared in 2016. At the time, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the game’s licensing rights complicated efforts to get it on the console. The versions that came to Switch and Xbox aren’t remasters, but upscaled versions of the original game.

Original developer David Doak, whose face was famously used for in-game Bond ally Dr. Doak, expressed both his delight and discontent in a statement to CNET.

«It is heartwarming and very special to see the outpouring of love and nostalgia for the game, it is amazing to have been part of the team that created something that has touched so many people in a positive way,» he wrote. «Disappointing that none of the parties involved in this re-release have made any attempt to involve that original team in any way. Feels shabby and disingenuous.»

Doak regularly tweets about the game and engages with fans. Last September, he posted a shot of himselef dressed like his in-game counterpart, and joked that players shouldn’t «come crying» to him if they have trouble unlocking the infamous Invincibility cheat. That’s one of the game’s most difficult challenges — you have to beat the Facility level in under 2 minutes, 5 seconds to get it. He’s spoken at length about the game’s development over the years, and tweeted a 1997 shot of the original development team on Wednesday.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Bond’s first appearance, in author Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale. Last year was the 60th anniversary of the Bond movie franchise — with latest film No Time to Die now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video — but the series is in a state of flux as fans await the announcement of Daniel Craig’s successor in the role. Hitman developer IO Interactive is also working on its own Bond game.

Technologies

You Can Now Watch Mini Dramas on TikTok’s Standalone ‘PineDrama’ App

Single Dad Hunt, Cohabitating Romance and other bite-size sugar fixes have earned their own app.

TikTok looks like it’s doubling down on the «pine» in its mini dramas with the new PineDrama app, now available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. It’s free, likely until the company has amassed a large enough content library worth paying for.

At the moment, everything looks like romantic potboilers, but since microdramas are popular and getting more so even as I type, that’s bound to change. You’ve probably seen microdramas and the various apps with which you watch them in your social media ads — they’re short movies or TV shows that last one or two minutes per episode.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The PineDrama app is fairly basic. There’s a central Home screen with your feed and trending videos, along with access to your history and all videos. Discover offers just slightly larger thumbnails for browsing all or trending videos. Inbox is for system and new follower notifications, and a Profile view shows you your favorites, how many people you’re following, and your followers and likes.

Though a standalone app, PineDrama uses the main TikTok sign-in system, so you still need a TikTok account to access it. Given that the content looks a little like what’s available in the TikTok app, anyone who wants to use PineDrama probably has an account anyway.

Personally, I’m not a fan of miniseries. I’ve never been able to read comics until they’ve been collected into volumes, and can’t stream shows until an entire season — sometimes every season — is out. (None of which makes sense, given I’ve got the attention span of a cat in a room full of laser pointers.)

But sometimes you need a dopamine hit, and PineDrama lets you watch every single episode sequentially. And viewing just the first frame of each is kind of mesmerizing: From kiss to post-coital to packing a suitcase in just three swipes.

We reached out to TikTok for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Jan. 17

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 17.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? You’ll have to know your regional food specialties in order to solve 8-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «It’s just so-so»
Answer: MEH

4A clue: «Impression, Sunrise» painter
Answer: MONET

6A clue: Ca on the periodic table
Answer: CALCIUM

8A clue: City that’s famous for its lemon pepper wings
Answer: ATLANTA

9A clue: Reality show episode in which cast members gather again to bicker
Answer: REUNION

10A clue: Common wall coverings in a dorm room
Answer: POSTERS

11A clue: Boxing bout enders, for short
Answer: KOS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Snail, clam or squid
Answer: MOLLUSK

2D clue: 2021 Disney movie with the hit song «We Don’t Talk About Bruno»
Answer: ENCANTO

3D clue: Tushes
Answer: HEINIES

4D clue: San ___, city between San Francisco and Palo Alto
Answer: MATEO

5D clue: Private teacher
Answer: TUTOR

6D clue: Complain
Answer: CARP

7D clue: «Dogs are a ___ best friend»
Answer: MANS

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

ChatGPT Ads Coming Soon for Free and New $8 Go Tier Users

OpenAI says that it won’t serve ads based on sensitive topics like mental health or politics.

OpenAI has announced that it’s testing ads for its free tier and new $8-per-month Go memberships, and the ads will be based on a user’s current conversation.

OpenAI says the ads will be clearly marked and appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers «when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.»

Meanwhile, the company says the new Go tier enables 10 times as many messages, file uploads, and image creations as the free tier, and also remembers more details about you over time. The new $8 Go tier joins ChatGPT Plus at $ 20 per month and ChatGPT Pro at $ 200 per month.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The company says it won’t show ads on «sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health or politics.» It also said it won’t show ads to users who tell the chatbot they are under 18 or to users the system predicts are minors. Furthermore, the company says it will keep individual conversations private from advertisers and never sell user data to advertisers.

The company also says that users can turn off personalization and can clear the data used for ads at any time.

Last week, OpenAI announced a new ChatGPT Health service, which enables users to upload their health data. However, privacy experts warned that the company wasn’t covered by a health provider’s privacy protections.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)