Secret "Big Head Mode" Unearthed in GoldenEye 007 Remake

[John Funk]

Secret "Big Head Mode" Unearthed in GoldenEye 007 Remake

The modern remake of the classic N64 shooter has a classic N64 easter egg, too.

If you're the type of gamer to have fond memories of the original GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64, you almost assuredly remember the "DK Mode" cheat - an Easter Egg that gave characters ridiculously oversized heads and arms to make them resemble Donkey Kong (hence the name). After all, it was one of the simplest cheats in the venerated shooter to unlock: You had to beat one of the easiest, shortest and earliest missions in the game, within a ridiculously forgiving time limit, on the easiest difficulty setting. Most gamers I know unlocked DK Mode without even trying.

Though developer Eurocom had previously claimed that there would be no DK Mode in its recent remake of the game, it turns out that whoever said that was a big ol' liar. A Kotaku reader [http://kotaku.com/5689788/goldeneye-cheats-resurrect-big-head-mode-[updated]] ran a data dump on GoldenEye 007 and found three previously-unknown cheats for the game's multiplayer, which must be entered exactly as seen here:

NotIt!!!11 - Unlocks Tag in Multiplayer Split-Screen (see under Modifiers. Requires three or more players.)
Inv1s1bleEv3ryth1ng - Unlocks Invisibility Mode in Multiplayer Split-Screen (also under Modifiers. Invisibility is activated in lieu of sprint by holding B).
- This code is accepted, but what does it do? It activates Big Head Mode in Local Multiplayer. There is no toggle in the local multiplayer modifiers, the only way to switch it off is to reset the defaults; the only way to switch it on is to re-enter the code.

So, there you have it. There is, in fact, DK Mode in the new GoldenEye, it just isn't called DK Mode - which probably has something to do with the fact that the game's developer isn't owned by Nintendo this time around.

It's interesting, though: Given that so much of the marketing behind this new GoldenEye relied heavily on players' nostalgia for the original (to say nothing of it being a really good game [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/8282-Review-GoldenEye-007]), why would the developer flat-out deny that the game had a super-nostalgic feature that it did, in actuality, possess?

Sometimes I don't get you, game developers.

(via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2010/11/15/big-head-mode-found-in-goldeneye-007/])

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[JediMB]

I believe it was called Big Head Mode in Perfect Dark too, so it's not just because the developer isn't Nintendo-owned.

Well, regardless, this was a treat to read about.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Now that's not fair!

You should unlock these things in game, not by trawling through the game's data to find the cheats. Where's the fun in that? Like you said, most of us unlocked DK mode by accident, or heard about it from a friend of a friend who claimed he had done it.

That was the day, back when everyone in school knew how you could get Missingno, and then the more hardcore gamers would tell you how to get unlimited ammunition in Tomb Raider. And of course everyone tried to convince you that the Nude Raider code was genuine...

 

[Andronicus]

I dunno, big head modes in games always freaked me out. I know it's supposed to be funny, but I usually just found it creepy.

 

[samsonguy920]

Oh Mai Gawwwwwd. I think I just jizzed in my pants.

It's interesting, though: Given that so much of the marketing behind this new GoldenEye relied heavily on players' nostalgia for the original (to say nothing of it being a really good game [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/8282-Review-GoldenEye-007]), why would the developer flat-out deny that the game had a super-nostalgic feature that it did, in actuality, possess?

Cuz they know the fanboys would look anyway. It's the dev's way of having their own fun watching us discover all the fun little stuff. Like Dad watching his Son opening Christmas Presents. Of course in this case Son had to take apart the tree to get to this present.

 

[Thorvan]

I believe it was called Big Head Mode in Perfect Dark too, so it's not just because the developer isn't Nintendo-owned.

Well, regardless, this was a treat to read about.

Actually, if I remember correctly, DK mode and big head mode were two different things in Perfect Dark.