A speedrunning record for Goldeneye 007 that has lasted for 15 years was finally broken, and the new record holder needed the perfect combination of skill and luck to pull it off.
Speedrunners are still trying to master Goldeneye 007, a first-person shooter released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64 that was based on the 1995 James Bond film Goldeneye. The game is now 20 years old, but it is still making headlines as speedrunners keep trying to beat the records set by previous generations of gamers.
Record For 'Goldeneye 007' Dam Stage Broken
The world speedrunning records for all the stages of GoldenEye 007 were set at least 12 years ago. However, Karl Jobst has now beaten the record for Dam, the game's first stage.
Bryan Bosshardt set the world record of 53 seconds for Dam on Sept. 27, 2002, in the easiest difficulty of Agent. The time has since been matched 126 times, but Jobst was the first gamer to beat the time in 15 years by completing the stage at 52 seconds.
Finishing the Dam stage at the fastest possible time requires players to get as many as they can of the three speed boosts available. In addition, players are looking to trigger what is called a "fast gate," which is a quick opening of the gates that they need to pass through in the level that shaves off individual frames and precious time. Players also strafe all the time and move at certain viewing angles for faster rendering, and actually want to get shot in the back by guards as that makes them move faster.
In his successful world record attempt, Jobst was able to get all three speed boosts and triggered one "fast gate," while being able to acquire all the important time savers in the stage.
"I'm losing my mind ... look at it!" Jobst said in the session that was streamed through Twitch. He later revealed that it took him 250 hours of playing Goldeneye 007 before he was able to etch his name in the record books.
Of course, speedrunners will now be gunning to complete Goldeneye 007's Dam stage in 51 seconds.
Speedrunning Records In Other Video Games
Speedrunning has become a popular activity in video games across all platforms, as gamers always look to push the boundaries of their own skills.
A few days after it was released, a speedrunner already finished the open-world Super Mario Odyssey in less than 90 minutes. Less than two weeks later, another speedrunner set the record for hitting 100 percent in Super Mario Odyssey in 17 hours and 21 minutes.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus also received the speedrunning treatment just a couple of days after its launch, with the first-person shooter completed in less than 80 minutes.
