I was born in that special time period where I literally grew up with video games and the evolution of the home system. One of my first memories was a bunch of neighbors huddled in a garage playing pong. Playing Mario and Zelda on the NES, then Mario Kart on SNES, but it wasn't until Nintendo 64 did we really start to see the future of gaming. And no game did that like Golden Eye on Nintendo 64.
For me it was college when James Bond Golden Eye 007 came out and it revolutionized how games were played. I saw first hand how four people could compete in multiplayer matches on a single console. This was new at the time.
Sure there were other games that could play four, but Golden Eye was shooter. A shooter with balanced maps, different game modes, unique characters and good weapons. The game was a huge hit.
More importantly, it really opened the eyes of the people working at Nintendo. Realizing that they could do more with four controllers than racing and Mario Party. Having four controllers sold more accessories, and even now, the group play is one of the cornerstones of Nintendo's marketshare.
Aside from the growing appeal of FPS multiplayer happening online with games like Doom and computers, but on the console, you couldn't play more than two people together in a shooter before Golden Eye. It was a game changer.
The appeal was short-lived as online multiplayer started hitting consoles shortly after.
For a short time, Golden Eye dominated. And, in some ways revolutionized Nintendo and console shooters.
For me, I still don't think I can be beat with proximity mines in the complex.