There have been quite a number of Bond games to grace consoles over the years and whilst many still hold the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye in high esteem; it seems that EA are still keen on trying to produce that definitive Bond experience for this generation. Sure, we’ve had the rather lacking Goldeneye: Rogue Agent and the not so bad Nightfire and then the last game Everything or Nothing, which was actually quite good but departed from the first person roots of its predecessors. As Mr Brosnan featured in all of those games bar Rogue agent EA have taken the step to resurrect one of the classic and most revered bonds to date played by, Sean Connery. Rather than simply make up a fictitious Bond style story as with previous EA Bond games, this time the developers have opted to make a gaming rendition of the film From Russia With Love. Whilst some artistic licence has been given here (the inclusion of Natasha Beddingfield being one of them) the game does follow the film pretty closely.

Gameplay

Once again the game play is played out via a 3rd person perspective (you get to see the character) and consists of controlling a younger looking Sean Connery through various levels. Bond is pretty versatile and can do a wide range of moves including simple things such as vaulting over low objects or climbing low walls (where the game dictates). Bond can crouch walk and with the pressure on the thumb stick can move slowly or relatively fast, this comes in useful for sneaking up on foes for that silent stealthy takedown. Bond can also put his back to walls and peek out and shoot and also do a cinematic diving roll. These are all accomplished with a simple tap of a button and means that players will be acting like Bond in no time as they are easy to pull off.

Combat is pretty similar to Everything or Nothing whereby you can lock on to enemies (L trigger) and let rip with things like the classic silenced pistol, an Ak-47, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, a rocket launcher and a sub machine gun; whichever takes your fancy or whichever you have ammo for. You can do a special precise aiming by tapping a button and entering a free aiming mode (sort of). You still remain locked on to the targeted enemy but are free to move a small dot around the target and shoot precise body parts, such as the head! This works quite well and obviously conserves ammo, especially if you can aim for certain highlighted areas that appear on the target; such as shooting out a guard’s radio so he can’t call for backup. The ammo in the game comes in two forms, which are standard and then special. The special ammo is more powerful than regular ammo and therefore not so readily available. The only downside here is that to switch you have to go into a menu and change the ammo type- which somewhat breaks the game play. To be honest, on the medium difficulty I managed to survive the game without using the special ammo very much at all.

Bond is able to use hand to hand moves and this is actually quite cool. Rather than simply kick and punch manually, if Bond gets close to a targeted enemy he will auto engage in hand to hand presented in a cinematic way. Some interaction is required where the player has to tap the corresponding button on the controller to perform the move but this is very easy and fluid. When done correctly you will see Bond smack his enemies around in a style that you come to expect from the master 00 agent. Performing stealth kills is pretty similar other than simply attacking from behind whilst remaining undetected. Again players are treated to a cinematic sequence when a stealth move has been accomplished. The enemy AI is reasonably intelligent and will do things like seek cover or back away when wounded. Its good to see the hit detection animations in place; meaning enemies actually flinch when being shot rather than continuously shooting at you until they drop.

What Bond game would be complete without gadgets? Well gadgets do feature in this game and can mostly be used whenever the player feels like it; with the exception of a grapple hook which can only be used at specific points in a level. Things like sonic cufflinks which stun enemies or a serum gun that turns enemies into allies by confusing them can be used at anytime the player sees fit. The remote helicopter can also be used when ever but again is better suited for more scripted moments where Bond is stuck and faced with a vent opening. The gadgets are cool but other than the moments where you have to use them, I found that using regular combat was effective on its own.

In an attempt to inject something fresh into the Bond experience, EA have included some minor character customisation elements. This basically means that with points earned during missions by finding certain files players can upgrade weapons and gadgets. This is a rather simple component but is better than not having it at all. Points gained from beating missions and performing special moves such as the hand to hand taking down of opponents can be used to buy extras such as concept art and even characters for multiplayer.

Bond is also able to use vehicles at certain times and this includes the classic Aston Martin and a jetpack. The car handling felt a little too sensitive for my liking and was actually the weaker part of the game simply because all you do is shoot the same re-spawning opposing cars whilst driving. The jetpack was an interesting concept and allowed to go vertical as well which was a nice addition to the game. The same lock on and let rip targeting is used when riding the jetpack and makes combat pretty straight forward.

Graphics

The graphics are pretty solid here and remain sharp looking throughout. There are a lot of small details to look out for across the levels and these help to bring the locations to life. The main characters are well crafted and Sean Connery actually looks like Sean Connery which is great. A lot of repeated character models are used for the enemies but generally they are varied enough across the stages. Overall the graphics are good enough for a multi format game but nothing that pushes the power of the hardware.

Sound

Sound is actually very good and has that Bond orchestral flavour to compliment the action. This works really well and sounds like it was lifted from the movies. The voice acting is also very good and at first I thought Sean Connery was replaced by some impressionist, however I have since learned that Sir Sean actually lent his Scottish charms to the game! Other in game sound effects are typical and what you would expect from an action game.

Longevity

This is a tough call because getting through the game on Medium was pretty easy and took no time at all. However to get all the awards and to unlock all the content means that there is a fair amount of replay value to be had here. After each mission you are given a breakdown of your scoring so for die-hard players you might want to attain better end game stats. There are three levels of difficulty and the 00 agent setting is really the place to start if you are looking for a more rewarding experience. Sadly there is no Xbox Live play here but there is a four player split screen verses mode. Not the longest of games by any means.

Overall

From Russia With Love is a welcome addition to EA’s catalogue of Bond games, however I did get the feeling that it was more a case of Bond by numbers type game. I enjoyed the shooting action on foot but found the driving to be a little lacklustre. The camera did become problematic at some points in the game, but mostly this did not hamper the experience. There is not a lot new here from Everything or Nothing’s game play and although this game follows an actual film I would have to say Everything or Nothing is the better game. I think if you are a big fan of James Bond then this title is certainly a must have game as the featured Sean Connery and movie tie in will no doubt get you all excited. For anyone else then I say rent this first because at its heart you do have a fairly decent action game but at the same time strip away the allure of James Bond and you are left with something pretty generic. A solid game that lacks a true wow factor.