This is a look back at how 007 went from face changes with different actors to how the digital age took a look at the world’s deadliest spy from silver screen to TV.
We have covered 1997’s 007 Goldeneye, and hold it to be one of the best Bond games out there. For me, it sets the standard for first person shooting (fps) games for years to come. But this wasn’t the first time Bond donned a digital tuxedo and left us shaken and stirred. Bond games started life as a roleplaying game, much to the likes of Dungeons and Dragons.
It was 1983 A View to a Kill that started it all. Made by Domark, A View to a Kill was a text based game with little mini missions taken from the film itself to give a more abridged version. Domark went on to make two more Bond film tie-ins with Goldfinger and The Living Daylights. But, this did not stop other developers from making Bond games. Operation Stealth, known in the USA as 007 James Bond Operation Stealth Affair, and to some extent James Bond Jr. and James Bond Duel slipped the net of notoriety. Then, Goldeneye came out in 1997, and took us through a roller-coaster.
For me, Goldeneye was the end-all of playing Bond games, with its thrills and chills. Being a Bond fan, it made me want to play more. Tomorrow Never Dies on the Playstation gave a nice third person look of the story and integrated key clips from the film to keep the player involved in the story. It bridged the gaps the game’s developers had in cutting the part where the game would have felt boring or would have made the game long winded. Tomorrow Never Dies was expanded with mini boss fights and intriguing mini stealth missions.
When Agent Under Fire came out for the PlayStation 2, and later Nintendo’s Gamecube, it gave its developer more of a chance to make their own Bond story from the ground up. To do so, it gave gamers more playability than just an abridged story of the films. I feel it worked very well. The story was intriguing from start to finish and gave the feeling of being Bond back to the player.
Nightfire was a good sequel, giving more control and little more depth with how much the hardware could be push as well as the story. It was Everything or Nothing that blew them all out the water. I consider this as one of the best games that I ever owned. But it had something every Bond game needs. Voice actors for the game included James Bond 007 himself, Pierce Brosnan, along with Judy Dentch as M, John Cleese as Q and William DaFoe as the villain. What more could a Bond fan ask for? Well, I was quite shocked finding none other than the famous Bond villain Jaws in the game as well. This game was a Bond film right in my own living room.
As the Bond changed actors to the new age, so did the games. But, to what I feel was the folly of mass marketing, Quantum of Solace was not the best of film and the game was about the same with a lack of missions and atmosphere. It could not compare with Everything or Nothing. Quantum of Solace was the first Bond game with online play, which garnered praise, but it was, at best, a crappy Call of Duty rip-off with one gun being over powered and making the game fall into disrepute. Add to this the PC version of the game would not run on a computer running anything higher than Internet Explorer 7, and a chance at a good game was blown.
Another one that fall into this as well is Blood Stone, a game having story that, at best, seems confusing. Due to the fact they changed the controls and game play makes any one who played the old Bond games ether mad or annoyed. The game ends up a mash of Bond with Splinter Cell's takedowns and stealth mechanics. In addition, the driving mission in the game adds little but filler. The frustration on top of this was any one bump or crash and it was game over, resetting the game to the star. This makes Blood Stone go in to the “stay away” category for me.
The remake of Goldeneye, called Goldeneye Reloaded, made me want my N64 back. Many others agreed on sites like Metacritic. Clipping issues marred the remake of the game, with guards able to shoot through elevator doors at you as an example.
But 007 Legend's really took the Bond games to a new low. Not only did the game have rubbish gameplay and dumb stealth mechanics, it was the fact that you are going through all the old Bond films as Daniel Craig. Granted Bond is meant be one person, but it just felt really out of place to not be able to play as the past Bond actors.
Thank god From Russia with Love, with Sean Connery, is on the PSP and Playstation 2. Sadly, the games I have grown up with Bond-wise have yet to come out on PSN. I feel it could be good to see what other kinds of games could be developed for PSN. Activision has taken down all listings for Quantum of Solace, Blood Stone, and Legends, leading to speculation they may be letting their licensing of those three failures relapse. Perhaps another game company will pick up the mantle of James Bond and develop something we Bond fans would be proud to play on NextGen consoles.
If you get the chance, give the James Bond games a play through and make up your own mind.