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Honestly, Nintendo 64’s Goldeneye: 007 has spent the last three decades overshadowing a long series of mediocre or bad James Bond video games. Whether it’s mediocre pseudo-sequels carrying the Goldeneye name or other unconvincing derivatives, the world’s favorite British special agent has appeared in more bad video games than good ones. Everything or Nothing from 2004 stands out because it’s a fun third-person action game where Willem Dafoe plays the villain, but this is the only exception to the rule.
007: First Light – A New Take on Bond
I say all this because 007: First Light by IO Interactive (creators of Hitman) seems to be the most engaging virtual portrayal of the famous MI6 agent since Goldeneye. I had the chance to watch about half an hour of gameplay demo last week and came out much more excited about the game than I was after the initial trailer, which didn’t feature enough espionage for my taste.
007: First Light appears to be a mix of Hitman and spectacular car chases.
When IO announced they were creating a Bond game a few years ago, the consensus reaction from practically everyone I associated with was, “Oh, heck yes, it’s perfect.” This is because the Hitman series aligns better with Bond’s strengths than almost any other, giving players wide freedom to move in detailed levels full of NPCs whose AI can be manipulated in fun ways.
The Gameplay and Potential
The only difference (and it’s a big one) is that Hitman is about slapstick cold-blooded murder, while Bond kills in much more pragmatic and less Bugs Bunny-esque ways. That’s why the initial gameplay trailer didn’t convince me entirely; it looked more like a British Uncharted, with many set pieces and third-person shooting.
I’m glad to say that the extended demo I saw (though unfortunately didn’t play) clarified that this is undoubtedly a game by the people who created Hitman. The demo showed Bond infiltrating a party of elegant gentlemen in a scenic villa (a likely Bond location) using a variety of creative methods to overcome the guards. Bond can’t disguise himself with the same level of freedom as Agent 47, so instead, distraction seems to be the key to success. At one point, Bond turned on a garden hose so a guard would leave his post to turn it off, lit a lighter to set hay on fire so another nearby guard would leave his post, all so Bond could climb through a window.
IO promises a good mix of these extended and open Hitman-like levels interspersed with exciting Bond action moments, which constituted the other piece of the demo. Car chases and cover-based third-person shootings seem pretty standard here (although they looked very fun), but there was also a moment where Bond used his fancy gadget watch to hack a cargo plane he had infiltrated during takeoff. At that point, Bond could actually steer the plane left or right while engaging in a firefight in the cargo hangar, sending crates and enemy combatants wandering around in a truly clumsy way.
If 007: First Light can effectively combine the free stealth goodness of Hitman with impactful moments without either side of the game getting tired, it could well be the best Bond game in the last few decades. The competition isn’t strong, of course, but you always play against the opponent in front of you, as they say in sports. There are other aspects of the game I’m unsure about, like the premise of the original James Bond story with a younger version of the agent. It remains to be seen if the driving and shooting mechanics are good since engaging in shootouts in Hitman has never been particularly fun.
