James Bond is back in video game form with 007 First Light, but is this new spy adventure worth your time?
Ian Fleming’s James Bond is a character who’s dominated the page, the movie screen, and video games, but that last one is often where things have been a bit more hit and miss. To those who grew up in the 90s, it was impossible to ignore the Nintendo 64 classic GoldenEye, a first-person shooter that was based on the movie of the same name, and a title that is just as important to the genre as any Halo, Doom, or Call of Duty game. But since then, nothing has really fired the same way.
Sure, there have been some fun Bond games, but you’d think a character so perfect for the medium of gaming would have a few other absolute bangers associated with his brand. Even the 2010 remake of GoldenEye failed to reignite that fire. So we were cautiously optimistic when 007 First Light was revealed, but it had a few things going for it. First, the game was a new continuity and wasn’t based on any particular era of the movies, nor did it use the likeness of the outgoing Bond, Daniel Craig.
Instead, it casts Patrick Gibson as a young, brash Bond at the start of his 007 career, but this isn’t the jaded government-sanctioned murderer we saw in 2006’s Casino Royale (itself a reboot charting Bond’s elevation to 00 status), no, this is young Bond in full playboy mode — and that’s the ideal backdrop for a gaming adventure. Secondly, the game is developed by IO Interactive, the masterminds behind the Hitman games, which have also always felt inspired by Fleming’s work in their own way.
An Abundance of Solace
In this original story, Bond has yet to travel to Montenegro for the poker game that changes everything; instead, he’s still an SAS operative who’s recruited by M16 and is yet to earn his 007 moniker. While there is a whole book series exploring a younger James Bond, this is the first time we’ve seen this version of the character on screen.
Bond is cocky and reckless, but he’s also effortlessly charming at the same time, with Gibson being exactly what we imaged a younger version of this character to be. But where he really excels is when Bond needs to get serious, think clearly and handle business. So those who were worried about this being a more slapstick comedy version of the character can rest easy. Peter Sellers this is not.
While Bond has the raw materials to be great one day, he’s still green when it comes to espionage, and the missions reward the trial and error style of experimental play as the player learns how to be superspy along with Bond. The game is split into a 10 main missions and players will get to select a loadout before embarking. Naturally, this means paying visit’s to Q’s lab to see what cool gadgets are on offer, and we never got tired of trying these out.
Where previous Bond games have let players use his gadgets before, none have followed this same formula from the movies so well. Not only is it an exciting thing for fans to do, having it pay off in the middle of a mission makes it even more satisfying, so kudos to IO for nailing such an important part of what makes the character so special.
Image credit: IO Interactive
The World is Absolutely Enough
IO’s experience in developing Hitman games is immediately apparent and put to good use in 007 First Light. As with contracts in Hitman, players are given a lot of free reign when it comes to tackling a mission and are encouraged to explore and figure out solutions to problems creatively. We found ourselves replaying a few just to try another approach and to see if this made life easier, or just more fun in the next playthrough.
Those who enjoy stealth games will love First Light, but it’s not the only route to success. However, if you’re expecting every mission to be a go in guns blazing, Call of Duty style experience, you’re going to be disappointed. James Bond is a secret agent, he’s not Doom Slayer. But the good news is that 007 is not just a reskin of Agent 47. This isn’t always about being deadly under the radar, when things get loud Bond is more than equipped to throw down with enemies, and in ways Agent 47 just isn’t.
If Bond’s surrounded by a group of goons, the game becomes a Batman Arkham inspired, beat-’em-up, as 007 punches, kicks, and throws enemies all over the map until he’s the last man standing. This isn’t the smooth finesse we associate with most Bonds either, instead its the gritty brawling Bond we often saw Daniel Craig portray, and it works very well here. So do the third-person shooting mechanics which feel a lot more fleshed out than what’s on offer in Hitman (understandably). Though to be clear, this is a spy game that features third-person shooting, rather than being anchored in that genre.
007 First Light isn’t perfect and likely isn’t going to hold the attention of fans of live-service games for very long, but luckily, that’s not what it’s trying to do. This is a game for those who love James Bond, have been waiting for a game to rival GoldenEye for years, and want a fun single-player adventure to jump into in the evenings. So we’re happy to say that First Light finally scratches that itch and uses IO’s experience with the Hitman games to deliver a stellar spy adventure — and one we feel like we’ve been waiting decades for.