Activision is keen on keeping its James Bond franchise alive, and after 2008's Quantum of Solace, developed by Treyarch, the games publisher has just launched a new title with the famous British MI6 agent, entitled Blood Stone 007, developed by Bizarre Creations.
While Quantum of Solace was a pretty decent title, it didn't offer much in player choice, only letting players shoot and sometimes hack their way through linear levels taken from the two new Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
Now, Blood Stone 007 delivers a new original story with everybody's favorite spy, and promises to deliver a more varied and longer experience.
Did Bizarre manage to really recreate the experience of being a famous world spy and hunting terrorists? Let's find out.
Story
As opposed to previous James Bond games, this time the story of the game is completely new, with the British agent being on the hunt for a missing researcher that worked on cures for different biological weapons.
As you can imagine, one thing leads to another, and Bond must now stop a global conspiracy to smuggle biological weapons, as well as unmask those who are behind the whole thing.
During his escapades in Athens, Monte Carlo, Russia, Thailand and other such exotic locations, he also meets famous jewelry designer Nicole Hunter, voiced by the lovely British singer Joss Stone. She joins current Bond actor Daniel Craig, as well as Judi Dench as M, the leader of MI6.
While at first glance the story may not seem interesting, Bizarre really managed to pull it off, offering a few interesting twists and turns, especially one late in the game. You have all sorts of interesting things to do besides killing bad guys, like racing cars or boats after the aforementioned bad guys.
Overall, if it would've been turned into an actual James Bond movie, Blood Stone would certainly have had some success, especially with hardcore fans of the movie and book franchise.
Famous actors lend their voices ...
... and likeness to this game
Gameplay
In terms of actual gameplay, not a lot has changed from 2008's Quantum of Solace, as the engine is the same, although Bizarre did polish it off and added a few new features, including better close quarter combat maneuvers, plus the whole driving part of the game. This tasks the British spy with driving fast sportscars, including his trademark Aston Martin DBS, and other vehicles, ranging from powerboats to tow trucks.
Bond feels much more powerful this time around, not only through his deadly accuracy with almost any type of weapon, but also through the hand to hand combat skills, which he can show off through a variety of close quarters executions against enemies.
While the game is extremely easy, on almost all settings, you can challenge yourselves by trying to take out as many guards as possible without raising the alarm or using weapons. Blood Stone's stealth elements are pretty well done, and with a bit of patience, you can take out a lot of enemies using just stealth takedowns.
You can easily lurk in the shadows or in cover, and wait until the guards reach certain positions and then go and take them out through lots of different (and sometimes awkward) executions. If you get fed up with waiting until the AI enemies get out of sight, you can just pull out the weapons Bond can collect and start killing all of them.
Achieving takedowns earns you Focus Shots, basically 'one hit kills', which can be used when lots of enemies appear on the screen. Most of the times though, the AI won't give you any challenge, as they're extremely weak helpless against Bond.
One of the big new elements introduced by Blood Stone is a version of the 'detective mode' seen in last year's Batman: Arkham Asylum. Bond takes out his branded mobile phone, and his whole vision changes, as the gadget highlights enemies, even in cover or behind walls, shows explosive elements and the waypoints the agent must get to.
This feature is pretty well implemented, as it cuts off when you start shooting enemies and the image starts stuttering when you sprint while having the vision active. It also shows off intelligence elements which you can scan with the phone.
Last but not least, the phone also starts hacking quick time events which must be passed in order to open safes or unlock doors. Sadly, while the ones in Quantum of Solace were pretty simple, albeit cumbersomely implemented, the ones in Blood Stone, especially towards the end of the game, are just hard and cumbersome.
The last important gameplay elements are the driving mechanics, which, given Bizarre's previous creations, like the Project Gotham Racing franchise, were expected to be top notch. Sadly, that isn't quite so.
The cars, whether they are an Aston Martin DBS, Koenigsegg CCX or even a tow truck from Thailand, feel heavy, and, seeing as how you must stay close to your enemies, are very counter intuitive. Throw in the fact that you must dodge dynamic obstacles, or drive on ice, in one special section, the driving becomes an annoyance more than a change in gameplay.
You can go stealth ...
... or just shoot everything in sight
Graphics and Audio
In terms of graphics, the engine is showing its age quite clearly, as the character models are pretty basic, while objects like cell phones or guns look like cardboard in their hands.
Throw in the fact that all of the cutscenes use the in-game engine, and Blood Stone isn't exactly the prettiest title on store shelves.
Luckily, the audio is quite good, with the orchestral score taking themes from the classic Bond theme and keeps the gun fights extremely exciting, and the stealth parts very low-key.
The voice acting is top notch, with both Craig and Dench giving perfect life to their own characters, while Jess Stone sounds extremely attractive.
Multiplayer
I almost forgot about the multiplayer aspect of Blood Stone 007, largely because you wouldn't exactly expect one in such a story-centric game. Still, Bizarre did opt to add such a mode, with different scenarios.
Besides the classic Team Deathmatch and Last Man Standing, which pits teams of spies against mercenaries, you have the customized Objective mode. This tasks the teams with completing three objectives before the final task is revealed, adding a special twist to the gameplay.
Sadly, you won't find a lot of people playing online, so the mode is basically just filler to keep you from returning the game or selling it off to others.
Drive your car on ice ...
... or through explosions
Conclusion
In the end, James Bond Blood Stone 007 is a pretty decent game, which will no doubt keep you interested if, by any chance, you haven't bought any of the big fall blockbusters like Fallout: New Vegas or Call of Duty: Black Ops.
If you know a James Bond fan and you want to surprise him this holiday season, then Blood Stone is pretty good choice.
MY RATINGS:
Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Concept: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 8/10
Multiplayer: 4/10
Overall: 7/10
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