James Bond 007: Blood Stone Review

There hasn’t been a James Bond film recently, so it came as a surprise to some that a new videogame based on the franchise was to be released in 2010. While it is based on an existing movie franchise, featuring the voices and the likenesses of the current actors, the game isn’t actually tied to a particular movie. This is great news, as most fans will tell you that game adaptations of movies still produce very poor quality titles. Developed by Bizarre Creations, who specialize in racing games, the game’s action is relentless, though unevenly broken up. James Bond 007: Blood Stone is a decent entry in the action genre that manages to escape the usual mediocrity of film adaptations, but never quite reaches greater heights.

As one might expect, players take on the role of the legendary spy 007, who looks and is voiced by Daniel Craig – the current actor in the movie franchise. Bond teams up with wealthy socialite Nicole Hunter (voiced by Joss Stone) to stop a plot involving biological weapons. The game is set across various locations, such as Athens, Istanbul, Monaco, and Siberia, though the gameplay varies little. With the help of M, also voiced and looking like Judi Dench from the movie franchise, Bond sets out to uncover the weapons operation and shut it down in the process. There is nothing particularly gripping about the script, though at least it is an original entry in the series with no direct relation to other games or movies. As the story moves forward, there are very few characters that we actually get to meet, and not many twists. The game ends on a rather dull cliffhanger, with the words “Bond will return” flashing across the screen – hardly the appropriate ending to an otherwise decently action-packed game.

Blood Stone is a third person shooter with some unfinished gameplay mechanics, many borrowing from other games. The game’s third person action controls well, though Bond is not able to jump or crouch – which certainly takes away from the action. This is a cover-based shooter, so 007 can stick to all objects in the world (which are conveniently chest-high) with a press of a button. While in cover, you can both blind fire as well as pop out to take aimed shots – again, standard affair for this sort of gameplay mechanic. There is a variety of weapons to be found in the game, though most behave similarly and deal about the same amount of damage. Not that the AI is worth worrying about anyway – enemies will simply spawn and run to their designated cover, staying there until killed. They will try the odd flanking maneuver, but mostly the game is fairly easy if you don’t rush and pick off enemies from distance. It’s also disappointing that there aren’t any boss fights – even though Bond takes down significant enemies in the cutscenes – so it all feels like one long linear shooting gallery with varying enemies and backgrounds.

Aside from weapons, the only item Bond carries is his smartphone. It is used throughout the game as a tool to collect intelligence and break through electronic security measures. It’s often used similarly to the Detective mode from the latest Batman game. The phone can be activated any time, and transforms the player’s view to an informational dashboard that displays nearby enemies, weapons, and intelligence to be collected. The phone switches off if Bond is engaged in combat, but otherwise it makes it easy to spot your enemies and their alertness level through walls and other obstacles. It seems like a missed opportunity not to include more items in the game, as the phone only allows for a few interactions with the environment.

There are some parts that try to break up the non-stop explosions, namely the stealth sections. Though not explicitly identified as such, Bond often has the option to sneak by and silently disable his enemies, rather than go in guns blazing. Given that Bond can’t crouch, there isn’t a sneak element – as long as the player isn’t sprinting, you can walk up and take out enemies with a melee move. Each melee kill earns you Focus Aim – up to three of them – that works nearly the same as the “mark and execute” feature from the recent Splinter Cell Conviction. These action kills can be used at any time, as Bond’s aim snaps to the nearest enemy, providing opportunity for an instant one-shot kill. Outside of open battle, Bond can also perform melee takedowns from cover. These takedowns are neat, but given that they often cause Bond to leave his cover, they sometimes ruin stealth. Enemies also have a basic alertness meter that fills and subsides quickly if they spot Bond in the distance. Overall, it feels like the melee system is extremely simplistic and underdeveloped, as it is a single button that causes Bond to take down any enemy in range.

Some significant and action-filled parts of the game actually take place with Bond behind the wheel of a vehicle. There is a chapter on each level that has you driving a car or a boat. These sections again work to break up the flow of the game, but don’t play out all that well. For one thing, the cars look fantastic, but that’s expected from a developer who usually focuses on racing games. On the other hand though, the controls have been tweaked to the minimalistic, becoming overly unresponsive and not that much fun to use. All of the races take place on set courses, even though the game does its best to showcase that the player’s path is not limited by simple invisible walls. Instead, things blow up all around you, and a track is carved into the environment. The driving is usually either chasing someone or escaping, but both are heavily scripted so there’s no point to fret if you’re unable to catch up with your opponent – you will when the game tells you to. The chase ends if you fall behind too far or hit a hazard – and this is harder than it sounds. Most of the game’s races are actually trial and error, making them a rather frustrating experience.

After completing the decently long single player campaign, there are also three multiplayer modes on offer. Granted, there are not many players online, and when a games does get underway, things aren’t always smooth. Alongside team deathmatch and other standard game modes, there are objective-based battles where players have to work as a team to attack or defend various objectives. The modes are all functional, but offer very little unique appeal or the broad player population to really have a chance at grabbing the player’s attention.

Since this particular game is based on the movie franchise and an official license, players will get to see and hear the actors from the films reprise their roles. Needless to say, Daniel Craig puts in the worst of the voice performances, and at times it is tough to tell if it’s actually him. The supporting cast is at least better overall. The game also features the likenesses of the actors, and they are portrayed fairly accurately, but the facial animations and overall polygon count is fairly low. The graphics engine itself shows signs of age, as it’s been developed a number of years earlier, and there’s hardly any highly memorable visuals to be found. The licensed soundtrack provides a great atmosphere as expected.

It’s hard to describe Blood Stone, as it does well to stay away from being a movie adaptation, but at the same time borrows so much from other titles that it’s hard to pinpoint an identity of its own. The single player is decently long with a serviceable story and consistent action, but a lack of boss fights and frustrating driving sequences don’t make for an overall must-play campaign. The multiplayer is decent, but offers nothing to draw players in. The game falls into the same niche as Bourne Conspiracy – in that it’s a great first step in adapting movie franchises to games that aren’t actually based on a film. Still, it’s just a first step for Bond, and hopefully the subsequent titles can improve on the formula so that this isn’t just better than the usual movie franchise adaptation, but rather a great game on its own right.