Blood Stone Review

James Bond 007 is back, featuring an original story and the voices and likenesses of the movie cast

Posted by Alex V on November 9, 2010 - 1:55pm EST

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. There were also some micro-stuttering issues experienced on our PC test setups, but at least the graphics looked much sharper than on the console versions., and the game runs very well on a wide range of hardware. The keyboard and mouse controls also work perfectly well, though the precision makes the game that much easier overall.

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.

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Our ratings for James Bond 007: Blood Stone on PC out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)

Presentation

The character likenesses are well done, but some voice acting and visual problems hold back the game's overall presentation.

Gameplay

A serviceable third person cover shooter with elements borrowed from other games, Bond is fun for a while but never really reaches anything greater then that.

Single Player

The game's linearity and relative ease don't make for a high replayability value, and a lack of boss fights makes the whole experience feel like one stretched out firefight.

Multiplayer

Though functional, multiplayer offers very few modes without any unique attractions. The online player numbers are very low.

Performance

(Show PC Specs)

CPU: Intel Core i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 1GB
RAM: 6GB DDR3
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

The game's engine shows its age, and there are some stuttering issues. On the other hand, the game looks sharp and holds a steady framerate on a wide range of pc specifications.

Overall

Blood Stone is a decently entertaining experience from start to finish, that ultimately lacks anything new to bring to the table.